Ever So Lonely

"Ever So Lonely"
Single by Monsoon
from the album Third Eye
B-side	Sunset over the Ganges
Released	March 1982
Format	7" vinyl, 12" vinyl
Recorded	Rockfield Studios
Genre	World Music
Length	3:58
Label	The Mobile Suit Corporation
Writer(s)	Steve Coe
Producer(s)	Hugh Jones and Steve Coe
Alternative cover 12" single cover

Ever So Lonely is a single written by Steve Coe and originally recorded by Monsoon with Sheila Chandra on vocals. The song went on to be a #12 hit in the UK in April 1982, staying for nine weeks on the chart.^[1]

Monsoon’s "Ever So Lonely" was the first “world music” hit . It was a hit in the UK, Europe and Australia but was never released as a single in the USA. Sheila Chandra was just aged 16, had just left school and her first single was a massive landmark hit.

The single was originally released by Indipop Records and was distributed through Rough Trade Records, but was largely ignored . The band were later signed to Phonogram. The song was released under the label "Mobile Suit Corporation".^[2] Several different remixes were made including three by Monsoon, two by Ben Chapman, and several by Jakatta). One version, issued as a 12-inch disco remix, with the extra tracks "Shout" and "Mirror Of Your Mind", was heavily supported by BBC Radio 1's John Peel . The song eventually reached #12 in the UK.^[3]

Sheila became the first Asian singer to appear on the BBC's Top Of The Pops and even though Chandra wore a sari on the show, to underline how proud she was of this, many Asians refused to believe she was Asian . She had almost never made her appearance on the programme, having been ill in hospital with appendicitis the week before "Ever So Lonely" entered the Top 20. Just before the single was released, the record company decided they wanted to change her name to “Boo”. She politely declined .

Chandra's name was mistakenly thought to be ”Monsoon” by some members of the public , since she sang all the songs, did all the interviews and the publicity shots. She was the only Asian artist to have mainstream chart success in the 1980s but the song was never released as a single on the Indian Subcontinent. On a trip to India in 1985, Chandra discovered that the track had been pirated and included in a South Indian Telegu film called Darling, darling, darling, the quality of the soundtrack for which was poor.

Reviewing the band I-tunes said:

""The band's pop songs were no different than most, but the addition of Indian instrumentation and Chandra's wonderful voice evoked images of the Orient seldom seen on the British pop charts since George Harrison's excursions with the Beatles".^[4]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Steve Coe, except where noted.

7" Single: CORP 2

12" Single: CORP 212

References