This 96-track box set, Sounds Of The Colourfield gathers remastered albums alongside unreleased demos and live recordings from the Colourfield’s brief, but impactful run.
Formed in the summer of 1983, the Colourfield marked a sharp left turn for the late Terry Hall, stepping away from the nervous energy of the Specials and Fun Boy Three toward something more elegant, melancholic, and inward-looking. Joined by organist and guitarist Toby Lyons and bassist Karl Shale, Hall built a short-lived but deeply distinctive project that favored atmosphere, restraint, and emotional weight over urgency.
Across just three years, the Colourfield released two albums and a run of singles that quietly carved out their own lane in mid-’80s British pop. Virgins And Philistines arrived in 1985 and yielded the UK Top 20 hit “Thinking of You,” a song that distilled Hall’s gift for plainspoken longing. Deception followed in 1987, expanding the lineup with drummer Gary Dwyer and leaning further into lush arrangements and reflective songwriting. Along the way, the band also offered a striking cover of the Monkees’ “She,” reframing a familiar tune through the Colourfield’s muted, introspective lens.
This new 96-track deluxe box set gathers the full arc of the band’s recorded output and then some. Both studio albums are newly remastered from the original master tapes, joined by b-sides, remixes, live recordings, and a wealth of demos and outtakes. In total, 42 tracks appear here for the first time, offering a deeper look at how these songs took shape and how the band sounded beyond the studio. A DVD rounds out the audio with videos and BBC television performances, capturing the group in motion during their brief lifespan.
Packaged in a DVD-sized mediabook, the set also adds valuable context through a newly conducted interview by John Earls with Lyons and Shale, alongside archival conversations with Hall himself. Previously unseen photographs and memorabilia complete the picture.