Lock and Key Video - Julia Fordham

What this video is

Released in 1989 as the lead single from Julia Fordham's second album Porcelain, 'Lock and Key' arrived at a pivotal moment for UK adult contemporary pop. Fordham had debuted in 1988 on Virgin/Circa Records with 'Happy Ever After' and was positioning herself as part of a distinctly British lineage of literate, orchestrally-informed female singer-songwriters. Porcelain charted at No. 13 in the UK and No. 74 in the…

Why it matters

This video documents the sophisti-pop moment in British music when adult contemporary artists were given substantial promotional video budgets to court both domestic and American audiences. The high editorial pace (174 cuts, 1.50s avg shot) applied to a slow-burn romantic ballad is a telling…