PROFILBARU.COM

"I've Got News for You"
"I've Got News for You"
Single by Feargal Sharkey
from the album Songs from the Mardi Gras
B-side	"I Can't Begin to Stop"
Released	25 February 1991
Genre	Pop
Length	4:52
Label	Virgin Records
Songwriter(s)	Feargal Sharkey, Dennis Morgan
Producer(s)	Barry Beckett
Feargal Sharkey singles chronology

"I've Got News for You" is a song by Irish singer Feargal Sharkey, released on 25 February 1991 as the first single from his third studio album, Songs from the Mardi Gras.^[1] It was written by Sharkey and Dennis Morgan, and produced by Barry Beckett. The song reached No. 12 in the UK and No. 8 in Ireland.^[2]^[3]

A music video was filmed to promote the single, while Sharkey also performed the song on the UK TV music show Top of The Pops. The B-side, "I Can't Begin to Stop", was exclusive to the single. It was also written by Sharkey and Morgan, and produced by Beckett.^[4]

Background

"I've Got News for You" was inspired by Sharkey's own personal life and the end of his relationship with Rebecca Landemere, a woman for whom he left his wife Ellen for in 1986. He told The Sunday People in 1991, "I'm lucky. I'm a songwriter and writing about Rebecca helped get all those emotions off my chest. I didn't shed a single tear at the end. Instead I off-loaded all my emotions, and all my unhappiness, into 'I've Got News for You'. I will never write a song like that again in my life. It is just too damn personal."^[5]

Critical reception

Upon its release, Tim Peacock of Sounds described "I've Got News for You" as "a wishy-washy afterhours ballad of the first water". He added, "Admittedly, Feargal sounds like he's given it all he's got, but despite a gargantuan sax solo, this just drifts around like an ageing lounge lizard. Sad."^[6] Julian Cope of New Musical Express considered it "really duff" with a lyric that "doesn't make much sense".^[7] John Mangan of The Age commented, "This one is a syrupy ballad with more than a hint of the '50s. It's agonisingly predictable, but your man does have a decent voice."^[8] Evening Herald stated, "Despite the obvious pop appeal of his pristine single "I've Got News for You", [Sharkey's] album is shockingly ordinary."^[9] Music & Media wrote, "Sharkey comes back stronger than before. A soul-jewel."^[10]

Formats

7" single
No.	Title	Written by	Length
1.	"I've Got News for You"	Feargal Sharkey, Dennis Morgan	4:18
2.	"I Can't Begin to Stop"	Sharkey, Morgan	5:02

12" single
No.	Title	Written by	Length
1.	"I've Got News for You"	Sharkey, Morgan	4:52
2.	"Loving You"	Sharkey, Jo Callis	4:15
3.	"A Good Heart"	Maria McKee	4:39
4.	"You Little Thief (Special Remix)"	Benmont Tench	6:13

CD single
No.	Title	Written by	Length
1.	"I've Got News for You"	Sharkey, Morgan	4:52
2.	"Loving You"	Sharkey, Callis	4:15
3.	"After the Mardi Gras"	Sharkey, Greg Barnhill	4:29
4.	"Cold Cold Streets"	Danny Kortchmar, David Lasley, Sharkey	5:20

Cassette single
No.	Title	Written by	Length
1.	"I've Got News for You"	Sharkey, Morgan	4:52
2.	"I Can't Begin to Stop"	Sharkey, Morgan	5:02

Personnel

Feargal Sharkey – lead vocals, producer of "You Little Thief (Special Remix)"
Barry Beckett – producer of "I've Got News for You" and "I Can't Begin to Stop"
Alan Beukers – front cover photography
Roger Taylor, David Richards – producers of "Loving You"
David A. Stewart – producer of "A Good Heart"

Charts

Chart (1991)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart^[11]	193
Irish Singles Chart^[3]	8
UK Singles Chart^[2]	12

References

^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 23 February 1991. p. vi. ISSN 0265-1548.
^ ^a ^b "FEARGAL SHARKEY | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2018-03-02.
^ ^a ^b "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". The Irish Charts. Retrieved 2018-03-02.
^ "Feargal Sharkey - I've Got News For You (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-02-24.
^ Pringle, Gill (16 June 1991). "A good heart is very hard to find". The Sunday People. p. 9. Retrieved 6 May 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ Peacock, Tim (2 March 1991). "Singles". Sounds. p. 32.
^ Cope, Julian (2 March 1991). "Singles". New Musical Express. p. 18.
^ Mangan, John (3 May 1991). "Singles". The Age.
^ "It's a Sharkey shocker!". Evening Herald. 12 April 1991.
^ "New Releases: Singles". Music & Media. 9 March 1991.
^ "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 18 August 2017". Imgur.com. Retrieved 2017-08-18.