Rock Candy Records Remasters [Release date 07.08.20]

From the moment he burst onto the disco music scene in the late seventies, the legend that is Paul Sabu has been inundated with accolades… “best this…”, “best that…”, but he never truly turned the recognition of his peer group into fame and fortune. And, as is often the case, his talent as a writer and performer only gained genuine public awareness through his songwriting and production for other artists and in other musical forums.

It’s been good to see his work being remastered and reissued as we moved through the early years of the new millenium. And no one does it quite like Rock Candy. Never mind the bonus tracks, essays and colour pics, it’s the cutting edge remastering that does it.

The early eighties were a particularly fertile period for Sabu. His alter ego, Kidd Glove, showed he was just as capable of wrapping his versatile vocals around a few, sophisticated slices of AOR as he was hitting the high notes hard and fast. His foreceful, melodic timbre, a roughed up version of Sammy Hagar’s distinctive, born-to-rock’n'roll tenor, was perfect for delivering MTV formula rock songs.

Surprisingly, the Kidd Glove album failed to gain commercial traction, and so he moved straight into Heartbreak, released under the Sabu name the following year (1985), with virtually the same band. The critics loved its marriage of melody to hard rock. ‘Breakin Out’, ‘Hot Flash’ and ‘New Girl In Town’ are glorious tracks that still pack a considerable wallop today. ***1/2

Three years later, recognising that fans wanted nothing more than to be swept up in the emotion of a vertiginous chorus, written in the image of a Desmond Child or a Jack Ponti, Sabu put together his magnum opus, Only Child.

Sabu had learned his lessons the hard way. Popular acclaim was the target. And that remastering job makes the gutsy urgency of of ‘Just Ask’ and ‘I Wanna Touch’ sound dynamic, clear and pin sharp, later mainlining us into the adrenaline rush of ‘I Believe In You’, and ‘Save A Place in Yourt Heart’, unwrapping both songs’ full potential. It was career highpoint that still resonates today. ****

Each remaster carries a welcome weight of bonus tracks. Nine on “Heartbreak”… many of which had originally made their way onto movie soundtracks. And four on “Only Child”, doubling the number added to previous reissues.

Judged together, these two albums saw Sabu at a creative peak. His later material matched up, but never surpassed it.

Review by Brian McGowan

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.

Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio

David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 2 March 2025.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast on 4 March 2025

How to Listen Live?

Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)

Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.

More information and links at our radio website where you can listen live or listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com

Power Plays w/c 24 March 2025

HARRI LARKIN Too Close To The Sun (Robot Distro)
SANDNESS Not Your Dog (Rockshots Records)
DOCTOR BLACK Drag Me Down (indie)
COHEED AND CAMBRIA Goodbye Sunshine (Virgin Music Group)
LEONI JANE KENNEDY Closer (indie)
SMALL TOWN POLITICS Red Lights (indie)

Featured Albums w/c 24 March 2025

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003 – 2024 (Singer Songwriter)

Our occasional Newsletter signposts latest additions to the website(s). We also include a selection of recent top albums, based on GRTR! reviewer ratings. The newsletter is sent out a few times a year.

If you’d like to register to receive this occasional mailing please complete the form:

If using a smartphone/tablet please tap here or re-orientate your device

(Note that this registration is separate from site registration which allows you to leave comments and receive daily emails about new content. If you wish to register for this – in addition or separately – please click or tap here – for more information – the form is at the foot of each page. Please read our privacy policy when opting-in to receive emails.