Sparkle In The Rain, the classic 1983 album from Simple Minds, is set for a special reissue. The body of work has returned across 4 CDs, featuring the original beloved songs, and a whole host of B-sides, extended mixes, BBC sessions, and a previously-unreleased live recording for a Glasgow Barrowlands concert.
Debuting more than 40 years ago, Sparkle In The Rain kicked off a hot streak for Simple Minds, landing them their first of three number one albums in the United Kingdom. The album was eventually certified platinum in their native country, and made gold certification in France, Canada, and New Zealand. Sparkle In The Rain was promoted with three singles—“Waterfront,” “Speed Your Love To Me,” and “Up On The Catwalk”—all of which charted in the top 30 of the United Kingdom’s singles chart.
Produced by the prolific Steve Lillywhite, the album arrived when Simple Minds was making a bigger push to break out from their native Scotland and Europe, becoming a global pop act by the mid-1980s. While the band certainly had played North America before the album came out, 1983’s Tour Du Monde took them further into the continent, and saw them make stops in Japan, New Zealand, and Australia. The success of Sparkle In The Rain also launched Simple Minds to their biggest success globally, with “(Don’t You) Forget About Me,” their first post-Sparkle In The Rain single, becoming a massive hit after a prominent feature in the 1985 film The Breakfast Club.
In addition to the music contained within the special edition of Sparkle In The Rain, the new reissue also features a booklet full of interviews and liner notes, as well as annotations for every track on the project. Even for longtime fans of Simple Minds, this edition promises something new.
Order the four CD set of Simple Minds’ Sparkle In The Rain now.
