Between the Lines is the second studio album by Australian pop singer Jason Donovan. It was released on 29 May 1990 by PWL and Mushroom.

Background and release

Between the Lines was produced by the team Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) and was Donovan's last album for the SAW production team, as the following year saw him take the lead role in the West End musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Like his previous album, the title was taken from a line in one of the songs—in this case, the opening line of "When It's All Over" ("should have read between the lines..."), and also became the name of Donovan's autobiography, released in 2007. Donovan described the album as creatively superior to his debut, and said he had more input, with he and his management requesting material that was more within his vocal range. He believes that the album's consistent lyrical themes of relationship splits and broken hearts were direct references by the songwriters, SAW, to his then recent split with Kylie Minogue. Speaking of the album's commercial performance, Donovan said: "Between the Lines wasn't the successful record that Ten Good Reasons was, but how do you match that? Ten Good Reason ' s was just a moment in time." He also added that he accepted at the time that "every bubble has to burst", and he knew he'd then have to prioritise evolving his career. Donovan supported the album with a national tour of the UK and Ireland, titled the "Doin' Fine Tour", which began in June 1990. While the decision to tour upset Pete Waterman and Donovan's record label, the singer credits the live shows with ensuring his longevity as a stage performer, after Andrew Lloyd Webber attended one of the shows and was impressed with his performance. Between the Lines was re-issued in 2010 by Edsel records as a double CD set. In a review of its re-release, Music Week said this it was "arguably better" than his first album.

Critical reception

In 2018, Mark Elliot of Classic Pop considered Between the Lines as the 11th best album ever produced by Stock Aitken Waterman; he added that it "contained some of [Donovan's] strongest numbers", including "vintage covers" and "more contemporary tracks", and underlined "Another Night" as being an "ABBA pastiche" and the best track from the album.

Chart performance

Between the Lines reached number two in the UK charts, and was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry. The album features five UK Top 30 singles: "When You Come Back to Me" (UK #2), "Hang On to Your Love" (UK #8), "Another Night" (UK #18), "Rhythm of the Rain" (UK #9) and "I'm Doin' Fine" (UK #22), released between 1989 and 1990. The album was far less successful in Donovan's native Australia, where it peaked at no.77 in December 1990.

Track listing

All tracks written by Stock Aitken Waterman, unless otherwise noted. Side one Side two

Re-issue

CD 1 CD 2

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Sales and certifications