A Walk Across The Rooftops

Product Information

Brown, Allan (2011). Nileism: The Strange Course of the Blue Nile. Polygon Books. ISBN 978-1-84697-185-3. A Walk Across the Rooftops became the first album released on the new Linn Records label, released on 30 April 1984 [13] [14] and reaching number 80 on the UK Albums Chart. [15] [16] Two singles were released from the album in the UK, with minor success: "Stay" reached number 97 on the UK Singles Chart, [17] and "Tinseltown in the Rain" reached number 87. [17] The video for "Tinseltown in the Rain" featured on the VHS video version of the compilation album Now That's What I Call Music 3, but the song was not included on the vinyl LP or cassette versions of the album.

That A Walk Across The Rooftops began its commercial life in humble fashion is fitting, because it’s obsessed with minutiae. Reportedly it took the group nine months to sign the contract, and, in years to come, thanks to the increasing gaps between their albums, they’d become known for their meticulous working pace, something Bell perhaps inadvertently foresaw when he added that Linn “weren’t an overtly commercial label, and we knew we’d not be hassled into deadlines and marketing pitches”. The 1975's Matty Healy Dissects Every Song on A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships". Pitchfork. 27 November 2018 . Retrieved 1 January 2022.

Release Details

In July 2016, Buchanan took part in the David Bowie Prom at the Royal Albert Hall, performing " Ashes to Ashes", " I Can't Give Everything Away" and, as a duet with Laura Mvula, " Girl Loves Me". [ citation needed] Kelly, Jennifer (30 January 2013). "At the Source of the Blue Nile: An Interview with Paul Buchanan". PopMatters . Retrieved 10 March 2013.

While their influence has long run deep, with outspoken fans including Vashti Bunyan, Phil Collins, and the 1975, to this day nothing sounds quite like Hats. The Blue Nile themselves never quite replicated it, opting for a loose, soulful atmosphere on 1996’s Peace At Last and a more sober approach for 2004’s High. Its closest companion is Paul Buchanan’s 2012 solo album Mid Air—a collection of near-demos on piano that further refined his sunken vignettes. “Tear stains on your pillow,” he sings in “Wedding Party,” “I was drunk when I danced with the bride.” The stories—as with most concerning the Blue Nile—are between the lines. The Blue Nile's highest chart placement came when " Tinseltown in the Rain" reached No. 28 in the Netherlands in 1984, their only Dutch charting song. The band has had four top 75 hits on the UK Singles Chart, the highest being " Saturday Night" which reached No. 50 in 1991. In the United States, " The Downtown Lights" was its only chart entry, peaking at No. 10 on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart. In November 2012, Virgin Records released two-CD "Collector's Edition" versions of the band's first two albums, A Walk Across the Rooftops and Hats. Each version had the original album remastered by engineer Calum Malcolm, along with a bonus disc of rare and previously unreleased material selected by Buchanan and Bell. A similar reissue of the third album, Peace at Last, was released on 3 March 2014. Brown, Allan (2010). Nileism: The Strange Course of the Blue Nile. Edinburgh, Scotland: Polygon Books. ISBN 978-1-84697-138-9.

With his own studio, Castlesound, and his own band, The Headboys – who’d had a hit for the label in 1979 with The Shape Of Things To Come – he’d first cut his teeth recording traditional Scottish music before working with early Postcard Records acts, including Josef K and Orange Juice, not to mention The Krankies on It’s Fan-Dabi-Dozi! For all the crafted grandeur of their second album it should be said that by the end of Hats salvation appears in the form of an “ordinary girl” rather like the bird-like creature in Joyce’s Portrait of The Artist as a Young Man. Someone who can “make the world alright” no superwoman or exotic creature needing to be pursued or attained, by gum. McGalliard, James (15 December 2004). "An Ordinary Miracle". Inpress. Melbourne, Australia: Street Press Australia. The most commonly told story [ citation needed] [18] about the Blue Nile is that in 1983 they were approached by a local hi-fi manufacturer, Linn Products, and asked to produce a song that would showcase the Linn equipment to best effect. Linn was so pleased with the resulting record that it offered the Blue Nile a contract to make a whole album, and set up its own record label specifically to release it.

They only made four albums in 20 years, so The Blue Nile’s every record is precious. but the Scottish trio’s debut, A Walk Across The Rooftops, offered an as yet unsurpassed strain of sober but stirring synth-pop… It’s like a miracle that has been turned into a marketing factor. I’m absolutely dumbfounded by it. Every record should be compared to silence – silence is perfect, what are you going to put on it?”As it turned out, when the time was right they wouldn’t need to look for a deal. RSO had donated cash to record more songs with Calum Malcolm, whose friendship with Ivor Tiefenbrun, founder of audio equipment company Linn Products, meant some of their gear had been installed at Castlesound. More importantly, as has been reaffirmed on this year’s stripped-down solo psalm Mid Air, Paul Buchanan’s enraptured voice and words capture the essence of hearts breaking and healing as well as anyone outside Tamla Motown’s heyday. Albums to Hear Before You Die – Artists beginning with B (part 1)". The Guardian. 17 November 2007. p.10 (supplement) . Retrieved 30 July 2015.