Vinyl Icons

Original LP
This Is The Sea was released on September 16th, 1985. In the UK it came out on Ensign in a single sleeve, with the lyrics reproduced on the inner sleeve with a number of illustrations. It was licensed and distributed through Island [ENCL 5].

The European version arrived on Island Records with the light and dark blue Island label [207 095] while the US LP also came on Island Records, though this time with black labels [90457-1]. Both are credited with being published by Ensign Records and include the label's logo on the label.

Cassette
The 1985 UK cassette [Ensign ZCHEN3] featured a fold-out inlay and white embossed cassette shells. Some versions had the Ensign catalogue number ENCC5 [pictured below]. The US cassette was released on Chrysalis in a transparent shell [F4 21543].

First CD
This Is The Sea's UK CD [pictured top right] was released in 1985 on Chrysalis/Ensign [CCD 1543] and came with a four-page foldout replicating the LP inner sleeve. A European version in the same year was issued by Island [610534-222].

Chrysalis released a 25th anniversary longbox in 1994, which included the four-page CD booklet and a 30-page booklet about the history of the label [CD25CR23].

Ten years later Chris Blair and Mike Scott remastered the album at Abbey Road for a double CD release including a 24-page booklet [Chrysalis, 7243 5 91451 2 9]. The 14-track bonus disc comprised outtakes, including 'Beverley Penn' and 'Sleek White Schooner'; a version of Van Morrison's 'Sweet Thing'; alternative, full-length and live versions; and some of Scott's demo sketches.

In A Special Place – The Piano Demos For This Is The Sea, a separate 15-track CD of Scott on piano and vocals was released by in 2011 [Chrysalis 5099909841024].

Audiophile Vinyl
To celebrate 100 years of EMI, a 180g LP with original packaging was issued in 1997 [Ensign 7243 8 21460 1 8]. In 2015 a 180g LP was released by Ensign/Chrysalis [ENCL 5] based on the 2004 remaster.