''Greenpeace – The Album'' is a multi-artist

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 ...

that was released in June 1985 to raise funds and awareness for the environmental organisation

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...

. It was compiled by the UK branch of the organisation and issued on Greenpeace Records with distribution by

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

. The album includes songs by British contemporary new wave artists such as

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...

Tears for Fears Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath in 1981 by Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the synth-pop bands o ...

Eurythmics Eurythmics were a British New wave music, new wave duo formed in 1980, consisting of Scottish vocalist Annie Lennox and English musician and producer Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), Dave Stewart. They were both previously in the Tourists, a band t ...

, Howard Jones,

Madness Madness or The Madness may refer to: Emotion and mental health * Anger, an intense emotional response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat * Insanity, a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns * ...

and

Heaven 17 Heaven 17 are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1980. The band were a trio for most of their career, composed of founding Human League members Martyn Ware (keyboards, drum machine, vocals) and Ian Craig Marsh (keyboards) with voc ...

, and others by rock or pop artists including

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and dancer. Bush began writing songs at age 11. She was signed to EMI Records after David Gilmour of Pink Floyd helped produce a demo tape. In 1978, at the ...

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

and

the Pretenders The Pretenders are a British rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Farndon (ba ...

. The album was released in North America by

A&M Records A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and functions as a branch of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Established in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the label initially operated independent ...

on 19 August 1985, over a month after the sinking of Greenpeace's flagship, the '' Rainbow Warrior''. The album cover contains a photo of the ship taken by Dutch freelance photographer

Fernando Pereira Fernando Pereira (10 May 1950 – 10 July 1985) was a Portuguese-Dutch freelance photographer, who drowned when French intelligence ( DGSE) detonated a bomb and sank the ''Rainbow Warrior'', owned by the environmental organisation Greenpeace o ...

, who was killed in the sinking.Scott Benarde
"Brits Cut An Album To Aid Greenpeace"
''

Sun-Sentinel The ''Sun Sentinel'' (also known as the ''South Florida Sun Sentinel'', known until 2008 as the ''Sun-Sentinel'', and stylized on its masthead as ''SunSentinel'') is the main daily newspaper of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Broward County, an ...

'', 23 August 1985 (retrieved 30 November 2017).

Background

''Greenpeace – The Album'' was inspired by two similar multi-artist musical projects compiled in Denmark and

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. According to Greenpeace activist Tom Campbell, the UK project was conceived as a relatively minor undertaking, but "the thing snowballed, with more and more acts volunteering songs for the record." Explaining their support in a 1985 interview,

Suggs Graham McPherson (born 13 January 1961), known primarily by his stage name Suggs, is a British singer-songwriter, musician, radio personality and actor. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead singer of the ska band Madness, which ...

and

Carl Smyth Cathal Joseph "Carl" Smyth (born 14 January 1959), also known as Chas Smash, is an English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was the secondary vocalist, trumpet player and dancer for the English band Madness from their inception ...

of Madness said that they admired the activists' boldness in dealing directly with environmental problems around the world; Suggs said: "Greenpeace are ecologists but they do things. They don't have debates, they don't have marches, they just do things." The majority of the sixteen contributions to the album were previously released songs and, in some cases, had become chart hits. An exception was "Push and Shove" by

Hazel O'Connor Hazel Thereasa O'Connor (born 16 May 1954) is a British singer-songwriter and actress. She became famous in the early 1980s with hit singles " Eighth Day", " D-Days" and " Will You?" She also starred in the 1980 film '' Breaking Glass''. Caree ...

and Chris Thompson, which was recorded for the compilation and produced by

Haydn Bendall Haydn Bendall (born 13 April 1951, Essex, England) is an English record producer, audio engineer and mixer. He was Chief Engineer at Abbey Road Studios for ten years and was awarded the Audio Pro Industry Excellence Award for Best Studio Engin ...

, who also oversaw technical coordination for the album. Also exclusive to the 1985 release, George Harrison remixed his 1981 track " Save the World" and recorded a new vocal with the lyrics tailored more to Greenpeace's cause. The Pretenders' contribution, "Show Me", was a live version of their 1984 single, recorded in Detroit.

Video release and sequel

The album was followed by a home video compilation, titled ''Greenpeace: Non-Toxic Video Hits'', which included videos for many of the songs from the album. The release took place on 5 December 1985 in the UK and 16 April 1986 in the US. A second fundraising album, ''Greenpeace: Rainbow Warriors'', was released in the summer of 1989. Among its 31 tracks were further contributions from Peter Gabriel, the Pretenders and the Eurythmics.

Track listing

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenpeace - The Album 1985 compilation albums A&M Records compilation albums Greenpeace