Lindisfarne – Brand New Day: The Mercury Years 1978-1979 (Cherry Red Records, 2024)
Lindisfarne – Brand New Day: The Mercury Years 1978-1979 is a comprehensive 3-CD set featuring all of Lindisfarne’s recordings for Mercury Records, including 15 tracks previously unreleased on CD.
After disbanding in 1973, influential English band Lindisfarne reunited in 1976 for a well-received performance at Newcastle City Hall. The success of this gig led to another performance the following year and their official reformation. They then signed with Mercury Records, releasing three radio friendly albums and various singles before parting ways with the label in 1980.
CD 1 includes the live album Magic In The Air, recorded during their Christmas Eve 1977 performance at Newcastle City Hall. The album illustrates the music of the band during that period with pop hooks, effective folk vocal harmonies, English folk, blues, and a rock rhythm section.
CD 2 features Back And Fourth, their first studio album for Mercury. This album includes the single “Run For Home,” which reached the UK Top Ten and became their first hit in the United States. Bonus tracks include the edited version of “Run For Home,” “See How They Run,” the single version of “Juke Box Gypsy,” and the mono version of “Warm Feeling,” all previously unreleased on CD.
CD 3 contains The News, the band’s final album for Mercury. It also includes bonus tracks “Easy And Free” (single version) and ten songs from their Christmas 1979 gig at Newcastle City Hall, all previously unreleased on CD.
Lindisfarne is an English folk rock band from Newcastle upon Tyne, formed in 1968 (originally called Brethren). The original lineup consisted of Alan Hull (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Ray Jackson (vocals, mandolin, harmonica), Simon Cowe (guitar, mandolin, banjo, keyboards), Rod Clements (bass, violin), and Ray Laidlaw (drums).
They are best known for the albums Nicely Out of Tune (1970), Fog on the Tyne (1971), Dingly Dell (1972), and Back and Fourth (1978), as well as for hits like “Meet Me on the Corner,” “Lady Eleanor,” “Run for Home,” “Fog on the Tyne,” and “We Can Swing Together.”
Buy Lindisfarne – Brand New Day: The Mercury Years 1978-1979.
Author: Ryan Emmert
