Tear Down These Walls

Tear Down These Walls is the seventh studio album by British singer Billy Ocean, released in February 1988 by Jive Records as the follow-up to Ocean's critically and commercially successful 1986 album Love Zone.

Background
The album's title is a reference to then-President Ronald Reagan's "tear down this wall!" speech. It features guest backing vocals from artists including the Manhattans, Will Downing, Carroll Thompson, and Mary Cassidy, and is generally regarded as the culmination of the smoother, more adult-oriented sound of Ocean's later work.

One of Ocean's most commercially successful studio albums, it went on to peak at number 3 on the UK Albums Chart and reached number 18 on the US Billboard 200. The album launched four charting singles in the UK: "Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car" peaked at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart; "Calypso Crazy" peaked at 35; "The Colour of Love" at 65 and "Stand and Deliver" at 97.

"Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car" was Ocean's third and final number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and his fourth and final number-one R&B hit in that country. The song topped pop charts in several other countries, including Australia, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Norway. "The Colour of Love" was a top 20 pop hit in the US and Canada, and Ocean's tenth and final top-10 hit on the US R&B chart.

Tear Down These Walls was released in 39 versions, including a unique Mini CD version (three 3" CDs) for the UK.

The album was re-released on 16 June 2014 on Cherry Pop featuring rare bonus content. The reissue is a two-CD set with the original album digitally remastered from the original 1/2″ mix tapes; the bonus content consists of associated 7″ and 12″ mixes.

Critical reception
On release, the album received generally favourable reviews by music critics. In a retrospective review for AllMusic, critic Ron Wynn gave the album three out of five stars and wrote that "While he was still a successful attraction, this album wouldn't reach the multi-platinum levels of its predecessors." also noting that "Ocean's voice also lacked the resonance and authority it had on earlier dance tunes and wasn't as convincing or confident on ballads."

Personnel
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.

Musicians


 * Billy Ocean – vocals
 * Dave Collard, Mitchel Forman, Rob Lord, Brenda Nicholas, Phil Nicholas, Eric Rehl and V. Jeffrey Smith – keyboards, synthesizers
 * Pete Q. Harris and Phil Nicholas – Fairlight programming
 * Jonathan Butler, Steve Byrd, Mike Campbell and Ira Siegel – guitars
 * Paul Bruce and Jolyon Skinner – bass
 * Richard Bailey, Terry Silverlight and Buddy Williams – drums
 * Charles Dougherty, Wesley Magoogan and Lenny Pickett – saxophones
 * Clifton Anderson – trombone
 * Mac Gollehon and Ron Tooley – trumpet
 * Richard Hendrickson and Edith Wint – cello
 * Phillip Ballou, Ethel Beatty, Mary Cassidy, Will Downing, Lani Groves, Yolanda Lee Lewis, the Manhattans, Cindy Mizelle, Brenda Nelson, Vaneese Thomas, Carroll Thompson, Bernita Turner and Andrey Wheeler – backing vocals

Production and artwork
 * Producers – Robert John "Mutt" Lange (tracks 1, 5 and 6); Barry J. Eastmond and Wayne Braithwaite (tracks 2, 3, 4 and 7–10)
 * Recording Engineers – Jerry Peal and Steve Power; assisted by Bruce Robbins and Chris Trevitt
 * Mixing – Nigel Green (tracks 1–7 and 10); Bryan "Chuck" New (tracks 8 and 9)
 * Sleeve design – Zombart (Jonathan Elliot and Ben Wilson).
 * Additional design and layout – Jim @ Wolf Graphics
 * Photography – Iain McKell
 * Liner notes – Michael Silvester