Welcome to the Real World is the second studio album by American pop rock band Mr. Mister, released on June 20, 1985, by RCA Records. Two singles from the album, "Broken Wings" and "Kyrie", topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, while "Is It Love" peaked at number eight. Welcome to the Real World topped the Billboard 200 in March 1986, become RCA's first number one album since Jefferson Starship album Red Octopus in November 1975. A remastered 25th-anniversary edition of Welcome to the Real World was released as a digipak on April 20, 2010.
Reception In 2024, Paul Elliott of Classic Rock called it "a classic melodic rock album featuring two of the defining songs of that era" and "a brilliant synthesis of AOR and new wave, comparable to the Cars' classic Heartbeat City."
Track listing All tracks written by Richard Page, Steve George and John Lang, with additional writers noted.
Personnel Credits adapted from the liner notes of Welcome to the Real World.
Mr. Mister Richard Page – lead vocals, bass Pat Mastelotto – drums Steve Farris – guitar Steve George – keyboards, vocals
Additional musicians Jack Manning – additional programming Casey Young – additional programming
Technical Mr. Mister – production Paul DeVilliers – production, engineering Lois Oki – engineering Mick Guzauski – mixing Mike Shipley – mixing Bill Freesh – additional engineering Tony Peluso – additional engineering Tchad Blake, Judy Clapp, Carolyn Collins, Eddie Delena, Dave Egerton, Stuart Furusho, Heidi Hanscher, Coke Johnson, Stan Katayama, Daren Klein, Steve MacMillan, Richard Mekernan, Sebastian Thorer – engineering assistance Marge Meoli – production coordination
Artwork Joe Stelmach – art direction Jonathan Owen – front cover Rob Page – graphics Four Eyes – photography KK – graffiti
Charts
Weekly charts + Weekly chart performance for Welcome to the Real World Chart (1986) Peakposition Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) 17 European Albums (Music & Media) 6 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) 7 Icelandic Albums (Tónlist) 8 Italian Albums (Musica e dischi) Select "Album" in the "Tipo" field, type "Welcome to the real world" in the "Titolo" field and press "cerca". 16 Japanese Albums (Music Labo) 17
Year-end charts + Year-end chart performance for Welcome to the Real World Chart (1986) Position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) 79 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM) 5 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) 27 European Albums (Music & Media) 30 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) 40 UK Albums (Gallup) 61 US Billboard 200 7
Certifications
References
Bibliography