''Fade to Grey: The Singles Collection'' is a 1983

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

by the British

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

group Visage.

Background

Released as a stop-gap between studio albums whilst the band was experiencing contractual difficulties, the compilation includes all of the Visage singles released up to that point (five of them UK Top 30 hits), the majority taken from their first two albums '' Visage'' (1980) and '' The Anvil'' (1982), as well as a couple of non-single tracks. The cassette version was released as a Special Dance Mix Cassette, featuring remixes as well as a bonus track, "Der Amboss" (a German-language version of the song "The Anvil").This version was also available on limited vinyl with a red rim around the outer sleeve instead of blue. In British

HMV HMV is an international music and entertainment retailer, founded in 1921. The brand is owned by Hilco Capital and operated by Sunrise Records, except in Japan, where it is owned and operated by Lawson. The inaugural shop was opened on Lo ...

stores, a limited number of copies of the album and cassette were issued with a free 7" vinyl picture disc of the " Pleasure Boys" single from 1982. The album reached No. 38 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

and was certified Gold by the

British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...

, based on pre-release sales to shops. The album was re-released a decade later as ''Fade to Grey – The Best of Visage'' with a similar cover and tracklisting but with the inclusion of two tracks not featured on the original release: " Love Glove" (Visage's penultimate single), from the album ''

Beat Boy ''Beat Boy'' is the third studio album by the British synth-pop band Visage. It was recorded at Trident Studios between 1982 and 1983 and released on Polydor Records in October 1984 (delayed by contractual problems the band were having at that ...

'' (1984), and the

Bassheads Bassheads was a British house duo from Wirral. This consisted of Nick Murphy and Eamonn Anthony Deery. The group had a big European hit with "Is There Anybody Out There?" History Murphy and Deery started to produce house music in Nick Murphy's ho ...

/Andy Stevenson remix of " Fade to Grey", which became a minor Top 40 hit again in 1993. The only single not included on this compilation was "

", the band's final single from 1984. In October 2020, the Special Dance Mix version of the album was released for the first time on CD by Rubellan Remasters. The CD features all of the tracks originally included on the original 1983 cassette version (many of them still in their non-stop "hit mix" form) along with several bonus tracks.

Track listing

Standard version

Special Dance Mix versions

1983 Special Dance Mix Cassette
Side one: #"Fade to Grey" (12" Dance Mix) – 6:20 #"Mind of a Toy" (12" Dance Mix) – 5:10 #"Visage" (12" Dance Mix) – 5:31 #"We Move" (remix) – 3:32 #"Tar" – 3.30 #"Der Amboss" (edit) – 4:34 Side two:

"In the Year 2525" – 3:42
"The Anvil" (special remix for this album) – 5:01
"Night Train" (special remix for this album) – 6:20
"Pleasure Boys" – 3:33
"Damned Don't Cry" (12" Dance Mix) – 5:40

(Timings are approximate, as the cassette release was produced as a non-stop "hit mix" in which some tracks fade into each other.) 2020 Rubellan Remasters Special Dance Mix CD #"Fade to Grey" – 6:22 #"Mind of a Toy" – 5:11 #"Visage" – 5:33 #"We Move" (Remix) – 3:34 #"Tar" – 3:28 #"In the Year 2525" – 3:40 #"The Anvil" – 4:57 #"Night Train" – 6:24 #"Pleasure Boys" – 3:27 #"The Damned Don't Cry" – 5:37 #"Frequency 7" – 3:05 #"Night Train" (7" Remix) – 3:42 #"Der Amboss" – 4:37 #"Pleasure Boys" (Bonus Beats) – 5:50 #"Night Train" (Dub Mix) – 5:03

Charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fade to Grey - The Singles Collection 1983 compilation albums 1993 compilation albums Albums produced by Midge Ure Polydor Records compilation albums Visage (band) albums