ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 1, 1985
By Steve Newton
“By purchasing this album, you will be helping to ensure that Greenpeace can continue its campaign to protect the natural world.”
That’s what it says on the back cover of the new Greenpeace benefit album, and that’s reason enough to dig into your pockets and help out a worthy cause.
A more selfish reason is that you get some great tunes by 16 of the world’s top pop and rock artists.
The tracks that most stand out to my ears are “Shock the Monkey” by Peter Gabriel, and the Pretenders’ “Show Me”, a special version of which was recorded live in Detroit.
Secondary favourites are tunes by Tears for Fears (“Mad World”), Heaven 17 (“Let’s All Make a Bomb”), Madness (Wings of a Dove”), and Depeche Mode (“Blasphemous Rumours”).
There are also contributions by Kate Bush, Queen, Kajagoogoo, Thomas Dolby, Howard Jones, Nik Kershaw, George Harrison, Roger Taylor, Hazel O’Connor & Chris Thompson, and Eurythmics.
British synth-pop is the main ingredient of this record, so if you have an affinity for that sort of thing the Greenpeace LP is especially worthwhile.
The cover photo of the Rainbow Warrior cutting through the sea was taken by Portuguese photographer Fernando Pereira, who was killed when the French secret service blew up the ship in New Zealand last July.