Imagine your fave 80s pop anthems backed by an orchestral arrangement? Talk about lifting to new heights! 

80s Symphonic combines the original classic tracks of 15 iconic 80s tracks from David Bowie, a-ha, Foreigner, Simple Minds, Simply Red, Tina Turner, Pretenders, Ultravox and more with brand new symphonic and string arrangements performed by the 50 piece London Studio Orchestra creating brand unique versions of these timeless tracks like you’ve never heard before. Released on November 9 and available to pre-order here.

The songs on 80s Symphonic have collectively sold over 20 million copies and have been number one hits in over 20 countries. The brand new orchestrations for the album are the work of producer and arranger Andy Wright, who has worked with Simple Minds, Eurythmics, Simply Red, Jeff Beck, Massive Attack to name but a few. 

“Opening up the tape boxes of the biggest hits from the 80s was like all my Christmases rolled into one. Having then the opportunity of augmenting the original performances with a 50-piece Symphonic Orchestra has been a dream job. My first call was to my long-time collaborator Sam Swallow, Sam and I have tried to respectfully represent the musicality of the instrumental members of these great bands with Sam judiciously adding additional touches. It could be argued that these records cannot be improved, but…..!" said Andy Wright. 

Taking the original elements of the multi-tracks and, on 14 of the tracks, the original vocals, the songs were arranged by Sam Swallow and recorded over three days by the London Studio Orchestra in the legendary ‘Beatles Studio’ Studio 2 at the world famous Abbey Road Studios.

The new version of David Bowie’s 1983 classic "Let’s Dance" was orchestrated and arranged for strings by the track’s original producer Nile Rodgers at Abbey Road Studio 1 where he is the Chief Creative Advisor. 

“My work with David Bowie and specifically “Let’s Dance” is sacrosanct to me so when I was asked by David’s family and Warner’s to add orchestration to the original recording I approached it with extreme trepidation. In fact, my only concern was to protect David’s artistic vision and integrity. In the end, I’m very grateful that we did this, as I believe anyone who loves the original will be excited by it. I’m certain David would approve from above” said Nile Rodgers.

The first single to be taken from 80’s Symphonic is one of the most iconic hits of the Eighties, "Take On Me" by a-ha. First released in 1984, the song was a worldwide smash in 1985 reaching #1 in over a dozen countries and as of 2017 has sold 7 million copies worldwide. On hearing the new version a-ha’s Magne Furuholmen commented: “After the stripped-down version of MTV unplugged, comes the full throttle orchestra-version...buckle up!”

80s Symphonic tracklisting:

1.         David Bowie – Let’s Dance*
2.         a-ha – Take On Me
3.         Simple Minds – Alive & Kicking
4.         Ultravox – Vienna
5.         Echo & The Bunnymen – The Killing Moon
6.         Bronski Beat – Smalltown Boy
7.         Howard Jones – What Is Love?
8.         Tina Turner – What’s Love Got To Do With It
9.         Simply Red – Holding Back The Years
10.      Chris Rea – Josephine
11.     Chicago – Hard Habit To Break
12.      Roxette – It Must Have Been Love
13.      Foreigner – I Want To Know What Love Is
14.      The Cars – Drive
15.      Pretenders – 2000 Miles

Producer: Andy Wright (unless indicated*)
Orchestrated, Arranged and Conducted: Sam Swallow (unless indicated*)
Performed by the London Studio Orchestra
Recorded at Abbey Road Studio
*Produced, arranged and conducted by Nile Rodgers