Release
Due to a desire to release the album worldwide simultaneously, Simple Minds decided not to put the record out for sale before Christmas 1983, instead releasing Sparkle in the Rain on 6 February 1984. The first UK pressing was issued on white vinyl; the album immediately entered the UK Albums Chart at #1 to became the band's first chart-topper, and it remained in the charts for 57 weeks; among the band's records, only Once Upon a Time has bettered this chart run. The first Canadian pressing was issued on transparent vinyl (but using the standard green/red Virgin label instead of the custom design); the album peaked at #14 in the Canadian RPM national album chart. Sparkle in the Rain was certified gold in Canada for selling over 50,000 units in that country, and topped the New Zealand Albums Chart for two weeks, further remaining in their charts for eighteen weeks. Sparkle in the Rain also peaked at #2 in both Sweden, charting for six weeks, and the Netherlands, charting for thirty weeks. By 1988 Sparkle in the Rain had sold approximately one million-and-a-half copies worldwide.
Sparkle in the Rain produced three UK Top 40 singles. The first was "Waterfront", peaking at #1 in the New Zealand Singles Chart and charting for thirteen weeks. It also reached #13 in the UK Singles Chart, and remained in the charts for ten weeks. It remains one of the band's signature songs to this day. The album was also preceded by the release of "Speed Your Love To Me" which reached #20 in the U.K., although "Up on the Catwalk" fared less well; released in March 1984, the single only managed a peak of #27.
Virgin Records reissued Sparkle in the Rain as a remastered edition on 21 October 2002; this edition features improved sound quality and faithfully reproduced artwork and packaging from the original record. Around 2006, a set of eight demos for the album from 1983 were leaked to the internet. The drumming for "Speed Your Love To Me" is less dramatic, while "Book of Brilliant Things" is driven by a much stronger bass line than the album version. "White Hot Day" is at a slower tempo, and "Shake Off the Ghosts" sounds more related to the instrumental B-side "Brass Band In Africa" at this stage.
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