Ultimate Collection (Eurythmics album)

Ultimate Collection is the second greatest hits album by British pop duo Eurythmics, released on 7 November 2005 by RCA Records. This set preceded (by one week) the reissue of all eight Eurythmics back-catalogue albums originally released by RCA Records. These reissues include remastered tracks and bonus material. The fact that the Ultimate Collection was closely connected to these reissues is also the chief reason for the omission of "Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four)". While that song peaked at number four in the United Kingdom in 1984 and was later featured on the previous Greatest Hits album released in 1991, it is actually taken from the 1984 Virgin Records soundtrack album 1984 (For the Love of Big Brother), Eurythmics' only album to date not to be released by RCA Records in the UK.

Ultimate Collection
Greatest hits album by Eurythmics
Released	7 November 2005
Recorded	1982–2000
Genre	New wave synth-pop pop rock
Length	79:42
Label	RCA
Producer	David A. Stewart Adam Williams Eurythmics
Eurythmics chronology
Peace (1999) Ultimate Collection (2005) Boxed (2005)
Singles from Ultimate Collection
"I've Got a Life" Released: 17 October 2005

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]

Unlike 1991's Greatest Hits, Ultimate Collection contains two previous unreleased songs, "I've Got a Life" and "Was It Just Another Love Affair?", both recorded during the Peace album sessions, and all of the tracks have been remastered. It also contains no tracks from the duo's albums In the Garden (1981) and, unlike Greatest Hits, We Too Are One (1989).

One of the new songs, "I've Got a Life", was released as a single. It entered the UK Singles Chart at number 14 and spent three weeks at number one on the Hot Dance Club Play chart in the United States.

Ultimate Collection peaked at number five on the UK Albums Chart and has since been certified triple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

Track listing

All tracks are written by Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart, except "When Tomorrow Comes" co-written by Patrick Seymour

No.	Title	Original appearance	Length
1.	"I've Got a Life"	previously unreleased	4:05
2.	"Love Is a Stranger"	Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) (1983)	3:42
3.	"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"	Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)	3:36
4.	"Who's That Girl?" (single edit)	Touch (1983)	3:44
5.	"Right by Your Side" (single edit)	Touch	3:49
6.	"Here Comes the Rain Again"	Touch	4:51
7.	"Would I Lie to You?"	Be Yourself Tonight (1985)	4:26
8.	"There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)" (single edit)	Be Yourself Tonight	4:41
9.	"Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" (with Aretha Franklin; single edit)	Be Yourself Tonight and Who's Zoomin' Who? (1985)	4:53
10.	"It's Alright (Baby's Coming Back)"	Be Yourself Tonight	3:47
11.	"When Tomorrow Comes" (single edit)	Revenge (1986)	4:15
12.	"Thorn in My Side"	Revenge	4:13
13.	"The Miracle of Love" (single edit)	Revenge	4:35
14.	"Missionary Man" (single edit)	Revenge	3:47
15.	"You Have Placed a Chill in My Heart"	Savage (1987)	3:52
16.	"I Need a Man"	Savage	4:23
17.	"I Saved the World Today" (single edit)	Peace (1999)	4:26
18.	"17 Again" (single edit)	Peace	4:20
19.	"Was It Just Another Love Affair?"	previously unreleased	3:50
Total length:			79:42

iTunes Store bonus track

No.	Title	Original appearance	Length
20.	"The King and Queen of America"	We Too Are One (1989)	4:21
Total length:			84:03

DVD

No.	Title	Length
1.	"I've Got a Life" (music video)
2.	"Love Is A Stranger" (music video)
3.	"Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)" (music video)
4.	"Who's That Girl" (music video)
5.	"Right by Your Side" (music video)
6.	"Here Comes the Rain Again" (music video)
7.	"Would I Lie to You?" (music video)
8.	"There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)" (music video)
9.	"Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" (music video)
10.	"It's Alright (Baby's Coming Back)" (music video)
11.	"When Tomorrow Comes" (music video)
12.	"Thorn in My Side" (music video)
13.	"The Miracle of Love" (music video)
14.	"Missionary Man" (music video)
15.	"You Have Placed a Chill in My Heart" (music video)
16.	"I Need a Man" (music video)
17.	"I Saved the World Today" (music video)

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Ultimate Collection.^[2]

• David A. Stewart – production (tracks 1–16, 19)
• Adam Williams – production (track 2)
• Eurythmics – production (tracks 17, 18)
• Stevie Wonder – harmonica (track 8)
• Aretha Franklin – vocals (track 9)
• Lewis Ziolek – photography
• Peter Ashworth – photography
• Michael Segal – photography
• Laurence Stevens – art direction, graphic design
• Ian Cooper – mastering, remastering

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Ultimate Collection Chart (2005–2006) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)^[3] 14 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[4] 29 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[5] 12 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)^[6] 42 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)^[7] 14 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[8] 40 European Albums (Billboard)^[9] 14 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)^[10] 40 French Compilation Albums (SNEP)^[11] 17 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[12] 36 Greek Albums (IFPI)^[13] 47 Irish Albums (IRMA)^[14] 9 Italian Albums (FIMI)^[15] 9 Japanese Albums (Oricon)^[16] 152 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[17] 6 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)^[18] 40 Scottish Albums (OCC)^[19] 5 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)^[20] 68 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[21] 14 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[22] 24 UK Albums (OCC)^[23] 5 US Billboard 200^[24] 116

Year-end charts 2005 year-end chart performance for Ultimate Collection Chart (2005) Position UK Albums (OCC)^[25] 36 2006 year-end chart performance for Ultimate Collection Chart (2006) Position UK Albums (OCC)^[26] 169 2009 year-end chart performance for Ultimate Collection Chart (2009) Position UK Albums (OCC)^[27] 188

Certifications and sales

Certifications and sales for Ultimate Collection

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)^[28]	2× Platinum	140,000^‡
Belgium (BEA)^[29]	Gold	25,000^*
Germany (BVMI)^[30]	Platinum	200,000^‡
Ireland (IRMA)^[31]	2× Platinum	30,000^^
Italy sales in 2005	—	130,000^[32]
Italy (FIMI)^[33]	Gold	25,000^*
New Zealand (RMNZ)^[34]	Gold	7,500^^
United Kingdom (BPI)^[35]	3× Platinum	900,000^^
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Kellman, Andy. "Eurythmics – Ultimate Collection". AllMusic.
2. Ultimate Collection (liner notes). Eurythmics. RCA Records. 2005. 82876748412.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
3. "Australiancharts.com – Eurythmics – Ultimate Collection". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
4. "Austriancharts.at – Eurythmics – Ultimate Collection" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
5. "Ultratop.be – Eurythmics – Ultimate Collection" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
6. "Ultratop.be – Eurythmics – Ultimate Collection" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
7. "Danishcharts.dk – Eurythmics – Ultimate Collection". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
8. "Dutchcharts.nl – Eurythmics – Ultimate Collection" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
9. "Hits of the World". Billboard. Vol. 117, no. 48. 26 November 2005. p. 81. ISSN 0006-2510 – via Google Books.
10. "Eurythmics: Ultimate Collection" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
11. "Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste". InfoDisc (in French). Retrieved 24 April 2020. Select "EURYTHMICS" from the drop-down menu and click "OK".
12. "Offiziellecharts.de – Eurythmics – Ultimate Collection" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
13. [Top 50 Greek and Foreign Albums] (in Greek). IFPI Greece. 4 December 2005. Archived from the original on 12 December 2005. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
14. . GfK Chart-Track. Archived from the original on 12 November 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
15. "Italiancharts.com – Eurythmics – Ultimate Collection". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
16. アルティメット・コレクション/ユーリズミックス [Ultimate Collection / Eurythmics] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
17. "Charts.nz – Eurythmics – Ultimate Collection". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
18. "Norwegiancharts.com – Eurythmics – Ultimate Collection". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
19. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
20. "Spanishcharts.com – Eurythmics – Ultimate Collection". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
21. "Swedishcharts.com – Eurythmics – Ultimate Collection". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
22. "Swisscharts.com – Eurythmics – Ultimate Collection". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
23. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
24. "Eurythmics Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
25. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2005". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
26. "UK Year-End Charts 2006" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. p. 5. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
27. "UK Year-End Charts 2009" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. p. 8. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
28. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2018 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
29. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 2008". Ultratop. Hung Medien. 5 September 2008.
30. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Eurythmics; 'Ultimate Collection')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
31. "The Irish Charts - 2005 Certification Awards - Multi Platinum". Irish Recorded Music Association.
32. De Luigi, Mario (January 2006). (PDF). Musica e dischi. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
33. "Italian album certifications – Eurythmics – Ultimate Collection" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Select "2014" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Ultimate Collection" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Album e Compilation" under "Sezione".
34. "New Zealand album certifications – Eurythmics – Ultimate Collection". Recorded Music NZ.
35. "British album certifications – Eurythmics – Ultimate Collection". British Phonographic Industry. 22 July 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2021.