Rocktrospectiva: The Incredible And Greatest "Pretty In Pink: Soundtrack" Turns 40

 

Released on 28 February 1986 "Pretty In Pink: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" was the official soundtrack of the film the same name and as with previous films by John Hughes. The title song by the Psychedelic Furs acted as a bit of inspiration for the film and was re-recorded specifically for the film's opening sequence in a version that was less raw than the original version that appeared on the 1981 album Talk Talk Talk. "Left of Center" was remixed by Arthur Baker. The first track, "If You Leave", by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, was written in 1985 specifically for the film. In addition to their soundtrack song "Shellshock", New Order also contributed an instrumental version of "Thieves Like Us" and the instrumental "Elegia", both of which appear in the film but not on the soundtrack.

 

The Rave-Ups, who appear in the film performing "Positively Lost Me" and "Shut-Up" from their Town and Country album, do not have any songs on the soundtrack album. Nik Kershaw's "Wouldn't It Be Good" appears on the soundtrack in a version by former Three Dog Night vocalist Danny Hutton's band, Danny Hutton Hitters. The Smiths' "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" appears on the soundtrack and was later covered by the Autumns for the 2000 Isn't She Still... The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Revisited album. Also noteworthy is the inclusion of Echo & the Bunnymen's "Bring On the Dancing Horses", which, according to the liner notes of the CD release of the band's compilation album Songs to Learn & Sing, was recorded specifically for the film.

The film also includes Otis Redding's "Try a Little Tenderness", to which Duckie lip-synchs in the film, the Association's "Cherish" and Talk Back's "Rudy". These three tracks do not appear on the official soundtrack album.

Another Hughes film cracker and according to certain stories, the idea came from Molly Ringwald herself. She reached out to John Hughes, urging him to create a film inspired by her favourite tune at the time—The Psychedelic Fur' "Pretty in Pink" at the time of its released  it was nothing quite like the soundtrack that Hughes assembled for Pretty in Pink, the third film he'd written to star Molly Ringwald in a lead role, following 1984’s Sixteen Candles and 1985’s The Breakfast Club. 

The film made almost $7.5M in its opening week – In Ringwald’s own words: I made three movies with John Hughes; when they were released, they made enough of a cultural impact to land me on the cover of Time magazine and to get Hughes hailed as a genius.  There was music in Hughes’s previous film, The Breakfast Club, and it even featured a #1, era-defining single in Simple Minds’s “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” – but as many people said, there was not much else on that soundtrack that was particularly memorable.

Pretty in Pink, however, was different cause the album had a number of now-iconic UK college rock artists (back then) on it, none of whom had come anywhere near the tops of the US pops in 1986: New Order had a trio of songs featured in the film, though only  "Shell-Shock" appeared on its soundtrack, Echo and the Bunnymen, the Smiths, Psychedelic Furs and the British synthpop stars Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, a/k/a OMD, whose "If You Leave" soundtracked the film's climactic prom scene. 

Suzanne Vega, then hot off her self-titled 1985 album, also appears on the soundtrack, with Joe Jackson on piano, INXS, former Time member Jesse Johnson, former Three Dog Night singer Danny Hutton and UK synthpopper Belouis Some, who had notched a pair of top 10 US dance hits in ‘85. 

In summary, the Pretty in Pink soundtrack wasn't just another collection of tracks—it’s was life-changer! and made a huge impact in pop culture regarded as one of the ‘Best Movie Soundtracks: The 15 Film Music Compilations That’ll Change Your Life'.

 

Pretty In Pink Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Track List: 

 

1. If You Leave

2. Left Of Center

3. Get To Know Ya

4. Do Wot You Do

5. Pretty In Pink

6. Shell-Shock

7. Round, Round

8. Wouldn't It Be Good

9. Bring On The Dancing Horses