Greatest Hits (Thompson Twins album)
Encyclopedia
Greatest Hits is a compilation album by British
pop
band Thompson Twins
, released in 1996
on the Arista Records
label.
It is the group's very first compilation
of singles
, the remix
collection Greatest Mixes
having already been released a couple of years earlier in 1988
, mainly promoted by the popular remix
"In the Name of Love '88." Greatest Hits includes all of Thompson Twins' singles from 1982
to 1987, omitting earlier minor tracks from their UK
debut album, A Product of ... (Participation)
, and the later single "Sugar Daddy," the last mainstream hit they had in the U.S., taken from their unsuccessful 1989
album Big Trash
. Though Thompson Twins' previous album, 1987's Close to the Bone
, was also a flop, both singles taken from it--"Get That Love" and "Long Goodbye"--are included here.
Thompson Twins' first singles collection chronologically compiles the following songs by the band's three different lineups (big band
in the early years, three-piece group
from 1983 to 1987, and duo in the later years): "In the Name of Love," which is the one track from their 1982 album Set
; four tracks from their 1983 album Quick Step and Side Kick
(their first as a trio
), "Lies," "We Are Detective," "If You Were Here," and "Love on Your Side"; all five singles from their most successful long playing work, 1984
's Into the Gap
, namely "Hold Me Now," "Doctor! Doctor!," "You Take Me Up," "Sister of Mercy," and the album semi-title track, "The Gap," which was only released as a single in some territories outside Britain
; three of the four singles from their last album as a three-piece band, 1985
's Here's to Future Days
, namely "Don't Mess with Doctor Dream," "Lay Your Hands on Me," and "King for a Day" (the omitted fourth single being The Beatles
' cover
"Revolution"); the two singles from their first work as a duo, 1987's Close to the Bone
, namely "Get That Love" and "Long Goodbye"; and "Nothing in Common
," from the 1986 film of the same name.
Thompson Twins released one more unsuccessful album
after the span of time covered on this compilation. 1991
's Queer generated two more singles: "Come Inside" and "The Saint." Though these were minor hits—and quite popular in clubs—neither would be included on the band's next greatest hits collection either: the double disc Love on Your Side - The Best of Thompson Twins
, issued in 2007
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
band Thompson Twins
Thompson Twins
The Thompson Twins were a British pop group that were formed in April 1977 and disbanded in May 1993. They achieved considerable popularity in the mid 1980s, scoring a string of hits in the United Kingdom, the United States and around the globe. The band was named after the two bumbling detectives...
, released in 1996
1996 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1996.-January:* January – At the trial of two American teenagers, Nicholaus McDonald and Brian Bassett, for the murder of Bassett's parents and young brother, defense lawyers attempt to lay the blame for the murders on the fact...
on the Arista Records
Arista Records
Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
label.
It is the group's very first compilation
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
of singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, the remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
collection Greatest Mixes
The Best of Thompson Twins: Greatest Mixes
The Best of Thompson Twins: Greatest Mixes is the first compilation album released by the British pop group the Thompson Twins. It was released in 1988, and features various 12" mixes and remixes of classic Thompson Twins songs.-Track listing:...
having already been released a couple of years earlier in 1988
1988 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1988.-January-March:* January 1 – André Rieu's Johann Strauss Orchestra plays its first concert....
, mainly promoted by the popular remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
"In the Name of Love '88." Greatest Hits includes all of Thompson Twins' singles from 1982
1982 in music
This is a list of notable events in music from 1982. 1982 was a big year in music with Madonna making her debut as well as the year that Michael Jackson released Thriller which became the world's best selling album and it still holds that title today....
to 1987, omitting earlier minor tracks from their UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
debut album, A Product of ... (Participation)
A Product of ... (Participation)
A Product of … is the first album by the English pop group Thompson Twins. It was released in June 1981 on the T Records imprint, a label created by the band and distributed through the Fame/EMI label...
, and the later single "Sugar Daddy," the last mainstream hit they had in the U.S., taken from their unsuccessful 1989
1989 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1989.-Events:*January 14 – Paul McCartney releases Снова в СССР exclusively in the USSR...
album Big Trash
Big Trash
Big Trash is the seventh album by the British pop group the Thompson Twins. Released in 1989, it was the first release by the band on the Red Eye/Warner Brothers record label. It yielded two singles, "Sugar Daddy" and "Bombers in the Sky," but was a commercial failure...
. Though Thompson Twins' previous album, 1987's Close to the Bone
Close to the Bone (Thompson Twins album)
Close To The Bone is the sixth album by the British pop group the Thompson Twins, and was released in March 1987. Now only the duo of Tom Bailey and Alannah Currie remaining, this was the first album the Thompson Twins made without Joe Leeway...
, was also a flop, both singles taken from it--"Get That Love" and "Long Goodbye"--are included here.
Thompson Twins' first singles collection chronologically compiles the following songs by the band's three different lineups (big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
in the early years, three-piece group
Trio (music)
Trio is generally used in any of the following ways:* A group of three musicians playing the same or different musical instrument.* The performance of a piece of music by three people.* The contrasting section of a piece in ternary form...
from 1983 to 1987, and duo in the later years): "In the Name of Love," which is the one track from their 1982 album Set
Set (Thompson Twins album)
Set is the second album by the English pop group Thompson Twins. Released in February 1982, it was the second album they recorded for their own T Records imprint, which was released by Arista Records/Hansa....
; four tracks from their 1983 album Quick Step and Side Kick
Quick Step and Side Kick
Quick Step and Side Kick is the third album by the British synthpop group Thompson Twins. It was released in February 1983, and was their first album to be released as a trio...
(their first as a trio
Trio (music)
Trio is generally used in any of the following ways:* A group of three musicians playing the same or different musical instrument.* The performance of a piece of music by three people.* The contrasting section of a piece in ternary form...
), "Lies," "We Are Detective," "If You Were Here," and "Love on Your Side"; all five singles from their most successful long playing work, 1984
1984 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1984.-Janury-March:*January 21 – "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood reaches number one in the UK singles chart, despite being banned by the BBC; it spends a total of forty-two weeks in the Top 40.*January 27 – Michael Jackson's...
's Into the Gap
Into the Gap
Into the Gap is the fourth album by the British pop group Thompson Twins. It was released in February 1984 and reached no.1 on the UK Albums Chart, and no.10 on the U.S...
, namely "Hold Me Now," "Doctor! Doctor!," "You Take Me Up," "Sister of Mercy," and the album semi-title track, "The Gap," which was only released as a single in some territories outside Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
; three of the four singles from their last album as a three-piece band, 1985
1985 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1985.-January–March:*January 1 - The newest music video channel, VH-1, debuts on American cable. It is aimed at an older demographic than its sister station, MTV...
's Here's to Future Days
Here's to Future Days
Here's to Future Days is the fifth album by the British pop group Thompson Twins. It was released in September 1985 and it reached no.5 in the UK, and no.20 in the US....
, namely "Don't Mess with Doctor Dream," "Lay Your Hands on Me," and "King for a Day" (the omitted fourth single being The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
"Revolution"); the two singles from their first work as a duo, 1987's Close to the Bone
Close to the Bone (Thompson Twins album)
Close To The Bone is the sixth album by the British pop group the Thompson Twins, and was released in March 1987. Now only the duo of Tom Bailey and Alannah Currie remaining, this was the first album the Thompson Twins made without Joe Leeway...
, namely "Get That Love" and "Long Goodbye"; and "Nothing in Common
Nothing in Common
Nothing in Common is a 1986 comedy-drama film, directed by Garry Marshall. It stars Tom Hanks and, in his last movie role, Jackie Gleason. The film proved to be Gleason's final film role, as he was suffering from colon cancer, liver cancer, and thrombosed hemorrhoids during production.The film,...
," from the 1986 film of the same name.
Thompson Twins released one more unsuccessful album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
after the span of time covered on this compilation. 1991
1991 in music
See also:* 1991 in music Record labels established in 1991-Summary:The year 1991 is the year that grunge music made its popular breakthrough. Nirvana's Nevermind, led by the surprise hit single "Smells Like Teen Spirit", becomes the most popular U.S. album of the year...
's Queer generated two more singles: "Come Inside" and "The Saint." Though these were minor hits—and quite popular in clubs—neither would be included on the band's next greatest hits collection either: the double disc Love on Your Side - The Best of Thompson Twins
Love on Your Side - The Best of Thompson Twins
Love on Your Side - The Best of Thompson Twins is a double disc compilation of 36 tracks by British pop band Thompson Twins, released in 2007...
, issued in 2007
2007 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2007.-January:*January 1 - George Shearing is knighted for services to music in the Queen's New Year Honours List. Evelyn Glennie becomes a Dame...
.
Track listing
- "In the Name of Love"
- "Lies"
- "We Are Detective"
- "If You Were Here"
- "Love on Your Side"
- "Hold Me Now"
- "Doctor! Doctor!"
- "You Take Me Up"
- "The Gap"
- "Sister of Mercy"
- "Don't Mess with Doctor Dream"
- "Lay Your Hands on Me"
- "King for a Day"
- "Nothing in Common"
- "Get That Love"
- "Long Goodbye"
Credits
- Tom Bailey: lead vocals and main instrumentsMusical instrumentA musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
- Alannah CurrieAlannah CurrieAlannah Currie is a musician and artist, best known as a former member of the UK pop group, Thompson Twins.-Career:...
: lyricsLyricsLyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
and background vocals - Joe LeewayJoe LeewayJoseph Martin Leeway is the former multi-instrumentalist, and stylings guru, for the 1980s band, the Thompson Twins. Leeway joined the Thompson Twins in 1980 after being one of their roadies.-Career:...
: percussion