Writers/Producers: Jason Evigan, Sean Douglas, Sam Hollander, Claude Kelly, Steve Robson, Martin Johnson, Peter Wallevik, Daniel Davidsen, Cutfather, Ryan Tedder, TMS, Steve Mac, Wayne Hector, Paul Weller, Jamie Scott, Matt Prime, FutureCut, John Newman
Release Date: 24/11/2014 (Original) / 20/11/2015 (Reissue)
Chart Positions: #1 (UK), #1 (Scotland), #7 (Ireland), #20 (Switzerland), #27 (Australia), #28 (Finland), #38 (Germany), #38 (Denmark), #40 (Austria), #42 (US), #50 (Sweden)
Sales: 861k (UK, 2x Platinum)
As we touched on with our 'Wrapped Up' review, anything longer than six months away in pop and people can start to ask questions about an artistâs future, such is the fickle nature of the beast. Olly was certainly in more of an interesting position than most, having now had two back to back million selling, chart slaying albums. He had quite literally confounded all expectations. âNever Been Betterâ was a significant album for that reason, but itâs also a landmark album in other respects.
Back when work on the âRight Place Right Timeâ album had only just got under way in the summer of 2012, a massive shift in personnel happened at Epic Records. Nick Raphael and Jo Charrington, who had overseen Olly from his launch, were poached by Universal Records to head up the relaunched Capitol label, in turn going onto launch the successful careers of 5 Seconds of Summer and Sam Smith.
Eighteen months on, and whilst Olly stayed under the Sony umbrella, he subsequently moved from Epic to the reactivated RCA label, headed up by former Island Records MD Nick Gatfield, meaning he had a new A&R man overseeing him and a new album for the first time since his debut. Now entering his fifth year in pop â which many cynics will tell you is the point popularity can either sustain itself or wane from a peak for an artist â Olly had a hell of a lot to prove. It certainly explains why he took as long as he did on it.
This album had to cement his position and popularity in the UK music scene and most importantly, have the songs to back it up. And itâs fair to say that for the vast majority of the album, that was the case. Certainly, youâd be hard pressed to find a more fitting song to kick off the album than the cheekily titled âDid You Miss Me?â
Initially touted as the first single before Olly got cold feet about a potential press backlash regarding misunderstanding of the title, and co-written with Los Angeles based hitmaker Jason Evigan (Maroon 5, Madonna, Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears) this mischief making, horn drenched, Prince-esque strut was bold, brash and attention grabbing: âI can tell that youâve missed me / Cause your eyes give it away / I know you canât resist me / So show me, show me, show me that you missed meâ. Itâs a shame he didnât go with his instincts, because really pop is built on those grand moments of statements of intent.
For that same reason, the title track, co-written with the TMS team, and a record that upped the epic grandeur of âArmy of Twoâ from the last album, was also a highlight. Recorded with a 60-piece orchestra and coming off as part Bond theme part McFly at their hardest, it was a soaring rocket of a track that Olly stretched his vocal chops on, hitting higher notes than he ever had before, and which he performed to devastatingly brilliant effect on the accompanying tour for the album (more on which in a second).
TMS also offered light and shade to Ollyâs personality as an artist on the tracks âWhy Do I Love Youâ and âNothing Without Youâ. The latter was a plaintive, simplistic piano ballad, stating to his then girlfriend of the time that life without her would be nothing. The former track, however, was possibly one of the most dark and experimental tracks heâd done to that point, an almost psychedelic, Northern soul leaning pop number on the agony of being in love with a non-committal partner. It was in many ways, like the renegade evil twin of âOh My Goodnessâ.
British singer songwriter John Newman, whoâd famously topped the charts with drum and bass outfit Rudimental on their 2012 single âFeel The Loveâ, as well as hitting the charts with songs like âCome and Get Itâ and âLove Me Againâ, co-wrote âStick With Meâ, a pulsing dance track with an eerie choir effect produced by Steve Mac and Wayne Hector. Immediately following it was the very lustful âCanât Say Noâ, a stripped to the bone part acoustic funk pop number.
But closing off the album was possibly one of the biggest coups Olly could have hoped for in his career at that moment. Some two years previously, he had performed a cover of âBroken Stonesâ, a track from âStanley Roadâ, the iconic 1995 album from British rock legend Paul Weller, first for The Sun Biz Sessions, and then at his headline slot for the annual iTunes Festival in Camden, North London. Olly had grown up around Paulâs music in his dadâs record collection and had stated what a fan he was of both his solo work and his work in The Jam (he also covered their 1982 chart topper âA Town Called Maliceâ on the previous tour).
Fast forward to spring 2014, and he was fortunate to meet Paul at the annual Teenage Cancer Trust fundraiser gig at the Royal Albert Hall in London, who mentioned that he had written the bones of a song with Olly in mind. With some additional co-writing from Olly, that song became âLet Me Inâ, a genuinely moving acoustic number which showed off the more soulful, reflective tones in his voice and which you could almost picture being sung around a campfire at dusk.
If ever heâd needed confirmation that he was more of a serious proposition than ever, then his work with such a respected legend was it. In fact, many reviewers subsequently highlighted it as such, with The Guardian proclaiming it to be âthe best thing heâs done in his careerâ in their analysis of the album. Amy Davidson, reviewing the album for Digital Spy, was also full of praise, stating that with âNever Been Betterâ, âOlly isn't in the wallflower business, rather he fully intends on running with his title without a whiff of uncertainty.â
âNever Been Betterâ then, ultimately proved to be a prophetic title â it became his third consecutive UK number one album, once again taking just under a month to achieve its first platinum disc, as well as sailing into the top 10 or top 40 in seven other countries, eventually going onto be certified double platinum by the end of its chart run. It also showed that, far from being forgotten with a year away, Ollyâs popularity was quite undiminished and had, well, never been better.
As with his previous album, the original release of âNever Been Betterâ came in a standard 13 track version, and a deluxe edition, once again in a digipak booklet format, and substituting the yellows and reds of the standard artwork for a mixture of creams and beiges, as well as four additional tracks.
Highlights among these extra four songs included âReady for Loveâ, a folksy, rousing foot stomper that you could almost picture being sung by a 70s era Elton John (although no relation to his 1979 song and subsequent 2003 chart topper of the same name). The twilight strewn dreaminess of the ballad âHistoryâ ensured that it quickly became a fan favourite, and was performed by Olly on that yearâs telethon for ITVâs âText Santaâ charity.
Internationally, fans in Germany and Japan were treated to two further bonus tracks. Only available on copies of the deluxe edition sold in the German entertainment store Mediamarkt, âAlone Tonightâ saw Olly team up once again with the Future Cut team on possibly the steamiest sounding song heâd recorded to that point: âKiss me like a stranger / Itâs time to misbehave, donât leave me lonely / I canât leave you alone tonightâ. Itâs still currently unavailable for streaming or digital download in any territory at time of writing.
'Alone Tonightâ was also on the deluxe edition in Japan, along with a very special track recorded with another music legend. âSukiyakiâ (literally translated as âI Look Up As I Walkâ) had been a phenomenally successful record for the Japanese crooner Kyu Sakamoto back in 1961, having sold something in excess of 13m copies worldwide. Olly was invited to re-record a version of the song with English lyrics, titled âLook at the Skyâ, written by none other than Yoko Ono, who sung his praises highly of his performance of the song.
As of time of writing in May 2019, Olly is still yet to release a Christmas album despite much continual demand for him to do so. The âUnwrappedâ EP, a five-track acoustic EP given away free for download on Google Play during December 2014, and recorded at Googleâs British headquarters in London, is thus the closest weâve probably got to an official seasonal release of his. âWrapped Upâ and âHistoryâ were performed in his set, along with an additional cover of Wizzardâs âI Wish It Could Be Christmas Everydayâ, in the same arrangement as his previous recording of the festive favourite for BBC Radio 1âs Live Lounge in December 2012.
NEVER BEEN BETTER: SPECIAL EDITION
As in 2013, Olly spent much of 2015 touring (and pursuing other activities as weâll come onto discuss in later entries for this era). Once again with no time to get a full new album ready, he decided to repeat the formula that had worked so well for the last album by repacking it as a special edition for reissue a year after it first came out. A new black and yellow colour scheme adorned the artwork, the original 13 tracks from the album remained. And joining them were seven brand new songs, including a further two singles which weâll be discussing at a later stage.
Claude Kelly and Steve Robson bought the frenetic funk to âSacrificeâ, a lively up-tempo floor filler that hardly had time to pause for breath. Meanwhile, Sam Hollander, an American based songwriter and producer who had written for decidedly more punk pop orientated artists like Blink 182 and Good Charlotte, delivered the haunting, lighters aloft ballad âIf I Stayâ, an empowering song about wanting to not give up on a relationship until the last.
âLove Shouldnât Be This Hardâ marked Ollyâs first collaboration with Toby Gad, the hitmaker for the likes of BeyoncĂ©, Pixie Lott and JLS. A genuinely compelling, almost country leaning midtempo about that awkward first stages of dating when thereâs a desperate but repressed need to fill the silences, it seems all but forgotten now but is a gem worth unearthing.
Rounding off the repacked album were two more recordings for BBC Radio 1âs Live Lounge from December 2014: his then new single âUpâ, performed acoustically with Ella Eyre, who subsequently performed it with him when she supported him on his UK and Ireland arena tour for the album in April 2015, and his version of Whamâs timeless festive favourite âLast Christmasâ, gentle sleigh bells jingling in the background and all.
Ella also crops up on the second home video release of Ollyâs, as the repack included the accompanying DVD of the fourth and final London O2 show of the âNever Been Betterâ tour, recorded on 7th May 2015, as she performs âUpâ with him on there too. The DVD sadly had to omit the popular âFunk Medleyâ section of the tour that year, owing to the failure of clearance for use of several of the songs in the medley for release. However, the performance of âTroublemakerâ with Robbie Williams as a surprise guest is retained and is well worth a watch even now.
The repacked âNever Been Betterâ had the dual misfortune of coming out during one of the toughest weeks in Ollyâs career (more on which in future entries), but also during one of the best for Adele, who released her third album â25â that same week and which sold over 800,000 copies in its first week alone. However, it still returned the album to the top 10 for Christmas that year, ensuring that Olly notched up one of the yearâs best-selling albums in the UK for a fifth year on the trot.
