| Luminous Basement | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 1980 | |||
| Recorded | May – August 1980 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | ||||
| The Tourists chronology | ||||
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Luminous Basement is the third and final studio album from the band the Tourists, released in 1980. The album peaked at #75 in the UK, lasting within the Top 100 for one week. [1] One single was released from the album, "Don't Say I Told You So" peaked at #40 in the UK. [2]
Following the band's previous album Reality Effect , the Tourists were faced with a contractual dispute with their record label Logo. This led to Luminous Basement being recorded for RCA instead. The album was produced by Tom Allom and David A. Stewart at George Martin's studio in Montserrat. [3] Stewart would later recall in his 2016 autobiography that the making of the album was "not a good experience" and "trouble brewing in paradise". This was largely due to the band being worn-out, disagreements between Coombes and Lennox, and Coombes' own drug habit. [4]
Despite the single "Don't Say I Told You So" reaching the UK Top 40, the album itself sold poorly, [3] and was seen as a disappointment compared to the band's previous album Reality Effect which had reached the Top 25. [2] The lack of commercial success was combined with largely received negative reviews in the music press. [5]
To promote the album's release, the band embarked on a 32-date UK and Ireland tour during September and October 1980, although four of these dates were cancelled. [6] Afterwards the band went to Thailand and then Australia for further promotion of the album. On the night of arriving in Sydney, Coombes overdosed and fell ill. The band had to continue promoting the album through TV and radio, while Coombes flew back to the UK to recover. The band felt that without Coombes, their primary songwriter and vocalist, The Tourists couldn't continue, and so once the band completed their Australasian promotional run they disbanded. [4]
The album was released via RCA in the UK, Europe, Japan and Australia, while Epic Records released it in America and Canada. It was released on vinyl LP and cassette.
The UK edition of the album came with a free bonus 7" single of a new track titled "From the Middle Room", backed by the exclusive b-side "Into The Future". The A-Side was written by both David A. Stewart and Annie Lennox. Some versions of the 7" single were produced in yellow, while others were in standard black.
In 1997 the album was issued on CD in Japan, giving it its first and only release on the format. It was released via RCA Records and BMG Japan, Inc., and remains scarce today. [7]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [8] |
In a retrospective review for AllMusic, William Ruhlmann wrote, "The Tourists' third album found the group continuing to expand its musical horizons, especially by integrating Annie Lennox's keyboards into the mix, while maintaining their basic pop/rock focus. Peet Coombes's lyrics had an inward-looking, psychoanalytical focus, and Lennox, on her one contribution, "One Step Near the Edge," maintained that introspection, while Dave Stewart brought in a Yardbirds-like raveup in "Let's Take a Walk." "Don't Say I Told You" showed that the group could still come up with an ear-catching single, but it and the album enjoyed only modest success." [8]
One of the more favourable music reviews during 1980 came from Sounds magazine, which noted the album showed "greater breadth and sharpness from the two previous offerings, but it's still true that so many of The Tourists' best ideas were other people's 10 years ago." [5]
All tracks written by Peet Coombes except where noted.
| Chart (1980–81) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart [2] | 75 |
| US Billboard Bubbling Under the Top LPs [9] | 4 |
| US Record World Albums 151-200 [10] | 176 |
Eurythmics were a British pop duo formed in 1980, consisting of Scottish vocalist Annie Lennox and English musician and producer Dave Stewart. They were both previously in the Tourists, a band that broke up in 1980. They released their first studio album, In the Garden, in 1981 to little success, but achieved global acclaim with their second album, Sweet Dreams (1983). The title track became a worldwide hit, reaching number two in the UK Singles Chart, and number one in Canada and the US Billboard Hot 100. Eurythmics went on to release a string of hit singles and albums, including "Love Is a Stranger", "There Must Be an Angel " and "Here Comes the Rain Again", before splitting in 1990.
The Tourists were a British rock and pop band. They achieved brief success in the late 1970s before the band split in 1980. Two of its members, singer Annie Lennox and guitarist Dave Stewart, went on to international success as Eurythmics.
Ann Lennox is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician Dave Stewart went on to achieve international success in the 1980s as Eurythmics. Appearing in the 1983 music video for "Sweet Dreams " with orange cropped hair and wearing a man's business suit, the BBC states, "all eyes were on Annie Lennox, the singer whose powerful androgynous look defied the male gaze". Subsequent hits with Eurythmics include "There Must Be an Angel ", "Love Is a Stranger" and "Here Comes the Rain Again".
Peter George "Peet" Coombes was an English guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. He was the lead singer and primary songwriter of the group The Tourists, the first charting band to feature guitarist Dave Stewart and singer Annie Lennox, who later gained greater fame as the duo Eurythmics.
David Allan Stewart is an English musician, songwriter and record producer, best known for Eurythmics, his successful professional partnership with Annie Lennox. Sometimes credited as David A. Stewart, he won Best British Producer at the 1986, 1987 and 1990 Brit Awards. Stewart was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020 and the duo were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. Outside of Eurythmics, Stewart has written and produced songs for artists such as Ringo Starr, Stevie Nicks, Mick Jagger and Tom Petty.
In the Garden is the debut studio album by the British new wave duo Eurythmics. It was released on 16 October 1981 by RCA Records.
Savage is the sixth studio album by British pop duo Eurythmics, released on 9 November 1987 by RCA Records.
We Too Are One is the seventh studio album by British pop duo Eurythmics, released on 11 September 1989 by RCA Records. It would be the duo's last studio release until 1999's Peace.
Peace is the eighth studio album by British pop duo Eurythmics, released on 19 October 1999 by RCA Records. It was the band's first album of new material in 10 years, following 1989's We Too Are One.
Touch Dance is a remix album by the British pop duo Eurythmics, released in May 1984 by RCA Records. It contains seven dance remixes of four tracks from the duo's 1983 album Touch, with four remixes by John "Jellybean" Benitez and three by François Kevorkian and Jay Mark.
1984 (For the Love of Big Brother) is a soundtrack album by the British pop duo Eurythmics. Released on 12 November 1984 by Virgin Records, it was the duo's fourth album overall and contains music recorded by Eurythmics for the film Nineteen Eighty-Four, based on George Orwell's dystopian novel of the same name. Virgin Films produced the film for release in its namesake year, and commissioned Eurythmics to compose a soundtrack.
"The Walk" is a 1982 song by the British new wave duo Eurythmics. It was the band's fourth single, and was included on their second album Sweet Dreams .
"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" is a song by the British new wave music duo Eurythmics. It was released as the fourth and final single from their second album, Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), in January 1983. It was their breakthrough hit, establishing the duo worldwide. It reached number two on the UK Singles Chart in March 1983, and number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 six months later; it was their first single released in the US.
"Would I Lie to You?" is a song written and performed by British pop duo Eurythmics. Released on 9 April 1985 as the lead single from the band's fourth studio album, Be Yourself Tonight (1985), the song was the first by the duo to feature their change in musical direction from a predominantly synthpop style to rock and rhythm and blues. The song, and its accompanying album, featured a full backing band and relied less on electronic programming.
"I Need a Man" is a song recorded by British pop music duo Eurythmics. It was written by band members Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart and produced by Stewart. Taken from their sixth album, Savage (1987), the song was released in May 1988 by RCA Records as the third single in the UK and the first single in the United States.
"You Have Placed a Chill in My Heart" is a song by British pop duo Eurythmics. It was written by group members Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart, and appears on the duo's sixth studio album, Savage (1987). The song was released in May 1988 by RCA as the fourth and final single from the album in the United Kingdom and as the second in the United States. In the first, it was the only single from the album to reach the top 20 on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 16. The music video for the song was directed by Sophie Muller.
"Don't Ask Me Why" is a song recorded by British pop music duo Eurythmics, released as the second single from their seventh album, We Too Are One (1989). The song was written by bandmembers Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart and produced by Stewart with Jimmy Iovine. In the US, it was released as the first single from the album. It is a lush pop song with melancholy and bitter lyrics which describe the ending of a love relationship. In it Lennox tells the subject "don't ask me why / I don't love you any more / I don't think I ever did".
Reality Effect is the second album by the British band The Tourists, released in 1979.
The Tourists is the debut album from the British band The Tourists, released in 1979. The album peaked at #72 in the UK Albums Chart.
"So Good to Be Back Home Again" is a song by British band The Tourists, released in February 1980 as a single from the band's second album Reality Effect. It peaked at number 8 on the UK Singles Chart.
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