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R.E.M.: Murmur
I.R.S. Records releases R.E.M.‘s debut album Murmur, featuring the single “Radio Free Europe”.
Category: Music
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Dave Edmunds: Information
CBS Records releases the Dave Edmunds solo album Information, featuring the singles “Slipping Away” and “Information” (both produced by Jeff Lynne of ELO fame).
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Return Of The Sound Of The Jedi
RSO Records releases an LP of selections from John Williams’ soundtrack from Return Of The Jedi, a surprisingly downscaled released compared to the first two movies’ double-album soundtracks.
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The Police: Synchronicity
A&M Records releases the fifth and final Police album Synchronicity, featuring the singles “Synchronicity I”, “Synchronicity II”, “Every Breath You Take”, “King Of Pain” and “Wrapped Around Your Finger”.
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Electric Light Orchestra: Secret Messages
Electric Light Orchestra‘s ninth album, the science fiction/time travel concept album Secret Messages, is released, featuring the single “Rock ‘n’ Roll Is King”. Originally a double album (slated to include the legendary lost song “Beatles Forever“), Secret Messages is pared down to a single LP late in production, and the resulting orphan tracks become the source of most of the group’s unreleased songs for several box sets to come.
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Tim Finn goes solo
Recording solo material with elements of funk, R&B and reggae that he deemed unsuitable for the band that made him famous, Split Enz, Tim Finn releases his first solo album, Escapade. Slightly more in line with mainstream musical tastes than Split Enz’s usual quirky output, Escapade quickly makes the top ten – and goes platinum – in Australia, where it is first released.
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Big Country: The Crossing
POlygram Records releases the Big Country album The Crossing, featuring the singles “In A Big Country” and “Fields of Fire”.
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Split Enz displays Conflicting Emotions
The eighth album from Split Enz, Conflicting Emotions, is released. Despite the catchy single “Strait Old Line”, the album doesn’t sell as well is the group’s previous three albums (perhaps a side-effect of lower exposure due to the previous album’s lead single being artificially strangled by radio programmers). This is the last album to feature founding member Tim Finn; his younger brother Neil elects to keep the band together to continue recording.
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Weird Al Yankovic: In 3-D
Scotti Bros. Records releases Weird Al Yankovic‘s second album, In 3-D, featuring the singles “Eat It” and “I Lost On Jeopardy”.
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R.E.M.: Reckoning
I.R.S. Records releases R.E.M.‘s second album, Reckoning.
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Indiana Jones And The Tempo Of Doom
Polydor Records releases an album of John Williams‘ soundtrack from Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom, including the movie’s unique rendition of Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes”.
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Star Trek III: The Soundtrack For Spock
Atlantic Records releases James Horner‘s soundtrack from Star Trek III: The Search For Spock, including an instrumental “pop version” of the movie’s main theme.
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(Who’s Afraid Of?) The Art Of Noise
Having already made a unique sample-based production sound evident on such albums as Yes’ 90125, Art Of Noise releases its first album, (Who’s Afraid Of?) The Art Of Noise, on ZTT Records. The single “Close (To The Edit)”, accompanied by a manic, surreal music video, becomes an immediate hit. At this time, the “band” consists of Anne Dudley, Trevor Horn, J.J. Jeczalik and Gary Langan.
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Lindsey Buckingham: Go Insane
Warner Bros. Records releases Lindsey Buckingham‘s second solo album, Go Insane, featuring the single of the same name.
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Wendy Carlos: Digital Moonscapes
CBS Records releases Wendy Carlos‘ instrumental album Digital Moonscapes. Performed entirely on synthesizers (credited on the album to the “LSI Philharmonic Orchestra”), the album includes one track (“Io”) which was originally composed for, and dropped from, a scene in the movie Tron (for which Carlos also composed the soundtrack).
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Dave Edmunds: Riff Raff
Scotti Bros. Records releases the Dave Edmunds album Riff Raff, again pairing Edmunds with producer Jeff Lynne of ELO fame. The album includes the singles “Breaking Out” and “S.O.S.”
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Julian Lennon: Valotte
Atlantic Records releases Julian Lennon‘s debut album, Valotte, featuring the singles “Too Late For Goodbyes” and “Valotte”.
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Depeche Mode: Some Great Reward
Mute Records releases the Depeche Mode album Some Great Reward, featuring the single “People Are People”, which becomes the group’s signature song for years to come.
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2010: The Year We Make Contact soundtrack
A&M Records releases David Shire’s soundtrack from the movie 2010: The Year We Make Contact. Available only briefly – the label doesn’t keep the title in print after the movie proves not to be a blockbuster – the soundtrack has yet to be reissued in any form and is an exceedingly rare collectors’ item. The album includes a version of the theme tune by Andy Summers of The Police.
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Split Enz will See Ya Round
The ninth and final studio album from Split Enz, See Ya Round, is released. Originally slated to be a farewell EP by the remaining band members following the departure of Tim Finn (and new drummer recruit Paul Hester), it blossoms into a full-length album thanks to new original material by Hester, bassist Nigel Griggs, and a jam or two between all the band members. Though Split Enz embarks on a lengthy farewell tour (and releases a double album of some of the best performances from that tour), this remains the group’s final studio album.
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Godley & Creme: The History Mix, Volume I
Polygram Records releases the album The History Mix, Volume I by former 10cc members Godley & Creme. Accompanied by a video that anticipates the “morphing” digital effects of the 1990s, the album’s single is “Cry”, though most of the album heavily remixes of the duo’s past work with 10cc.
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Birdy soundtrack
Geffen Records releases Peter Gabriel’s soundtrack to the movie Birdy. Many of the album’s tracks are instrumentals inspired by songs from Gabriel’s existing solo albums.
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Ladyhawke soundtrack
Atlantic Records releases an album of Andrew Powell‘s soundtrack from the movie Ladyhawke. The album is produced by Alan Parsons, and features a rock-based score performed by the same musicians who record for the Alan Parsons Project.
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Weird Al Yankovic Dares To Be Stupid
Scotti Bros. Records releases the third album by Weird Al Yankovic, Dares To Be Stupid. The album features the singles “Like A Surgeon” and “I Want A New Duck”.
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Sting: The Dream of the Blue Turtles
A&M Records releases the first solo album by Sting, The Dream of the Blue Turtles. The album features the singles “If You Love Somebody, Set Them Free” and “Fortress Around Your Heart”.
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Talking Heads: Little Creatures
Sire Records releases the Talking Heads album Little Creatures, featuring the singles “And She Was”, “Road To Nowhere” and “Perfect World”.
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Star Trek Volume 1 soundtrack
GNP Crescendo releases the first-ever CD of Alexander Courage’s music from the original Star Trek television series, presenting selections from the two pilot episodes, The Cage and Where No Man Has Gone Before. This is the first time that music from the original series has been presented, other than countless recordings and remakes of the main title theme.
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Todd Rundgren: A Capella
Warner Bros. Records releases the Todd Rundgren album A Capella, an album whose “instruments” are all samples of Rundgren’s own voice.
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Star Trek re-recordings
Label X releases two volumes of new recordings of classic Star Trek soundtrack music. Volume 1 features music from the episodes Is There In Truth No Beauty? and The Paradise Syndrome, while Volume 2 premieres music from The Enemy Within, The Conscience Of The King, The Spectre Of The Gun, and I, Mudd. Both releases are timed to coincide with the beginning of Star Trek’s 20th anniversary year.
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Electric Light Orchestra: Balance Of Power
Electric Light Orchestra‘s eleventh album, Balance Of Power, is released, featuring the single “Calling America”. This is the final release by ELO before Jeff Lynne officially disbands the group, as well as the final album containing anything remotely resembling the lineup of ELO’s ’70s heyday. Drummer Bev Bevan later recuits new musicians and other former ELO members to form ELO Part II.