Foolish Behaviour

Stewart's Wings And Passion Peak

Released as a vinyl LP in the UK on November 21, 1980, on Riva Records (catalogue: RVLP 11 / HS 3485), Rod Stewart’s Foolish Behaviour was his tenth studio album. Produced by Harry The Hook (with The Rod Stewart Group) and Tom Dowd, this 10-track rock triumph — recorded at Record Plant and Cherokee Studios, Los Angeles — featured “Passion,” “Better Off Dead,” and “She Won't Dance With Me.” Peaked at No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart for 13 weeks. Issued in Orlake, WEA, and SNA pressings, with European cassette variant. A bold ‘80s Stewart classic.

The video for the song, "She Won't Dance With Me," was the third to air on MTV when the channel launched on August 1, 1981. The lyrics include the word "f ck," which was censored with a foghorn sound over the word and a rudimentary superimposed heron covering Stewart's mouth. To keep a sense of continuity, the heron reappears briefly around the 2:00 mark, where it attacks the backing singers before flying away.

Album Overview

Release Details

Label: Riva Records.

Formats: Vinyl LP (Orlake/WEA/SNA pressings), cassette (Europe).

Full Track Listing (all formats)

Side A

1. Better Off Dead

2. Passion

3. Foolish Behaviour

4. So Soon We Change

5. Oh God, I Wish I Was Home Tonight

Side B

1. Gi' Me Wings

2. My Girl

3. She Won't Dance With Me

4. Somebody Special

5. Say It Ain't True

Cassette Album (456865) – Europe

Side A

1. Foolish Behaviour

2. Better Off Dead

3. Oh God, I Wish I Was Home Tonight

4. Give Me Wings

5. I Just Wanna Make Love To You

6. She Won't Dance With Me

Side B

1. Say It Ain't True

2. My Girl

3. So Soon We Change

4. Somebody Special

5. Passion

UK Variants

- LP, Album, Orlake Pressing – Riva RVLP 11 – UK – 1980

- LP, Album, WEA Pressing – Riva RVLP 11 / HS 3485 – UK – 1980

- LP, Album, SNA Pressing – Riva RVLP 11 / HS 3485 – UK – 1980

- Cassette, Album – Warner Bros. 456865 – Europe – 1980

Personnel

Rod Stewart – vocals, harmonica

Jim Cregan (A 5 all guitars ), Gary Grainger (Dobro A 3 ), Billy Peek (A 1, B 3) – guitar

Phil Chen, Tim Bogert (B 1–B 3), James Haslip (A 5) – bass guitar

Carmine Appice – drums, timpani

Colin Allen (A 5, B 4, B 5), Roger Bethelmy (A 4) – drums

Kevin Savigar, John Jarvis – keyboards

Paulinho Da Costa – percussion

Phil Kenzie, Earl Price, James Gordon – saxophone

Billy Lamb, Jim Price – trombone

Lee Thornburg – trumpet

Sid Page – violin

Susan Grindell, Valerie Carter, Dianne Steinberg, Dee Archer, Tony Brock, The Rod Stewart Group – backing vocals

Del Newman – string arrangements

Production and Context

Produced by Harry The Hook (with The Rod Stewart Group) and Tom Dowd. Recorded February–September 1980 at Record Plant & Cherokee Studios, Los Angeles. Guests: Phil Chen (bass), Carmine Appice (drums), Jim Cregan & Gary Grainger (guitars), Kevin Savigar (keyboards), Paulinho Da Costa (percussion), Phil Kenzie (sax).

Singles Released

"Passion"

Released: October 1980

"My Girl"

Released: December 1980

"Somebody Special"

Released: March 1981 (US)

"Oh God, I Wish I Was Home Tonight"

Released: March 1981 (UK)

"Gi' Me Wings"

Released: May 1981 (Japan)

Album Chart Performance

- UK: 4 (13 weeks) – entry 22 Nov 1980

Legacy and Collectibility

Foolish Behaviour is Rod Stewart’s passionate ‘80s rock return. Original UK Riva pressings (Orlake/WEA/SNA) Verify catalogue RVLP 11.

Streams on Spotify preserve the foolish fire. This LP is a must-have for Rod Stewart collectors.

Do you have Foolish Behaviour in your vinyl stack? Is passion still your fuel? Share in the comments!

Sources

Information is drawn from my personal knowledge and supplemented by web sources, including Discogs, 45cat, AllMusic, Rate Your Music, Wikipedia, BBC Official Charts Company, Billboard Chart History and YouTube