Running in the Family

Running in the Family is the seventh studio album by British band Level 42, released in 1987. It features the UK hit singles: "Lessons in Love" (which reached No. 3 in May 1986), "Running in the Family" (No. 6 in February 1987), "To Be with You Again" (No. 10 in April '87), "It's Over" (No. 10, in September 1987) and "Children Say" (No. 22 at the end of 1987). All five singles peaked in the Top 10 in the Netherlands. "Lessons in Love" peaked at #1 in Germany, South Africa, Switzerland and Denmark. This was the last Level 42 album of the 1980s to feature brothers Phil (drums) and Rowland 'Boon' Gould (guitar), who had cited dissatisfaction with the musical direction of the band and exhaustion as departure reasons.

Running in the Family
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 1987 (UK)
RecordedRecorded and mixed at Sarm West 1986.
"Lessons in Love" / "Children Say" backing tracks recorded by Nick Froome at Maison Rouge 1986
Digital engineering by Carlos Olms, London.
GenreSophisti-pop[1]
Length42:44 (LP)
49:04 (CD)
LabelPolydor
ProducerWally Badarou, Level 42
Level 42 chronology
World Machine
(1985)
Running in the Family
(1987)
Staring at the Sun
(1988)
Singles from Running in the Family
  1. "Lessons in Love"
    Released: April 1986
  2. "Running in the Family"
    Released: February 1987
  3. "To Be with You Again"
    Released: April 1987
  4. "It's Over"
    Released: August 1987
  5. "Children Say"
    Released: November 1987
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
LM Magazine[3]
Record Mirror(Indifferent)[4]
Rolling Stone(favorable)[5]

Later in 1987, the Platinum Edition of the album was issued. The CD and cassette versions replaced "Lessons in Love", "Running in the Family" and "It's Over" with remixed versions, and added remixes of "Something About You" and "World Machine" from Level 42's previous album. On vinyl, the remixes were featured on one 33 rpm record which was shrink-wrapped to the standard edition of the album.

Also in 1987, the group released the video collection Family of Five (with the music videos of the five singles from Running in the Family) exclusively in the United Kingdom.[6]

Running in the Family' was a big international success, reaching the Top 10 in numerous countries and the Top 25 in the US; in the UK, it was certified 2× Platinum by the BPI.

In 2012, the album was remastered and re-released to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its original release.

Track listing

Side one
  1. "Lessons in Love" (Wally Badarou, Rowland Gould, Mark King) – 4:04
  2. "Children Say" (King, Mike Lindup, Phil Gould) – 4:53
  3. "Running in the Family" (P. Gould, Badarou, King) – 6:12
  4. "It's Over" (King, R. Gould, Badarou) – 6:02
Side two
  1. "To Be with You Again" (King, R. Gould) – 5:19
  2. "Two Solitudes" (King, P. Gould, Lindup) – 5:17
  3. "Fashion Fever" (King, P. Gould, R. Gould, Lindup) – 4:35
  4. "The Sleepwalkers" (King, P. Gould) – 6:02
Bonus track
  1. "Freedom Someday" (King, P. Gould, R. Gould, Lindup) – 6:20 (originally a bonus track on the CD and cassette)

2000 reissue bonus tracks

  1. "Lessons in Love" (Shep's Final Mix) – 5:45
  2. "Children Say" (Slap Bass Mix) – 4:49
  3. "To Be with You Again" (A.D.S.C. Mix) – 5:45
  4. "Running in the Family" (HTL Dub) – 6:11

Personnel

Band members

Additional musicians

Chart positions

Album

Chart (1987) Peak
position
Netherlands 3
UK Albums Chart 2
US Billboard 200 23

Singles

Year Song Chart Peak
position
1986
"Lessons in Love"
UK Singles Chart 3
Billboard Hot 100 12
Netherlands 2
Germany 1
Ireland 3
1987
"Running in the Family"
UK Singles Chart 6
Billboard Hot 100 83
Ireland 4
Netherlands 3
"To Be with You Again"
UK Singles Chart 10
Netherlands 6
"It's Over"
UK Singles Chart 10
Ireland 3
Netherlands 7
"Children Say"
UK Singles Chart 22
Netherlands 9

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[8] Gold 50,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[9] Gold 25,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. AllMusic review
  2. [April, LM Magazine review]
  3. Record Mirror review
  4. Rolling Stone review
  5. The Definitive Online Level 42 Collectors Resource: Media
  6. Sleevenotes, Running in the Family 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition
  7. https://www.americanradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/80s/1987/M&M-1987-06-06.pdf
  8. "Gold & Platinum Awards 1987" (PDF). Music and Media. American Radio History Archive. 26 December 1987. p. 46. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
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