Back in the 1980s, it is said the three most photographed women in England were Princess Diana, Margaret Thatcher… and Samantha Fox. Something rather wild to consider, Fox began her modeling career at a young age and not before long would become one of the most popular around. A major success, still, there was no hiding her true passion: forever and always music.
Initially forming her first band when she was fourteen, Fox actually had a record deal with Lamborghini Records at fifteen. A dream come true for someone who had dreamed of singing her entire life, unfortunately due to her own inexperience and Lamborghini Records (which closed up after only three years of existence), little materialized with singles such as 1983’s “Rocking with My Radio” or 1984’s “Aim to Win.”
An experience that could have smothered Fox’s musical aspirations; fortunately, she had the drive to keep her hopes alive and thus landed a record deal with Jive Records. A well-known label that initially had a roster of Hip Hop and R&B artists back in the ‘80s, like DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince and Billy Ocean, Fox would help diversify their roster. In fact, Fox’s success as a Pop act could have arguably assisted Jive Records in diving into the genre far deeper a decade later, along with others like Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, and Britney Spears.
This leads to the next question: Just how successful was Samantha Fox with Jive Records? Well, her 1986 debut album Touch Me made a significant impact on international music charts. An album that set a standard for Fox, it was led by the chart-topping single “Touch Me (I Want Your Body),” which hit number three on the UK Singles Charts and four on the US Billboard Hot 100. A song with mixed Electronic Dance and heavier Rock guitars, Fox had an edge that was appealing to a wide range of audiences.
With this in mind, the Touch Me album also included three other big international singles like the rocking “Do Ya Do Ya (Wanna Please Me),” “Hold On Tight,” and “I’m All You Need,” all which helped it make it to number twenty-four on the US Billboard Charts, number sixteen on UK Charts, but also go gold in the US, silver in the UK, and platinum in several other countries! Becoming one of the hottest Pop stars on the scene at the time, in a 2019 interview with Cryptic Rock Magazine, Fox reflected on everything, stating –
“It was the busiest four years of my life. I made the first two albums in England and the second two albums in New York when I lived there. Then, after making the album, we spent a lot of time traveling the world, maybe three to four countries a week. We would do all the major chat shows, TV shows performing a new song, interviews with newspapers/magazines, and then get a tour in there somewhere.”
No doubt a whirlwind for a young person, with everything moving at a rapid pace, 1987 saw the release of the self-titled Samantha Fox, with the singer once again topping charts. A sophomore album that built on the Electronic Rock sound, it featured big singles like “I Surrender (To The Spirit of the Night),” “I Promise You,” “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Me Now,” “True Devotion,” and of course, “Naughty Girls (Need Love Too)” which became Fox’s biggest single in the US market, peaking at Number three in June of 1988. Interestingly, this perfect companion to “Touch Me” became one of the most popular 1988 songs in the world.
All of these matters quickly transformed Samantha Fox from a hot trend to one of the most famous stars worldwide by the late ‘80s; just like that, her third album, I Wanna Have Some Fun, dropped in late 1988. Astoundingly, three times was a charm… because it was yet another hit.
Spawning three massive singles in “Love House,” “I Only Wanna Be With You” (which was originally a huge hit for Dusty Springfield in 1964), there was also “I Wanna Have Some Fun,” which became Fox’s third top ten single in the US. This time, an album that leaned much heavily toward Dance Pop styling, there was plenty to enjoy from a singer who was completely hitting a stride.
Overall, it was a wild ride of continued success thanks to hard work that developed into tremendous life experiences that Fox will never forget. Memories she put into words in her 2017 book Forever, in the last decade-plus, there has been much celebration of her music in the form of special reissues such as 2012’s remastered reissues by Cherry Records of Touch Me, Samantha Fox and I Wanna Have Some Fun.
All of these feature some cool bonus tracks, and they are great additions to any music fan collection. However, there is no need to just revel in nostalgia because Fox has also continued to tour in recent years, with various dates lined up around Europe in 2025. If that were not enough, each of her first three albums is now being re-released for the very first time ever on vinyl. A series of new pressings from the UK’s Demon Music, arriving on February 25, 2025, each features special and unique qualities.
To start with, Touch Me is presented as a black vinyl splattered with white and pink accents. Then there is Samantha Fox, which is pressed to a really lovely transparent caramel vinyl with gold and silver splatter. Finally, there is I Wanna Have Some Fun with a transparent red vinyl with black and yellow splatter. All stunning to look at, each is packaged in the original classic artwork with high-quality 140-gram vinyl that features all the tracks from the original releases. Beyond this, for those interested, you can look into very limited picture disc editions for both Touch Me and the self-titled album.
Overall, these new vinyl copies of Samantha Fox’s first three albums are extremely attractive from a visual standpoint and also in terms of sound quality. A fitting celebration of Samantha Fox’s legacy, Cryptic Rock highly recommends picking up copies and gives this trio of releases 5 out of 5 stars.
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