The Twelve Commandments of Dance

The Twelve Commandments of Dance
Studio album by
London Boys
Released17 July 1989[1]
GenreDance
Label
ProducerRalf René Maué
London Boys chronology
The Twelve Commandments of Dance
(1989) 		Sweet Soul Music
(1991)
Singles from The Twelve Commandments of Dance
  1. "I'm Gonna Give My Heart"
    Released: 1986
  2. "Harlem Desire"
    Released: 1987
  3. "Dance Dance Dance"
    Released: 1987
  4. "My Love"
    Released: 1987
  5. "Requiem"
    Released: 1988
  6. "London Nights"
    Released: 1989

The Twelve Commandments of Dance is the debut album by German-based English dance-pop duo London Boys, released in 1989. It reached number 2 in the UK Albums Chart and stayed on the chart for 29 weeks.[2]

Other than the charting singles stated in the track listing, two other singles were released: "I'm Gonna Give My Heart" and "Dance Dance Dance".

Critical reception

A review published in Music Week presented the album as a "perfect, pimple-free, faceless pop music that attempts to be soulful but lacks any kind of charisma", reproached the fact that all the tracks "repeat the [same] formula ad nauseum", and concluded that "the album is a danger to youngsters everywhere".[3] Johnny Dee of Record Mirror stated that lyrically, the album is "all utter cack", but considered that the more important thing lies in the fact that every track "has a 132 bpm sequencer chugging away" and "a chorus so catchy" that listeners could not forget it and could perform "stupid dances" on it.[4]

Retrospectively, in a 2015 review, the Pop Rescue website gave the album four stars out of five, presented it as containing "wonderful early commercial dance/europop and light tracks" with elements from both disco and dance music and features recalling Pet Shop Boys, added "it is up-beat throughout and mostly up-lifting and cheerful", but considered "Wichitah Woman" and "El Matinero" as the weakest tracks.[5]

Track listing

All tracks written by Ralf René Maué.

  1. "Requiem" – 4:19 (UK No. 4)
  2. "Kimbaley (My Ma-Mama Say)" – 4:17
  3. "Harlem Desire" – 3:48 (UK No. 17)
  4. "Chinese Radio" – 3:49
  5. "Wichitah Woman" – 3:58
  6. "My Love" – 3:05 (UK No. 46)
  7. "London Nights" – 4:02 (UK No. 2)
  8. "I'm Gonna Give My Heart" – 4:08
  9. "El Matinero" – 4:14
  10. "Dance Dance Dance" – 3:56
  11. "Sandra" – 4:51
  12. "The Midi Dance" – 3:14
  • The 2009 remastered reissue released by Cherry Pop Records features extended remixes of tracks 1, 3, 6 and 7

Chart and certifications

Charts

Chart (1989) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[6] 137
Europe (European Top 100 Albums)[7] 15
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[8] 4
UK Albums Chart[2] 2

Certifications

Certifications for The Twelve Commandments Of Dance
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[9] Gold  
United Kingdom (BPI)[10] Platinum 300,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "BPI".
  2. ^ a b "Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  3. ^ "LP Reviews" (PDF). Music Week. 5 August 1989. p. 22. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  4. ^ Smith, Robin (22 July 1989). "33 edited by Tim Nicholson" (PDF). Record Mirror. London: Spotlight Publications Ltd. p. 32. ISSN 0144-5804. Retrieved 24 October 2021 – via World Radio History.
  5. ^ "REVIEW: "THE TWELVE COMMANDMENTS OF DANCE" BY LONDON BOYS (CD, 1989)". Pop Rescue. 13 July 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  6. ^ "London BoysARIA chart history". ARIA. Retrieved 26 July 2024 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
  7. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 6, no. 31. 5 August 1989. p. VIII. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved 1 August 2023 – via World Radio History.
  8. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "London Boys". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 151. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  9. ^ "Germany & Austria & Switzerland" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 6, no. 43. 28 October 1989. p. 14. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved 31 July 2023 – via World Radio History.
  10. ^ "British album certifications – London Boys – The Twelve Commandments Of Dance". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 22 November 2018.