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Thompson Twins / Into The Gap SDE-exclusive blu-ray

40th anniversary reissue

By Paul Sinclair

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40th anniversary reissue • David Kosten Atmos Mix • 5.1 Mix • Instrumentals • 30 bonus tracks • Region-free blu-ray •  Quick pre-order

The Thompson Twins‘ 1984 album Into The Gap is being reissued for its 40th anniversary and amongst the formats is an SDE-exclusive blu-ray audio which features a David Kosten Dolby Atmos Mix and a wealth of bonus material.

Into The Gap was the Thompson Twins’ fourth album and their second as a three-piece of Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie and Joe Leeway. Like its predecessor, Quick Step & Side Kick, it was co-produced by the much missed Alex Sadkin, a brilliant mixer and producer who worked with the likes of Grace Jones, Duran Duran, Simply Red, Arcadia and more.

The album was the band’s commercial peak. The first three singles – ‘Hold Me Now‘, ‘Doctor! Doctor!‘, ‘You Take Me Up‘, were all top 5 singles in the UK with ‘Hold Me Now’ reaching No 3 in America and No 1 in the US Dance Chart. A fourth single, ‘Sister of Mercy‘ reached No 11 in Britain and ‘The Gap‘ was released as a single in the USA and Germany. Into The Gap enjoyed a three-week spell at the top of the UK charts and went top 10 in America. It would go on to sell over 5m copies worldwide, including 1m in the US.

The stereo version of the album has been remastered at Abbey Road by Frank Arkwright and David Kosten has created a brand new Dolby Atmos Mix, for the SDE-exclusive blu-ray audio. David’s forensic stereo rebuild and immersive work on Paul Young’s No Parlez earlier this year was much-praised and you can expect the same with Into The Gap. Here’s some thoughts from David on the mix:

“Massive treat for me to work on Into The Gap in Dolby Atmos. The icing on the cake being Tom Bailey visiting my studio for a listen and to make comments during the process. The original recordings sound so good and are brilliantly produced – all recorded on analogue tape at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, and transferred to digital for me to use at incredibly high resolution. I spent around a month rebuilding the album mixes from the individual parts on the multitracks, with as many of the original nuances, pan positions, effects and mix intentions retained as possible. 

And then onto mixing in Atmos – my mission was to really make use of all the speaker options, including lots of action in the centre, rear and overhead speakers, whilst maintaining the flow and integrity of the original stereo mixes. The music is often complex and multi-layered, so this was a perfect opportunity to hear all the lovely details and individual parts more clearly by opening up the tracks fully into the space. 

Being a total synth nerd it was awesome to hear all those great analogue tones and finally figure out how they managed to make certain parts work by layering multiple patches. The solo in ‘Doctor Doctor’ for instance – split across different synths, now opened up both left to right and front to back. A really distinctive part of what made TT so big was the unique layering of backing vocals, shared between Tom, Alannah and Joe’s very different voices – and again here it was a no-brainer to allow these to have their own spaces around the listening space. All the percussion elements were recorded on separate tracks too, and these often worked a treat being placed around the room”. – David Kosten

There are three formats of the 40th anniversary of Into The Gap on offer: a 3CD deluxe with 30 bonus tracks, a red vinyl remaster (album-only) and the SDE-exclusive blu-ray. I’m pleased to say that the blu-ray includes all 30 bonus tracks in stereo (cassette mixes, single edits, B-sides, 12″ mixes) as well as offering the 1984 album in the following streams:

  • David Kosten 2024 Dolby Atmos Mix (48/24)
  • David Kosten 2024 5.1 Mix (96/24)
  • David Kosten 2024 Stereo Mix (96/24)
  • David Kosten 2024 Dolby Atmos Instrumental Mix (96/24)
  • David Kosten 2024 5.1 Instrumental Mix (96/24)
  • 2024 Stereo Remaster (by Frank Arkwright) (96/24)
  • 1984 Original Stereo Mix (48/24)

Plus 30 stereo bonus tracks! (48/24)

Deluxe packaging and four discs worth of content in the SDE-exclusive blu-ray (click to enlarge)

The blu-ray is presented in deluxe rigid board packaging, the same as used for Richard Wright’s Wet Dream blu-ray last year, and not the usual amaray case. However, these will ship with the collectible SDE slipcase and – don’t worry – it will look consistent on the shelf! The premium packaging and the level of content means that #29 in the SDE Surround Series has a slightly higher price tag than normal, although we are confident that this is still tremendous value for the four discs worth of content that you are getting (there’s some savings to be made if you opt for the vinyl+blu-ray bundle).

All the physical formats feature restored artwork and new sleeve notes, written by John Earls and features contributions from all three band members. 

Into The Gap SDE-exclusive blu-ray will released on 6 December 2024. The 3CD and vinyl are available slightly earlier on 22 November (was 8 November).

Do not miss out. This product is a limited edition and has a 10 day pre-order window, which closes on 5 October 2024. Availability cannot be guaranteed after that date. The blu-ray is available only via the SDE shop. You can pre-order via this link or by using the buttons below. Blu-ray + vinyl bundles are available.

Tracklisting

Into The Gap Thompson Twins / 40th anniversary edition

    • Into The Gap in the following audio streams:

      1. David Kosten 2024 Dolby Atmos Mix

      2. David Kosten 2024 5.1 Mix

      3. David Kosten 2024 Stereo Mix

      4. David Kosten 2024 Dolby Atmos Instrumental Mix

      5. David Kosten 2024 5.1 Instrumental Mix

      6. 2024 Stereo Remaster (by Frank Arkwright)

      7. 1984 Original Stereo Mix

      Into The Gap

      1. Doctor! Doctor!
      2. You Take Me Up
      3. Day After Day
      4. Sister of Mercy
      5. No Peace for the Wicked
      6. The Gap
      7. Hold Me Now
      8. Storm on the Sea
      9. Who Can Stop the Rain
      Blu-ray bonus tracks in Stereo (B-sides, Cassette Mixes, Edit, Extended & 12″ versions)
      1. Let Loving Start**
      2. Nurse Shark (Instrumental)
      3. Out Of The Gap**
      4. Passion Planet
      5. You Take Me Up (Instrumental Remix)
      6. Doctor! Doctor! (Phil Thornalley Mix)
      7. Leopard Ray
      8. Doctor! Doctor! (Cassette Mix Version)
      9. Panic Station (Day After Day)
      10. Down Tools
      11. Hold Me Now (Cassette Mix Version)
      12. Funeral Dance (No Peace For The Wicked)
      13. Compass Points (The Gap)
      14. Still Water (Storm On The Sea) (Edit)
      15. Hold Me Now (Pete Hammond Mix)**
      16. Sister Of Mercy (Pete Hammond Mix)**
      17. Doctor! Doctor! (Single Edit)**
      18. Doctor! Doctor! (Edit)**
      19. Sister Of Mercy (Single Mix)**
      20. You Take Me Up (Single Edit)**
      21. The Gap (Single Mix AKA AOR Mix)**
      22. Hold Me Now (Phil Thornalley Extended)**
      23. Hold Me Now (Pete Hammond Extended Mix)**
      24. Let Loving Start (12″ Version)
      25. Out Of The Gap (Megamix Extended Version)
      26. Sister Of Mercy (12″ Version)
      27. Sister Of Mercy (Pete Hammond Extended Mix)**
      28. The Gap (Club Remix Version)**
      29. You Take Me Up (Machines Take Me Over) (12″ Version)
      30. You Take Me Up (High Plains Mixer) (US 12″ Remix)
      ** Denotes previously unreleased and/or new to CD

1 Tears For Fears / The Tipping Point

2 xPropaganda / The Heart is Strange

3 Gilbert O’Sullivan / Driven

4 Shakespears Sister / Hormonally Yours

5 Brian Eno / ForeverAndEverNoMore

6. Orbital / Optical Delusion

6.5 Various Artists / Concert For George

7 Ten Years After / A Space in Time

8 Bob Dylan / Time Out Of Mind (2022 Remix)

9 Tears For Fears / The Hurting

10 Mike Oldfield / Tubular Bells

11 Suede

12 ABC / The Lexicon of Love

13 Duran Duran / Danse Macabre

13a Duran Duran / Danse Macabre De Luxe

14 Trevor Horn / Echoes – Ancient and Modern

15 Soft Cell / Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret

16 Def Leppard / Diamond Star Halos

17 Paul Young / No Parlez

18 Mark Knopfler / One Deep River

19 Wham! / Fantastic

20 Wham! / Make It Big

21 Keane / Hopes and Fears

22 Luther Vandross / Never Too Much

23 Crowded House / Gravity Stairs

24 Ultravox / Lament

25 Tori Amos / Unrepentant Geraldines

26 Bronski Beat / The Age of Consent

27 Thin Lizzy / 1976

28 Tears For Fears / Songs For A Nervous Planet

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