"Suddenly" is a song recorded by Australian singer Angry Anderson for his debut solo album, Beats From a Single Drum. The track was first released via Mushroom Records in Australia during July 1987. It was written by Anderson, Andy Chicon and Kevin Beamish, with the latter serving as the song's producer. "Suddenly" was used in the Australian soap opera Neighbours during an episode which featured a wedding. It was selected by Neighbours cast member Kylie Minogue, who thought the song was lyrically "beautiful". The song's release coincided with the broadcast and it reached number two on the ARIA Singles Chart. "Suddenly" peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart. In addition the song also charted in the European countries Ireland, Belgium and Netherlands. In 2012, Anderson stated that "Suddenly" is the best song he has ever written.
Background and release
"Suddenly" was produced by Kevin Beamish and written by Angry Anderson, Andy Chicon and Beamish. It was recorded at Rhinoceros Studios in Sydney, Australia for his debut solo album "Beats From a Single Drum". The song is a ballad that marked a departure from Anderson's usual heavy rock sound. He later reflected in a "I've helped write some monster rock and roll songs and I'm just as proud to take credit for co-writing a beautiful love song." In 2012, Anderson told a reporter from TV Week that "Suddenly" is the best song he has ever written. Anderson has stated that the song "is about a man coming to a point in his life when he says 'I know who I am, and I don't mind revealing myself and being vulnerable.'" Another inspirations for the song's lryics was Anderson's daughter and being a good father. He later explained that "it was about that all consuming love that we have for our children. This song was liberating, and was about what I was in the past and who I was about to become." A music video was filmed and released to promote the single. It featured various camera close ups of Anderson's face. The song was famously used in the Australian soap opera Neighbours, during the wedding of the characters Scott Robinson and Charlene Mitchell. "Suddenly" was released via Mushroom Records in July 1987 to coincide with the broadcast of the wedding episode. One misconception about the song is that it was written especially for Neighbours, but Anderson wrote it long before its use on the show. Minogue was also partly responsible for selecting music to feature in the wedding episode. Mushroom Records also supplied music to Neighbours and gave her choices from their catalogue. Anderson has claimed that Minogue was "adamant" that "Suddenly" was used for the wedding. Anderson has stated that Minogue wanted to use the song because she understood its meaning and thought it was lyrically "beautiful". The director of the episode Rod Hardy disliked the song after his producer Reg Watson finalised its use. Despite advising against its use, Hardy later reflected that "Suddenly" became a "huge hit" and has forever been synonymous with the wedding.
Critical reception
Wendy Tuohy from The Age branded the song as "another el soppo effort from the now not-so-aggressive-but-still-relatively-tough Mr Anderson." She opined that it sounded like a cross between a Joan Sutherland and Frankie Avalon song. Tuohy added that he sings "oozingly" over piano music and what she thought to be the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. She concluded that this "could be the doughy result of too much head-banging." Rod Quinn from the publication branded it a "romantic ballad". Jon O'Brien writing for Metro said that Anderson's "ridiculously bombastic power ballad Suddenly proved to be the perfect fit" for the Neighbours wedding episode. Thomas Mitchell from TV Week branded it a "nostalgic power ballad". Ben Fenion from HuffPost positive review and stated that "the song that has those that know it lip-synching and air-grabbing for their lives." Kevin Wuench from the Tampa Bay Times described "Suddenly" as a "uncharacteristic power ballad" for Anderson, adding it was a "soap opera hit". The song's legacy saw it become a popular wedding song. In 2011, it was featured on the Now! series release titled "NOW That’s What I Call a Wedding", a compilation of famous wedding songs.
Chart performance
"Suddenly" entered Australia's ARIA Charts at number thirty-four. It peaked at number two in its fourth week the chart. The song spent sixteen consecutive weeks on the chart's top forty. The Neighbours episode it featured in was watched by twenty million viewers in the United Kingdom. It was released in the UK as a 7" vinyl single via Food for Thought records. It also featured a b-side track titled "Falling". It subsequently charted at number three on the UK Singles Chart and spent thirteen weeks on the chart. Following its release in Ireland, the song peaked at number three and spent seven weeks on the chart. In 1989, the song peaked at thirty-one in Belgium and sixty-nine in the Netherlands.
Cover versions
The Australian singer Sam Clark covered the song for his first studio album, Take Me Home. Clark's version was used in Neighbours episode 5998 broadcast on 25 August 2010, as his character, Ringo Brown, married Donna Freedman. Clark released his version of "Suddenly" in the United Kingdom as a double A-side with "Devastated".
