Discovered by British producer Ian Levine, who was in the US in 1975 scouting for gospel and soul singers he could promote in the UK, the two recorded several tracks which resulted in a contract with 20th Century Records. Evelyn Thomas scored a chart hit with her first single, reaching the UK Top 30 in 1976 with the single "Weak Spot," co-written by Levine and Paul David Wilson . A follow-up single, "Doomsday", entered the UK charts twice but each time floundered in the lower reaches, and sticky contract issues complicated her newfound success, though Levine and Thomas would continue their association for quite some time. She signed to US label Casablanca Records for her first album release I Wanna Make It On My Own, released 1978. With Casablanca doing little to promote the LP, she switched to AVI Records for the double A-side 12" single "Have a Little Faith in Me" / "No Time to Turn Around" which prompted the label to release it as an LP, backed with Rick Gianatos' extended remixes of her 1976 tracks "My Head's in the Stars" and "Love's Not Just an Illusion". For a follow-up, Evelyn Thomas re-recorded three tracks from an aborted project by Levine's group Moonstone, "Love in the First Degree", "Summer on the Beach" and "Sleaze" (originally entitled "Out of the Ball Game") but with the disco backlash in the US, the tracks were left unreleased.
Although disco music had been declared "dead" in the US in a backlash in 1979, several songs which continued and advanced the exuberant surge of uptempo dance music managed to scale the US pop charts in the intervening years, notably Blondie's "Call Me" in 1980, Laura Branigan's "Gloria" in 1982, and Irene Cara's "Flashdance (What A Feeling)" in 1983. Unwilling to use the term "disco", the phrase "High Energy" had come into usage, probably, begun in England in the early 1980s. By 1984, Ian Levine had re-established himself as a producer and asked Evelyn Thomas to come to London to record a new track "High Energy". Just few weeks after it was released, it zoomed up the charts all over Europe - peaking at No. 1 in Germany and No. 5 in the UK, selling a total of 7,000,000 copies worldwide. In the US it hit No. 1 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart, selling 250,000 copies. The song was her only Billboard Hot 100 entry, peaking at #85, although three additional songs hit the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. By 1984, the phrase had become embraced as a term by DJs across Europe and in the States, particularly in gay clubs where DJs who preferred to play records that surpassed a certain BPM (Beats Per Minute) threshold found many mainstream hits lagging in tempo. Evolving around that time to the abbreviated "Hi-Energy," the term soon became further shortened to "Hi-NRG", and was still widely in use more than three decades later to describe a certain genre of uptempo dance music
The follow-up single "Masquerade" was taken from her third album High Energy, released the same year. While it received heavy rotation in European clubs, it failed to break into the UK Top 40. In the US the song was a top-twenty Dance hit. The following year, "Heartless" became her only single other than "High Energy" to chart outside of the Club/Dance charts in the United States. "Heartless" peaked at #84 on the Black Singles chart (later renamed the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart) in 1985.
Though she would not return to the US pop or R&B charts, US dancefloors continued to move to the fast beat of Evelyn Thomas. With a cover of the Supremes' 1967 hit "Reflections", updated in her Hi-NRG style, Thomas peaked at #18 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in 1986, the same year in which Kim Wilde had a similarly styled hit with the Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On". A second Thomas release that summer fared even better on those charts, as "How Many Hearts" narrowly missed the top 10. The two songs would later appear on Thomas' fourth album release, Standing at the Crossroads, in 1987. In late 1987, the single "No Win Situation" shot to #1 on the now defunct UK Hi-NRG chart. After the singles "Only Once in a Lifetime" (1988) and "This Is Madness" (1989), both on Levine's Nightmare Records label, Thomas withdrew from the music business.
In spring 1997, Redemption featuring Evelyn Thomas had a minor US club hit with the track "Tell The World".
A new remix of her largest hit was released in 2004 as "High Energy 2004" and became a worldwide gay club hit. The remix was released on Dance Street/ZYX Records out of Germany in early 2005. The remix secured moderate radio and club play Stateside. This song was then ripped off by Daz Sampson in 2005 who tried to get it released in the UK before the Germans could release their remix.
In May 2008, Evelyn Thomas took part in the major RTL Disco Tour, performing in 15 cities throughout France. While in Europe, Thomas completed several new recordings in different countries with the aim of making a comeback. She has teamed up with Ian Levine for the first time in 20 years, recording the tracks "Pounding the Pavement", "One in a Million" and "I Can't Give You the World". She has recorded four tracks, "Stick to the Plan", "Missing the Target", "Infidelity" and the ballad "Why Must the Sunrise" for a diva album called The Plan for Night Dance Records, produced by Scandinavian songwriter Soren Jensen in collaboration with Clive Scott, formerly of Jigsaw. Thomas has also teamed up with French team Evolusound for a single release, "Prove It", written and produced by Frank Savannah and remixed by Laurent Schark.
In 2009, Thomas released a duet with Carol Jiani, "Are You Man Enough", produced by the Australian team of Peter Wilson and Chris Richards aka T1 Productions
Heartless
Evelyn Thomas Lyrics
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All of this time I, I thought you were free
What kind of man are you to lead a double life?
You spend your nights with me
Then go home to your wife
I won't be caught up in a three-way love affair
Your empty promises are scattererd in the air
So many times you told me
I was the one
You were the guy, I built my hopes upon
'Till my friend talked about her marriage last year
When I saw the picture, everything was clear
How could you be so heartless?
Letting me think, you'd spend your life with me
How could you be so heartless?
All of this time, I thought you were free
My patients with you is wearing very thin
Don't waste your time
'Cause I won't let you in
I won't be used, not for one day more
I want you to leave and I'm showin' you the door
I can't face my friend, knowing what is true
I hope she never finds out about you
Forever your gone, I still have my pride
I won't le you know, I'm hurting inside
How could you be so heartless?
Letting me think, you'd spend your life with me
How could you be so heartless?
All of this time, I thought you were free
I don't want to break up
Somebody's happy home
I'd rather spend, all my life alone
You're cheatin' on my friend
And she hasn't got a clue
I don't want to be the one
To tell her about you, you, you
How could you be so heartless?
All of this time, I thought you were free
How can you stand there, look me in the eye?
Maybe I should laugh, or maybe I should cry
Our love was gonna last, 'till the end of time
But all your alibis aren't even worth a dime
Without you in my life
I'll still get along
Oh it's tough baby, I'm gonna be strong
I don't wanna see you after today
There's nothing else, for us to say
How could you be so heartless?
Letting me think, you'd spend your life with me
How could you be so heartless?
All of this time, I thought you were free
How could you be so heartless?
Letting me think, you'd spend your life with me
How could you be so heartless?
All of this time, I thought you were free
"Heartless" is a song about betrayal and heartbreak. It tells the story of a woman who thought she had found love and commitment in her partner, only to discover that he has been leading a double life, cheating on her with his wife. The woman refuses to participate in a three-way love affair and decides to leave her partner. She struggles with the idea of informing her friend about the situation, but ultimately decides not to break up a happy home. The lyrics convey a sense of disappointment, anger, and sadness, as the woman comes to terms with the reality of the situation and the loss of the love she thought she had.
The song's theme of betrayal and heartbreak resonated with many listeners, and it became a hit when it was released in 1984. It was particularly popular in the dance and club scenes, where its upbeat tempo and catchy chorus made it a favorite on dance floors. The song's popularity was aided by Evelyn Thomas's powerful vocals and emotive delivery, which captured the raw emotions of the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
How could you be, so heartless?
What kind of person are you to be so unkind?
All of this time I, I thought you were free
I believed you were available and not committed to someone else
What kind of man are you to lead a double life?
What kind of person are you to deceive two people by living two separate lives?
You spend your nights with me
You are in a romantic relationship with me during the night
Then go home to your wife
However, you are in a romantic relationship with your wife during the day
I won't be caught up in a three-way love affair
I refuse to engage in and be part of a romantic relationship involving three people
Your empty promises are scattered in the air
The promises you've made to me are hollow, and I can't rely on them
So many times you told me, I was the one
You repeatedly assured me that I was the only one you loved
You were the guy, I built my hopes upon
You were the person I placed my hopes and dreams of a future with
'Till my friend talked about her marriage last year
It wasn't until my friend spoke to me about her own marriage last year
When I saw the picture, everything was clear
That I saw a picture or evidence that revealed the truth about you, and it all became clear to me
My patients with you is wearing very thin
My tolerance for you is diminishing, and I'm growing impatient
Don't waste your time, 'Cause I won't let you in
Don't bother trying to approach me or win me over because I won't change my mind
I won't be used, not for one day more
I won't allow you to continue to use me any longer
I want you to leave and I'm showing you the door
I want you to physically leave me alone, so I'm directing you toward the exit
I can't face my friend, knowing what is true
I can't confront my friend now that I know the truth about you
I hope she never finds out about you
I hope she remains unaware of your infidelity and deceit
Forever your gone, I still have my pride
Even though you're no longer in my life, I still have my self-respect and dignity
I won't let you know, I'm hurting inside
I won't let you see the pain and sadness I feel inside
I don't want to break up somebody's happy home
I don't want to ruin someone else's successful relationship/marriage
I'd rather spend all my life alone
I would rather live my life being single than to be part of a love triangle or secretive relationship
You're cheating on my friend, and she hasn't got a clue
You are being unfaithful to my friend, and she is completely unaware of it
I don't want to be the one to tell her about you, you, you
I do not want to be the person who has to convey the unpleasant and painful truth to my friend and break her heart
How can you stand there, look me in the eye?
How can you have the audacity to face me and make eye contact?
Maybe I should laugh, or maybe I should cry
I'm conflicted about what emotions I should be feeling - perhaps I should respond with laughter or tears
Our love was gonna last, 'till the end of time
Our relationship had the potential to be forever
But all your alibis aren't even worth a dime
All of your excuses and explanations for your dishonesty are meaningless and of no value
Without you in my life, I'll still get along
I will be able to carry on with my life without you in it
Oh it's tough baby, I'm gonna be strong
It's a difficult situation, but I'll remain strong and persevere
I don't wanna see you after today
I don't want any further contact or interaction with you
There's nothing else, for us to say
There's nothing left to be said between us
Writer(s): Kanye West
Contributed by Savannah N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Jorge Ledesma
La gran Evelyn Thomas y sus temas inolvidables.
DJ PAT 77
j adore !!!
Cristian Molina
So underrated
Tony Christoffel
Exactly
Lenard Shaw
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟👍🔥
Kelly Townsend
Man. Words fail. Don't forget this time Kelly
NEIL EGAN
OK Player list of tracks played By Larry Levan at Paradise Garage NYC brought me here in 2021