“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
“DURAN DURAN would have been as big as… well, as big as THE LILAC TIME. I can’t say it’s haunted me particularly” said Stephen Duffy when asked about jumping ship from what went on to be one of the biggest bands to come out of the New Romantic movement.
Before Simon Le Bon, Roger Taylor and Andy Taylor, the first incarnation of DURAN DURAN in 1978 was very art school and possessed of a bookish pretention. It comprised of Nick Rhodes as the Eno-inspired synth player and tape operator, John Taylor on guitar, Simon Colley on bass and clarinet with Stephen Duffy as the bass playing vocalist. This line-up performed live at places like Birmingham Polytechnic and local club Barbarellas for about a year before Duffy and Colley departed.
What happened to DURAN DURAN is more than well documented. Stephen Duffy had an up-and-down solo career as well as assorted ventures including electronic combo TIN TIN, dance side-project DR CALCULUS, folk rockers THE LILAC TIME, short-lived Britpop supergroup ME ME ME and a stint as a songwriting partner to Robbie Williams in 2004. But before collaborating with the former member of TAKE THAT, he bumped into Nick Rhodes at a Vivienne Westwood fashion show.
Having found an old cassette of a DURAN DURAN concert from 1979 at home, Duffy began reminiscing with Rhodes and suggested re-recording some of those original pre-Le Bon DURAN DURAN songs. Settling on the name THE DEVILS to avoid confusion and give the project its own identity, the duo set themselves some rules… they would use vintage analogue instruments where possible but adopt modern production techniques while the lyrics would remain unchanged. However, as the pair did not have enough material for a full-length album, they set about writing new songs, their first together in over 20 years.
Released in Summer 2002, the resultant album ‘Dark Circles’ was a delightful blend of past and future; while the period’s Roxy, Bowie, Iggy and Eno influences were evident, as was with Rhodes’ first synth purchase, the EDP Wasp along with various primitive rhythm units and with some dramatic licence, the Omnichord, Rhodes’ new Alesis A6 Andromeda and sampled drum loops.
Propelled by the exhilarating Motorik tension of NEU! with the guitars, bass and synths all hardly in tune, the opening ‘Memory Palaces’ signalled the album’s intent. Leading into an old song that was also performed by Duffy’s post-DURAN DURAN band THE SUBTERRANEAN HAWKS, ‘Big Store’ was a brilliant anti-punk statement calling for the right to shop. Duffy’s deadpan vocal sounded like a camp Iggy Pop over a Giorgio Moroder backing track. Offset by jagged guitar lines and soaring diva backing from Sally Boyden, this was an infectious dancefloor anthem to savour; if it had been released back in the heady days of 1981, it would have had the potential to be a hit.
With cutting drum loops acting as the backbone, the Bowie-esque ‘Dark Circles’ title song saw both guitars and synths providing the “black magic” in the swirling palette while recalling the machine beat of ‘Nightclubbing’, screeching synths provided the backdrop to the solemn ‘Signals In Smoke’ where the vocals did not appear until the 2 minute mark.
Despite having drum machine as its core, ‘Come Alive’ was strangely reminiscent of THE MONKEES ‘I’m Not Your Steppin Stone’ with buzzing bass and an unexpected use of autotune combining for cosmic effect. In ‘Hawks Do Not Share’, Duffy and Rhodes’ produced their very own ‘In Every Dream Home A Heartache’ with the sparse Omnichord backing accentuating the song’s desolate gothic atmosphere.
A melodic folk ballad made all retro-futuristic, the shimmering ‘Newhaven-Dieppe’ was another original DURAN DURAN song but pointed to how Duffy would attain cult status in THE LILAC TIME and highlighted the eclectic leanings which that first line-up had. On ‘World Exclusive’, the playful art rock energy and breezy “sha-la-la-la” backing vocals provided a pop moment without the funk. But drawing on the Jack Kerouac poem ‘Mexico City Blues’, if Spaghetti Westerns had been filmed in Berlin, then the shadowy ‘Aztec Moon’ with its mechanical guiro would have been its soundtrack.
Written together by Duffy and Rhodes in 1978 when they were still teenagers and inspired by the short story by F Scott Fitzgerald, ‘Lost Decade’ also borrowed off ‘The Great Gatsby’ in its look back at the years that had slipped away between the pair. Not a song from back in the day, the marvellous ‘Barbarellas’ was a solemn lament to the now-defunct club with a descending synth melody reminiscent of John Barry’s theme to ‘Midnight Cowboy’; providing the nostalgic heart of ‘Dark Circles’, Duffy’s plaintive delivery sealed the deal in its touching reflection of the exuberance of youth.
The original DURAN DURAN’s walk off music, ‘The Tinsel Ritual’ affirmed THE DEVILS and DURAN DURAN’s then-art school credentials with a cacophonous instrumental that concluded with a collage of wedding bells played in reverse.
In what could have been DURAN DURAN’s long playing debut in a parallel universe, ‘Dark Circles’ was a joyful piece of revisionist history and showed how Stephen Duffy’s sharp literate songwriting was a fine foil to Nick Rhodes’ arty futurism. If they had stuck together and become a synthpop duo, could they have been a SOFT CELL or PET SHOP BOYS? Who knows? But with its best tracks, this enjoyable curio provided an idea of what might have been and with the benefit of hindsight, what could have been.
‘Dark Circles’ was released as a CD by Tape Modern and currently unavailable
The original line-up of THE MODERN unexpectedly reunited and played a special intimate show to friends and fans at Fiction Studios, a space which is not only used for audio recording but has been the backdrop for numerous TV shows, documentaries and social media reels.
The nucleus of front woman Emma Cooke, with Nathan Cooper and Chi Tudor-Hart on vocals and synths were all present and correct, augmented by guitarist Robert Sanderson who was tempted out of “retirement” to play live again and original drummer Rees Bridges who had left early on to play with DIRTY VEGAS.
Following an independently-issued debut single ‘Suburban Culture’ in 2004, THE MODERN were signed by Mercury Records. With a colourful stage presence and an immediately catchy electronic sound, the next single ‘Jane Falls Down’ made a good impression and reached No35 in the UK singles chart. The band began recording an album under the working title ‘Life In A Modern World’ co-produced by Stephen Hague, best known for his work with OMD, PET SHOP BOYS, THE COMMUNARDS, ERASURE, NEW ORDER and DUBSTAR.
However, after their 2006 single ‘Industry’ was disqualified from the UK singles charts, THE MODERN were dropped by their label and found themselves without a home. Changing their name to MATINEE CLUB, this album finally saw the light of day in late 2007, now retitled ‘Modern Industry’ and issued as a download only by Planet Clique.
The founding trio of Emma Cooke, Nathan Cooper and Chi Tudor-Hart returned to being called THE MODERN in late 2008 but in mid-2010, Cooper left the group to became KID KASIO while Cooke and Tudor-Hart continued as THE MODERN, eventually releasing a brand new album ‘Revenge’ in 2018. In between ‘Modern Industry’ was reissued under the title ‘Life In A Modern World’ as an album by THE MODERN in 2013 with an expanded tracklisting; this live reunion coincided with the release of a revised 10 track vinyl LP edition of ‘Life In A Modern World’, its first availability in that format.
With its characteristic shelves of vintage books and walls of vintage synths, Fiction Studios acted as the perfect homely location for the first performance of this line-up of THE MODERN in 20 years. Certainly among the audience, there was the pleasing air of a school reunion as friends and acquaintances from clubs and gigs of days gone by caught up with each other’s news.
Starting off a bit hesitantly with the sound mix far too low, it was understandable that the quintet might take a few songs to get into their stride, the Emma / Chi / Nathan vocal trioet working its magic and highlighting why THE MODERN were one of the modern synthpop hopes of the period. But it was like riding a horse and before long, it was time to party like it was 2005 as dancing in the audience began, although those in the first two rows had been asked to remained seated as the performance was being filmed!
Still the sexy temptress, Emma Cooke then announced an interlude “because we’re old”! But the break allowed the removal of chairs to guarantee a more active experience as THE MODERN performed the last song they had written in 2006 before being dropped by Mercury and the owning suits in the Universal Music Group; and what a shame that happened because ‘High Rise’ is a cracker recalling ‘The Promise’ by WHEN IN ROME with its repeating synthbass riff and uplifting chorus.
There were more solemn moments of remembrance with Cooper dedicating ‘Goodbye Means Forever’ to his late mother but songs like ‘Seven Oceans’, ‘Closing Door’, ‘Sometimes’, ‘Jane Falls Down’ and ‘Discotheque Français’ kept those already standing to remain on their feet. The enjoyably uplifting evening ended with the hit that got away ‘Industry’; the records state that this was never in the charts!
But rather like the statistic saying Martin Brundle never took part in the 1984 F1 season despite breaking both his legs in practice for the Dallas Grand Prix and today walking with a limp, THE MODERN might still possess the scars from the chair from being pulled from under them back in 2006, but they are back and happy to be playing to a welcoming audience.
What this discreet showcase also showed is that the songs of THE MODERN still stand up and after 20 years, a fair few are far better than the offerings by many modern British synth acts of the past few years. THE MODERN will return to the stage in September… be there and don’t be a ‘Fool In The Name Of Love’.
THE MODERN play The Victoria, 451 Queensbridge Road, Dalston, London E8 3AS on Friday 11th September 2026 – tickets available from https://the-modern.co.uk/live
Michael Oakley’s own summary for his recently released third album ‘Prologue’ is to “Imagine what DEPECHE MODE’s ‘Violator’ album would have sounded like if it was produced by Trevor Horn”.
While that is not quite how ‘Prologue’ actually sounds, it outlines the Toronto-based Scot sense of ambition and willingness to develop in the synthwave realm; there is no doubt that synthwave has eaten itself. What was initially seen as a promising string to the bow of electronic pop has now become so generic that accusations that the latest works are generated by artificial intelligence are not entirely unjustified. Meanwhile, synthwave itself has been reduced to 30 second cover version reels, POV videos and bursts of incidental music on Netflix dramas.
With ‘Prologue’, Michael Oakley has considered the essence of what has often been forgotten in synthwave… the song! Strengthening his own singer-songwriter talents while still exploring software synth sounds and rhythmic structures that emote, the end result crossing the euphoric sounds of European dance music with the cinematic Americanised architecture of synthwave has resulted in undoubtedly his best album to date.
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK chatted to Michael Oakley about his new beginning in the making of ‘Prologue’ and his own views about how synthwave is or isn’t evolving…
Your own summary for ‘Prologue’ was “Imagine what DEPECHE MODE’s ‘Violator’ album would have sounded like if it was produced by Trevor Horn”, that’s quite a bold statement?
Yeah I understand the magnitude of that statement, but it’s not meant in the literal sense of it actually sounding like ‘Violator’. What I mean by that is that I’ve pushed into darker, heavier sonic territory but I’ve tried to retain the melodic and bombastic synthpop side that Trevor Horn would have brought if he was involved in the recording.
Does new equipment or software change your thinking or is it the whole songwriter approach?
Honestly, I jump between the two processes as I’m working but usually when I sit down to start an idea, I’m zoning in on finding sounds that grab my attention. So I’ll preset surf on a few different synth plugins like VPS Avenger, Omnisphere 3.0 or Nexus 5 until something feels good. Most of the time, l have in mind a musical direction I’m looking to go in so when sounds that match the exact vibe I’m going for feel right I’ll start to work with those sounds and come up with melodic ideas and textures. The songwriting part comes later once I’ve created the right bed. This helps finding the concept / lyrics and a vocal melody a lot easier. Without that bed, I find it impossible to come up with lyrics / melody. Having the music first is crucial to set the mood.
How do you look back on your previous album ‘Odyssey’ from 2021?
There’s mixed emotions about that album for me because on one hand, I love the outcome and how it sounds sonically, but it was the shortest period I’ve started and completed a full album (less than 12 months). It was non-stop working on it, then as soon as it was finished, I literally had no break to relax before releasing and promoting it. In all honesty I felt completely rushed and burnt out by the end of it. This caused me to want to bow out of making music for almost 2 years. The album conceptually was aimed at being like something Phil Collins would have done in late 80s on ‘But Seriously’ and was overall a more downtempo affair compared to my previous work. That was just where I was at during that time I guess. We have to creatively go where our mood and sensibilities take us in the moment or else it’s fraudulent, at least it is for me anyway.
Opening song ‘Warriors Of The Wasteland’ is not a FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD cover but ‘Rebel Yell’ certainly crept in? *laughs*
Ha! Well I always loved that title for a song and if I was to do a soundtrack for a movie, it would probably be the first ‘Mad Max’. I’d love to replace that Brian May orchestral score with something electronic. ‘Warriors Of The Wasteland’ came about because I was chatting with Ollie Wride and said to him that we should pretend we’ve been asked to write a song for a big blockbuster 80s movie. I thought about it and suggested ‘Mad Max 3’! So that’s how the idea came about and then musically I went for a much more uptempo driving number. I get the Billy Idol reference and can hear it but I wasn’t aware of that at the time.
‘Memory Of You’ sounds like it’s the same song as ‘Fading Light’ on VALLEY LIGHTS’ album ‘Devil May Care’, what’s the story here?
‘Memory Of You’ started out as an instrumental demo that James from MISSING WORDS had came up with for VALLEY LIGHTS. A couple of years ago myself and James were hired by VALLEY LIGHTS to write and produce his latest album which has been fun. At some point during the sessions when working on ‘Fading Light’, James said to me he wished that we had kept this demo for us and after some coaxing I decided to build a completely new version from the ground up with different lyrics that reflected where I was at for my album. I said to James if it works then let’s do it and a collaboration. Thankfully it did and I pushed the sound away from a traditional Synthwave sound into something way more Eurodance / Italo Disco sounding. I’m glad we did this version because it became one of my favourite songs from ‘Prologue’.
How did you get Haddaway and Peter Hook involved in the recording of ‘School’? *laughs*
It’s a very NEW ORDER ‘Technique’ period meets Haddaway sounding track huh? That song started out in a very different form and was one of the first ideas I was working on for the new album. At some point later when I realized the overall concept and direction I wanted the album to be, I realized that I had to go back and start ‘School’ over again with a new version that fit the album’s new direction. The old demo version is the B-side to ‘Falling Skyward’ single because I felt like it was worthy of releasing so people could hear the difference in how it started out to where it ended up.
It looks like you had fun making the video for ‘World Of Promises’ with quite a few guest cameos, what are your recollections of producing the song and the video?
Oh man I had the best time! Back in March, I flew over to Los Angeles with the plan to film 3 music videos within a 10 day window which was a little nerve wracking. ‘World Of Promises’ is more ostentatious and ambitious than my previous music videos. I wanted to try to incorporate more of a cinematic narrative that would go hand in hand with the concept of the song rather than a traditional lip sync performance kind of video. Conceptually it sounds great on paper but actualizing it into film is a different ball game. I think it’s very easy for music videos to become bloated vanity projects that hurt the song more than lift it. Thankfully I have Brad Kinnan who is the absolute best at making music videos that are wonderful to look at and have a cinematic level quality that makes you want to go back and watch it again and again. Brad has a million dollar eye for quality and his pacing and storytelling is very complimentary to the musical / song aspect of the production.
When I was producing the song, I was fascinated by the political climate in America and the UK and I got to thinking about how we are all lied to with false promises by whoever comes into power. Then when they don’t live up to those promises, the faces change and no one is really held accountable. Everyone is frustrated and unhappy but we don’t seem to have the language to describe what we’re going through without it creating division and polarization amongst ourselves. We are in very dangerous, uncharted waters as a people and collective society. If we don’t come to more mutual understandings soon, then I fear the confusion and division will cause a collapse of civilization because change only really comes from collective unity when we’re on the same page moving forward to change things for the good of everyone. Right now we’re all arguing amongst ourselves and nothing is changing for good.
There’s quite a few other friends like Ollie Wride, Dana Jean Phoenix and Holly Dodson who worked with you on ‘Prologue’ too?
All the old gang got back together! I have a thing for loyalty and I love working with the same core team of people who are: Ollie Wride, John Kunkel, Derek Elliotson, Dana Jean Phoenix and Pete Maher. Then anyone else I decide to bring in on a session musician capacity depends on the song / style. I feel like it helps keep a familiar consistency with each record, even though I evolve and change with each album, but so do they over the years in between each album. There’s also an honesty with all the people I work with who aren’t afraid to voice suggestions for improving on what I’m trying to do. That’s also important to me.
‘Hurts Like Heaven’ had a bit of a journey towards completion didn’t it?
Believe it or not that song started out as an idea I originally intended to send to Haddaway and ask if he would sing it! Then once the demo became a fully-fledged song I liked it so much that I decided to keep it for myself. The lyrics revealed that it would work best as a duet, so I was on the hunt for a female singer that had the right voice for it. I wanted a softer, more ethereal kind of voice so in the end, Holly Dodson became the perfect choice and she brought her own ideas and creativity to the song. I always love when people I work with make creative suggestions because it helps them stamp their own signature onto the song, as well as giving me another layer to the song I couldn’t have come up with myself. Holly really made that song her own and it’s now one of the songs on the album I’m most proud of after some initial frustration and challenges along the way.
You went all stompy Schaffel on ‘Shot To The Heart’, where did that come from?
That idea started because I had wanted to do a song with a 6/8 time signature like the ‘Airwolf Theme’ and ‘Personal Jesus’ for some time. While working on it, I was watching old Spaghetti Western movies like ‘Once Upon A Time In The West’ and ‘The Good The Bad & The Ugly’ and was also fascinated by a friend of mine’s divorce. So all of those things came together in this sort of smorgasbord of random things to create what ultimately became ‘Shot To The Heart’. It has a melodramatic energy and urgency that I leaned into.
Do you have any personal favourites on ‘Prologue’?
Depends what day and mood you catch me on, but I think for sure ‘World Of Promises’, ‘Memory Of You’, ‘Falling Skyward’ and ‘School’ are my top favourites that I’m most proud of on the album. Ask me in 6 months and you’ll probably get a different answer!
‘Use Your Illusion’ is a bit of an outlier on the album as it sounds a bit like COCTEAU TWINS rather than what might be expected of you?
I love SLOWDIVE, COCTEAU TWINS, Ulrich Schnauss and dreamy Shoegaze music. When I hear this song, it feels like it could have been on my last album ‘Odyssey’ because I started working on it around the same time as those sessions. When I finished the song, I had a bit of a conflict in where it would go on the album given how different it sounds compared to everything else. It felt like the right finishing number to draw the album to its conclusion.
How do you think “Synthwave” has been evolving because it appears stuck in a rut watching from over here?
Well that’s a very good question. Part of the reason I backed off from the Synthwave scene and music in general was because I felt that the genre had become stagnant and stopped growing / evolving. A scene of music is only as strong as the music coming out from it and it became clear to me that Synthwave hadn’t seen any great releases in quite some time. A lot of the pioneers had either stopped or moved to different styles outside of the scene. In my mind I always felt like there was so much more ground to cover in Synthwave. Not just from the 80s but also the 90s.
My latest album ‘Prologue’ pulls more early 90s dance influences into the mix as part of the overall genetic makeup of it. That’s where I feel the Synthwave genre could see a resurgence = 90s influences, but it has to be done in a modern way. Similar to how 80s influences were initially pulled from but in a fresh modern way. There is a core, loyal audience who love and support the Synthwave genre. I just hope that something comes to lift the scene once more and kickstart a fresh revival.
What music have you been enjoying yourself over the past 18 months or so?
I’ve been listening to a lot of Darkwave, Dark Disco, EBM, Futurepop and Chillsynth styles. The wonderful thing about Spotify is I can download playlists to listen to while out on my daily walk.
What’s next for you?
Well, I certainly don’t want to take another 5 years to write and record another album. I’m already formulating ideas and concepts which I’ll start working on in a few months from now. I’d like to continue my experiments with 90s influences and take that further but I also would like to continue the darker side of ‘Prologue’ so we shall see.
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Michael Oakley
CARE were a promising duo comprising of Ian Broudie and Paul Simpson who released three excellent singles between 1983-1984, but they split before they could complete an album.
However Needle Mythology, the label founded by music writer, author and broadcaster Pete Paphides, recently issued a collection of tracks that would have likely formed that ‘lost’ album by CARE under the dialectic title of ‘Love Crowns & Crucifies’. Before CARE, Ian Broudie and Paul Simpson had been very active in the Liverpool post-punk scene around Eric’s club.
Broudie had been a member of BIG IN JAPAN in what would be now seen as a ”supergroup” with Holly Johnson, Jayne Casey, Budgie and Bill Drummond before joining THE ORIGINAL MIRRORS. In parallel, he maintained a production career, helming ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN’s first two albums ‘Crocodiles’ and ‘Porcupine’ under the moniker of Kingbird.
Simpson had been in INDUSTRIAL DOMESTIC with soon-to-be-Bunnyman Will Sergeant and the founding line-up of THE TEARDROP EXPLODES, before going on to form THE WILD SWANS with Jeremy Kelly and Gerard Quinn. But the trio split after their first single ‘Revolutionary Spirit’ produced by ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN’s drummer Pete De Freitas.
The two free agents were brought together in late 1982 by Will Sergeant and when Bill Drummond, now manager of ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN, heard the results of their collaboration, he secured a deal with Arista Records. By coincidence, the label had also signed THE LOTUS EATERS, the new band formed by Simpson’s former bandmates Jeremy Kelly and Gerard Quinn with singer Peter Coyle.
Paul Simpson explained in 2025: “The blueprint was simple: HOT CHOCOLATE rhythms, George Murray bass lines, classical music instruments with pop sensibilities. We, the architects, however, were complicated”. It was telling that the artwork for CARE’s first single ‘My Boyish Days’ pictures two kites flying side by side… Simpson and Broudie were together but stood apart.
But that first release contained three superb tracks; combining strummed acoustic guitars with strong synthesizer melodies and melancholic vocals, the majestic ‘My Boyish Days’ had a very traditional feel despite the incumbent technology. On the B-side, ‘An Evening In The Ray’ exuded an almost folky feel despite the use of sequencers as mandolins. The template combined with six string strums for a very English approach as Simpson sadly declared “I sold my dreams away”. Meanwhile, ‘Sad Day For England’ was a beautifully mournful recollection of young manhood within a synth and drum machine framework.
The second single ‘Flaming Sword’ was another superb single that took its cue from ‘An Evening In The Ray’, laced with cascading woodwinds with a counter-melody that recalled OMD’s ‘She’s Leaving’. Featuring Pete De Freitas, it adopted live percussion after the drum machine dominated template of what came on their first three tracks, it would be the CARE song that endured thanks its being their highest charting single at No 48; Broudie would later perform the song with THE LIGHTNING SEEDS but his vocal could never match the doomed romanticism of Simpson’s haunted delivery. In hindsight, the veiled pop sensibilities of ‘Flaming Sword’ can easily be heard in the breakthrough hit ‘Pure’, especially with the bassline.
In anticipation of live gigs and not wanting to be seen as merely “another duo”, Tony Whelan and Paul Sangster were recruited as the rhythm section and the quartet appeared on BBC2’s ORS in 1984 to perform the third CARE single, the embittered ‘Whatever Possessed You’. Lyrically, it was still haunted by the original split of THE WILD SWANS.
With disagreements on musical direction and sound, particularly with Broudie’s use of the then state-of-the-art digital synths also adding to tensions, Simpson’s heart was not fully immersed in CARE and he actually did go “missing in action” with the album still not completed. Eventually sending a letter to Broudie, Simpson later remembered: “I walked away from CARE after a hit single in 1984 in a horribly selfish moment of cowardice and depression.”
After CARE, Simpson would return to THE WILD SWANS with the album ‘Bringing Home The Ashes’ in 1988 while Broudie would eventually find major success as THE LIGHTNING SEEDS. But in 1997 without the approval of either party, BMG (who now owned the Arista catalogue) issued the CD ‘Diamonds & Emeralds’ containing the singles and various unreleased tracks; it was even marketed as “CARE featuring Ian Broudie” to cash-in on the latter’s fame. Simpson stated his disapproval, saying that a number of the tracks were incomplete and mostly monitor mixes.
Fast forward almost 30 years and the newly mastered ‘Love Crowns & Crucifies’ marks the first long form release sanctioned by the duo. Needle Mythology worked closely with Paul Simpson and with the approval of Ian Broudie, using the original tapes which housed everything that the duo recorded together including demos and the yearning previously unreleased ‘Colour & Sound’.
The set fittingly begins with ‘On A White Cloud’, originally one of the B-sides to ‘Flaming Sword’; left off ‘Diamonds & Emeralds’ thanks to the disappointing vocal version taking its place, this was an epic instrumental with thundering percussion, castanets, ringing guitar and heavenly synthetic pitch bending strings. Another standout curio is ‘Miséricorde’, the instrumental piano interpretation of ‘Flaming Sword’.
The 4 part song suite ‘Besides’ which adorned the B-side of ‘Whatever Possessed You’ is all present and correct in full with only half having been made available before on ‘Diamonds & Emeralds’; of the quartet, ‘Besides One’ was a mournful stripped down number while ‘Besides Two’ was similarity minimal but instrumental and recalled CHINA CRISIS in its melody. But ‘Besides Four’ is still a pretty gem, a sweet oompah instrumental that evokes childhood happiness and deservedly made available in the digital domain.
‘Nature Prayed Upon’ could be SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES until Simpson emotes while ‘Temper Temper’ is more ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN and aesthetically authentic given Broudie’s previous work with them. Despite a brilliant intro, the rest of ‘Chandeliers’ sounded it needed more work with the jumping around of rhythm styles not quite coming off.
However, the enchanting ‘Cymophane’ sounds like what THE WILD SWANS would later sound like when they reformed for the album while the acoustically spirited ‘Love Crowns & Crucifies’ accompanied by piano and a string quartet was perhaps more what Simpson envisaged CARE to be. ‘Such Is Life’ falls under the spell of ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN’s ‘Ocean Rain’ with the brush work of Pete De Freitas obvious for all to hear while ‘Soldiers & Sailors’ offers classic scouse indie pop and ‘What Kind Of World’ fittingly gets swathed in doom.
The previously unreleased ‘Colour & Sound’ and ‘Diamonds & Emeralds (Deadly Nightshade)’ are welcome appendices but for ‘My Boyish Days’, ‘An Evening The Ray’, ‘Sad Day for England’, ‘Flaming Sword’, ‘On The White Cloud’ and ‘Whatever Possessed You’ alone, CARE deserve their place in cult folklore. While the rest of their output doesn’t quite reach the heights of these six magnificent tracks, that ‘Love Crowns & Crucifies’ is able to exist to give an insight into two musicians in transition is fascinating.
Although UK Top 40 success eluded CARE and THE WILD SWANS, both established a cult fanbase in the Philippines. Simpson would find critical acclaim with his instrumental project SKYRAY, opening on tour for ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN in 1998. When Broudie performed at Liverpool’s Royal Philharmonic Hall in November 2019 with THE LIGHTNING SEEDS, Simpson guested on ‘Flaming Sword’ by way of public reconciliation. In each of their own ways, things turned out well for the two of them in the end.
‘Cry & Dance’ by A THOUSAND MAD THINGS was undoubtedly the best body of work released in 2025.
The project of William Barradale, his style of dark synthpop explored themes of desire, shame and insecurities through his own personal experiences as a young gay man. With his haunted demeanour, his vocal delivery falls under the spectre of doomed romantics like Billy MacKenzie of ASSOCIATES.
Following a majestic debut headline show at London’s Paper Dress Vintage comes the new EP ‘Hate It’; William Barradale told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK: “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.”
Photo by Romy Caton-Jones
Still maintaining the sharp modern songwriting of its predecessor which eschews the longer intros and fades of Synth Britannia, the ‘Hate It’ EP begins with haunting gothic swing of ‘Promises’. Mournfully reflecting that “I’d never break the promises I chose to make that night”, it catches the bouncy rhythmic snap of THE CURE during their fantasy phase to exude an artful pop demeanour.
A cousin to ‘Wide Awake’ from ‘Cry & Dance’ in its literal cry, the hypnotic technopop of ‘Remorse’ asks the question “what did I do to hurt you?”. In a sign of the times, ‘Truth You Seek’ exudes a frustrated intensity that “this is my final vow”; built on a colder cacophony of synths, the engine room acts as the backbone to the seedier uncertain aspects of romantic yearning expressed in Barradale’s theatrical vocals.
The sombre bass driven drama of ‘Empty Part of Me’ sees Barradale note “how can you not hate the way they stare at you and me?” while displaying his lower and higher vocal registers before the ‘Hate It’ title song closes the EP with some dark disco dancing; singing of “ugly sin”, there are elements of SUICIDE as there was on ‘Girl’ on ‘Cry & Dance’ while there is also a Cold War drama lurking over proceedings.
Less immediate than ‘Cry & Dance’, the glorious darker overtones of ‘Hate It’ dig deeper and show that the debut was not a fluke. With yet-to-be released songs such as ‘Loving Was Easier’ and ‘Cracked Mirror’ outlining that there is more to come, A THOUSAND MAD THINGS is now the great hope for dark British synthpop. With promising acts like MIRRORS and EAST INDIA YOUTH unable to sustain their initial creative momentum, William Barradale is here to fill that void with his honest soulful celebration of all aspects of the human condition and chooses to be the better man!
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