Between the Lines | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 29 May 1990 (UK) [1] 19 November 1990 (Australia) [2] | |||
Recorded | 1989–1990 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 33:19 | |||
Label | PWL (UK) Mushroom (Australia) | |||
Producer | Stock Aitken Waterman | |||
Jason Donovan chronology | ||||
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Singles from Between the Lines | ||||
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Between the Lines is the second studio album by Australian pop singer Jason Donovan. It was released on 29 May 1990 by PWL and Mushroom.
Between the Lines was produced by the team Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) and was Donovan's last album for the SAW production team, as the following year saw him take the lead role in the West End musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat . Like his previous album, the title was taken from a line in one of the songs—in this case, the opening line of "When It's All Over" ("should have read between the lines..."), and also became the name of Donovan's autobiography, released in 2007. [3]
Donovan described the album as creatively superior to his debut, and said he had more input, with he and his management requesting material that was more within his vocal range. [4] He believes that the album's consistent lyrical themes of relationship splits and broken hearts were direct references by the songwriters, SAW, to his then recent split with Kylie Minogue. [4]
Speaking of the album's commercial performance, Donovan said: "Between the Lines wasn't the successful record that Ten Good Reasons was, but how do you match that? Ten Good Reason's was just a moment in time." [4] He also added that he accepted at the time that "every bubble has to burst", and he knew he'd then have to prioritise evolving his career. [5]
Donovan supported the album with a national tour of the UK and Ireland, titled the "Doin' Fine Tour", which began in June 1990. [6] While the decision to tour upset Pete Waterman and Donovan's record label, the singer credits the live shows with ensuring his longevity as a stage performer, after Andrew Lloyd Webber attended one of the shows and was impressed with his performance. [5]
Between the Lines was re-issued in 2010 by Edsel records as a double CD set. In a review of its re-release, Music Week said this it was "arguably better" than his first album. [7]
In 2018, Mark Elliot of Classic Pop considered Between the Lines as the 11th best album ever produced by Stock Aitken Waterman; he added that it "contained some of [Donovan's] strongest numbers", including "vintage covers" and "more contemporary tracks", and underlined "Another Night" as being an "ABBA pastiche" and the best track from the album. [8]
Between the Lines reached number two in the UK charts, [9] and was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry. [1] The album features five UK Top 30 singles: "When You Come Back to Me" (UK #2), "Hang On to Your Love" (UK #8), "Another Night" (UK #18), "Rhythm of the Rain" (UK #9) and "I'm Doin' Fine" (UK #22), released between 1989 and 1990. [9] The album was far less successful in Donovan's native Australia, where it peaked at no.77 in December 1990. [10]
All tracks written by Stock Aitken Waterman, unless otherwise noted.
Side one
Side two
CD 1
CD 2
Chart (1990) | Peak position |
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Australia (ARIA) [10] | 77 |
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [11] | 18 |
Germany (Media Control Charts) [12] | 52 |
Netherlands (MegaCharts) [13] | 25 |
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [14] | 44 |
Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade) [15] | 37 |
UK (CIN) [9] | 2 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [16] | Gold | 50,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [17] | Platinum | 300,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Michael Stock is an English songwriter, record producer, musician, and member of the songwriting and production trio Stock Aitken Waterman. He has written and/or produced 18 No. 1 records in America and the UK, over a hundred top-40 hits and is recognised as one of the most successful songwriters of all time by the Guinness World Records. As part of Stock Aitken Waterman in the 1980s and 90s, he holds the UK record of 11 number one records with different acts. In the UK Singles Chart he has written 54 top-ten hits including 7 number ones.
Stock Aitken Waterman are an English songwriting and record production trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman. The trio had great success from the mid-1980s through to the early 1990s. SAW is considered one of the most successful songwriting and producing partnerships of all time, scoring more than 100 UK top-40 hits, selling over 150 million records and earning an estimated £60 million.
Jason Sean Donovan is an Australian actor and singer. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap Neighbours, playing Scott Robinson, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 million records. His debut album Ten Good Reasons was the highest-selling album in the UK in 1989, with sales of over 1.5 million. He has had four UK No. 1 singles. He has also appeared in several stage musicals, most prominently in the lead role of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in the early 1990s.
"Especially for You" is a song performed by Australian recording artists Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan from Donovan's debut album, Ten Good Reasons (1989). The song was released as his album's second single on 28 November 1988 and was written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW).
The Hit Factory Volume 2 is a compilation album released in November 1988 by Fanfare Records and PWL Records. It was an album featuring hits produced by British production trio Stock Aitken Waterman who were at their peak at the time of the album's release. The first compilation The Hit Factory: The Best of Stock Aitken Waterman was issued by Stylus in 1987. The range of tracks included four special 12" remixes, exclusive to the set, and also a previously unavailable track by an American group called Sequal. The album gained a platinum BPI Award and reached #16 in the UK Top 100 Album Chart. When compilation albums were excluded from the main chart on January 14, 1989, the album crossed to the new chart for the remainder of its run.
The Hit Factory Volume 3 is a compilation album collecting the biggest hits of the award-winning British music production trio Stock Aitken Waterman during their most successful era. It was released by PWL Records in association with Fanfare Records in June 1989 and reached #3 in the compilation Top 20, achieving a Gold BPI award.
A Ton of Hits : The Very Best of Stock Aitken Waterman is a compilation album released in the UK in November 1990 bringing together the hits of Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) in a continuously sequenced mix. It was released by Chrysalis Records on their subsidiary label Dover Records and followed the previous "Best of Stock Aitken Waterman" collections; The Hit Factory: The Best of Stock Aitken Waterman, The Hit Factory Volume 2 and The Hit Factory Volume 3. The album reached #7 in the compilation Top 20. Notably absent from this release are Bananarama and Dead or Alive, presumably due to licensing issues, whilst including nine songs by Jason Donovan, and ten by Kylie Minogue.
The Hit Factory: Pete Waterman's Greatest Hits is a compilation album featuring music produced by Pete Waterman. It was released by Universal Music in 2000 and reached #3 in the UK compilation Top 20 chart, achieving a Gold BPI award.
Stock Aitken Waterman Gold is a compilation album released in 2005 by Sony BMG, PWL Records and EBUL.
Hold Me in Your Arms is the second studio album by English singer Rick Astley, released on 28 November 1988 by RCA Records. It is the follow-up to his successful debut album Whenever You Need Somebody, and was his last album produced and written with the Stock Aitken Waterman team. It continued Astley's success, with the three UK singles from the album becoming top ten hits. While it did not achieve the same level of sales as his debut album, it sold well all around the world, achieving Platinum and Gold certifications worldwide.
"When You Come Back to Me" is a song recorded by Australian artist and actor Jason Donovan. It was released on 27 November 1989 as the first single from his second album Between the Lines. It charted in the UK on 9 December 1989, peaking at number two the following week and returning to the same position in January 1990, becoming one of his biggest selling singles in Britain. Reaching a disappointing number 40 in Australia, the track was Jason's final top 40 chart hit in his home country.
Greatest Hits is the first compilation album to be released by Australian singer Jason Donovan. The collection was released in 1991.
"Every Day (I Love You More)" is a 1989 song recorded by Australian singer Jason Donovan. It was released on 28 August 1989 as the fifth and final single from his debut album, Ten Good Reasons. As with Donovan's other songs at the time, it was written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman. It was the least successful release from the album, although it was a hit in the UK and Ireland.
All Around the World is the third studio album by Jason Donovan, released in 1993.
Greatest Hits is a compilation album by singer Jason Donovan. The album featured all the hit singles by Donovan while he was produced by Stock Aitken Waterman.
Mandy is the only studio album by Mandy Smith. It was released by PWL in 1988, re-issued in 1993 in Japan and re-mastered and re-issued in 2009.
"Beyond Your Wildest Dreams" is a ballad written by British hitmaking team Stock Aitken & Waterman, which was recorded by three of their artists, Lonnie Gordon, Sybil, and Nancy Davis. The songwriters have cited this song as one of the best they ever wrote, and were dissatisfied with its poor chart performance. Gordon and Sybil's versions were released as singles.
Pete Waterman Presents The Hit Factory is a compilation album released in July 2012 collecting 39 hits produced by Pete Waterman. Included are a vast number of tracks that were written and produced by Waterman along with Mike Stock and Matt Aitken during their most successful period working as Stock Aitken Waterman, becoming among the most successful music producers of all-time.
Sybilization is the third album by American singer Sybil, released in 1990.
"Hang On to Your Love" is a 1990 song by Australian singer Jason Donovan. It was released on 8 March 1990 as the second single from his second album Between the Lines, on which it appears as the second track. Written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman, the song was accompagnied by a music video directed by Paul Goldman. The B-side, "You Can Depend on Me", is not another track from the Between the Lines album, but features on Donovan's previous album, Ten Good Reasons. It became a top ten hit in the UK and in Ireland, but was not officially released in Australia, following the tepid response to Donovan's prior single, "When You Come Back to Me".