by Mark Nobes, chief editor
Here is a list of the tracks in the playlist;
1. Don't Leave Me This Way (Original Extended Version)
2. Never Can Say Goodbye
3. You Are My World
4. So Cold The Night
5. Tomorrow
6. For A Friend
7. Disenchanted
8. There's More To Love
The video playlist (above) includes all of the hit singles from the band, plus a couple of extra remixes. While compiling it, I soon realised that it had been quite a while since I have heard many of these songs, and I've come to realise that The Communards really did release some high quality tunes which are better than anything being played on the radio these days.
The duo's debut single was released in 1985 and reached No.30 in the UK singles chart. The single was re-released during 1987 as "You Are My World '87" (Remix) and reached No.21. The song featured on the band's debut self-titled album.
What great songs the Communards made, and Disenchanted
is no exception. Sadly, due to WMG not allowing people to embed many
Communards or Bronski Beat videos on their site, you can't view the
video. That's despite the fact that you're given the option to purchase
the songs from this site, and that non-official videos are allowed on
Youtube.
Anyway, you can still listen to a snippet of the song which I hope will suffice.
Disenchanted
was the Communards second single release taken from the 80s band's
debut self-titled album. The song reached #29 in the UK, but it's such a shame that this song didn't make the top ten, at least.
"Don't Leave Me This Way" was released as the third single and became the band's best-seller, spending four weeks at No.1.
The fourth and final single from the first album performed surprisingly well in the UK charts, reaching No.8. It was also a top ten hit in Belgium, Ireland, The Netherlands and Switzerland. The track has a middle-eastern theme, with the opening of the video featuring desert imagery.
The 80s was the decade of the 12 inch, and this one is particularly
good. As well as a very 80s bassline and drum track, it also features a
wonderful piano arpeggio and electric guitar, and the latter came as a
pleasant surprise, I must say.
Tomorrow was the first single to be released from The Communards second (and last) studio album Red. Released in 1987, the song reached #23 in the UK singles chart and also made #2 in the U.S. Dance Chart.
If you're a Communards fan with 11 minutes and 15 seconds to spare, then
you're really going to enjoy this mix of "Never Can Say Goodbye" by the legendary Shep Pettibone.
However, I couldn't believe that it had lasted that long when the
video came to a halt, and that's the sign of a great mix - the original version is below.
Jimmy Somerville's voice is on top form on this Hi-NRG version of the
song, which was the second single to be released from the duo's second
studio album Red. The song reached #4 in the UK and was also a hit across Europe, and became their second biggest hit of the 80s, after Don't Leave Me This Way.
Never Can Say Goodbye was originally a hit for the Jackson 5 in 1971 and also for disco diva Gloria Gaynor almost four years later in 1975.
The third single from Red was a ballad, and written as a tribute to the duo's late friend Mark Ashton, who was a gay right activist, and who sadly died on 11th February 1987 with an HIV related illness. The song reached No.28 on the UK singles chart. The B-side included a live version of "Victims". The original version is track 4 on the Red album.
The final single to be released by Communards was "There's More To Love (than boy meets girl)", which is a gay rights song that explains that it is not just men and women who fall in love. It also details the victimisation of gay people, as in the line "How can one man decide the fate and destiny of innocent lovers". The B-side features the track "Zing Went The Strings of my Heart".
