National Album Day 2020: Limited Edition Vinyl Coming This Weekend... (Part 2)

It doesn't get much more 80s than this, does it? The third album from Swedish rockers Europe is by far their most well-known, thanks largely to the monstrously successful title track, which topped the charts in 25 countries on its release in 1986, although it did also yield a couple of other hit for the band in 'Rock the Night' and 'Carrie', both of which reached the Top 40 in charts on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Final Countdown makes its re-entry into our stores this weekend in the form of a new limited edition repress on light purple vinyl.

Simply Red wasted no time in climbing the charts with their 1985 debut album Picture Book, which peaked at No. 2 in the UK Album Chart and produced two early hits for the band in 'Holding Back the Years' and a cover of the Valentine Brothers' 'Money's Too Tight To Mention', as well as their own take on Talking Heads deep cut 'Heaven'.

Picture Books joins the National Album Day line-up this weekend with a newly reissued picture disc version of the album set to land in stores on October 10.

Having scored some minor success with their self-released 1987 debut album George Best, Leeds-based indie rockers The Wedding Present signed to RCA for it breakthrough follow-up Bizarro, which became the first of several albums to break into the UK's Top 40.

Featuring two of their all-time best moments in the gloriously ramshackle hits 'Kennedy' and 'Brassneck', their sophomore LP joins the National Album Day line-up with a new reissue pressed onto black vinyl set to arrive in stores at the weekend.

Formed by three former member of Berlin-based multimedia art collective The Nelson Community, German synth-pop trio Alphaville scored an instant hit with their 1984 debut album Forever Young, which went Top 20 in six countries and yielded some of their most well-known tunes, not leats the titles track, as well as others such as 'Big in Japan' and 'Sounds Like a Melody'.

Their debut returns to to stores this weekend as part of the National Album Day line-up with a new limited edition reissue pressed onto orange vinyl.

Perhaps the first in a new generation of 'Boy Bands' that would later include the likes of Take That and N-Sync, New Kids On The Block took teenage audiences by storm all over the globe and while their self-titled debut album, released in 1986, failed to make much of an impact at first, its follow-up Hangin' Tough, released two years later in 1988, transformed them into a worldwide pop phenomenon.

Featuring a string of chart-topping singles including the title track, 'You Got It (The Right Stuff)' and 'I'll Be Loving You (Forever)', the album makes a return to stores this weekend in the form of a limited edition picture disc featuring Joey, Jonathan, Danny, Jordan and Donnie in all their youthful glory.

If the plot of 1984 film Footloose and its ban on dancing feels a little too close to home in these pandemic times, then maybe just avoid the visuals and give the soundtrack a spin instead, filled as it is with upbeat pop classics from a list of 80s stalwarts that includes Kenny Loggins, Bonnie Tyler, Foreigner and Quiet Riot, among several others.

The soundtrack is set to join in this weekend's celebrations with a new limited edition picture disc headed in to our stores in time of National Album Day.

The second of Paul Simon's albums to join the National Album Day celebrations, along with Graceland, his fifth solo album preceded Graceland's release by six years, arriving in 1980 not only as his first solo record in five years, but also as the companion piece to a film of the same name written by and starring Simon himself, which also featured appearances from Lou Reed, Rip Torn and Harry Shearer.

Featuring lead single 'Late in the Evening' and an appearance from Patti Austin on the duet 'Long, Long Day', One Trick Pony joins the National Album Day line-up this weekend with a new limited edition repress on light blue vinyl.

One of the defining albums at the vanguard of the emerging Gangsta Rap scene, Ice-T's 1987 debut album helped set the tone for the big beats and tales of ghetto life on tracks like '6 N The Mornin' and 'Squeeze the Trigger'.

Not a huge seller on its initial release, but a hugely influential album on what was to follow, Rhyme Pays is set to make a return to stores this weekend in the form of a new limited edition reissue pressed onto yellow vinyl.

By the time Phil Collins' third solo album No Jacket Required emerged in 1985 he long since ceased to be thought of as just “the drummer from Genesis” thanks to its two hugely successful predecessors Face Value and Hello, I Must Be Going, but No Jacket Required surpassed both of them in terms of sales.

Featuring a track listing that includes hits 'Sussudio' and 'One More Night', the album is perhaps also best remembered for its notorious appearance in American Psycho. All murderous home movies aside, the album is also due to re-emerge in stores for National Album Day this weekend with a new limited edition repress on orange vinyl.

If the ambitious vision of duo Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith were only hinted at on their second album Songs From the Big Chair, then that vision was surely realised in full on its 1989 follow-up Seeds of Love. Four years in the making, the album is still considered by some fans as their masterpiece and scored Tears for Fears some huge hits with its title track and others such as 'Woman in Chains' and 'Advice For The Young At Heart'.

The album returns to stores this weekend for National Album Day with a limited edition repress on black vinyl heading to stores in time for the big day.

The fourth of five albums released by Norwegian synth-pop purveyors a-ha before they went on an extended hiatus, East of the Sun, West of the Moon was also the fourth in an unbroken eight-album run at the top of Norway's album charts, and while it never quite matched the commercial success of its forebears in the UK, the album still yielded the trio one of their most enduring singles in 'Crying in the Rain'.

The album is set to return to our shelves once more this weekend with a brand new limited edition repress on purple vinyl heading to the shelves in our stores.

If we were being strict about this, we might have to rule out Rod Stewart's first Greatest Hits collection on a technicality, arriving as it did just a few weeks before the 1980s properly kicked off in October 1979, but we think that pink shirt he's wearing on the cover is enough to get Rod a free pass here.

Featuring 10 of his best from 'Sailing' to 'Do Ya Think I'm Sexy', Rod's new/old compilation of hits joins the national Album Day fun this weekend with a new limited edition repress on white vinyl.

If you're only going to splash out on one piece of vinyl this weekend, but still want to make the most of all the 80s-themed fun, then why not cover several bases at once with this compilation of 80s classics presented by the folks behind one of the decade's most popular teen magazines, Smash Hits.

Featuring everyone from Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet to New Order and The Smiths, this limited compilation arrives in stores this weekend and features two discs packed with some the decade's most memorable tunes.