Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!: Day 37 - Come In, Come Out of The Rain

New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) released in 1982 had reached the highest any previous Simple Minds album had (#3), they even manged to three singles from it into the Top 40 (two of those, Promised You A Miracle and Glittering Prize, squeezed into the Top 20: Promised #13 and Glittering #16).

With their sixth Studio Album in five years, Sparkle in the Rain, they catapulted to the Top of the Album Charts in the UK in February 1984. It would spark a dose of good fortune for the band with a number of Albums that followed reaching either #1(Once Upon A Time - 1985 and Street Fighting Years - 1989) or #2 (Real Life - 1991 and Good News From The Next World - 1995) and more than twenty singles between 1984-1998 would grace the charts including their only #1 in the UK - Belfast Child and their only #1 hit in the USA - Don't You (Forget About Me) - that reached #7 here in the UK.

The only thing I really disliked about the album was their cover of Lou Reed's Street Hassle, I don't think they did it any justice at all. Apart from that there were a lot of good things about the album that get a thumbs up. Their sound was developing into what would become known as "Big Music" and obviously a lot of that had to do with all band members making a contribution musically and the bigness of their sound really came to fruition with their next album Once Upon A Time. 

I disagree with those that say Simple Minds were on a path of just following hard after U2, a similar charge was often thrown at The Alarm and yet those bands each have their own unique stylings. Sparkle was yet another step on the journey to crafting that style further. 

 Sparkle in the Rain - Simple Minds

Virgin

Produced by Steve Lilywhite

Released 6th February 1984

UK Album Chart #1

US Chart #64

Singles from Sparkle in the Rain

 "Waterfront"
    Released: 4 November 1983 UK #13
    "Speed Your Love to Me"
    Released: 9 January 1984 UK #20
    "Up on the Catwalk"
    Released: 12 March 1984 UK #27

Oh and Waterfront still sounds amazing live to this day

Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!