The U.K. collection The Very Best of Michael Bolton – initially released in 2005, repackaged as a slide pack in 2007 – is a good overview of the singer's peak years, containing all the big hits except "Love Is a Wonderful Thing" (only natural, considering the lawsuit surrounding the song) in a 17-track compilation that should give most listeners all the Bolton they need.
Most popular to theater audiences from his title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's version of The Phantom of the Opera, Michael Crawford was in fact a star of the British stage and screen for almost two decades before that. Born in Wiltshire, England, in 1942, he began singing in the school choir and, while still a teenager, changed his name from Dumble-Smith to the more charismatic Crawford and began working in radio, television, and film. After first stepping on the London stage in the early '60s, Crawford's first regular television series was the BBC's 1960s show Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life; he appeared in several films as well (The War Lover, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and a starring turn in How I Won the War, which also featured John Lennon).
Polydor/Universal’s The Face: The Very Best Of Visage collects 15 tracks from the early-'80s synth pop supergroup (featuring members of Magazine, Ultravox, and The Rich Kids), including four versions of their international smash, "Fade to Grey." Longtime listeners who picked up 1993’s Fade to Grey: The Singles Collection will find much of the same here (minus fan favorite “Beat Boy”), but the remixes – which range from excellent (“Fade to Grey" [Michael Gray Mix 2009]) to just passable (“Fade to Grey" [Lee Mortimer Remix 2009]) – and the ultra-hot, club-ready mastering job should entice those who have yet to add these over the top electro-pop legends to their MP3 collections.
2017 collection from the British merry music makers. Madness continue to cement their position as the UK's favorite band, with their House Of Common and House Of Fun events becoming annual fixtures in every fan's calendar. Madness are national treasures, with a huge following. Their shows consistently sell out and sales of their current album confirm that, after nearly 40 years, they are still as relevant as they ever were. The last Madness best-of, Total Madness, was released in 2012 and comprised 23 singles. Since then the band have released two more studio albums: Oui Oui, Si Si, Ja Ja, Da Da and their current record, Can't Touch Us Now, each spawning three or four singles. Full House is a best-of and then some, featuring 42 of the band's very best songs, including the hit singles from all of their records (including the above), plus a few of the band's favorite album tracks. It is a joy to listen to; in mostly chronological order, the set charts the highlights of their career, from 1979's 'The Prince' to 2017's 'Another Version Of Me', with smash hit singles like 'Our House' and 'It Must Be Love' nestling in between.