A Beacon in the Pale of the Night: Nik Kershaw’s “The Riddle” to Be Expanded in August

Following a recent expansion of his beloved (in the U.K.) debut album, Universal Music Group will offer the double-disc treatment to Nik Kershaw’s sophomore effort The Riddle this summer, SuperDeluxeEdition reports.

The monumental success of 1983’s Human Racing, with its singles “Wouldn’t It Be Good” and “I Won’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” reaching No. 4 and No. 2 on the U.K. charts, respectively, meant a need to produce a great follow-up. Kershaw delivered with The Riddle, thanks to its gorgeous title track (a No. 3 single) and the Top 10 follow-ups “Wide Boy” and “Don Quixote.” The album proper peaked at No. 8 in the U.K. (regrettably missing the Top 100 on Billboard‘s chart stateside) – the last major chart showing for Kershaw, who released a further two albums for MCA throughout the ’80s before shifting to writing and producing for others, before returning back to his own singing career in the late 1990s. (His most recent LP was last year’s Ei8ht.)

The expanded album will feature a bonus disc assembled by Kershaw, with five bonus B-sides and remixes and six tracks from a 1984 live gig at the Hammersmith Odeon. (We imagined all of those B-sides and mixes on one of our first Reissue Theory posts, almost exactly three years ago!) It’s out August 12; check out that track list below.

The Riddle: Remastered Expanded Edition (Universal Music (U.K.), 2013)

Disc 1: Original LP (released as MCA MCF 3245 (U.K.), 1984)

1. Don Quixote
2. Know How
3. You Might
4. Wild Horses
5. Easy
6. The Riddle
7. City of Angels
8. Roses
9. Wide Boy
10. Save the Whale

Disc 2: Bonus material (* denotes previously unreleased tracks)

1. Roses (Live @ The Hammersmith Odeon – 12/31/1984) *
2. The Riddle (Extended Riddle) (12” A-side – MCA NIKT 6, 1984)
3. Know How (Live @ The Hammersmith Odeon – 12/31/1984) *
4. Don Quixote (Extra Special Long Mix) (12” A-side – MCA NIKT 8, 1985)
5. City of Angels (Live @ The Hammersmith Odeon – 12/31/1984) *
6. So Quiet (single B-side – MCA NIK 7, 1984)
7. Wild Horses (Live @ The Hammersmith Odeon – 12/31/1984) *
8. Wide Boy (Extended Remix) – 5:07 (12” A-side – MCA NIKT 7, 1984)
9. You Might (Live @ The Hammersmith Odeon – 12/31/1984) *
10. Don’t Lie – 3:52 (single B-side – MCA NIK 8, 1985)
11. Save the Whale (Live @ The Hammersmith Odeon – 12/31/1984) *