Midge Ure's career, as fans well know, did not begin or end with Ultravox, and so If I Was: The Very Best of Midge Ure & Ultravox attempts to give an overview of one of '80s' Britain's most popular singers. As a career retrospective goes, however, it's pretty spotty. The Scottish vocalist first found fame with the pop band Slik, who scored a chart topper with "Forever and Ever" in 1976. Unfortunately, you won't find that here, nor its hit follow-up, scored just as a car accident took the band out of the charts. Once recovered, Ure moved on. His first port of call, in 1978, was ex-Pistol Glen Matlock's punk/post-punk supergroup the Rich Kids, who released a single and album, although this compilation draws nothing from this period, either. The following year, with the Kids in disarray, Ure helped form the even more illustrious Visage. Joining him there was Ultravox's Billy Currie and, before the year was out, Ure was fronting two hit-bound bands. Visage gets short shrift here, with Ultravox invariably, if unfairly, better represented. But even this wasn't enough to keep the singer busy. In 1981, as both bands' albums and singles swept up the charts, Ure linked up with Thin Lizzy's Phil Lynott for yet another hit, "Yellow Pearl".

For American ears only, in the years before a new deal with Elektra finally granted the Cure the access to the airwaves that they'd all but given up dreaming of, …Happily Ever After is nothing less than a two-for-one repackaging of the band's second and third European albums, the brooding gloom of Seventeen Seconds and the affirmative darkness of Faith. It makes for discomforting listening, both for newcomers to the sound of the early group and for fans more accustomed to experiencing the two records in separate sittings. Together with the band's fourth album, Pornography, the two LPs here were the sound of the Cure racing to distance themselves not simply from their early reputation as a moody power pop band, but also from any of the other comparisons, compadres, and contemporaries that the post-punk scene could throw at them. Seventeen Seconds, one U.K. review famously remarked, was the sound of the band sitting in a dark room, staring at clocks. Faith was what happened when those clocks stopped.

Partially growing out of their success in the country they were named after, as well as growing friendship and affiliation with such bands as Yellow Magic Orchestra, Japan, on Tin Drum, made its most unique, challenging, and striking album. It was also the final full studio effort from the group, and what a way to bow out – there was practically no resemblance to the trash glam flailers on Adolescent Sex anymore. Rather than repeat the sheer restraint on Gentlemen Take Polaroids, Tin Drum is an album of energy, Sylvian's singing still the decadently joyful thing it is, but the arrangements and performances tight, full, and active. The fusion of exquisite funk courtesy of Karn and Jansen's joined-at-the-hip rhythm section and a range of Asian music influences, from instrumentation to subject matter, combined with an even wider use of technological approaches to create the dramatic, sly songs on offer.

A new 7 CD box set The Bowie Years, exploring Iggy Pop’s Berlin-era albums is set for release on 29 May via UMC. The box set features remastered versions of The Idiot, Lust For Life, live album TV Eye and rare outtakes, alternate mixes and a 40 page book.

Vixen are an all-female American rock band. They achieved commercial success during the late 1980s and early 1990s as part of the Los Angeles, California glam metal scene. Tangerine is the third album by Vixen. It was recorded without former members Jan Kuehnemund and Share Pedersen. The line-up for this album was Janet Gardner, Roxy Petrucci, Gina Stile, and additional bass player Mike Pisculli. Tangerine has a different sound from the music of the previous albums of the band, more similar to grunge than glam metal.

Matt Johnson’s near-mythical 1979 tape is finally available on CD, newly expanded with six extra tracks to reveal the scuzzy experimental roots of a soon-to-be lauded songwriter recording at home in the cellar of his parent’s pub, with fizzingly inventive results that surely recall early efforts by Robert Rental, Dome, John Bender.

Experimental, innovative English electronic outfit that formed in the 1970s, and stand as major pioneers of industrial and dance music. Series of best-of compilations for the band including The Original Sound of Sheffield '78/'82 and '83/'87.

The Sisters of Mercy recorded three sessions for BBC Radio One, the first and the third one with John Peel and the second one with David "Kid" Jenson. This release includes their third session on June 19th, 1984.

Coming Down is the first solo album from former Bauhaus, Tones on Tail, and Love and Rockets guitar player Daniel Ash. First single "This Love" was a #2 hit on the Modern Rock Tracks chart in the U.S., where his former bandmates Peter Murphy and David J had already scored Top 10 hits. Natasha Atlas sings and plays instruments on most tracks.

Originally scheduled for RSD 2020 Pink Flag have decided to make 10:20 a regular LP/CD release. A glimpse into Wire’s working practices, when Wire play live there are different 3 classes of pieces that are performed, new songs, old songs and “new old” songs. The latter often involves taking something that existed on a previous release and re-working it, very often evolving a stage highlight from it. There also pieces that have never seen a major release but for some reason never fitted on an album. The best of these ideas were recorded in 2 sessions - one relating to Red Barked Tree but recorded in 2010 and another relating to Wire’s latest album Mind Hive released in 2020. Incidentally celebrating the decade Matt Simms has been with the band.

Channeling the lessons of the experimental Porcupine into more conventional and simple structural parameters, Ocean Rain emerges as Echo & the Bunnymen's most beautiful and memorable effort. Ornamenting Ian McCulloch's most consistently strong collection of songs to date with subdued guitar textures, sweeping string arrangements, and hauntingly evocative production, the album is dramatic and majestic; "The Killing Moon," Ocean Rain's emotional centerpiece, remains the group's unrivalled pinnacle. The 2003 reissue of Ocean Rain features improved sound, new liner notes, loads of photos, and a wealth of bonus tracks. The bulk of the bonus tracks is made up of the Life at Brian's sessions, which found the band playing some of their "hits" like "The Killing Moon," "Stars Are Stars," "Silver," and "Villiers Terrace," as well as a faithful cover of the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love" in a relaxed, acoustic but still very dramatic setting.

She was the teenage siren from Akron, Ohio that Jake Riviera signed to Stiff Records in the 1970's at the height of the new wave. She enjoyed the backing of some fantastic bands like The Records, The Rumour (also doubling backing Graham Parker) and Fingerprintz, who would go on to record 4 albums of their own. (If you listen closely, you can hear labelmate Lene Lovich singing backup as well!) Being in such esteemed company, she gained street cred by covering Elvis Costello's "Stranger In The House" (a rarity included with initial copies of his second album) and hitting with singles like a cover of "B-A-B-Y", "Who Does Lisa Like", "Suspended Animation", "Pin A Medal On Mary" and more. In days long before American Idol was even conceived, Sweet stands out as one of the genuine vocal artists and brightest hightlights of the 70's new wave/post-punk era.

Berlin reached their commercial peak – and their creative low point – with "Take My Breath Away" in 1986. While it's really not a bad song, the Top Gun hit removed the group from their new romantic roots, straying into adult contemporary territory. Master Series is an enjoyable career summary that collects nearly every track from Berlin that is worth collecting. Like many American new wave groups, Berlin was a superb singles band, but their albums were somewhat inconsistent. And their earliest work is the best, especially MTV classics like "Masquerade," "Dancing in Berlin," and "The Metro." On the naughty "Sex (I'm A…)," singer Terri Nunn shocked pop radio years before Madonna with its pornographic moans and groans and racy lyrics. "The Metro" encapsulates Berlin's affection for European new wave music with its somber, swirling synthesizers and sad, cold-as-ice vocals. The spiteful "No More Words" rips away the saccharine layers of "Take My Breath Away".

Everything! is a compilation album by Tones on Tail (Tones on Tail was a musical side project of Daniel Ash of the gothic rock group Bauhaus, along with art school friend, flatmate and "Bauhaus roadie" Glenn Campling in 1982), which was released in 1998 as a double CD. The first disc features the original Pop album, while the second disc collects the Burning Skies and Tones on Tail EPs, along with the "Lions", "Christian Says", "There's Only One" and "Performance" singles.

NXSIVE is the first compilation album by Australian rock band INXS, which was released in 1982 on Deluxe Records for the Australian market only. It appeared in the top 100 of the Kent Music Report Albums Chart. INXSive features highlights from the band's first two studio albums, related B-sides, and two non-album singles: "Simple Simon" and "The Loved One". The latter is a cover of a 1966 single originally by The Loved Ones; INXS later re-recorded this song and released it on the album Kick (October 1987).