X (Liberty X Album) - Background

Background

After being dropped from the V2 Records label, the band were quick to sign a record deal with rival label Virgin Records, and began recording their third studio album in April 2005. The label decided the band should experiment with their sound, and thus, enlisted the help of their long-time collaborators Goldust and Lucas Secon, as well as working with new collaborators, including Jud Mahoney, Pete "Boxsta" Martin and Johnny Douglas. The band also enlisted the help of singer Jack Jones and rapper Rev Run, who feature on two of the album's ten new tracks. The band also decided to spice up four of their old classic hits, of which new mixes appear on the end of the album. The album's first single, "Song 4 Lovers", featuring Rev Run, was written and produced by band member Tony Lundon. For the track, Lundon experimented with the Gospel and Soul areas of pop, as well as venturing into hip-hop with the feature of Rev Run on the track.

The album's second single, "A Night to Remember", a cover of the Shalamar original, was released on November 16, 2005, as the official Children in Need single of the year. It was also backed with a brand new original recording, "Everybody Dance", written and once again produced by Lundon. Neither "A Night to Remember" nor "Everybody Dance" feature on the original edition of the album, they are only listed as the album's second single due to their inclusion on the 'Xtra Edition'. From January 2006, the band began touring the album on a small, theatre tour across the United Kingdom. Once the tour was complete, the band returned to film a music video for the track "X", featuring Jack Jones, which was released as the album's third and final single on June 19, 2006. Despite the release of a new single, and a re-issue of the album, entitled the 'Xtra Edition', released two weeks later featuring "A Night to Remember" and "Everybody Dance", the album only managed to peak at #27, and the band were dropped from the label shortly after. An Australian edition of the album, packaged with a bonus DVD containing several of the band's music videos, became the band's last ever official release anywhere in the world. "It's OK" and "Everybody Dance" were ommitted from certain versions of the album for contractual reasons.