Which artists made a classic Album Number 8?

8 August 2022, 10:51 | Updated: 7 August 2023, 14:58

It's the eighth day of the eighth month. And you'll be surprised by how many artists created a masterpiece for their EIGHTH album!

1. Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon

   The Floyd had been around the block a few times before they hit gold with this emotional musing on life and love. Having lost original lead singer Syd Barrett and gained guitarist David Gilmour, this quickly became one of the biggest selling albums in history, Not bad for an eighth album.

   

2. R.E.M. - Automatic For The People

   The US band’s third album for major label Warner Bros was their eighth in total, and their biggest release ever, having sold over 18 million copies in its lifetime. Surprisingly dark for R.E.M., it flits between the serious political sounds of Drive to the more personal reminiscences of Everybody Hurts, but still has time for a laugh with The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite.

   

3. Red Hot Chili Peppers - By The Way

   The band released their eighth album in 2002 and it was a stormer, featuring Can't Stop, The Zephyr Song and the title track. Pretty good.

   

4. The Cure - Disintegration

   1987’s Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me was a worldwide hit, making Robert Smith and co into the biggest alternative rock band in Europe. This 1989 follow-up horrified the record company, being a downbeat study of hitting 30, getting old and, basically, dying. But it was an even bigger hit which saw The Cure play stadium shows in the US.

   

5. The Beatles - Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

   The Fab Four recorded so many albums in those days, this was their eighth outing in four years. And this 1967 classic basically redefined what the pop album meant, from its fantasy title track to the stunning finale of A Day In The Life.

   

6. The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed

   The late 60s looked pretty grim for the Stones, with drugs, death and prison all coming into view for the legendary band. However, their 1968 LP Beggars’ Banquet was a huge return to form and they forged the country rock genre with its follow-up, Let It Bleed. The album was released just as the band headed back out on the road for the first time in years.

   

7. Depeche Mode - Songs Of Faith And Devotion

   1990’s Violator was a huge worldwide hit for the Mode, but the follow-up three years later raised a few eyebrows by embracing guitars instead of the band’s traditional electronics. Singer Dave Gahan got grungy and it almost cost him his life (thanks to some personal demons encountered on the road), but the LP confirmed Depeche Mode as one of the world’s biggest live acts.

   

8. Kraftwerk - Computer World

   When you’re ahead of the game for so long, how do you keep your music cutting edge? Having pioneered electronica in the early 1970s, German legends Kraftwerk nailed the synthpop template in ’81 with this impeccable album of sequenced classics. The slick electronic sounds found a home i the New Romantic clubs of the time, and the record set the template for the wave of house music that followed.

   

9. U2 - Zooropa

   1991’s Achtung Baby was experimental for the Irish band, but this follow-up was even more interesting. Largely written and recorded on the road during the massive Zoo TV tour, it’s about as far away from the epic sound of The Joshua Tree as you can imagine.