Greatest Hits (Thompson Twins Album)

Greatest Hits (Thompson Twins Album)

Greatest Hits is a compilation album by British pop band Thompson Twins, released in 1996 on the Arista Records label.

It is the group's very first compilation of singles, the remix collection Greatest Mixes having already been released a couple of years earlier in 1988, mainly promoted by the popular remix "In the Name of Love '88." Greatest Hits includes all of Thompson Twins' singles from 1982 to 1987, omitting earlier minor tracks from their UK debut album, A Product of ... (Participation), and the later single "Sugar Daddy," the last mainstream hit they had in the U.S., taken from their unsuccessful 1989 album Big Trash. Though Thompson Twins' previous album, 1987's Close to the Bone, was also a flop, both singles taken from it--"Get That Love" and "Long Goodbye"--are included here.

Thompson Twins' first singles collection chronologically compiles the following songs by the band's three different lineups (big band in the early years, three-piece group from 1983 to 1987, and duo in the later years): "In the Name of Love," which is the one track from their 1982 album Set; four tracks from their 1983 album Quick Step and Side Kick (their first as a trio), "Lies," "We Are Detective," "If You Were Here," and "Love on Your Side"; all five singles from their most successful long playing work, 1984's Into the Gap, namely "Hold Me Now," "Doctor! Doctor!," "You Take Me Up," "Sister of Mercy," and the album semi-title track, "The Gap," which was only released as a single in some territories outside Britain; three of the four singles from their last album as a three-piece band, 1985's Here's to Future Days, namely "Don't Mess with Doctor Dream," "Lay Your Hands on Me," and "King for a Day" (the omitted fourth single being The Beatles' cover "Revolution"); the two singles from their first work as a duo, 1987's Close to the Bone, namely "Get That Love" and "Long Goodbye"; and "Nothing in Common," from the 1986 film of the same name.

Thompson Twins released one more unsuccessful album after the span of time covered on this compilation. 1991's Queer generated two more singles: "Come Inside" and "The Saint." Though these were minor hits—and quite popular in clubs—neither would be included on the band's next greatest hits collection either: the double disc Love on Your Side - The Best of Thompson Twins, issued in 2007.