UK album release: Flowers In The Dirt by Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney’s eighth solo studio album, Flowers In The Dirt, was released in the United Kingdom on 5 June 1989.

The album was a commercial success and marked a creative return to form. It was released on 6 June 1989 in the USA.

Flowers In The Dirt topped the charts in the UK and Norway, sold more than a million copies in Europe, and reached the top 10 in Japan.

It performed less well in the US, peaking at 21, although it did remain on the charts for a year, sold 600,000 copies in the first six months of release, and was certified gold.

A limited edition World Tour Pack of Flowers In The Dirt was released in the UK in October 1989, and in the US in January the following year. It included a bonus single ‘Party Party’, a poster of the band, a family tree by Pete Frame detailing McCartney’s various groups, tour itinerary, six postcards, and a bumper sticker which proclaimed: “I’d rather be listening to McCartney.”

Another limited edition of the album was released in Japan in March 1990. It contained a bonus disc which began with an environmental message by McCartney, followed by a re-recording of ‘The Long And Winding Road’, ‘Loveliest Thing’, ‘Rough Ride’ (Extended Version), ‘Ou Est Le Soleil?’ (7″ Mix), ‘Mama’s Little Girl’, ‘Same Time Next Year’, ‘Party Party’, and ‘PS Love Me Do’ – a studio reworking of two of The Beatles’ earliest songs.