Author: electricityclub (Page 15 of 441)

“I don’t like country & western, I don’t like rock music… I don’t like rockabilly! I don’t like much really do I? But what I do like, I love passionately!!”: CHRIS LOWE

“Good taste is exclusive”: NICK RHODES

A THOUSAND MAD THINGS Interview

26 January 2026 /

Photo by Romy Caton-Jones

While the music of A THOUSAND MAD THINGS may evoke feelings of nostalgia, William Barradale is no tribute act or one for novelty or pastiche.

Emerging as the best new act of 2025, the debut EP ‘Cry & Dance’ was an impressive statement. Growing up gay and vulnerable in suburban England, William Barradale found he could relate to the voices and music of classic acts like BRONSKI BEAT, SOFT CELL and ASSOCIATES as a tortured outsider navigating young manhood.

Augmented for gigs by James Foulsham-Rogers on synths, A THOUSAND MAD THINGS are a compelling live act with William Barradale tidily dressed and expressing himself physically in a manner recalling Ian Curtis, Andy McCluskey and James New of MIRRORS while delivering his emotionally rich vocals.

Co-produced by Mike Peden who first made his name as a member of THE CHIMES, the new single ‘Promises’ comes ahead of the second EP from A THOUSAND MAD THINGS due out later in 2026 to continue Barradale’s shadowy journey through adolescent memories, doomed romances and loneliness. He kindly spoke to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about his creative approaches…

You only have one chance to make a first impression and you did it well. What does ‘Cry & Dance’ mean to you personally, was making the EP cathartic at all?

‘Cry & Dance’ will always be special for me. I feel when making music, it’s important to encourage yourself into a vulnerable place, and feel that the best music is honest. I went into the writing process with my producer wanting to create music that was raw and upfront about what it was. ‘Cry & Dance’ does what it says on the tin in that respect. It’s obvious where it comes from musically and I didn’t want to hide away from that. The songs will always hold deep meaning because they come from a place of such vulnerability. But balancing that pain with pleasure is what it’s all about. As a first body of work, I’m happy.

How did you become immersed in classic synthpop, was it something introduced to you by your parents or was it the teenager thing of discovering a passion of your own?

My dad brought me up on TEARS FOR FEARS, more than any of the other 80s bands. ‘Songs From The Big Chair’ was absolutely huge for me and no-one else was listening to that music when I was a kid. And I remember how uniform and predictable pop music could be when I was at school of course with a few exceptions (we’re talking 2010-15 when I was in secondary school). I was quite a depressive kid but found solace in that genre and time period. Something about the performances and the social commentary liberated me from boredom and hurt and they always do. I think of songs like ‘The Downtown Lights’ by THE BLUE NILE, ‘The Working Hour’ by TEARS FOR FEARS and ‘Smalltown Boy’ by BRONSKI BEAT, which growing up a gay boy I didn’t even figure out the context of until later on in my teenage years but the message penetrated nonetheless.

Photo by Romy Caton-Jones

You’ve talked about nostalgia on a few occasions, some say today’s pop music is not as good as in the past, do you see any argument for that? What is the attraction of the past?

I think in a world determined to accelerate forward at such a relentless pace, it is important to have things to look back to, even if it’s predicated on a fantasy vintage zeitgeist. To me, the future is absolutely terrifying and seemingly more out of our hands than we even know. I don’t like to use the word naive because I know how considered and detailed the producers and artists were back in the 80s synthpop-era but there is something about the direct approach to sounds and performances that always resonated with me, I feel no-one was hiding behind anything. The rawness, honesty and weirdness in some of the records and shown in the wider culture is remarkable. It’s human. And stuff being more ‘human’ is about to be a bigger virtue than anyone realises.

What was the genesis of ‘Wide Awake’? You really get to play with your vocal range there, do you have any favourite singers?

My favourite singers are Sarah Vaughan and Billy MacKenzie. On ‘Wide Awake’ in particular, Billy’s approach to range was a huge inspiration, it’s a f*cking nightmare to sing and I love it. I wanna hear someone cover it.

In a time when the darkwave sub-genre has become prevalent in alternative electronic music but lacking in quality on the song, vocal and production front, what stands out about ‘Cry & Dance’ is your songwriting, how did you nurture your craft, what sort of bands had you been in before?

I’ve always been a solo artist even though I always thought being in a band was cool. And I always felt very without a home genre / scene. Even now, I think it’s convenient to categorise my music as darkwave synthpop but I think it goes deeper than that. Sometimes I long to just play the piano, I love listening to jazz and classical music. Sometimes I don’t even like listening to music at all. My outlook on writing is that a good song is sort of universal and can translate across genre and setup so my aspiration is to always just to try and nail the song and make good pop music. Then as we produce it, that’s where you often find the colour and the scene and the genre. Not saying I don’t have sounds and references I like and rely on, but sometimes I’ll write a song and the demo will be completely different to the finished piece. Lyrically and contextually, my writing almost always comes from personal experience, I love stories but I’ve always been crap at writing them, it gets too weird.

You posted a selfie on your socials next to an ARP 2600, Roland SH2 and a Dave Smith Prophet, are they yours? Where do you stand on the hardware versus software debate?

They are unfortunately not mine. I use a lot of software just cos I can’t afford the proper synths right now, but I have a list and will one day build a studio full of my favourites. I think it depends on the application, especially for bass parts something like the Pro-One is just impossible to recreate digitally and have it as good. I find it incredible how close developers have gotten when making recreations though, some of them are great. I also use Serum by Xfer Records a lot and I think that thing sounds fantastic.

Was ‘Local Guys’ autobiographical? Do you hope your music may help those navigating adulthood in the way acts like SOFT CELL and BRONSKI BEAT did?

Yes it is. If my music could make another person feel the way BRONSKI BEAT made me feel as a teenage boy I’d die happy.

You have mentioned that one of your favourite bands is RADIOHEAD, is there anything in their approach that influences the way you make music with synths?

I think in general the musicality and emotional nature of RADIOHEAD just really resonates with me. ‘In Rainbows’ is my favourite album.

‘My Car’ has this emotive expression of longing and appears to be about unrequited love, what’s the furthest you have ever driven for someone?

The worst journey I can think of is driving across Central London in rush hour. I have only done that for people I really love.

The new single ‘Promises’ heralds a new EP coming in 2026 and has more of rhythmic bounce compared with what was on ‘Cry & Dance’, where are you taking your sound next?

Although all these songs were made at a similar time, EP2 has more energy in its production and tone. I picked the songs I felt had more to say for themselves to go second. ‘Cry & Dance’ was about establishing the project and EP2 feels more expressive and darker in tone. I have a whole concept about what it is to be a flawed person and each song represents a different part of that person (the thoughts, the feelings, the body, the needs etc). I wanted to hold back these songs for EP2 because I wanted to wait until I had some attention to share them. The sound is similar though and it’s a lot of the same synths and production style.

Do you have a title for the second EP and are there any of the songs you would like to talk about?

The title will be ‘Hate It’, I’ve taken that name from the 5th track of the EP.

What are your plans for playing live in 2026?

Hopefully we will play as much as possible, UK and EU. We’re playing with PIXEL GRIP in February for a few nights in London, Bristol and Manchester and I think that’s going to be fantastic. Myself and Jim have developed the show over the new year so I’m excited to show people new material and a bigger and bolder set than we’ve done before. I love to travel and play so I hope to see as many cities as possible and a few festivals in summer would put the cherry on top.

What are your hopes and fears as A THOUSAND MAD THINGS gains momentum?

I don’t really have fears except creative stagnation. My hopes are to be an artist people find refreshing and unique but also make songs they find infectious. Selling out a headline show is my personal target for this year.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to A THOUSAND MAD THINGS

Special thanks to James Crosley at Nettwerk Music Group

A THOUSAND MAD THINGS 2026 live dates opening for PIXEL GRIP include:
London The Lexington (12th February), Bristol The Croft (13th February), Manchester YES Basement (14th February)

The single ‘Promises’ and the ‘Cry & Dance’ EP are available via the usual online platforms including https://athousandmadthings.bandcamp.com/

https://athousandmadthings.ffm.to/bio

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574810537242

https://www.instagram.com/athousandmadthings/

https://www.tiktok.com/@athousandmadthings

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiH0XGmfKMWzM_VsizMgP8A

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7pcAieoVahaJkAvKzWG2xS

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
26th January 2026

25 Favourite Obscure PET SHOP BOYS Tracks

22 January 2026 /

Celebrating 40 years of the release of their 1986 debut album ‘Please’, PET SHOP BOYS will paradoxically play 5 intimate live shows at London’s Electric Ballroom under the ‘Obscure’ banner.

At the opposite end of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe’s highly successful ‘Dreamworld: The Greatest Hits Live’ tour, the ‘Obscure’ series of shows will feature only album tracks and B‑sides from across their long career, with many songs being performed live for the first time.

Ranging from songs to dance experiments with any number of stylistic diversions, PET SHOP BOYS have always prided themselves in producing quality B-sides and a good number are fan favourites. Their first double CD collection of B-sides, ‘Alternative’ came in 1995. Originally planned to be a single CD, Tennant and Lowe found the selection process a challenge so opted for a double CD, a move that was welcomed by fans of these more “obscure” recordings. In addition, PET SHOP BOYS have included bonus albums with limited special editions of ‘Very’, ‘Fundamental’ and ‘Yes’ featuring exclusive tracks and these can be also classified as “obscure”.

Always a prolific duo with numerous collaborations, remixes, soundtracks, theatre productions and a stage musical in their portfolio, PET SHOP BOYS released a second double CD collection of B-sides ‘Format’ in 2012 covering B-sides and bonus tracks released between 1996-2009. Perhaps it is time for a third B-sides collection from 2010 to cover their post-Parlophone self-released x2 era?

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK presents its 25 Favourite Obscure PET SHOP BOYS Tracks in chronological order, the list is restricted to B-sides, bonus tracks and exclusive material from the limited special edition versions of their albums…

IN THE NIGHT (1985)

‘In The Night’ was the B-side for the first single version of ‘Opportunities’ and saw PET SHOP BOYS reusing the same chord progression as its A-side. The lyrics referred to Les Zazous, an apolitical group in France during the Second World War who were disliked by the Nazis and the Resistance. With the machine gun ending, is Zazou shot? Although Phil Harding , the Arthur Baker remix was used as the theme music for the BBC’s ‘The Clothes Show’.

Originally released as the B-side of the single ‘Opportunities’, currently available on the album ‘Alternative’ via Parlophone Records

A MAN COULD GET ARRESTED – Bobby Orlando version (1985)

Originally recorded with Bobby Orlando in late 1983, ‘A Man Could Get Arrested’ was like ‘I Want A Lover’, an example of the boiling sexual frustration evident in early PET SHOP BOYS songs. Laid down in an basic office studio and remixed with Frank Roszak, this New York version captured a raw electro energy that was more impactful than the sophistipop re-recording produced by Stephen Spiro that ended up on the 7″ single of ‘West End Girls’.

Originally released as the 12” B-side of the single ‘West End Girls’, currently available on the album ‘Alternative’ via Parlophone Records

THAT’S MY IMPRESSION (1986)

Possibly the song which indicated that PET SHOP BOYS were going to be around for a while and not just a flash in the pan, ‘That’s My Impression’ was menacing as opposed to melancholic, combining SOFT CELL with Divine. Neil Tennant’s final angry refrain of “I went looking for someone I couldn’t find – staring at faces by the Serpentine…” was embittered in a manner that turned out to be quite rare in PET SHOP BOYS’ later work.

Originally released as the B-side of the single ‘Love Comes Quickly’, currently available on the album ‘Alternative’ via Parlophone Records

PANINARO (1986)

“Passion and love and sex and money – Violence, religion, injustice and death” went the opening phrases of Chris Lowe’s debut lead vocal for PET SHOP BOYS. Spoken rather than sung, the track was a celebration of an Italian fashion cult. The middle featured an ‘Entertainment Tonight’ interview with Lowe confirming: “I don’t like Country & Western. I don’t like rock music. I don’t like Rockabilly. I don’t like much, really, do I? But what I do like, I love passionately!”

Originally released as the B-side of ‘Suburbia’, currently available on the album ‘Alternative’ via Parlophone Records

JACK THE LAD (1986)

Written about the spy Kim Philby before then referencing Lawrence of Arabia and Oscar Wilde, ‘Jack The Lad’ was musically influenced by Erik Satie and Ennio Morricone. While the song title phrase is associated with masculinity, Tennant turned things over and used historical figures who “followed their own instincts and philosophies rather than simply obey rules or follow accepted practice” as clever metaphors to maverick individuality.

Originally released as the B-side of ‘Suburbia’, currently available on the album ‘Alternative’ via Parlophone Records

DO I HAVE TO? (1987)

A grand moody ballad in the vein of ‘It Couldn’t Happen Here’ with which there were a number of shared elements, the narrative looked at love triangles and asked the question of the title; this would be a recurring topic and form the story told in ‘So Hard’. With the working title of ‘Break His Heart, Not Mine’, Tennant said ‘Do I Have To?’ was his attempt at making a track like David Sylvian.

Originally released as the B-side of ‘Always on My Mind’, currently available on the album ‘Alternative’ via Parlophone Records

I GET EXCITED (1988)

First recorded with Bobby Orlando, ‘I Get Excited (You Get Excited Too)’ was another early sexually charged number that was a cousin to ‘A Man Could Get Arrested’. Re-recorded during the ‘Introspective’ album sessions, Tennant asked “I don’t know why”, a phrase he would repeat on the next PET SHOP BOYS single ‘Domino Dancing’. He later said the song was wholly innocent and about visiting New York for the first time.

Originally released as the B-side of ‘Heart’; currently available on the album ‘Alternative’ via Parlophone Records

YOUR FUNNY UNCLE (1989)

An elegiac chamber ballad using quotes in the coda inspired by The Book Of Revelations, the lyrics of ‘Your Funny Uncle’ were written by Tennant about the funeral of his friend Chris Dowell, the first he had attended of a close friend. It may be implied that in the title character’s sympathetic greetings to his late nephew’s friends, there is a knowing empathy from a member of an older repressed generation as “Another life begins today.”

Originally released as the B-side of ‘It’s Alright, currently available on the album ‘Alternative’ via Parlophone Records

WE ALL FEEL BETTER IN THE DARK (1991)

‘We All Feel Better In The Dark’ was about clubbing and its inherent euphoria; Lowe took the verse vocal while Tennant sang the chorus on this discordant sample-laden dance track. The lyrics were inspired by a tape that Lowe acquired at a health food store called ‘The Secrets of Sexual Attraction’. With the declaration that “I’m feeling really horny”, Lowe performed the track in his boxer shorts during the 1991 ‘Performance’ tour.

Originally released as the B-side of the single ‘Being Boring’, currently available on the album ‘Alternative’ via Parlophone Records

BET SHE’S NOT YOUR GIRLFRIEND (1991)

While the song was inspired by George Michael being photographed with a group of beautiful models, Tennant referred to his own teenage dating experience with Krysia Korczynski who later ran PET SHOP BOYS’ fan club and would become the partner of their late photographer Eric Watson. The vibey house track with glissando strings was considered for inclusion on ‘Behaviour’ but was ultimately relegated to B-side status.

Originally released as the 12” B-side of the single ‘Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can’t Take My Eyes Off You)’, currently available on the album ‘Alternative’ via Parlophone Records

MUSIC FOR BOYS (1991)

Taking elements form the “Happy Hardcore” of THE PROIDGY and rave nights at London’s now demolished venue The Astoria, the title ‘Music For Boys’ reflected how this aggressive form of dance music was aimed at “boys” rather than “girls”. Effectively a solo Chris Lowe track, this was one of the first PET SHOP BOYS tracks that appeared to have no recognisable trace of Neil Tennant as all the voices were samples or vocodered.

Originally released as the B-side of the single ‘DJ Culture’, currently available on the album ‘Alternative’ via Parlophone Records

SHAMELESS (1993)

An epic commentary on celebrity culture where “we will do anything to get out 15 minutes of fame” because “we have no integrity” and “we’re ready to crawl”, ‘Shameless’ was on the nose in its satirical observations. But it was dropped as a ‘Very ‘album track because the joke wore thin even on Tennant and Lowe themselves. ‘Shameless’ was later part of the PET SHOP BOYS 2001 stage musical ‘Closer To Heaven’ sung by “The Vile Celebrities”.

Originally released as the B-side of the single ‘Go West’, currently available on the album ‘Alternative’ via Parlophone Records

WE CAME FROM OUTER SPACE (1993)

Accompanying their ‘Very’ “up” pop statement was a primarily lyric-less “dance” album ‘Relentless’ helmed by Chris Lowe. The best track on the 6 track collection was ‘We Came From Outer Space’. With sampled statements like “You know the difference between the two genders? No!” and a repeated title phrase, the mysterious spacey hypnotism was affirmed by Lowe dryly announcing “Something’s not right, I can’t work it out…”

Originally released on the bonus disc of the special edition album ‘Very Relentless’, currently available on the album ‘Relentless’ via Parlophone Records

TOO MANY PEOPLE (1993)

With their shared love of Italo disco, PET SHOP BOYS had an affinity with NEW ORDER and this spilled out musically on ‘Too Many People’. A stabbing dance song about being overwhelmed, Tennant asked “What is my identity?” as he reflected on the conflict within his mind. Given their involvement with ELECTRONIC, one could have been half forgiven for thinking Bernard Sumner was about to join in on the main refrain…

Originally released as the B-side of the single ‘I Wouldn’t Normally Do This Kind of Thing”, currently available on the album ‘Alternative’ via Parlophone Records

DECADENCE (1994)

PET SHOP BOYS had been asked to write the theme for a film titled ‘Decadence’ based on a Steven Berkoff play which starred Joan Collins, but they withdrew from the project after seeing a rough cut. With a sonic sandwich of ‘I Say A Little Prayer’ and KRAFTWERK’s ‘The Model’, augmented by Johnny Marr on guitar and string arrangements by Richard Niles, this was the nearest PET SHOP BOYS came to writing something akin to a Bond Theme.

Originally released as the B-side of the single ‘Liberation’, currently available on the album ‘Alternative’ via Parlophone Records

EUROBOY (1994)

A fuzzy Euro-rave track with vocoders and very basic “lover” lyrics forming the topline, ‘Euroboy’ was outwardly quite throwaway but highly effective in its sinister resonance via an incessant Cossack chant sampled from an African voice. Originally only appearing on the cassingle of ‘Yesterday, When I Was Mad’ in the UK but on the CD variant in Europe, ‘Euroboy’ was like ‘Boyzone’, the name of a gay porn publication from the period…

Originally released as a bonus track of the single ‘Yesterday, When I Was Mad’, currently available on the album ‘Alternative’ via Parlophone Records

CONFIDENTIAL (1996)

The PET SHOP BOYS demo for the Tina Turner track on her 1996 album ‘Wildest Dreams’ is something of a gem only known to the duo’s aficionados, especially as the late diva’s version was disappointing despite being produced by Tennant and Lowe with Chris Porter. Originating from the ‘Very’ sessions, this midtempo minor key ballad had similar aesthetic properties to ‘Hey Headmaster’, one of the B-sides to ‘Can You Forgive Her?’

Originally released as a bonus track of the single ‘Single-Bilingual’, currently available on the album ‘Format’ via Parlophone Records

SEXY NORTHERNER (2002)

A song that has been rumoured to be about either Chris Lowe or Robbie Williams although neither has been confirmed, Tennant marvelled from a distance about the antics of a young man who “drinks a lot of beer” and is literally getting away with it, always “hanging round the clubs” and “gets in them for free”. A trancey house number that went all glam rock in the chorus, it should be noted that none of the lyrics actually rhyme!

Originally released as a bonus track of the single ‘Home & Dry’, currently available on the album ‘Format’ via Parlophone Records

WE’RE THE PET SHOP BOYS (2003)

“I feel you touch me and it’s 1984, I know what you will say before you start in my heart, we’re the PET SHOP BOYS…” articulated MY ROBOT FRIEND when imagining himself and his former lover as Tennant and Lowe. Gloriously covered by the duo themselves, with the closing shopping list of song titles fittingly deadpanned by Lowe, Tennant remarked “It sums us up”. Robbie Williams would cover the song in 2006 using a remix of the PSB version.

Originally released as a bonus track of the single ‘Miracles’, currently available on the album ‘Format’ via Parlophone Records

FUGITIVE – Richard X Extended Mix (2006)

While the ‘Fundamental’ album was produced by Trevor Horn, on the bonus album ‘Fundamentalism’, it was opened by the Richard X produced ‘Fugitive’ in powerfully extended form. PET SHOP BOYS’ own post-9/11 song, Neil Tennant said: “It’s about a terrorist, a terrorist whose ideology is that he believes that by killing the enemy he’s going to go to heaven”. A shorter version came with the German-only ‘Beautiful People’ single.

Originally released on the bonus disc of the special edition album ‘Fundamental / Fundamentalism’, currently available on the album ‘Fundamental / Further Listening 2005-2007’ via Parlophone Records

BLUE ON BLUE (2006)

‘Blue On Blue’ was blessed with an explicit Divine intervention and heavy on the influence of Bobby Orlando. While using a military term referring to “friendly fire”, a topic covered on a song during 1999’s ‘Nightlife’ era, this song was much more truly “friendly” in its provocative throb. It was a metaphor for how two unhappy “blue” people could together make each other happy by the sea in view of the blue of the sky and the blue of the water…

Originally released as a bonus track of the single ‘Minimal’, currently available on the album ‘Format’ via Parlophone Records

PARTY SONG (2006)

Interpolating KC & THE SUNSHINE BAND’s ‘That’s The Way (I Like It), ‘Party Song’ was a throbbing disco affair that outshone the horrendous Diane Warren-penned ballad ‘Numb’ which was the main act. Lyrically inspired by the classic Joan Collins and Leonard Rossiter fronted Campari adverts, it began life as a dance cover of NIRVANA’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ suggested by Elton John for inclusion on ‘PopArt’!!

Originally the B-side of ‘Numb’, currently available on the album ‘Format’ via Parlophone Records

THIS USED TO BE THE FUTURE (2009)

‘This Used To Be The Future’ was a dream trioet that featured both PET SHOP BOYS and Philip Oakey of THE HUMAN LEAGUE, recorded as a bonus song for ‘Yes etc’. With Lowe actually singing albeit autotuned, as opposed to just speaking, this celebration of yesterday’s tomorrow saw Oakey deadpan that his utopian dream didn’t quite turn out as predicted on ‘Tomorrow’s World’!

Originally released on the bonus disc of the special edition album ‘Yes etc.’, currently available on the album ‘Yes / Further Listening 2008-2010’ via Parlophone Records

ONE-HIT WONDER (2016)

Produced for the German internet TV music show ‘The One-Hit Parade’ in 2015, the theme was extended to make ‘One-Hit Wonder’. Upbeat and very jaunty for a PET SHOP BOYS track, Tennant’s “da-la-la-la-la” from the halfway point were delivered in a lightweight European style. The theme’s hook actually dated back a DEPECHE MODE-influenced instrumental the duo wrote in 1981 when Tennant was working for Smash Hits.

Originally released as a bonus track of the single ‘The Pop Kids’ via x2

THE WHITE DRESS (2016)

Unusual in that most of the track was instrumental, ‘The White Dress’ was said to be about Sam Taylor-Wood née Taylor-Johnson, director of the 2015 film ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ who recorded a cover of ‘I’m In Love With A German Film Star’ with PET SHOP BOYS back in 2009. With moody electronic backing reminiscent of KRAFTWERK, the limited lyrics referred to the striking garment that she wore to the Berlin premiere.

Originally released as a bonus track of the single ‘Twenty-something’ via x2

Obscure PET SHOP BOYS takes place at London’s Electric Ballroom for 5 nights between 6th to 10th April 2026

‘Dreamworld: The Greatest Hits Live’ is available now as a Blu-ray+2Cd set

The book ‘Volume: The Complete Visual Record’ is published by Thames & Hudson in hardback on 7th April 2026

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK has compiled an Obscure PET SHOP BOYS playlist on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3QfJbKvMDsTwgInxqbpskm

https://www.petshopboys.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/petshopboys

https://www.instagram.com/petshopboys/

https://www.threads.com/@petshopboys

https://bsky.app/profile/petshopboys.co.uk

Text by Chi Ming Lai
22nd January 2026

AVRO Psychopathé

16 January 2026 /

After a period of generic darkwave and those of a gothic disposition singing in octaves far too low, hope was provided for dark electronic pop with the emergence of A THOUSAND MAD THINGS in 2025. Another hoping to make a similar impression is Canada’s AVRO.

Now the solo project of Adam Percy, AVRO follows in the lineage of pioneering synth acts such as RATIONAL YOUTH and PSYCHE. Releasing the debut EP ‘Anatomy Act’ in 2016 and an album ‘Futuretroactivism’ in 2022 when Megan Rose was a member, the new mini-album ‘Psychopathé’ certainly has hooks, beats and well-delivered vocals when none of these attributes have been considered particularly important by purveyors of darker forms in recent times.

As the best track on this release, ‘Perfect World’ exudes this wonderful rhythmic bounce where the “air synth” factor is also high. Meanwhile on ‘Insomaniac’, there is a combination of cool IDM inflections and classic synthpop resonances within the verses before proceedings uplift in the choruses while female spoken word en Français in the middle eight add allure. The ‘Psychopathé’ title song’s cold introspection rumbles and rolls nicely with a good use of percussive dynamics.

But while ‘Blue Light, Hot Dreams’ presents an infectious dance flavour and makes good use of synthetic snaps in its backbone, its repetitious nature oversteps by going on far too long despite clocking in at a much shorter length than ‘Insomaniac’. The closing track ‘Liars in Love’ though is perhaps the less immediate and less convincing of the set.

A diagnosis on the corrosive nature of celebrity culture, there are moments to enjoy throughout ‘Psychopathé’ as it offers hints of light amongst the pathological tension.

‘Psychopathé’ is released by Warranty:Void Records and available from https://avro.bandcamp.com/

https://avromusic.com/

https://www.facebook.com/thisisavro

https://www.instagram.com/avromusic/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
16th January 2026

THE ELECTRONIC LEGACY OF 1986

13 January 2026 /

What of 1986? This was at times, unlike previous years, a difficult one to enjoy musically.

TEARS FOR FEARS and SIMPLE MINDS had shown in 1985 that the most bankable way to break America was to present a new wave sound that had some synthesizers but not too many while big compressed drums and rawk guitars would be the relatable component for FM radio shows to draw in listeners for their commercials in between.

Following the ubiquity of Phil Collins throughout most of 1985, the domination of the GENESIS axis continued with seemingly endless stream of singles from the ‘Invisible Touch’ album while former leader Peter Gabriel achieved international mainstream success with the Staxx-flavoured art funk of ‘Sledgehammer’ on major rotation at MTV.

Elsewhere, WHAM! ended on a high as George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley played their final concert at Wembley Stadium but also playing what turned out to be their last concert with Freddie Mercury at Knebworth Park were QUEEN. Having gone down the dumper in 1984 with their third album ‘Waking Up With The House On Fire’ which was assessed as a “disaster of mediocrity” by Smash Hits’ Tom Hibbert, the long playing attempt to rescue CULTURE CLUB out of the dumper ‘From Luxury To Heartache’ did nothing to change fortunes with Boy George’s then undisclosed heroin addiction affecting its prolonged production.

Hollywood was where is it at in 1986; Giorgio Moroder and his mechanic Tom Whitlock would win an Oscar and Golden Globe for ‘Best Original Song’ with ‘Take My Breath Away’ which provided the love theme for ‘Top Gun’, the highest-grossing film of the year worldwide; although it was credited to BERLIN, it featured none of its members apart from vocalist Terri Nunn and would cause tensions that would split up the band.

THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS re-recorded ‘Pretty In Pink’ for the John Hughes movie of the same name while having already featured discreetly during a mall scene with ‘Tesla Girls’ during another Hughes film ‘Weird Science’ the year before, OMD achieved their biggest hit in America with the specifically written standalone song  ‘If You Leave’ which soundtracked the closing prom scene to touch the hearts of many teenagers stateside. However, the act who contributed the most music to the film was NEW ORDER with ‘Shellshock’, ‘Elegia’ and ‘Thieves Like Us’!

In the rush to make things more palatable for the American market, there were lukewarm offerings by THE HUMAN LEAGUE, HEAVEN 17, DURAN DURAN and EURYTHMICS who only a few years before had released some excellent albums. “We were all a bit lost by then” said Phil Oakey later in 2009 on the BBC documentary ‘Synth Britannia’, “we didn’t have anything to prove!”. But the worst one was ‘U-Vox’ by ULTRAVOX; as the lame titled suggested, this was a band with something missing and the record was to 1986 what OMD’s ‘Crush’ was to 1985 as it battled to incorporate orchestras, brass sections, acoustic guitars and the traditional Irish combo THE CHIEFTAINS into its sound.

After the programmed perfection of their Trevor Horn-produced chart toppers ‘Relax’ and ‘Two Tribes’, new producer Stephen J Lipson may well have been misguided in allowing FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD to play their own instruments on the second album ‘Liverpool’ as tensions within the band were about to cause implosion. Certainly the programmed Trevor Horn single remix of ‘Warriors Of The Wasteland)’ was far superior to the lame “as live” album version which unsurprisingly sounded like it was performed by a slightly polished-up pub rock combo!

Making a successful transition to organic instrumentation were TALK TALK with ‘The Colour Of Spring’, probably one of the best albums of 1986 regardless of genre. In E&MM, Mark Hollis said “I absolutely hate synthesizers” despite the band having had their breakthrough using them; while the sleeve credits did much to appease more rockcentric audiences with the vague acknowledgement of “instrumental” for Ian Curnow’s synth solos, the enjoyable long player did feature an electronic wind instrument called a Variophon and the state-of-the-art Kurweil on ‘Happiness Is Easy’!

Also heading into more organic territory with an ambitious double album divided into song-based and ambient instrumental records was David Sylvian; bringing in a number of guest guitarists like Robert Fripp, Phil Palmer and Bill Nelson, ‘Gone To Earth’ required more effort from listeners as the former leader of JAPAN distanced himself further from his old band although former bandmates Steve Jansen and Richard Barbieri made contributions on a number of tracks.

As DAF went disco, Electronic Body Music influenced by the German duo’s imperial years on Virgin Records was emerging as a harder and darker alternative to the sanitised American-friendly sound that was now prevalent, with FRONT 242 and NITZER EBB issuing important singles that would trigger a new cult movement.

Overall, 1986 was a massive disappointment and confirmation of a wider downward spiral towards electronic creativity in pop music. House and dance would point towards the future but these sub-genres often lacked songs. Meanwhile, the emergence of Stock, Aitken & Waterman as a pop production factory would change the face of Top Of The Pops, Smash Hits and even the Independent Charts after years of delightful oddness but that is another story for others to tell…

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK has somehow managed to assemble a list of 20 albums to represent The Electronic Legacy of 1986, although it must be highlighted that a fair number of those included would not have made the cut in previous years which had their embarrassment of riches. Not a “best of” list by any means, as usual, these are presented in alphabetical order by artist…

A-HA Scoundrel Days

While Morten Harket, Magne Furuholmen and Pål Waaktaar were being perceived as a teenybop band thanks to the success of ‘Take On Me’, there was always an inherent Nordic gloom lurking within A-HA. Mostly produced by Alan Tarney, the blistering title song was swathed in a chilling melancholy. Then there were the hit singles but while ‘Cry Wolf’ was bouncy pop, there were snarls of frustration present in ‘I’ve Been Losing You’ and ‘Manhattan Skyline’.

‘Scoundrel Days’ is still available via Warner Music

https://a-ha.com/

ALPHAVILLE Afternoons In Utopia

ALPHAVILLE were under pressure on their second album ‘Afternoons in Utopia’, especially with the departure of founder member Frank Mertens. Ricky Echolette joined Marian Gold and Bernhard Lloyd but after the gritty commentary on heroin addiction of ‘Big In Japan’ in 1984, songs like ‘Jerusalem’ and ‘Dance With Me’ possessed an anthemic optimism while on ‘Red Rose’, Gold moved from his Robert Smith impersonation into Bryan Ferry territory.

‘Afternoons In Utopia’ is still available via Warner Music

https://www.alphaville.earth/

THE ART OF NOISE In Visible Silence

Having flown the ZTT nest, Anne Dudley, JJ Jeczalik and Gary Langan took their Fairlighted musique concrète to China Records and came up with ‘In Visible Silence’. With more variety and more polish, ‘Legs’ was classic AoN while a rework of ‘Peter Gunn’ with Duane Eddy and ‘Paranoimia’ would provide the hits, although the latter’s album version would be without Max Headroom. Although Langan would depart, a high profile collaboration with Tom Jones beckoned…

‘In Visible Silence’ is still available via Warner Music

https://www.theartofnoiseonline.com/

THE BOOK OF LOVE The Book Of Love

A quartet comprising of Susan Ottaviano, the unrelated Ted Ottaviano, Jade Lee and Lauren Roselli, BOOK OF LOVE signed to Sire Records and opened for DEPECHE MODE on two US successive tours. Their self-titled debut LP contained lively synthpop tunes such as ‘You Make Me Feel So Good’, ‘Boy’ and ‘I Touch Roses’ but it was a song named after the Italian artist ‘Modigliani’ that had most impact, appearing in an episode of ‘Miami Vice’ and the film ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles’.

‘The Book Of Love’ is still available via Sire Records

https://www.bookoflovemusic.com/

CHINA CRISIS What Price Paradise

With CHINA CRISIS now more of a band than the original duo concept fronted by Gary Daly and Eddie Lundon, ‘What Price Paradise’ had less of a Trans-Atlantic flavour compared to its predecessor ‘Flaunt The Imperfection’. Still featuring great songs such as ‘It’s Everything’, ‘Best Kept Secret’, ‘The Understudy’ and ‘Hampton Beach’, it is still one of life’s great mysteries that the magnificent ‘Arizona’ never got beyond No47 in the UK charts!

‘What Price Paradise’ is still available via Virgin Records

https://www.facebook.com/chinacrisisofficial

THE COMMUNARDS Communards

Although THE COMMUNARDS, Jimmy Somerville’s venture with future TV vicar Richard Coles was intended to have more traditional musical values, the electronic sound of his previous band BRONSKI BEAT could not be left totally behind. With Mike Thorne still at the production helm, ‘Disenchanted’ crossed ‘Why?’ with ‘Smalltown Boy’ while the spirited Hi-NRG cover of ‘Don’t Leave Me This Way’ with Sarah-Jane Morris would be the UK’s biggest selling single of 1986.

‘Communards’ is still available via London Records

https://www.jimmysomerville.co.uk/

DAF 1st Step To Heaven

When Robert Görl and Gabi Delgado reunited in 1985 to record ‘1st Step To Heaven’, they opted not only to stop wearing back but to sing in English. Less aggressive than previous DAF works with a more electronic disco sound, ‘Voulez-Vous Coucher Avec Moi’ quoted from LADY MARMALADE despite being an original while ‘Pure Joy’ was inspired by Prince’s ‘1999’. But best of all was the joyous ‘Brothers’ which celebrated Görl and Delgado’s friendship.

‘1st Step To Heaven’ is currently unavailable

http://www.robert-goerl.de

DEPECHE MODE Black Celebration

Producer Daniel Miller wanted a dystopian intensity to the fifth DEPECHE MODE album ‘Black Celebration’ and with Gareth Jones acting as Tonmeister, Martin Gore’s increasingly bleaker songs found the perfect sonic backdrop. The 7 track segue from the opening title song to ‘Stripped’ that included ‘Fly On The Windscreen’ and ‘It Doesn’t Matter Two’ remains DEPECHE MODE’s most outstanding sequence of music.

‘Black Celebration’ is still available via Sony Music

https://www.depechemode.com/

ERASURE Wonderland

Andy Bell and Vince Clarke’s debut album ‘Wonderland’ was not an instant hit. The lead single ‘Who Needs Love (Like That)?’ was mistaken by some to be an unreleased YAZOO recording. Among the album’s highlights were the joyous ‘Reunion’ and the funky ‘Push Me… Shove Me’ . The record’s HI-NRG centrepiece ‘Oh L’Amour’ flopped as a single but undeterred, ERASURE toured the college circuit to build up a new fanbase from scratch.

‘Wonderland’ is still available via Mute Records

https://www.erasureinfo.com/

I START COUNTING My Translucent Hands

As I START COUNTING, Simon Leonard and Dave Baker finally released their longform debut following two impressive Daniel Miller-produced singles ‘Letters To A Friend’ and ‘Still Smiling’. Both included on the CD edition of ‘My Translucent Hands’, quirky tracks such as ‘Catch That Look’ and maintained the standard if with less immediacy. The duo would open for Mute label mates ERASURE on their 1987 European tour.

‘My Translucent Hands’ is still available via Mute Records

I Start Counting / Fortran 5 / Komputer

JEAN-MICHEL JARRE Rendez-Vous

‘Rendez-Vous’ had something of a loose space theme but the space shuttle Challenger tragedy tinged the release with sadness as the ‘Last Rendez-Vous (Ron’s Piece)’ was to have featured astronaut Ron McNair playing sax. Meanwhile, the symphonic ‘Second Rendez-Vous’ inspired by Wendy Carlos would become favourite of Pope John Paul II and the rousing ‘Fourth Rendez-Vous’ captured the vein of the classic Jean-Michel Jarre single.

‘Rendez-Vous’ is still available via Sony Music

https://www.jeanmicheljarre.com/

HOWARD JONES One To One

After two hit albums with Rupert Hine, Howard Jones had Arif Mardin on production duties for ‘One To One’ having been impressed by his work with SCRITTI POLITTI. While still very synth-driven, an array of session musicians on drums, guitars, bass and brass featured for a more sophisticated sound. But ‘Little Bit Of Snow’ found him in reflective mood on the ivories as the singles ‘All I Want’ and ‘You Know I Love You… Don’t You?’ failed to crack the UK Top30.

‘One To One’ is still available via Cherry Red Records

http://www.howardjones.com/

KRAFTWERK Electric Café

Coming after the 5 year wait since 1981’s ‘Computer World’ as the world KRAFTWERK anticipated came true, ‘Electric Café’ was something of a disappointment. Distracted by cycling and technology, there were still delights to be found. ‘The Telephone Call’ featuring Karl Bartos on lead vocals was a highlight along with the voice sample-laden ‘Musique Non Stop’ while the ironic ‘Sex Object’ was fun despite the barrage of DX7 presets like a YouTube tutorial…

‘Electric Café’ is now available as ‘Techno Pop’ via Parlophone Records

https://kraftwerk.com/

NEW ORDER Brotherhood

NEW ORDER were simultaneously about indie guitar rock and electronic disco, although rarely mixing. On their fourth album ‘Brotherhood’, the band’s schizophrenic musical personalities were separated across two sides. The electronic part was headed by ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’, but there was also the solemn ‘All Day Long’, the sinister ‘Angel Dust’ and the Lou Reed pastiche ‘Every Little Counts’ with its laughter and unforgettable scratching stylus ending!

‘Brotherhood’ is still available via Rhino

https://www.neworder.com/

GARY NUMAN Strange Charm

Things really had got “strange” for Gary Numan as his Numanoids marched on BBC Broadcasting House to protest that ‘This Is Love’ and ‘I Can’t Stop’ had charted yet were not getting radio airplay; however, they were the worst songs on ‘Strange Charm’. Something of an underrated record, the dreamy ‘My Breathing’ and the Vangelis-inspired title song were impressive while there was also a new great Bill Sharpe collaboration ‘New Thing From London Town’.

‘Strange Charm’ is still available via BMG

https://garynuman.com/

OMD The Pacific Age

A much better record than the rotten ‘Crush’, with a heavier synth, choral and live drum edge, one highlight was ‘The Dead Girls’ which revisited the sonics of ‘Architectural & Morality’ but with digital technology. Although the hit came from the Paul Humphreys sung ‘(Forever) Live & Die’, the Andy McCluskey fronted ‘Stay’ and ‘We Love You’ provided the electronic rock disco drive while ‘Flame Of Hope’ clearly fell under the spell of THE ART OF NOISE.

‘The Pacific Age’ is still available via Virgin Records

https://omd.uk.com/

PET SHOP BOYS Please

While PET SHOP BOYS debut album wasn’t perfect with ‘Suburbia’ and ‘Violence’ improving in re-recordings, ‘Please’ featured not only ‘West End Girls’ and ‘Love Comes quickly’ but had an array of brilliant track including ‘Two Divided By Zero’ and ‘Tonight Is Forever’. While an ironic observation on the rise of yuppies, the misunderstood ‘Opportunites (Let’s Make Lots Of Money)’ proved to be quite prophetic for Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, but who was the brains?

‘Please’ is still available via Parlophone Records

https://www.petshopboys.co.uk/

SIGUE SIGUE SPUTNIK Flaunt It

SUICIDE reconfigured for the 21st Century with Giorgio Moroder at the studio helm, behind the hype of cyberpunk combo SIGUE SIGUE SPUTNIK were some decent tracks even if they all sounded the same! The throbbing drive of ‘Love Missile F1-11’, ‘21st Century Boy’ and ‘Sex-Bomb-Boogie’ provided the fun but the flow was spoiled by novelty effects and samples while there were paid adverts between tracks as an honest statement on commercialism.

‘Flaunt It’ is still available via BMG

https://mail.sputnikworld.com/Sigue_Sigue_Sputnik.html

SPARKS Music That You Can Dance To

Inspired by a London Records A&R muttering “why can’t you make music that you can dance to?” after the avant pop of ‘Change’, SPARKS took inspiration for their lively if underrated 14th album, recorded in Brussels with old pal Dan Lacksman of TELEX engineering. The title song echoed ERASURE’s ‘Oh L’Amour’ while Ron Mael played with bursts of Fairlight and Roland Jupiter 8 on the falsetto soul of ‘Fingertips’ and Russell got to impersonate Gene Pitney on ‘Rosebud’.

‘Music That You Can Dance To’ is still available via Repertoire Records

https://allsparks.com/

STACEY Q Better Than Heaven

The front woman of synthpop act SSQ who had a US dance hit with ‘Synthicide’ in 1983, Stacey Q may have begun as a ‘Shy Girl’ but with its fair number of tunes as good as ‘Two Of Hearts’ like sister song ‘Insecurity’ and the more Jam & Lewis influenced ‘Music Out Of Bounds’, her debut album ‘Better Than Heaven’ is a reminder how fun and carefree pop music once was and should still be. The album remains a collection of wonderfully innocent escapism.

‘Better Than Heaven’ is still available via Cherry Red Records

https://www.facebook.com/people/Stacey-Q/100040905591794

Text by Chi Ming Lai
13th January 2026

A THOUSAND MAD THINGS Promises

9 January 2026 /

Photo by Romy Caton-Jones

‘Cry & Dance’, the debut EP by A THOUSAND MAD THINGS was the best long form release of 2025.

The solo synth vehicle of William Barradale, ‘Cry & Dance’ captured the lot of the tortured outsider navigating young manhood while threatened by homophobic ‘Local Guys’ as documented in the emotive tension of the same named song. The EP’s opening salvo ‘Wide Awake’ was an uplifting triumph that showed purveyors of generic darkwave a thing or two about songwriting and production, while ‘She’s On The Run’ brought ‘The Sound Of The Crowd’ into the 21st Century in a fitting artistic gesture having opened for THE HUMAN LEAGUE on Brighton Beach.

A THOUSAND MAD THINGS begins 2026 with a brand new single ‘Promises’ as a trailer to his new EP out later this year. Its 5 tracks were premiered live at the London new music evening Release Me last November. Although a natural progression from ‘Cry & Dance’, it dials down on its more obvious nostalgic reminiscences.

While William Barradale can count TEARS FOR FEARS, THE HUMAN LEAGUE, DEPECHE MODE, THE BLUE NILE, ASSOCIATES and the less well-known VITAMIN Z (who opened for Midge Ure on ‘The Gift’ tour in 1985) among his influences, ‘Promises’ goes a bit deeper and catches the bouncy rhythmic snap of THE CURE during their fantasy phase to exude an artful pop demeanour. Despite being hurt once and hurt twice, the visual accompaniment shows Barradale fingers crossed in a disused warehouse, mournfully reflecting that “I’d never break the promises I chose to make that night”.

With the likes of Ricky Wilde and Andy Bell’s Torsten collaborator Barney Ashton-Bullock offering their compliments to A THOUSAND MAD THINGS on social media, things are looking promising for William Barradale in his shadowy journey through adolescent memories, doomed romances and loneliness.

‘Promises’ released under licence via Nettwerk Music Group and available on the usual online platforms including https://athousandmadthings.bandcamp.com/

https://athousandmadthings.ffm.to/bio

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574810537242

https://www.instagram.com/athousandmadthings/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiH0XGmfKMWzM_VsizMgP8A

Text by Chi Ming Lai
9th January 2026

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