Communards | ||||
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Released | 14 July 1986 | |||
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Label | London | |||
Producer | Mike Thorne | |||
The Communards chronology | ||||
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Singles from Communards | ||||
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AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Communards is the debut studio album by British synth-pop duo the Communards, released on 14 July 1986 by London Records. [3] The album was produced by Mike Thorne, who had previously produced lead singer Jimmy Somerville's earlier band, Bronski Beat. Although the singles released ahead of the album were only moderately successful, the first single to be lifted from it after release, "Don't Leave Me This Way", topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks and became the best-selling single in the UK that year. During the single's four-week run at number one, the album itself peaked at number seven, going on to spend a total of 45 weeks in the UK Albums Chart.
Musically, the album contains tracks that largely fall into one of two styles, either Hi-NRG (all of the singles lifted from the album were in this style) or piano ballads showcasing the talents of Richard Coles, a classically trained pianist. The standard "Lover Man" is arranged as a straight jazz number, albeit with the unusual twist of being performed as a duet.
The front sleeve features a stark graphic design consisting of the group's name and logo against a black background. A photo of the duo appears on the back, while the inner sleeve features small photos of Coles, Somerville and Sarah Jane Morris, alongside the album credits and full lyrics for all the songs.
Two songs had dedications in the sleevenotes: "Don't Leave Me This Way" was dedicated to the GLC, and "Reprise" to Margaret Hilda Thatcher. [4] [ verification needed ]
All tracks by Jimmy Somerville and Richard Coles, except where noted.
The 1997 remastered version of the album replaces "Disenchanted (Dance)" with "Don't Leave Me This Way (Mega Mixes)", a 22:55 version of the song which also incorporates the Communards song "Sanctified". This track was originally issued in 1986 as "The Gotham City Mix", when it was split across two sides of a 12-inch single.
Disc one
Disc two
Disc one
Disc two
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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France (SNEP) [23] | Gold | 100,000* |
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [24] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [25] | Platinum | 300,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
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