The Singles Collection 1984/1990

The Singles Collection 1984/1990
Greatest hits album by Jimmy Somerville, Bronski Beat and The Communards
Released	12 November 1990[1]
Genre	Synthpop Hi-NRG dance
Label	London
Producer	Mike Thorne Stephen Hague Pascal Gabriel
Jimmy Somerville, Bronski Beat and The Communards chronology
Read My Lips (1989) The Singles Collection 1984/1990 (1990) Dare to Love (1995)

The Singles Collection 1984/1990 is a compilation album covering Scottish pop singer Jimmy Somerville's career in the bands Bronski Beat, The Communards and as a solo artist. It was released in 1990. In Italy, the album was marketed under the alternate title, 1984/1990 Greatest Hits.

Content

The Singles Collection 1984/1990 includes the first four singles by Bronski Beat, released in 1984 and 1985, which feature Somerville as lead singer;^[2] following his departure from Bronski Beat the band had three further hits ("Hit That Perfect Beat", "C'mon C'mon" and "Cha Cha Heels")^[3] but they are not included on the album as it is intended as a retrospective of Somerville's career. It also includes all eight singles released by The Communards, from 1985 to 1988,^[4] plus Somerville's first three singles under his own name (including one duet) from 1989 up to the time of the album's release.^[5] The album also contains two new songs—a cover of the Bee Gees' "To Love Somebody", which was released as a single to promote the album, reaching number eight in the UK Singles Chart^[5]—and a re-recording of "Run from Love", a track originally included on the 1985 Bronski Beat remix album, Hundreds & Thousands; the new version of the song was later remixed for release as a single in 1991, reaching number 52 in the UK.^[5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[6]
Calgary Herald	B[7]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[8]
NME	6/10[9]

Dave Obee from Calgary Herald wrote, "Those glittering disco ceiling balls have all been recycled away, but we've still got Jimmy Somerville. The British singer's soaring vocals give an elegant and emotional feel to the 17 cuts on this compilation of his best work. Yes, it's techno-pop dance music, but Somerville's singing keeps it from sounding stale. The disc includes some of his work with Bronski Beat, including "Smalltown Boy", but the real strength is in the diverse selection of songs Somerville has covered."^[7]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	From album	Length
1.	"Smalltown Boy" (Bronski Beat)	Jimmy Somerville Larry Steinbachek Steve Bronski	The Age of Consent	5:01
2.	"Don't Leave Me This Way" (The Communards with Sarah Jane Morris)	Kenneth Gamble Leon Huff Cary Gilbert	Communards	4:33
3.	"It Ain't Necessarily So" (Bronski Beat)	George Gershwin Ira Gershwin	The Age of Consent	4:08
4.	"To Love Somebody" (Jimmy Somerville)	Barry Gibb Robin Gibb	new song	4:19
5.	"Comment te dire adieu" (Jimmy Somerville featuring June Miles-Kingston)	Jack Gold Arnold Goland Serge Gainsbourg	Read My Lips	3:37
6.	"Run from Love" (Bronski Beat featuring Claudia Brücken)	Somerville Steinbachek Bronski	Hundreds & Thousands	4:39
7.	"Never Can Say Goodbye" (The Communards)	Clifton Davis	Red	4:28
8.	"Why?" (Bronski Beat)	Somerville Steinbachek Bronski	The Age of Consent	3:57
9.	"You Are My World" (The Communards)	Somerville Richard Coles	Communards	4:31
10.	"For a Friend" (The Communards)	Somerville Coles	Red	4:38
11.	"I Feel Love/Johnny Remember Me" (Bronski Beat with Marc Almond)	Giorgio Moroder Pete Bellotte Donna Summer Geoff Goddard	Hundreds & Thousands	5:48
12.	"There's More to Love (Than Boy Meets Girl)" (The Communards)	Somerville Coles	Red	3:53
13.	"So Cold the Night" (The Communards)	Somerville Coles	Communards	4:41
14.	"You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" (Jimmy Somerville)	Sylvester James Dip Warrick	Read My Lips	3:58
15.	"Tomorrow" (The Communards)	Somerville Coles	Red	4:50
16.	"Disenchanted" (The Communards)	Somerville Coles	Communards	4:11
17.	"Read My Lips (Enough Is Enough)" (Jimmy Somerville)	Somerville	Read My Lips	4:51

Production

Adapted from the album's liner notes.^[10]

• Tracks 1–3, 8, 9, 11, 13 & 16 produced by Mike Thorne
• Tracks 4, 7, 10, 12, 14 & 15 produced by Stephen Hague
• Tracks 5 & 6 produced by Pascal Gabriel
• Track 17 produced by Pascal Gabriel; additional production and mix by Stephen Hague
• Photography by Paul Cox
• Sleeve design by Peter Barrett and Andrew Biscomb

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1990–91) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[11] 114 Austrian Albums Chart[12] 10 Belgian Albums Chart[13] 10 Dutch Albums Chart[14] 6 European Albums Chart[13] 7 French Albums Chart[15] 4 German Albums Chart[16] 4 Hungarian Albums Chart[17] 21 Irish Albums Chart[18] 5 Italian Albums Chart (Musica e dischi)[19] 12 New Zealand Albums Chart 30 Swedish Albums Chart 47 Swiss Albums Chart[20] 4 UK Albums Chart[5] 4

Year-end charts Chart (1991) Position German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[21] 14 UK Albums (MRIB)[22] 49

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
France (SNEP)[23]	Platinum	300,000^*
^* Sales figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "SPOTLIGHT | Jimmy Somerville" (PDF). Music & Media. European Music Report. 8 December 1990. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 April 2023. The Singles Collection 1984/1990; a compilation featuring hits by Jimmy Somerville, was released by London Records on November 12 (p. 16)
2. "Bronski Beat | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
3. "BRONSKI BEAT - full Official Chart History - Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
4. "COMMUNARDS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
5. "JIMMY SOMERVILLE | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
6. "The Singles Collection 1984-1990 - Jimmy Somerville - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
7. Obee, Dave (10 March 1991). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald.
8. Larkin, Colin (2000). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press.
9. Maconie, Stuart (24 November 1990). "Long Play". NME. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
10. The Singles Collection 1984/1990 (liner notes). Jimmy Somerville. London. 1990.
11. "Bubbling Down Under Week Commencing 25 February 1991". Retrieved 28 February 2022.
12. "Discographie Bronski Beat - austriancharts.at". austriancharts.at.
13. "Music & Media: Europe's Music Radio Newsweekly. Volume 8. Issue 7" (PDF). Music & Media. BPI Communications. 16 February 1991. worldradiohistory.com. Retrieved 9 June 2023. (see sections 'Top 10 in Europe', p. 30 and 'European Top 100 Albums', p. 18)
14. "Discografie Bronski Beat - dutchcharts.nl". dutchcharts.nl.
15. "Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste [The Album Details per Artist]". InfoDisc (in French). Archived from the original on 14 June 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2016. Jimmy Somerville – The Singles Collection 1984/1990 #4
16. "Offizielle Deutsche Charts - Offizielle Deutsche Charts". www.offiziellecharts.de.
17. "Hivatalos magyar slágerlisták".
18. "Music & Media: Europe's Music Radio Newsweekly. Volume 8. Issue 5" (PDF). Music & Media. BPI Communications. 2 February 1991. worldradiohistory.com. Retrieved 9 June 2023. (see section 'Top 10 in Europe', p. 24)
19. "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Set "Album" for option "Tipo", then write "Greatest Hits" (ie. Italian equivalent for the compilation) in the "Titolo" field and search for the artist.
20. "Bronski Beat - The Age Of Consent - hitparade.ch". hitparade.ch.
21. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 1991" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
22. UK ALBUMS - YEAR END (p.42)
23. "French album certifications – Jimmy Somerville – Singles Collection 84/90" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 2 May 2022. Select JIMMY SOMERVILLE and click OK. 

External links

• The Singles Collection 1984/1990 at Discogs