Double vinyl LP pressing. Digitally remastered and expanded collection of 22 original songs recorded for Julian Temple's 1986 cult classic film Absolute Beginners. The album features three songs by David Bowie that weren't included on any of his studio albums, along with exclusive tracks recorded for the film by Sade, The Style Council, Ray Davies and Jerry Dammers and more. The soundtrack was much more warmly received than the film was at the time, while the reviews for the film were mixed, the album had good write-ups in the best selling 'inkies' of the day NME & Sounds. Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, whose many credits include No. 1 singles for Madness and Dexys Midnight Runners, produced the album and it also features arrangements by Gil Evans, widely recognised as one of the key orchestrators in jazz, acclaimed for his collaborations with Miles Davis. The album features four tracks that are unavailable elsewhere; Sade's 'Killer Blow', Ray Davies first solo single 'Quiet Life', Riot City', an eight-and-a-half minute Jazz instrumental that marked a first solo outing for Jerry Dammers and an extended version of The Style Council single 'Have You Ever Had It Blue?'. All four are unique to this album. The sleeve notes for the album feature new interviews with Julien Temple, Clive Langer, Alan Winstanley, Edward Tudor Pole, Simon Emmerson, Mick Talbot and Nick Lowe.
1. Absolute Beginners David Bowie 2. Killer Blow Sade 3. Have You Ever Had It Blue? The Style Council 4. Quiet Life Ray Davies 5. Va Va Voom Gil Evans 6. Thats Motivation David Bowie 7. Having It All Eighth Wonder ft Patsy Kensit 8. Rodrigo Bay Working Week 9. Selling Out Slim Gaillard 10. Riot City Jerry Dammers 11. Boogie Stop Shuffle (Rough ; The Smooth) Gil Evans 12. Ted Aint Dead Tenpole Tudor 13. Volare (Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu) David Bowie 14. Napoli Clive Langer 15. Little Cat (You Never Had It So Good) Jonas (24) 16. Absolute Beginners (Slight Refrain) Gil Evans 17. Better Git It In Your Soul (The Hot ; The Cool) Gil Evans 18. Landlords And Tenants Laurel Aitken 19. Santa Lucia Ekow Abban 20. Cool Napoli Gil Evans 21. So What? (Lyric Version) Smiley Culture 22. Absolute Beginners (Refrain) Gil Evans