Brimstone & Treacle (soundtrack)


Brimstone & Treacle is the soundtrack for the 1982 film adaptation of the play Brimstone and Treacle directed by Richard Loncraine and starring Denholm Elliott, Joan Plowright and Sting. Sting and The Police wrote most of the original material on the album. The rest of the soundtrack was made of songs by other acts signed to A&M like The Go-Go's and the Squeeze and a couple of traditional songs performed by the Finchley Children's Music Group and the ad-hoc formed Brimstone Chorale.
The Police's "I Burn for You" was a song Sting had presented for inclusion in the band's third album Zenyatta Mondatta two years earlier but it was deemed unsuitable for the musical direction the band was taking and rejected. Stewart Copeland's roadie Jeff Seitz played drums on "Only You" while the voice of actress Suzanna Hamilton can be heard on The Police's "A Kind of Loving". Words from the original play by Dennis Potter form the lyrics of "Narration".
Sting's cover of "Spread a Little Happiness" was released as a single and it reached number 16 in the UK charts. The title track was also awarded the 1984 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance, making Sting a three-time winner in this particular category, The Police being recipients of the award in 1981 and 1982 -- although Sting had no part in the band's "Behind My Camel", the 1982 award winner which he did not write and refused to play on. Sting would later go on to perform "I Burn for You" live during his The Dream of the Blue Turtles tour in 1985.

Track listing

Personnel