Into the Gap

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Into the Gap
File:Thompsons into the gap.jpg
Studio album by Thompson Twins
Released 17 February 1984
Recorded 1983–1984
Studio Compass Point Studios, Nassau, Bahamas
Genre
Length 42:33
Label Arista
Producer
Thompson Twins chronology
Quick Step and Side Kick
(1983)Quick Step and Side Kick1983		 Into the Gap
(1984)		 Here's to Future Days
(1985)Here's to Future Days1985
Singles from Into the Gap
  1. "Hold Me Now"
    Released: November 1983
  2. "Doctor! Doctor!"
    Released: 27 January 1984
  3. "You Take Me Up"
    Released: 23 March 1984
  4. "Sister of Mercy"
    Released: June 1984
  5. "The Gap"
    Released: November 1984
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 4/5 stars[1]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide (1992 Edition) 3/5 stars[2]
Robert Christgau B-[3]
Smash Hits 2.5/10[4]
Music Express (positive)[5]
Musician (positive)[6]

Into the Gap is the fourth studio album by the British pop group Thompson Twins. The album was originally released on 17 February 1984[7] on Arista (worldwide). The songs were largely recorded during 1983 to 1984 in sessions that took place at Compass Point Studios, in Nassau, Bahamas, once again assisted by Bob Marley's former record producer Alex Sadkin.

On release, the album was received favourably by the majority of music critics, although opinions have become more negative in subsequent decades. Thompson Twins' most commercially successful studio album, it went on to peak at number one on the UK Albums Chart (for 3 weeks), and number ten on the US Billboard 200. "Hold Me Now", "Doctor! Doctor!", "You Take Me Up", "Sister of Mercy", "The Gap", were all released as singles (the last two varying by territory), with corresponding music videos. Three of four singles that were released in the UK made the Top 5 and the fourth just missed the Top 10. According to the RIAA, the record sold over one million copies in the US, and in the UK, the album sold over 600,000 copies, and was certified 2× platinum. It became one of the year's biggest sellers, selling five million copies worldwide. The band embarked on a world tour in support of the album.

In March 2008, Into the Gap was reissued as an expanded 2-disc set by Edsel Records. It included the bonus cassette remixes that originally appeared on the original cassette version of the album in 1984, and also features a second disc which includes most major 12" single versions and B-sides, some of which appear on CD for the first time.

Release

"Hold Me Now", was released in late 1983. The song was an international chart success, peaking at No. 4 in their native UK [8] where it became the band's biggest seller earning a gold disc,[9] and reached No. 3 in the US in the spring of 1984 becoming their biggest American hit.[10] Further hit singles from the album followed with "Doctor! Doctor!" (UK No. 3)[11] and "You Take Me Up" (UK No. 2, their highest UK singles chart placing[12] and which earned a silver disc).[13] Other singles included a new version of the album track "Sister of Mercy" (UK No. 11), and "The Gap" (though this was not released in the UK).

Critical reception

In his consumer guide for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau admired the track "Hold Me Now", and gave the album an B-, but commented that "Nothing else here approaches its heart-tugging mastery, but the album remains lightly creditable through the title-cut chinoiserie which opens side two. After that, as Alannah Currie herself puts it, who can stop the rain?".[3] Keith Sharp of Music Express wrote "Into The Gap could be perceived as a distinctive milestone on how far new music has come in the past few years. It's enough to make you forget that the old dinosaur bands ever existed."[14] And J. D. Considine of Musician wrote "At times, the gimmicks can be as slight as a synthesizer setting, but they invariable make the album seem dazzling even when it isn't."[15] However, the NME called them, "1984's most instantly kitsch mass program of monosodium glutamation of the brain".

Contemporary reviews have similarly praised the album. Jose F. Promis of AllMusic gave the album four out of five stars and wrote that "Nearly every song on this set differed from the others, with each track taking the listener on a different musical journey." adding that "[the] Thompson Twins were quiet visionaries, blending intelligent lyrics, Eastern sensibilities, and new wave pop to create a wholly unique and unforgettable listening experience and an album that ranks as one of the '80s' most unique."[16]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie, and Joe Leeway.

Side one
  1. "Doctor! Doctor!" - 4:39
  2. "You Take Me Up" - 4:26
  3. "Day After Day" - 3:49
  4. "Sister of Mercy" - 5:09
  5. "No Peace for the Wicked" - 4:09
Side two
  1. "The Gap" - 4:44
  2. "Hold Me Now" - 4:46
  3. "Storm on the Sea" - 5:32
  4. "Who Can Stop the Rain" - 5:46

Personnel

Thompson Twins
Production team

Charts

Peak positions

Original release
Chart Peak
Position		 Total
weeks
Dutch Albums Chart[17] 23 8
German Albums Chart[18] 6 24
New Zealand Albums Chart[19] 1 31
Norwegian Albums Chart[17] 16 1
Swedish Albums Chart[17] 14 6
Swiss Albums Chart[17] 7 13
UK Albums Chart[20] 1 51
US Billboard Chart[21] 10 53

Sales and certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[22] 2× Platinum 200,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[23] 2× Platinum 600,000
United States (RIAA)[24] Platinum 1,000,000

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ Allmusic review
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ "Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Keith Sharp, Music Express (April, 1984)
  6. ↑ J. D. Considine, Musician (May 1984)
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ [1][dead link]
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named British_Hit_Singles_.26_Albums
  13. ↑ BPI database
  14. ↑ Keith Sharp, Music Express (April, 1984)
  15. ↑ J.D. Considine, Musician (May 1984)
  16. ↑ Allmusic review
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Enter Into the Gap in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH

External links

Preceded by UK number-one album
25 February 1984 – 16 March 1984		 Succeeded by
Human's Lib by Howard Jones
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