"Nature of Love" by Waterfront

Song#:  3977

Date:  07/29/1989

Debut:  95

Peak:  70

Weeks:  5

Genre:  Sophisti-Pop

Pop Bits:  This Welsh duo earned a US Pop Top 10 with "Cry" (#10), a single from their self-titled debut album. The song would do even better at AC reaching #2. For a follow-up, this next track was selected. It had been their first charting single in the UK early in '89 and it got to #63. When issued out in the US, it did about the same business staying in the lower third of the chart. It would only manage a #44 showing at AC. A third single, "Move On," would make an appearance on the AC chart at #24. By this point in time, the album had already peaked at a respectable #45.

ReduxReview:  I had to make sure I called up the right track when listening to this. Right off the bat it sounded like a leftover track from Johnny Hates Jazz. It had a distinct "Shattered Dreams" smell to it. I wouldn't call it plagiarism, but is sure sounded like the duo was channeling JHJ when writing this tune. It's not a bad track. It's nicely written and has a good arrangement, especially near the end, but since we already had "Shattered Dreams," it kind of made this track a bit of an unnecessary repeat.

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  With a Top 10 hit and a Top 50 album, the duo's prospects were better in the US than back home in the UK where the LP had very tepid results (#103). One half of the pair, Chris Duffy, wanted to stay on in the US following their tour to see if Waterfront could capitalize on their initial success. However, the other half of the duo, Phil Cilia, ached to get back home. Facing two different paths, the pair chose to go their own ways. Duffy would stay on with Polydor Records and record a solo album released in '92 titled All the Time in the World. It failed to generate any attention and it brought his solo career to an end. He then became a staff writer for EMI and one of his co-writes (with Glen Ballard) "Dark Side of My Heart" would be picked up and recorded by TV star/singer David Hasselhoff. It appeared on a self-titled compilation from Hasseloff that was released in the US in '95. Not long after, Duffy would return to the UK and would eventually do freelance PR work in the hospitality industry. Phil Cillia went on to be a creative director at a UK media company. The pair would reunite and perform together again beginning in 2000. They also started co-writing songs and in 2011 they released the album Ghosts of the Good, which had a more modern country feel.

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