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Nik Kershaw / The MCA Years

Comprehensive 10CD+DVD box set

By Paul Sinclair

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The MCA Years / Nik Kershaw 10CD+DVD box set

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The Nik Kershaw box set that SDE exclusively revealed in our 2024 SDE Reissue Preview will be released in July. Called The MCA Years, the 10CD+DVD box set brings together Nik’s first four albums with a further seven discs of bonus content.

The four albums are of course Human Racing (1984), The Riddle (1984), Radio Musicola (1986) and The Works (1989). While the first two albums got decent – but not perfect – 2CD reissues around a decade ago, the last two have never been expanded so for that reason alone, The MCA Years is rather exciting.

The albums all stand alone on their respective CDs, newly remastered by Tony Dixon and overseen by Nik Kershaw. After that is six CDs of bonus content, made up of one disc of B-sides, three CDs of extended remixes, seven-inch mixes and the odd dub mix, and two CDs featuring Kershaw’s 1984 Hammersmith Odeon show released in its entirety for the first time!

The bonus DVD includes 13 promo videos and the filmed version of the Hammersmith show (which is edited and therefore doesn’t include all the audio tracks on those two CDs.

I interviewed Nik for this release last year and in the accompanying booklet he tells his ‘MCA story’ with anecdotes and recollections from this era.

The MCA Years will be released on 7 February 2025 (was 27 September 2024 and before that was 30 August 2024 and prior to that, 26 July 2024), via Cherry Red.

Tracklisting

The MCA Years Nik Kershaw / 10CD+DVD box set

    • CD 1: Human Racing
      1. Dancing Girls
      2. Wouldn’t It Be Good
      3. Drum Talk
      4. Bogart
      5. Gone To Pieces
      6. Shame On You
      7. Cloak And Dagger
      8. Faces
      9. I Won’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me
      10. Human Racing
    • CD 2: The Riddle
      1. Don Quixote
      2. Know How
      3. You Might
      4. Wild Horses
      5. Easy
      6. The Riddle
      7. City Of Angels
      8. Roses
      9. Wide Boy
      10. Save The Whale
    • CD 3: Radio Musicola
      1. Radio Musicola
      2. Nobody Knows
      3. L.A.B.A.T.Y.D.
      4. What The Papers Say
      5. Life Goes On
      6. Running Scared
      7. James Cagney
      8. Don’t Let Me Out of My Cage
      9. When A Heart Beats
      10. Violet To Blue
    • CD 4: The Works
      1. One Step Ahead
      2. Elisabeth’s Eyes
      3. Take My Place
      4. Wounded Knee
      5. Cowboys And Indians
      6. One World
      7. Don’t Ask Me
      8. Burning At Both Ends
      9. Lady On The Phone
      10. Walkabout
    • CD 5: B-sides
      1. Dark Glasses
      2.  She Cries
      3. Monkey Business
      4. So Quiet
      5. Don’t Lie (featuring Sheri Kershaw)
      6. One Of Our Fruit Machines Is Missing (Instrumental)
      7. When I Grow Up
      8. My Friend John
    • CD 6: Extended Mixes
      1. Wouldn’t It Be Good – Special Extended Mix
      2. Dancing Girls – Special Extended Version
      3. I Won’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me – Extended Remix by Simon Boswell
      4. Human Racing – Re-mix By Simon Boswell
      5. Drum Talk – Special Extended Version
      6. Faces – Re-mix By Simon Boswell
      7. Bogart – Extended 12″ Remix
      8. I Won’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me – Extended Dance Mix
      9. The Riddle – Extended 12” Remix
    • CD 7: Extended Mixes
      1. Wide Boy – Special Extended Mix
      2. Don Quixote – Extra Special Long Mix
      3. Wild Horses – Extended Mix
      4. When A Heart Beats – Extended Mix
      5. Radio Musicola – Extended Version
      6. Nobody Knows – Extended Mix
      7. James Cagney – Extended Mix
      8. One Step Ahead – Industrial Mix
      9. Elisabeth’s Eyes – Extended Version
    • CD 8: Mixes
      1. I Won’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me – 7” Remix by Simon Boswell
      2. Wide Boy – 7” Remix by Gary Langan
      3. James Cagney – Edited Version
      4. Dancing Girls – Remixed Version
      5. Dancing Girls – Special Hi- Energy Remix
      6. Drum Talk – Special Hi- energy Remix
      7. Wouldn’t It Be Good – Remix
      8. Elisabeth’s Eyes – Club Dub
      9. Shame On You – Additional Brass Mix
    • CD 9: Live at Hammersmith Odeon Dec ’84
      1. Roses
      2. Know How
      3. Dancing Girls
      4. Bogart
      5. City Of Angels
      6. Cloak And Dagger
      7. Wild Horses
      8. Gone To Pieces
      9. Save The Whale
      10. The Riddle
    • CD 10: Live at Hammersmith Odeon Dec ’84
      1. Shame On You
      2. Wide Boy
      3. Human Racing
      4. Drum Tal
      5. Wouldn’t It Be Good
      6. Faces
      7. I Won’t Let The Sun Go Down
      8. Don Quixote
      9. You Might
      10. Progress
    • DVD
      Videos
      1. Wouldn’t It Be Good
      2. I Won’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me – Original
      3. I Won’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me
      4. Dancing Girls
      5. Wide Boy
      6. Nobody Knows
      7. Human Racing
      8. The Riddle
      9. Don Quixote
      10. When A Heart Beats
      11. Radio Musicola
      12. Elizabeth’s Eyes
      13. One Step Ahead
      Live at Hammersmith Odeon 1984
      1. Roses
      2. Know How
      3. Bogart
      4. Cloak & Dagger
      5. Wild Horses
      6. Gone To Pieces
      7. Save The Whale
      8. The Riddle
      9. Wide Boy
      10. Wouldn’t It Be Good
      11. Drum Talk
      12. I Won’t Let The Sun Go Down

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