London Records have announced a very special 30th Anniversary Edition of Jimmy Somerville’s classic album Dare To Love. Set for release on December 5th, Dare To Love has been fully remastered and is available for the very first time on double vinyl LP, plus double CD & digital formats and with a different cover image of Somerville, pre-order here. The new reissue features previously unreleased B-sides, rarities and remixes by Todd Terry, The Beatmasters, Sly & Robbie and more. Listen to “Do You Wanna Funk?” here.

 

The sleeve of the 30th Anniversary edition features a silhouette of a male figure across Jimmy’s torso, notably absent from the original sleeve. Jimmy Somerville comments: “This is the 30th anniversary of Dare To Love and it’s just so exciting that we finally have a sleeve that is as it should have been. I always had to compromise with London Records over something and this was one I deeply regretted. The irony is that London Records thought this photo was too gay but I now chuckle to myself as I can see their point of view – it’s homo erotic and not nice non controversial gay… which I have never been!!!!!”

 

Originally released in June 1995, Dare To Love embodies Somerville’s gift for marrying political conviction with irresistible melodies. Produced by Stephen Hague and other longtime collaborators, the album traverses bass-laden house grooves, slower, dubby reggae numbers and classic pop ballads. Dare To Love explores love, loss, and identity, both on and off the dancefloor and includes the UK Top 30 hits “Heartbeat” (which reached No.1 on the US Dance Singles chart, the only No.1 for Jimmy on a US chart as a solo artist) and “Hurt So Good”, along with the poignant “Safe in These Arms”.

 

“By the time of Dare To Love, I was falling madly in love with Robert. At the same time my best friend Hugo, who I had lived with for so many years, was in the process of dying from various AIDS-related illnesses. He had made a conscious choice that rather than going with AZT and all of that hardcore toxic medication, he wanted to maintain his quality of life and be able to do the things he wanted, knowing he would die in the process. So I was dealing with that. I was part of this process of death, but at the same time I was falling madly in love. So Dare To Love is a crossover of emotions, of life and death and the two extremes of love.

 

After 30 years, Dare To Love resonates as powerfully as ever as a statement of pride, passion, and pop brilliance, carried by one of the most unmistakable voices in modern music.