3 Facts About Tim Curry’s Solo Album ‘Fearless’

Actor Tim Curry built his career on on memorable role after another, from the eccentric Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show to Long John Silver in Muppet Treasure Island. But his career began in musical theater, thanks to his deep, classically trained voice. Like plenty of other stars of the stage, he also pursued a career in music, although it was short-lived.

“Of course, I would have loved to have broken through as a singer. Alas… I did not,” he wrote in his memoir, Vagabond.

‘Fearless’ was his second album


Curry released three solo albums between the 1978 and 1981. The second, Fearless, was released in 1979 and contained mostly original songs, unlike its predecessor, which was largely a cover album. Fearless was the most commercially successful of the three, peaking at No. 53 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spawning a hit single. His third album, Simplicity, was a success in Canada, hitting No. 45 on the album charts. In 2010, Curry released …From the Vaults, his original debut album which had been recorded in 1976, then was shelved.

It features Alice Cooper’s guitarist

Some of the same musicians who had worked on Curry’s debut album, Read My Lips, returned for Fearless, including composer and keyboardist Michael Kamen and guitarist Dick Wagner, who both also served as the album’s producers. Wagner was best known for playing with Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, and Kiss. Kamen had an impressive career, as well, including a stint working as David Bowie’s musical director. Wagner and Kamen both accompanied Curry on tour in support of the albums. At the time, Curry called his band “an extraordinary mixture of people.”

“I Do the Rock” was a minor hit


The lead single from Fearless, “I Do the Rock,” was a minor hit on the Billboard charts in 1979. It peaked at No. 91 and stayed on the charts for three weeks. A second single, “Paradise Garage,” was also released in some countries, and although it wasn’t as successful, it did get its own music video. In 2007, Curry’s song “Sloe Gin,” from his debut album, found a new audience when blues rock musician Joe Bonamassa released his own take on it. He also covered “No Love on the Street” from Fearless.

Photo by Peter Noble/Redferns