Someone's Coming

"Someone's Coming"
Single by Steve Harley
from the album Hobo with a Grin
B-side	"Riding the Waves (For Virginia Woolf)"
Released	23 February 1979[1]
Format	7"
Genre	Pop, Rock
Label	EMI Records
Writer(s)	Steve Harley, Jo Partridge
Producer(s)	Steve Harley
Steve Harley singles chronology
"Roll the Dice" (1978) "Someone's Coming" (1979) "Freedom's Prisoner" (1979)

"Someone's Coming" is a song by British singer-songwriter Steve Harley, released as the second and final single in 1979, from his 1978 debut solo album Hobo with a Grin.^[2] "Someone's Coming" was written by Harley and guitarist Jo Partridge, who was in Harley's band Cockney Rebel from 1976-1977. It was produced by Harley.^[3]

Background

Following the commercial failure of the lead single "Roll the Dice", plans were made for "Someone's Coming" to be released as the follow-up. The song was due to be released on 10 November 1978,^[4] however the release date was later pushed back to 23 February 1979.^[1] For the single release, a remixed version of the song was used.^[5][4] "Someone's Coming" was also a commercial failure, failing to make an appearance on the UK Singles Chart.

The song, like the album, was recorded and released following Harley's return from living in America for the past year.^[6] Like the entire Hobo with a Grin album, the song was either recorded at Sunset Sound, EMI Studio/Abbey Road or Record Plant in Los Angeles. Any remixing or additional recording was done in Los Angeles as well, while the song and the album was mixed at Sunset Sound Recorders, Hollywood, California.^[7]

In The Morning Call of 23 September 1978, an American daily newspaper for Allentown, Pennsylvania, an article/interview with Harley was written by Len Righi, and spoke of the song originally being written for Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, with the article stating "The first track on side two, "Someone's Coming," is one of the oldest songs on the Harley LP." Harley was quoted, noting "That's Cockney Rebel." In relation to Marc Bolan's appearance playing guitar on the album track "Amerika the Brave", Harley stated "The last time Marc went in the studio was for 'Amerika the Brave'. He also can be heard singing background on 'Someone's Coming,' though he's not credited. Bolan was a close friend. I had known him for a couple of years. We were a lot different. He was much more of an extrovert than me, but we grew very close. They say opposites attract."^[8] Bolan also played acoustic guitar on the song, but was again uncredited.

Release

The single was released via 7" vinyl through EMI Records in the UK only.^[9] A UK promotional demo copy/DJ copy of the single was also released.^[10] The single did not have any artwork, and came in a generic company sleeve instead.^[11]

The single featured the B-Side "Riding the Waves (For Virginia Woolf)" which was written and produced by Harley. It was an album track from Hobo with a Grin, and would later be re-recorded for Harley's 1996 album Poetic Justice.^[12]

Following the original release as a single and on the Hobo with a Grin album, the song has appeared on the Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel 1988 Castle Communications compilation The Collection as part of the label's "The Collector Series".^[13]

Promotion

Unlike "Roll the Dice", no music video was created for the single.

Track listing

7" Single

1. "Someone's Coming"
2. "Riding the Waves (For Virginia Woolf)" - 4:34

Critical reception

In a review of the Hobo with a Grin album in Disc Magazine by Rosalind Russell at the time of release, the review mentioned the song, stating "The definition he had with Cockney Rebel has melted, he's gone fuzzy round the edges. And it bores me to death. His dream isn't my dream and the second hand images are too vague for me to grasp. He's also become surprisingly soppy. I can appreciate the idea behind 'Someone's Coming' for instance, but the emotion drenched drama is too strong to stomach. This track, like most of the others, suffers from an oddly old fashioned arrangement. While his back - up vocalists Gloria Jones and Yvonne Keeley are without doubt talented singers, their place in the plan is strange: the way they're used is just years out of date."^[14]

In the American newspaper The Morning Call article and interview with Harley, author Len Righi had commented on the song, stating "One of the best things about the song is Jo Partridge's guitar work."^[8]

George Starostin reviewed the Hobo with a Grin album for his website and spoke of the song, stating "Someone's Coming and Hot Youth aren't nearly as thrilling, though (even if the strings on the former are of prime Cockney Rebel quality), and overall, it's not like I'm saying there's no filler or anything. There is, and like I said, occasionally Steve just rambles so much he forgets about the music (although even this isn't such a terrible crime, seeing as how Harley's lyrics are always intriguing). But it's just one of those albums that is so infused with personality, albeit a shaky, insecure one, you can't really reject it as 'crap' without feeling ashamed. Here's this witty intelligent guy who's obviously trying and often succeeding... and he does try to come up with interesting musical ideas, not something you'd expect from somebody just obsessed with venting out his feelings and that's it."^[15]

Personnel

Someone's Coming

• Producer on "Someone's Coming" - Steve Harley
• Additional Production, mixer - Michael J. Jackson
• Engineers – Tony Clark, James Isaacson
• Assistant Engineer – Hayden Bendall
• Remixing, Additional Recording – James Isaacson
• Strings Arrangement – Jimmy Horowitz
• Lead Vocals - Steve Harley
• Backing Vocals – Gloria Jones, Yvonne Keeley, Marc Bolan (uncredited)
• Bass – George Ford
• Congas – Lindsay Elliot
• Drums – Stuart Elliot
• Acoustic Guitar - Marc Bolan (uncredited)
• Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar – Jo Partridge
• Electric Piano – Duncan Mackay
• Tambourine – James Isaacson
• Writers of "Someone's Coming" - Steve Harley, Jo Partridge

Riding the Waves (For Virginia Woolf)

• Producer on "Riding the Waves (For Virginia Woolf)" - Steve Harley
• Additional Production, mixer - Michael J. Jackson
• Engineer, Remixing, Additional Recording – James Isaacson
• Lead Vocals - Steve Harley
• Acoustic Guitar, Guitar (Electric Lead Solo) – Jo Partridge
• Backing Vocals – Bill Champlin, Bobby Kimball, Tom Kelley
• Bass – Bob Glaub
• Drums – Rick Schlosser
• Electric Guitar – Greg Porée
• Electric Piano, Synthesizer – Duncan Mackay
• Piano – Bill Payne
• Writer of "Riding the Waves (For Virginia Woolf)" - Steve Harley

References