Complete Danny Wilson is a 5CD boxset, released by Cherry Red on 28/02/2025, bringing together the group’s two albums as well as their b-sides, mixes and a complete live show (some of which has never been heard before).
The new 5 cd set was mastered by Andy Pearce. The band were involved in all aspects of the release and have been interviewed extensively for the booklet, that features revealing and often humorous band member comments on the studio tracks along with background to the live recordings.
The band’s debut Meet Danny Wilson is on disc 1 of the 5 disc set. Davy is the story of a journey to the bright (or maybe quite faded) lights of London. The song really sticks in your head after hearing it again.
“But remember, money is nothing alone
Remember, if you want to come home
I won’t throw the first stone, Davy”
Davy is a delightful opener and an early indication of the improvement with the mastering. Comparing to my Sweet Danny Wilson CD version from the early 90s, the songs are louder (but not brick-walled) with so much more clarity and punch. All of the tracks sound improved, not just the two studio albums.
Aberdeen fully utilises the studio equipment of the era, including the Fairlight. The sleeve-notes explain that the band went “a wee bit mental” throwing everything at the track, and the more stripped down version on disc 4 is my favourite take, using less electronics to populate the arrangement.
Mary’s Prayer is simply one of my favourite songs of all time. This punchy, crisp mix makes it feel like you are discovering the song for the very first time, and that’s a wonderful feeling.
“So when you find somebody you keep
Think of me and celebrate
I made such a big mistake
When I was Mary’s prayer”
The performances, arrangement and heart-wrenching lyrics make this a timeless classic, that still hits hard on every single listen.
Lorraine Parade showcases the band at their best, with space and restraint in the performance, and features one of Gary Clark’s finest vocals. Broken China has a fairly sparse arrangement, using an addictive marimba line to push the song along at a relaxed pace, before a jagged middle section turns the mood darker. An album highlight for me.
Steamtrains To The Milky Way features a mesmerising bassline and wonderful trumpet from Roddy Lorimer, the star of many 80s recordings, that adds a Burt Bacharach touch to the mix. Ruby’s Golden Wedding is a brass and accordion driven piece, unlike any other track on the album. Musical surprises pop up throughout the duration of the track, which sounds stunning on this 2024 master.
A Girl I Used to Know has always been a favourite of mine. I bought this as a CD single at the time of release, from Our Price, UK readers might remember this shop. A rare up-tempo piece, with excellent percussion underpinning sections of the song. Five Friendly Aliens also utilises marimba, and is so well produced that it does not feel like it has dated. Shades of Mr Bacharach also haunt I Won’t Be Here When You Get Home, a wide-screen production that delivers a fitting end to the album, with its delicious chorus.
1989’s Bebop Moptop is the subject of the second disc. Imaginary Girl always reminds me of Francis Ford Coppola’s One From The Heart, with its colourful, imaginative soundscape. I love how the lead guitar feels like it is about to scream, but is rained back in and never moves to centre stage, which would have been an obvious move to make. Danny Wilson did not do obvious.
The Second Summer Of Love was the bands second and final top 30 hit in the UK, and unlike the “musical movement” of the second summer of love, this track has not dated. “Acid on the radio…”
If You Really Love Me (Let Me, Go) dials down the pace quite a few notches. The space in this song lets it really breathe, and the soulful backing vocals add to the unique flavour served up. Loneliness has a haunted vibe to add to the very dark lyrics, as disembodied voices and snatches of broadcasts swim in and out of earshot, with the song ending on vinyl static. Turn the record over!
Charlie Boy is stamped throughout with an 80s sound, including lovely, warm guitar lines that wash over a tale of addiction. The percussion on this song is a star, its a roll call of iconic drum machines. Why has no-one picked up on Never Gonna Be The Same for the myriad of Christmas compilations? Those bell synth lines and sleigh-bells need to be heard in December, although it is obviously not a Christmas song.
It was lovely seeing the Alesis HR16 sequencer (I owned a second hand HR16 in the late 80s) getting a mention in the sleeve-notes for Desert Hearts. Gotta love Alesis. The song showcases some interesting production techniques and a rare Danny Wilson guitar solo.
N.Y.C. Shanty is a Kit Clark lead vocal, and has a bold swagger that conjours up the ramshackle older New York City vibe.
Goodbye Shanty Town is a return to the sound of the bands debut album. I love the guitar production and the way that the song really springs into life for the chorus. A real hidden gem…
Bebop Moptop comes to its conclusion with The Ballad of Me and Shirley Maclaine, a short, sharp and sweet ending.
“I guess because
It was December in May
We had to sleep on the hay
And as we counted the stars”
I hope the band let the kidnapped Burt Bacharach out of the studio after recording this song, as he had certainly left his mark. Don’t believe the band if they deny the kidnapping, just because it’s not on Wikipedia doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Sadly Bebop Moptop was the end of Danny Wilson as a recording band.
The 3rd CD contains B-Sides / Edits / Mixes. Highlights from this disc include I Won’t Forget (what a chorus) and the slow-burning Pleasure To Pleasure that stretches far beyond their usual 3 minutes, and is one of the bands finest songs, one that I first loved many moons ago as it appeared on the A Girl I Used to Know CD single. It remains as powerful and raw as when I first heard the song.
“I will change my key from minor to major”
Mary’s Prairie is a tasteful country-tinged take on, well you know what song! Kooks is an affectionate cover of the David Bowie classic from Hunky Dory. Growing Emotional is a rare occurrence, Danny Wilson being influenced by current artists, in this case, with the drum sounds, guitar, synth stabs and vocal styling of Prince. This shouldn’t work, but it highlights that even when the band went well off-piste, they were still able to deliver zingers.
I’ll Be Waiting is a highlight of this b-sides disc, with its Thin Lizzy / Queen dual guitar riff coming out of nowhere to deliver a shock.
A Girl I Used To Know (Single Mix) is my favourite take on this song (it’s that damn 80s CD single I keep mentioning). I never tire of hearing this track, I just wish I could find my CD single. Where did I put it?
CD 4 is mainly edits and mixes, including the wonderful Paul Staveley O’Duffy remix of Mary’s Prayer and the reverb heavy New York Mix of If You Really Love Me (Let Me, Go).
The 4th disc ends with a series of demos and portastudio recordings. The demos are high quality, and show Danny Wilson as they start to crystalise into the band we knew.
Steamtrains To The Milky Way (Original Demo) is a wonderful 8 track demo, utilising the Ensoniq Mirage (a mid-80s synth / sampler).
St. Jude (Portastudio) offers a less sumptuous sound from the band, but gives a tantalising glimpse of what was just around the corner. The disc closes with The Second Summer Of Love (The Dundee Demo), which is a shorter take on the eventually released version.
The 5th and final disc is a live concert from the London Town & Country Club, recorded in October 1990. This is an excellent quality recording and the highlights for me include Broken China and an absolutely spell-binding cover of Abba’s Knowing Me Knowing You (aha!). The song is performed with passion and obvious love. Plus a well-received by the very vocal audience (and slightly pacier than normal) performance of Mary’s Prayer.
The final disc ends with a raucous The Second Summer Of Love live from Caird Hall, Dundee, from September 1989 and Don’t Know Who I Am (which musically reminds me a little of the decadence and pomp of Bertolt Brecht / Kurt Weill’s Alabama Song) recorded live in Studio 5, Tyne Tees Television.
Complete Danny Wilson has been put together with love and affection from the former band members and project designers / Matt Phillips (sleeve-notes) and Andy Pearce with the audio mastering. Well done Cherry Red, this is how to curate a back catalogue.
The box-set is a must-have for anyone who appreciates well-crafted pop music from the late 80s, and the collection offers so many more highlights than just the two well-known hit singles.
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DISC ONE
Meet Danny Wilson
Davy
Aberdeen
Mary’s Prayer
Lorraine Parade
Nothing Ever Goes to Plan
Broken China
Steamtrains to the Milky Way
Spencer Tracey
You Remain an Angel
Ruby’s Golden Wedding
A Girl I Used to Know
Five Friendly Aliens
I Won’t Be Here When You Get Home
DISC TWO
Bebop Moptop
Imaginary Girl
The Second Summer of Love
I Can’t Wait
If You Really Love Me (Let Me, Go)
If Everything You Said Was True
Loneliness
I Was Wrong
Charlie Boy
Never Gonna Be the Same
Desert Hearts
N.Y.C. Shanty
Goodbye Shanty Town
The Ballad of Me and Shirley Maclaine
DISC THREE
B-Sides / Edits / Mixes
I Won’t Forget
Pleasure To Pleasure
Monkey’s Shiny Day
Mary’s Prairie
Kathleen (House Mix)
Living To Learn
Kooks
Get Happy
Growing Emotional
I’ll Be Waiting
The Lonesome Road
A Girl I Used to Know – Single Mix
If Everything You Said Was True – Radio Edit
DISC FOUR
B-Sides / Edits / Mixes
A Girl I Used to Know – US Remix with Guitar Solo
Mary’s Prayer – Paul Staveley O’Duffy Remix
Nothing Ever Goes to Plan – Blix Mix ’86
Aberdeen (The way it should have been – The Strepzil Logic EP)
I Can’t Wait – Remix
If You Really Love Me (Let Me, Go) – New York Mix
From A Boy to A Man – Sweet Danny Wilson Comp
Monkey’s Shiny Day – Original Demo Version
Steam Trains to The Milky Way – Original Demo
Broken China – Original Demo
A Fragile World – Portastudio
St. Jude – Portastudio
The Second Summer of Love – The Dundee Demo
DISC FIVE
Live at the London Town & Country Club, 1 October 1990
Never Gonna Be the Same
Broken China
Davy
I Was Wrong
Lorraine Parade
Steamtrains To the Milky Way
Charlie Boy
Knowing Me Knowing You
Imaginary Girl – Everything You Said
Aberdeen
I Can’t Wait
Mary’s Prayer
Loneliness
BONUS TRACKS
The Second Summer of Love – Caird Hall, Dundee, 16th September 1989
Don’t Know Who I Am – live, Studio 5, Tyne Tees Television
Finally available again, in a 2 disc, expanded 30th anniversary edition, is Scallywag Jaz by Thomas Lang, one of the best albums from the late 80s.
Mr Kinski's Music Shack 