Culture Club – Colour By Numbers (Blue Vinyl)

Culture Club's Colour By Numbers arrived in October 1983 as the band's second album and quickly became the record that fixed their crossover appeal on both sides of the Atlantic. It sold more than 10 million copies worldwide, reached No. 1 in the UK and No. 2 in the US, and spent six weeks held off the top American spot only by Thriller. That scale makes sense when you hear how confidently the group sharpened its mix of pop, soul and lightly reggae-tinged hooks into songs built to travel far beyond the new wave moment.

The big singles still explain its reach: the global No. 1 Karma Chameleon, plus Church of the Poison Mind, Miss Me Blind and It's a Miracle, all of them key to an album that produced an unusually deep run of hits. The commercial story was matched by lasting recognition too, with NME placing it at No. 7 in its albums of 1983 list and Rolling Stone later ranking it among the 100 best albums of the 1980s.

This edition also has a little extra appeal for vinyl buyers: it is billed as the first coloured-vinyl pressing of a long out-of-print album, remastered at Abbey Road and presented on light blue vinyl. For a record so tied to bright, immediate pop craft, that feels like a fitting way back into print.

Features

• LP, 180g, Light Blue Vinyl, Limited Edition
• Remastered at Abbey Road
• Cut from the original analogue production masters
• First coloured-vinyl pressing of the album

Reviews

• Colour by Numbers was Culture Club's most successful album, and, undoubtedly, one of the most popular albums from the 1980s. - AllMusic.com