‘Pretty In Pink’ Soundtrack Getting 40th Anniversary Vinyl Reissue
In the John Hughes tradition, the iconic ‘Brat Pack’ movie featured a slate of new wave classics.
It’s been 40 years since Pretty In Pink hit theaters, continuing the string of “Brat Pack” coming-of-age movies that defined the 1980s. In honor of that four-decade anniversary, the 1986 comedy-drama’s iconic soundtrack is getting a vinyl reissue. The soundtrack is available for pre-order in black and pink vinyl editions.
Starring Molly Ringwald and featuring names like Harry Dean Stanton, Jon Cryer, Annie Potts, James Spader, and Andrew McCarthy, Pretty In Pink continued the reign of the so-called “Brat Pack,” the close-knit group of young actors who became a fixture of 1980s teen cinema. The movie was written and executive produced by Hollywood legend John Hughes, fresh off the success of titles like The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, and Weird Science. Hughes, whose own directorial efforts were soundtracked by some of the leading new wave artists of the era, convinced director Howard Deutch to embrace a similar aesthetic for Pretty In Pink.
That decision made a lot of sense. “With Pretty In Pink specifically, the music was hard-wired into the movie’s DNA,” wrote Stereogum in a 2016 retrospective trumpeting the soundtrack’s “iconic status on par with the film for which it was curated.” The idea that music is hardwired into the movie’s DNA primarily refers to “Pretty In Pink,” the 1981 Psychedelic Furs song that lent the movie its title, but the rest of the soundtrack is just as essential.
New Order contributed “Shellshock,” which served as the album’s lead single, while Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark also wrote “If You Leave,” which climbed all the way to No. 4 on the U.S. pop chart, specifically for Pretty In Pink. Echo & the Bunnymen’s “Bring On the Dancing Horses” and the Suzanne Vega and Joe Jackson duet “Left Of Center” were also created with the film in mind. The soundtrack concludes with the Smiths’ timeless ballad “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want.”
The Pretty In Pink soundtrack reissue follows last year’s 40th anniversary vinyl pressing of the Breakfast Club soundtrack album, best known for Simple Minds’ chart-topping smash “Don’t You (Forget About Me).” The limited edition reissue was available on Fruit Punch Red vinyl.
