Communards (album)

Communards is the debut album by The Communards, released in 1986 on London Records. 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", was number one in the UK for four weeks and was the top-selling single in the UK that year. During the single's four-week run at number one, the album itself reached a chart peak of number seven, going on to spend a total of 45 weeks in the UK Albums Chart.

Communards
Studio album by
The Communards
Released12 July 1986
GenreSynthpop, dance
LabelLondon
ProducerMike Thorne
The Communards chronology
Communards
(1986)		 Red
(1987)
Singles from Communards
  1. "You Are My World"
    Released: September, 1985
  2. "Disenchanted"
    Released: May, 1986
  3. "Don't Leave Me This Way"
    Released: August, 1986
  4. "So Cold the Night"
    Released: November, 1986
Professional ratings
Review scores
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AllMusic link

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.[1]

Track listing

All tracks by Jimmy Somerville and Richard Coles unless otherwise indicated.

Original 1986 release (vinyl LP)
  1. "Don't Leave Me This Way" (Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff, Cary Gilbert) - 4:50
  2. "La Dolarosa" - 2:43
  3. "Disenchanted" - 4:13
  4. "Reprise" - 5:22
  5. "So Cold the Night" - 5:45
  6. "You Are My World" - 4:30
  7. "Lover Man" (Jimmy Davis, Roger Ramirez, Jimmy Sherman) - 3:52
  8. "Don't Slip Away" - 2:58
  9. "Heavens Above" - 3:58
  10. "Forbidden Love" - 5:02

Original 1986 release (compact disc)
  1. "Don't Leave Me This Way" - 6:26
  2. "La Dolarosa" - 2:43
  3. "Disenchanted" - 6:12
  4. "Reprise" - 5:22
  5. "So Cold the Night" - 6:48
  6. "You Are My World" - 8:01
  7. "Lover Man" - 3:52
  8. "Don't Slip Away" - 2:58
  9. "Heavens Above" - 3:58
  10. "Forbidden Love" - 5:02
  11. "Breadline Britain" - 2:31
  12. "Disenchanted (Dance)" - 8:46

1997 reissue (compact disc)
  1. "Don't Leave Me This Way" - 4:50
  2. "La Dolarosa" - 2:43
  3. "Disenchanted" - 4:13
  4. "Reprise" - 5:22
  5. "So Cold the Night" - 5:45
  6. "You Are My World" - 4:30
  7. "Lover Man" - 3:52
  8. "Don't Slip Away" - 2:58
  9. "Heavens Above" - 3:58
  10. "Forbidden Love" - 5:02
  11. "Breadline Britain" - 2:31
  12. "Don't Leave Me This Way (Mega Mixes)" - 22:55

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" single.

2012 reissue (double compact disc)

Disc 1

  1. "Don't Leave Me This Way" - 4:52
  2. "La Dolarosa" - 2:43
  3. "Disenchanted" - 4:13
  4. "Reprise" - 5:23
  5. "So Cold the Night" - 5:46
  6. "You Are My World" - 4:30
  7. "Lover Man" - 3:52
  8. "Don't Slip Away" - 2:58
  9. "Heavens Above" - 3:59
  10. "Forbidden Love" - 5:02
  11. "Breadline Britain" - 2:31
  12. "Disenchanted (Dance)" - 8:44
  13. "Judgement Day" - 5:14
  14. "Don't Leave Me This Way (Son of Gotham City Mix, part 1)" - 11:42
  15. "When The Walls Come Tumbling Down (live)" - 6:34

Disc 2

  1. "You Are My World ('87 single version)" - 4:16
  2. "Don't Leave Me This Way (Son of Gotham City Mix, part 3)" - 10:23
  3. "So Cold The Night (remixed club version)" - 8:24
  4. "Heavens Above (10" version)" - 3:30
  5. "Johnny Verso" - 3:46
  6. "Sentimental Journey" (Les Brown/Ben Homer/Bud Green) - 3:36
  7. "The Message" (Connie Giannaris/Jimmy Somerville) - 7:26
  8. "Disenchanted (instrumental)" - 8:41
  9. "So Cold The Night (instrumental)" - 9:10
  10. "Never No More" (Alan Block/Don Hecht/Rita Ross) - 2:59
  11. "Sanctified" - 2:36
  12. "When The Walls Come Tumbling Down" - 4:23
  13. "The Multimix" - 7:50
  14. "Annie" - 1:43

Charts

Singles
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References
  1. Communards, Communards. Edsel 2012 Deluxe Edition liner notes, p. 9
  2. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH.
  3. "Italiancharts.com – The Communards – Communards". Hung Medien.
  4. "Dutchcharts.nl – The Communards – Communards" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  5. "Swisscharts.com – The Communards – Communards". Hung Medien.
  6. "The Communards | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
  7. "The Communards Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  8. Italy - Albums Charts - Communards
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