Between the Lines
Studio album by
Jason Donovan
Released29 May 1990 (UK)[1]
19 November 1990 (Australia)[2]
Recorded1989–1990
Genre
Length33:19
LabelPWL (UK)
Mushroom (Australia)
ProducerStock Aitken Waterman
Jason Donovan chronology
Ten Good Reasons
(1989) 		Between the Lines
(1990) 		Greatest Hits
(1991)
Singles from Between the Lines
  1. "When You Come Back to Me"
    Released: 27 November 1989
  2. "Hang On To Your Love"
    Released: 8 March 1990
  3. "Another Night"
    Released: 18 June 1990
  4. "Rhythm of the Rain"
    Released: 20 August 1990
  5. "I'm Doing Fine"
    Released: 15 October 1990

Between the Lines is the second studio album by Australian pop singer Jason Donovan. It was released on 29 May 1990 by PWL and Mushroom.

Background and release

Between the Lines was produced by the team Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) and was Donovan's last album for the SAW production team, as the following year saw him take the lead role in the West End musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Like his previous album, the title was taken from a line in one of the songs—in this case, the opening line of "When It's All Over" ("should have read between the lines..."), and also became the name of Donovan's autobiography, released in 2007.[3]

Donovan described the album as creatively superior to his debut, and said he had more input, with he and his management requesting material that was more within his vocal range.[4] He believes that the album's consistent lyrical themes of relationship splits and broken hearts were direct references by the songwriters, SAW, to his then recent split with Kylie Minogue.[4]

Speaking of the album's commercial performance, Donovan said: "Between the Lines wasn't the successful record that Ten Good Reasons was, but how do you match that? Ten Good Reason's was just a moment in time."[4] He also added that he accepted at the time that "every bubble has to burst", and he knew he'd then have to prioritise evolving his career.[5]

Donovan supported the album with a national tour of the UK and Ireland, titled the "Doin' Fine Tour", which began in June 1990.[6] While the decision to tour upset Pete Waterman and Donovan's record label, the singer credits the live shows with ensuring his longevity as a stage performer, after Andrew Lloyd Webber attended one of the shows and was impressed with his performance.[5]

Between the Lines was re-issued in 2010 by Edsel records as a double CD set. In a review of its re-release, Music Week said this it was "arguably better" than his first album.[7]

Critical reception

In 2018, Mark Elliot of Classic Pop considered Between the Lines as the 11th best album ever produced by Stock Aitken Waterman; he added that it "contained some of [Donovan's] strongest numbers", including "vintage covers" and "more contemporary tracks", and underlined "Another Night" as being an "ABBA pastiche" and the best track from the album.[8]

Chart performance

Between the Lines reached number two in the UK charts,[9] and was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry.[1] The album features five UK Top 30 singles: "When You Come Back to Me" (UK #2), "Hang On to Your Love" (UK #8), "Another Night" (UK #18), "Rhythm of the Rain" (UK #9) and "I'm Doin' Fine" (UK #22), released between 1989 and 1990.[9] The album was far less successful in Donovan's native Australia, where it peaked at no.77 in December 1990.[10]

Track listing

All tracks written by Stock Aitken Waterman, unless otherwise noted.

Side one

  1. "When You Come Back to Me" – 3:33
  2. "Hang On to Your Love" – 3:01
  3. "Another Night" – 3:26
  4. "Love Would Find a Way" – 3:32
  5. "Rhythm of the Rain" (John Claude Gummoe) – 3:09

Side two

  1. "I'm Doin' Fine" – 3:01
  2. "Careless Talk and Silly Lies" – 3:25
  3. "When It's All Over" – 3:42
  4. "Like it Was Yesterday" – 2:56
  5. "Hard to Say It's Over" – 3:34

Re-issue

CD 1

  1. "When You Come Back to Me"
  2. "Hang On to Your Love"
  3. "Another Night"
  4. "Love Would Find a Way"
  5. "Rhythm of the Rain"
  6. "I’m Doin' Fine"
  7. "Careless Talk and Silly Lies"
  8. "When It's All Over"
  9. "Like It Was Yesterday
  10. "Hard To Say It's Over"
  11. "R.S.V.P"
  12. "Happy Together"
  13. "A Fool Such As I"
  14. "Story Of My Life"
  15. "When I Get You Alone"
  16. "She's In Love With You"
  17. "Hang On To Your Love (Extended Version)"
  18. "Another Night (Sweet Dreams Mix)"
  19. "I'm Doing Fine (Extended Version)"
  20. "El Ritmo De La Lluvia (Rhythm Of The Rain - Spanish Version)"
  21. "When You Come Back To Me (Yuletide Sleigh List Mix)"

CD 2

  1. "When You Come Back to Me (Extended Version)"
  2. "Rhythm of the Rain (Extended Version)"
  3. "Story Of My Life (Extended Version)"
  4. "R.S.V.P. (Extended Version)"
  5. "Happy Together (Extended Version)"
  6. "She's In Love With You (Extended Version)"
  7. "When You Come Back to Me (No Probs Mix)"
  8. "Another Night (The JD in Dub Mix)"
  9. "Rhythm of the Rain (Kick That… Remix)"
  10. "When You Come Back to Me (Original Mix)"
  11. "Hang On to Your Love (Instrumental)"
  12. "Another Night (Instrumental)"
  13. "Rhythm of the Rain (Instrumental)"
  14. "I’m Doing Fine (Instrumental)"
  15. "R.S.V.P. (Instrumental)"
  16. "Happy Together (Instrumental)"
  17. "When You Come Back To Me (Guitar Instrumental)"

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1990) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[10] 77
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[11] 18
Germany (Media Control Charts)[12] 52
Netherlands (MegaCharts)[13] 25
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[14] 44
Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade)[15] 37
UK (CIN)[9] 2

Sales and certifications

Certifications for Between the Lines
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[16] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[17] Platinum 300,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ a b "BPI > Certified Awards > Search results for 'Jason Donovan' (from bpi.co.uk)". Imgur.com (original source published by British Phonographic Industry). Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  2. ^ "New Release Summary – Product Available from: 19/11/90 > Albums (from The ARIA Report Issue No. 45)". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  3. ^ Official site - Biography Archived February 1, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ a b c "A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman: Ep 56: Hang On To Your Love (and the journey so far) with Jason Donovan on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  5. ^ a b "A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman: Ep 60: One Thing Leads To Another to Another Night on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  6. ^ Official website - Biography Archived February 1, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Demon music group - Between the Lines CD Archived February 21, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Elliot, Mark (July 2018). "Top 15 Stock Aitken Waterman Albums". Classic Pop. Archived from the original on 10 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  9. ^ a b c "Official Charts > Jason Donovan". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  10. ^ a b Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  11. ^ "austrian-charts.at > Jason Donovan – Between the Lines" (in German). Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  12. ^ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts > Jason Donovan – Between the Lines (album)" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  13. ^ "dutchcharts.nl > Jason Donovan – Between the Lines" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  14. ^ "charts.org.nz > Jason Donovan – Between the Lines (album)". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 22 February 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  15. ^ "hitparade.ch > Jason Donovan – Between the Lines" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  16. ^ Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (PDF) (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. p. 926. ISBN 84-8048-639-2. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  17. ^ "British album certifications – Jason Donovan – Between the Lines". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
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