Welcome to the Real World (Mr. Mister album)

Welcome to the Real World
Studio album by Mr. Mister
Released	June 20, 1985 [1]
Recorded	October 1984 – April 1985
Genre	Pop rock new wave [2]
Length	43:35
Label	RCA Victor
Producer	Mr. Mister Paul DeVilliers
Mr. Mister chronology
I Wear the Face (1984) Welcome to the Real World (1985) Go On... (1987)
Singles from Welcome to the Real World
"Broken Wings" Released: June 1985 [3] "Kyrie" Released: December 1985 "Is It Love" Released: March 1986 [4] "Black/White" Released: July 1986 [5]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[6]
Kerrang!	[7]

Welcome to the Real World is the second studio album by American pop rock band Mr. Mister, released on June 20, 1985, by RCA Records. Two singles from the album, "Broken Wings" and "Kyrie", topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, while "Is It Love" peaked at number eight. Welcome to the Real World topped the Billboard 200 in March 1986. A remastered 25th-anniversary edition of the album was released as a digipak on April 20, 2010.

Reception

In 2024, Paul Elliott of Classic Rock called it "a classic melodic rock album featuring two of the defining songs of that era" and "a brilliant synthesis of AOR and new wave, comparable to the Cars' classic Heartbeat City ." ^[8]

Track listing

All tracks written by Richard Page, Steve George and John Lang, with additional writers noted.

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Black/White"	Steve Farris Pat Mastelotto	4:19
2.	"Uniform of Youth"	Farris Mastelotto	4:27
3.	"Don't Slow Down"	Farris	4:29
4.	"Run to Her"	Farris Mastelotto	3:39
5.	"Into My Own Hands"	Farris	5:10

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
6.	"Is It Love"	Mastelotto	3:38
7.	"Kyrie"		4:26
8.	"Broken Wings"		5:44
9.	"Tangent Tears"		3:24
10.	"Welcome to the Real World"	Farris	4:20
Total length:			43:35

2015 remastered reissue bonus tracks ^[9]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
11.	"Kyrie" (extended version)		4:15
12.	"Broken Wings" (live)		6:18
13.	"Uniform of Youth" (live)	Farris Mastelotto	4:48
14.	"Is It Love" (dance mix)	Mastelotto	6:29
15.	"Is It Love" (dub mix)	Mastelotto	4:17
16.	"Broken Wings" (extended version)		5:45
Total length:			75:27

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Welcome to the Real World. ^[10]

Mr. Mister

• Richard Page – lead vocals, bass
• Pat Mastelotto – drums
• Steve Farris – guitar
• Steve George – keyboards, vocals

Additional musicians

• Jack Manning – additional programming
• Casey Young – additional programming

Technical

• Mr. Mister – production
• Paul DeVilliers – production, engineering
• Lois Oki – engineering
• Mick Guzauski – mixing
• Mike Shipley – mixing
• Bill Freesh – additional engineering
• Tony Peluso – additional engineering
• Tchad Blake, Judy Clapp, Carolyn Collins, Eddie Delena, Dave Egerton, Stuart Furusho, Heidi Hanscher, Coke Johnson, Stan Katayama, Daren Klein, Steve MacMillan, Richard Mekernan, Sebastian Thorer – engineering assistance
• Marge Meoli – production coordination

Artwork

• Joe Stelmach – art direction
• Jonathan Owen – front cover
• Rob Page – graphics
• Four Eyes – photography
• KK – graffiti

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Welcome to the Real World Chart (1986) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [11] 17 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [12] 12 Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [13] 2 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [14] 7 European Albums ( Music & Media ) [15] 6 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [16] 7 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [17] 8 Icelandic Albums (Tónlist) [18] 8 Italian Albums ( Musica e dischi ) [19] 16 Japanese Albums (Music Labo) [20] 17 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [21] 21 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [22] 2 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [23] 13 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [24] 10 UK Albums (OCC) [25] 6 US Billboard 200 [26] 1

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for Welcome to the Real World Chart (1986) Position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [27] 79 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM) [28] 5 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [29] 27 European Albums (Music & Media) [30] 30 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [31] 40 UK Albums (Gallup) [32] 61 US Billboard 200 [33] 7

Certifications

Certifications for Welcome to the Real World

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [34]	3× Platinum	300,000^
Sweden (GLF) [35]	Gold	50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [36]	Gold	100,000^
United States (RIAA) [37]	Platinum	1,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "FMQB" (PDF). p. 28.
2. Elliott, Paul (September 4, 2015). "Mr. Mister: Welcome To The Real World / Go On..." Louder Sound .
3. "Mr. Mister – Broken Wings" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts . Retrieved December 27, 2021.
4. "Mr. Mister – Is It Love" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
5. "Mr. Mister – Black / White" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
6. Cassidy, Kenneth M. "Welcome to the Real World – Mr. Mister". AllMusic . Retrieved August 27, 2011.
7. Suter, Paul (October 3, 1985). "World in Action". Kerrang! . Vol. 104. London. p. 15. ISSN   0262-6624.
8. Elliott, Paul (March 25, 2024). ""It's so mid-eighties I can see Molly Ringwald and the rest of the brat pack dancing in a bedroom in my mind's eye": Mr. Mister master the period cliches on Welcome To The Real World". Louder. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
9. Sinclair, Paul (June 1, 2015). "Mr. Mister expanded reissues". SuperDeluxeEdition. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
10. Welcome to the Real World (liner notes). Mr. Mister. RCA Records. 1985. PCD1-8045.
11. Kent 1993, p. 210.
12. "Austriancharts.at – Mr. Mister – Welcome to the Real World" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
13. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0633". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
14. "Dutchcharts.nl – Mr. Mister – Welcome to the Real World" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
15. "European Hot 100 Albums". Eurotipsheet . Vol. 3, no. 14. April 12, 1986. p. 17. OCLC   29800226.
16. Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Mr. Mister". Sisältää hitin – Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish) (2nd ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 177. ISBN   978-952-7460-01-6.
17. "Offiziellecharts.de – Mr. Mister – Welcome to the Real World" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
18. "Ísland (LP-plötur)". DV (in Icelandic). June 13, 1986. p. 39. ISSN   1021-8254 – via Timarit.is.
19. "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved May 31, 2022.Select "Album" in the "Tipo" field, type "Welcome to the real world" in the "Titolo" field and press "cerca".
20. "Hits of the World". Billboard . Vol. 98, no. 18. May 3, 1986. p. 61. ISSN   0006-2510 – via Google Books.
21. "Charts.nz – Mr. Mister – Welcome to the Real World". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
22. "Norwegiancharts.com – Mr. Mister – Welcome to the Real World". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
23. "Swedishcharts.com – Mr. Mister – Welcome to the Real World". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
24. "Swisscharts.com – Mr. Mister – Welcome to the Real World". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
25. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
26. "Mr Mister Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
27. Kent 1993, p. 438.
28. "Top 100 Albums of '86". RPM . Vol. 45, no. 14. December 27, 1986. p. 9. ISSN   0033-7064 – via Library and Archives Canada.
29. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1986" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts . Retrieved September 25, 2020.
30. "European Hot 100 Albums – Hot 100 of the Year 1986". Music & Media . Vol. 3, no. 51/52. December 27, 1986. p. 35. OCLC   29800226.
31. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 1986" (in German). GfK Entertainment . Retrieved September 25, 2020.
32. "Top 100 Albums (January to December 1986)". Music Week . January 24, 1987. p. 25. ISSN   0265-1548.
33. "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1986". Billboard . Archived from the original on June 26, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
34. "Canadian album certifications – Mr. Mister – Welcome to the Real World". Music Canada. April 18, 1986.
35. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. September 7, 1987. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 17, 2011.
36. "British album certifications – Mr. Mister – Welcome to the Real World". British Phonographic Industry. April 1, 1986. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
37. "American album certifications – Mr. Mister – Welcome to the Real World". Recording Industry Association of America. January 16, 1986.

Bibliography

• Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.