Nutty scenes this week as Madness enter the chart at number 5 with their latest album Can’t Touch Us Now, equalling the peak of both 2009’s The Liberty of Norton Folgate and 7 way back in 1982. In fact, compilation albums aside, only the band’s first two albums One Step Beyond and Absolutely have peaked higher in the charts, both reaching number 2.
On to this week’s releases, and it’s finally happened – after thirty years the soundtrack to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off receives a belated CD release. After numerous teaser singles the new Bon Jovi album This House Is Not For Sale is unleashed today, as is On Air, a collection of Queen‘s BBC radio recordings (a bit like 1989’s Queen At The Beeb but more comprehensive) and Mötley Crüe‘s farewell concert is captured on a DVD/CD release The End. Hipsway‘s self-titled début gets a 30th anniversary revamp (read more about that here), a number of hard-to-find Half Man Half Biscuit B-sides and EP tracks are collected on And Some Fell On Stony Ground and there are expanded editions of Stevie Nicks‘ solo efforts Bella Donna and The Wild Heart. Finally, in compilation corner, the recent 12 Inch Dance compilations ’80s Synth Pop and ’80s Groove are distilled into double vinyl sets, each cherrypicking twelve extended mixes from the corresponding triple CD set.
