The Singles Collection (Spandau Ballet album)

The Singles Collection is a greatest hits album by English pop band Spandau Ballet, released on 4 November 1985 by Chrysalis Records. The album peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart and was certified double platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) within six weeks of release. It is the band's best-selling album in the United Kingdom, though despite its success, the album was released without the band's approval as they were leaving Chrysalis Records and signed to CBS Records for their next album.

Background
Spandau Ballet had their first pop hit in the US in 1983 when their number 1 UK single "True" reached number 4 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100. Their next single, "Gold", went to number 2 in the UK and made the top ten in several other countries but only reached number 29 in the US. The band's guitarist/songwriter Gary Kemp began to suspect that the American office of Chrysalis Records was neglecting them, and the fact that their next US single, number 12 UK hit "Communication", stalled at 59 on the Hot 100 was further proof. "Only When You Leave", the first single from their next album, Parade, went to number 3 in the UK and also made the top ten in several other countries but only managed a number 34 showing in the US.

Kemp felt certain the disappointing US numbers were because Chrysalis founders Chris Wright and Terry Ellis had an interpersonal conflict that was distracting them from promotional efforts. Wright refused to license the band to a bigger label in the US, so they first sought legal advice to get out of their contract. They eventually sued Chrysalis for breach of contract in 1985 because they felt they had "not received the 'support and promotion' stipulated" therein. Chrysalis released The Singles Collection during the dispute but only notified them of the album a week before it was in stores. An out-of-court settlement was reached in which Chrysalis was given access to their back catalog but had no rights to any new recordings.

Release and commercial performance
The Singles Collection was released on 4 November 1985 and entered the UK Albums Chart on 16 November to begin a 54-week run, during which time it peaked at number 3. It reached double platinum certification from the British Phonographic Industry on December 16 of that year for reaching the 600,000 units of shipment threshold. It got as high as number 2 in New Zealand, number 3 in Australia, number 9 in Spain, number 17 in the Netherlands and number 32 on the European Albums chart.

Critical reception
The Singles Collection had mostly negative reviews from music magazines upon its release, the one exception being Smash Hits, whose William White described it as a "plainly-packaged compilation" that gave "everyone an opportunity to appreciate Gary's consistently developing talent as a songwriter." Number One's critic Max Bell replaced the star-rating system in its 16 November 1985 issue with the categories "Buy It", "Hear It" and "Forget It", the last of which he used to summarize his thoughts on the compilation. Nancy Culp of Record Mirror was not as terse in her review: "From the gauche plinkety-plod of "To Cut a Long Story Short" to the Mecca ballroom tack of "Gold", this album shows just how much money you can get for a bit of old rope. There is, however, a diamond in the dustbin—"Chant No. 1 (I Don't Need This Pressure On)". It still manages to evoke the essence of the club scene circa 1981. It's the closest to the edge they ever got and still steams and crackles like sweat hitting a hotplate. "If only" could be the motto of this band. If only the singer had tried less to be a Las Vegas trouser splitter. If only the bad had not knocked so many rough edges off that they had skid marks on their G majors. In 1981 Spandau looked set to scale the heights—but tastefully. Come 1985 the money spoke louder than their hearts."

Retrospective reviews were more complimentary. Dave Thompson of AllMusic described it as "excellent". Paul Evans wrote a brief summary review of most of the Spandau Ballet album discography in The Rolling Stone Album Guide and gave The Singles Collection two-and-a-half stars out of five while describing it as "an all right greatest hits package ".

Track listing
All tracks are composed by Gary Kemp.


 * 1) "Gold" – 3:54
 * 2) "Lifeline" – 3:21
 * 3) "Round and Round" – 4:34
 * 4) "Only When You Leave" – 4:48
 * 5) "Instinction" – 3:35
 * 6) "Highly Strung" – 4:10
 * 7) "True" – 5:36
 * 8) "Communication" – 3:25
 * 9) "I'll Fly for You" – 5:10
 * 10) "To Cut a Long Story Short" – 3:20
 * 11) "Chant No. 1 (I Don't Need This Pressure On)" – 4:06
 * 12) "She Loved Like Diamond" – 2:55
 * 13) "Paint Me Down" – 3:43
 * 14) "The Freeze" – 3:30
 * 15) "Muscle Bound" – 3:58

The 12″ Collection Some copies of the vinyl album contained an extra record. This disc was composed of 12″ remixes and extended versions. This was somewhat similar to Ultravox's The Collection a year earlier.

Side one
 * 1) "To Cut a Long Story Short – 6:30
 * 2) "Chant No. 1 (I Don't Need This Pressure On) (Remix) – 8:03
 * 3) "Glow – 8:10

Side two
 * 1) "Communication (Club Mix) – 4:28
 * 2) "Gold (Extended Version) – 7:12
 * 3) "Highly Restrung – 5:27