Haunted by the staggering and unexcepted stateside success of The Breakfast Club's breakout signature song Don't You (Forget About Me), the October 1985 release of the band's seventh (or eighth if you count Sister Feelings Call) album Once Upon A Time seemed like something of an afterthought; that track's conspicuous absence helping to accentuate the point. That this eight-song set then went on to be the band's most successful to date is less down to the springboard that theme lent it than the fact that this is when the Minds formula truly came of age.

Powerful, dense melodies punctured by stuttering synths, soaring vocals and that relentless bass - it was widely derided as derivatative and predictable at the time, but in the hands of pretenders like Then Jerico easy to make a mess of. The quarted of hits - Alive And Kicking, All The Things She Said, Ghost Dancing and Sanctify Yourself - powered this UK chart-topper to 83 weeks on the listings and 42 weeks and a peak of 10 on Billboard. THis lavish 5CD/DVD boxset captures 1987's release, Live In The City Of Light, and attendant B-sides, live cuts and unreleased mixes. The DVD audio version further enhances a strong remastering job and the band's promo videos are here as extras. Oh, and they've decided to include that track this time too!

Mark Elliot
Record Collector, January 2016