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Refugees of the Heart
Studio album by Steve Winwood
Released	5 November 1990
Recorded	Winter 1989–Summer 1990
Studio	Netherturkdonic Studios (Gloucestershire, England, UK) Emerald Sound (Nashville, Tennessee, USA)
Genre	Rock, Blue-eyed soul, Pop
Length	46:59
Label	Virgin
Producer	Steve Winwood
Steve Winwood chronology
Roll with It (1988) Refugees of the Heart (1990) Junction Seven (1997)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Chicago Tribune
Robert Christgau
Entertainment Weekly	C−
Los Angeles Times
People	(Neutral)
Rolling Stone

Refugees of the Heart is the sixth solo studio album by Steve Winwood, released in 1990. The album contained the hit single, "One and Only Man", which topped the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, was #18 at Billboard's Hot 100 and saw the return of former Traffic bandmate Jim Capaldi to Winwood's songwriting team. A Traffic reunion followed in 1994, and because of that collaboration, Winwood would not record another solo album until late 1997. "I Will Be Here" and "Another Deal Goes Down" were also released as singles.

Winwood stated about the closing track, “In The Light Of Day”: 'When Will and I wrote the song (..) it was our idea of what Nelson Mandela's dream was, while he was in prison. It was really just a fantasy of ours, but that’s what we based the song on.'

Track listing

All songs written by Steve Winwood and Will Jennings except where noted.

1. "You'll Keep on Searching" – 6:15
2. "Every Day (Oh Lord)" – 5:44
3. "One and Only Man" – (Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi) 4:55
4. "I Will Be Here" – 5:50
5. "Another Deal Goes Down" – 4:55
6. "Running On" – 4:15
7. "Come Out and Dance" – 5:30
8. "In the Light of Day" – 9:35

Non-album tracks

• Always (instrumental)
• In the Light of Day (instrumental version)

"Always" was the b-side to "One and Only Man", while the instrumental version of "In the Light of Day" was the b-side to "I Will Be Here". The instrumental version, an edit of the album version's backing track, runs for about 6 minutes and contains some improvisational work at the end not found on the album version.

Personnel

• Steve Winwood – vocals, keyboards (1–6, 8), Hammond organ (1, 3–7), Minimoog solo (2), keyboard bass (3), guitar (3, 7), additional percussion (3), vibraphone solo (8), additional drums (8), keyboard programming, Fairlight programming, drum programming
• Mike Lawler – additional keyboards (1, 4)
• Anthony Crawford – guitar (1)
• Larry Byrom – guitar (2, 4, 6, 7), slide guitar (5)
• Michael Rhodes – bass guitar (1, 2, 4–7)
• Russ Kunkel – drums (1, 4, 5)
• Jim Capaldi – drums (2, 3, 7), percussion (3)
• Eddie Bayers – drums (6)
• Bashiri Johnson – percussion (1, 2, 4–8)
• Randall Bramblett – soprano saxophone (1), alto saxophone (7), tenor saxophone (8)
• Jim Horn – alto saxophone (4), baritone and tenor saxophones (7)
• Harvey Thomson – tenor saxophone (7)
• Michael Haynes – trumpet (7)

Production

• Produced by Steve Winwood
• Executive Producer and Management – John Clarke
• Engineered and Mixed by Tom Lord-Alge
• Assistant Engineer – Brian Harding (Nashville)
• Additional Engineering – Mick Dolan
• Mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound (New York, NY).
• Art Direction – Jeffrey Kent Ayeroff and Melanie Nissen
• Design – Mike Fink
• Photography – Andrew and Stuart Douglas

Charts

Certifications

References

1. "New Albums" (PDF). Music Week. 3 November 1990. p. 36. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
2. Ruhlmann, William. Refugees of the Heart at AllMusic. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
3. Kot, Greg (22 November 1990). "Steve Winwood: Refugees of the Heart (Virgin)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
4. Browne, David (23 November 1990). "Music Review : Steve Winwood : Refugees of the Heart (1990)". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 25 April 2009. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
5. Hunt, Dennis (4 November 1990). "Record Rack". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
6. Hiltbrand, David /Novak, Ralph / Abrahams, Andrew / Kaufman, Joanne / Small, Michael / Shea, Lisa (19 November 1990). "Picks and Pans Review: Refugees of the Heart". People. Retrieved 10 October 2013.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
7. "Robert Christgau: Album: Steve Winwood". Retrieved 7 March 2010.
8. Hunter, James. "Steve Winwood: Refugees of the Heart : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on 2 October 2007. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
9. "Australiancharts.com – Steve Winwood – Refugees of the Heart". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
10. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 9121". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
11. "Dutchcharts.nl – Steve Winwood – Refugees of the Heart" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
12. "Offiziellecharts.de – Steve Winwood – Refugees of the Heart" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
13. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
14. "Swedishcharts.com – Steve Winwood – Refugees of the Heart". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
15. "Swisscharts.com – Steve Winwood – Refugees of the Heart". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
16. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
17. "Steve Winwood Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
18. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 9145". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
19. "Canadian album certifications – Steve Winwood – Refugees of the Heart". Music Canada.
20. "American album certifications – Steve Winwood – Refugees of the Heart". Recording Industry Association of America.

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