Sparkle in the Rain
| Sparkle in the Rain | ||||
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| Studio album by Simple Minds | ||||
| Released | 6 February 1984 | |||
| Recorded | September–October 1983 | |||
| Studio | Monnow Valley Studio in Rockfield and The Town House in London, England | |||
| Genre | New wave | |||
| Length | 44:41 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Steve Lillywhite | |||
| Simple Minds chronology | ||||
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| Simple Minds studio albums chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Sparkle in the Rain | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| The A.V. Club | favourable |
| CMJ | favourable |
| Martin C. Strong | 8/10 |
| NME | mixed |
| Rolling Stone |
 1984 1992 |
| Virgin Encyclopedia | |
Sparkle in the Rain is the sixth studio album by Scottish rock band Simple Minds, released in February 1984 by record label Virgin in the UK and A&M in the US.
A breakthrough commercial success for the band, the record peaked at number 1 in the UK Albums Chart on 18 February 1984, and reached the top 20 in numerous other countries around the world, including New Zealand,Netherlands,Sweden,Canada,Switzerland,Germany,Norway, and Australia. Receiving mostly positive reviews in the United Kingdom and the United States,Sparkle in the Rain was ultimately certified double platinum in the UK by the British Phonographic Industry, and significantly increased media interest in the band.
Signs of a possible change in musical direction into a more stadium-oriented sound first became apparent during a series of live performances in the summer months of 1983 by Simple Minds to huge European crowds. Lead singer Jim Kerr returned to a natural, unadorned facial and hair style, as "whatever they would have to say would be in the music." "Those gigs brought us back to the rawest kind of state, I think," Kerr said. "In places like that, 50,000 people, there's just no room for subtlety, and there's no need for it, there's no want for it." This foresaw the band coming into direct contact with U2 for the first time at the Belgian rock festival Torhout-Werchter; upon meeting the two bands immediately developed a strong liking for each other. Kerr remarked, "we saw a lot of ourselves in them and vice versa," and refuted the accusation that Simple Minds were merely joining the "new rock" led by U2. "We get this thing levelled at us of being influenced by them, but they're equally influenced by us. It might be in a much subtler sense, in dynamics or some of the sounds."
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