Yes You Can

Yes You Can is the third studio album by British singer-songwriter Steve Harley. It was released by CTE in Europe in 1992 and by Food For Thought Records in the UK in 1993. Yes You Can was Harley's first studio album since 1979's The Candidate. It contains songs he wrote and originally recorded in the 1980s alongside newer material. The album was produced by Harley and Matt Butler, except "Rain in Venice" which was produced Mickie Most, Harley and Butler, and "Irresistible" which was produced by Most and Harley. Background After his success with Cockney Rebel in the 1970s, Harley was less active in the music industry during the 1980s. He released the occasional single, some of which became minor hits, and performed live on a limited basis only. In 1985, he signed a new contract with Mickie Most's Rak Records and began recording material for a new solo album, El Gran Senor, at RAK Studios in London. Some of the tracks recorded for the project included "Irresistible", "Rain in Venice", "New-Fashioned Way", "The Lighthouse", "Star for a Week", "Promises Promises", "Sophistication" and the 1970 Edwin Starr song "Oh How Happy". "Irresistible" was released as a single in 1985 and a remixed version was also issued as a single in the following year. The 1986 single announced the upcoming album El Gran Senor, but before it was released, RAK folded and was sold to EMI, and the album was shelved. Harley returned to touring with a new line-up of Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel in 1989. Before the tour, Harley and ex-Cockney Rebel members Duncan Mackay and Jim Cregan entered Point Studios in London to write and record four new songs, "Dancing on the Telephone", "When I'm with You", "The Alibi" and "Limbs of Man". In early 1989, Harley announced that an album of new material would be recorded in the summer and released in the autumn. Although no album materialised, Harley revealed in 1990 that work on the album was almost completed, but he was unsure when it would be released as he had no record deal. He listed the likely inclusions of the album as being "The Lighthouse", "Star for a Week", "Promises", "Victim of Love", "Dancing on the Telephone" and "Not Alone Anymore" - the latter being a cover of the 1988 song by the supergroup Traveling Wilburys.