LEISURE PROCESS were a short-lived duo comprising of Ross Middleton (vocals, guitar + keyboards) and Gary Barnacle (sax, flute + keyboards) who, thanks to their four singles produced by Martin Rushent, are perhaps the missing link between his work with Pete Shelley and THE HUMAN LEAGUE.

Dealing with the realities of young manhood, Ross Middleton perhaps read far too much Nietzsche and with his long coat presented himself as a something of an anxious figure. Hailing from Glasgow, he had been the front man of POSITIVE NOISE which also featured his two brothers. The band were represented by Schoolhouse Management who also looked after SIMPLE MINDS.

Meanwhile, Dover boy Gary Barnacle came from a musical family and seemed to be far easier going. Making his name as a session musician between 1979 to 1982, he even ended up playing sax with THE CLASH on ‘This Is Radio Clash’ having been school mates with drummer Topper Headon. It was through POSITIVE NOISE that Middleton and Barnacle met.

A typical post-punk band, POSITIVE NOISE fell under the spell of Factory Records, issuing singles not included on albums with different sleeves for 12” and 7” versions. Although the frenetic spike of Edinburgh neighbours JOSEF K could be heard on ‘Give Me Passion’, the 12” artwork featured a photograph by Bernard-Pierre Wolf whose work had adorned the iconic cover of JOY DIVISION’s ‘Closer’. Dominated by Middleton’s enigmatic overwrought vocal style, the 1981 debut album was not surprisingly titled ‘Heart of Darkness’ and the haunting spectre of JOY DIVISION loomed on the closer ‘Ghosts’.

‘Heart of Darkness’ featured Barnacle on a number of songs with his sax featuring prominently on the brighter new pop of ‘And Yet Again’. But it was on the next single ‘Charm’ with its funkier motifs and brass arrangements by Barnacle that the seed of LEISURE PROCESS (INTERNATIONAL) was planted. With Middleton having found the funk, Barnacle introduced him to the then-comparatively unknown LEVEL 42, playing him an extended jam he had done with Mark King and Phil Gould.

Middleton wrote some vocal lines along with a chorus and an embryonic version of ‘A Way You’ll Never Be’ was born. Just as Paul Haig left JOSEF K to pursue more electronic dance pop pursuits as a solo artist, Middleton left POSITIVE NOISE to form the shorter designation of LEISURE PROCESS, although the “International” extension would creep into the production credits and the odd sleeve!

Recording a number of demos, Middleton and Barnacle took their tape to Epic Records where through POSITIVE NOISE’s publishers, an appointment was arranged with Head of A&R Muff Winwood who had produced SPARKS ‘This Town Ain’t Big Enough For Both Of Us’. He signed LEISURE PROCESS within the hour and the pair were despatched to Genetic Studios to work with Martin Rushent, fresh from having finished his production duties on THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s ‘Dare’.

The brilliant first single ‘Love Cascade’ issued in March 1982 combined clattering Linn Drum, pulsing synths, squawky guitar, slinky sax and virtually unintelligible vocals for a cool dancefloor friendly number. Capturing the decadent spirit of the times, despite getting several “Single Of The Week” type accolades from the music press and BBC Radio1, there was a mess up at the CBS pressing plant which handled Epic releases. It meant the record was not actually available in the shops until a month later the official release date. Momentum inevitably stalled and an almost certain hit fell through the cracks!

Those who did manage to buy the 12” of ‘Love Cascade’ were treated to two self-produced B-sides showcasing the duo’s diversity; ‘The Fluke’ was an impassioned ballad with piano from Dave Formula of MAGAZINE while ‘The Sun Turns Black’ actually saw brother Steve Barnacle do a bass turn reminiscent of that very band’s Barry Adamson.

Now finished with Martin Rushent and like a jazz funk Bill Nelson backed by Mark King and Phil Gould, ‘A Way You’ll Never Be’ was issued as the second LEISURE PROCESS single but again failed to chart. With ‘Rachel Dreams’ as the tense synth ‘n’ sax’ flip, Middleton and Barnacle soldiered on but heading into 1983, the third single ‘Cashflow’ moved away from the dance template.

A Schaffel stomp with bursts of distorted sax with live drums by yet another Barnacle brother Peter, ‘Cashflow’ was less immediate and may have alienated purchasers of ‘Love Cascade’ and ‘A Way You’ll Never Be’. Meanwhile in the B-side, ‘The Émigré’ was an instrumental that demonstrated LEISURE PROCESS’ filmic potential with Middleton’s Spaghetti Western atmospheres offset by Barnacle’s flute alongside his characteristic sax.

The fourth and what turned out to be the final LEISURE PROCESS’ single was the bouncy ‘Anxiety’, the duo’s most overt disco pop statement yet. With cartoony female vocals THE G-SPOTS that wouldn’t have sounded out of place on a Kid Creole record, it featured a very busy but complimentary arrangement where Barnacle’s sax and Middleton’s vocals managed not to clash. Backed with ‘The Company’, a much darker and buzzier proposition, with their most commercial offering not even denting the Top 75 in the UK singles chart, the end was nigh. LEISURE PROCESS were quietly dropped by Epic Records in a practice that was very common where albums already in progress would be scrapped in the absence of hits to promote them.

While it is well documented that Gary Barnacle would go on to become one of the world’s top session musicians with a CV that includes CHINA CRISIS, VISAGE, SOFT CELL, ERASURE, ULTRAVOX, PET SHOP BOYS, CAMOUFLAGE and LEVEL 42 as well as Kim Wilde, Tina Turner, Phil Collins and Rick Astley, Ross Middleton would actually go “missing in action”. Having already missed recording sessions, TV appearances and now becoming an alcoholic, the Scot was suffering from undiagnosed clinical depression which would not be treated for another 20 years.

But what might the debut LEISURE PROCESS album have sounded like? From the ever dependable Cherry Red Records, a new 2CD set ‘The Complete Epic Recordings’ gives some indication. Collecting together all the tracks from their four 7” and 12” singles, there are also demos of songs intended for the shelved 1983 long player ‘Remarkable People With Interesting Lives’ while Ross Middleton provides some frank and informative booklet commentary.

With ‘Sweet Vendetta’, one can imagine the backing track being suitable for one of Pete Shelley’s two solo albums ‘Homosapien ‘XL-1’. In 6/8 time with electronic wind instrumentation, ‘Pentagon’ is shaped by a rattling live percussive presence while ‘Learning To Love’ fuses the Motown backbeat to bleeping synths and a slap bass run.

The moody ‘Interesting Lives’ is much more cerebral but with the involvement of Martin Rushent, ‘History Of My Heart’ has more of a midtempo new wave rock feel while the pacier metronomic ‘Call Me President’ with its Far Eastern flavoured keyboards fits in with the Cold War angst of the times. There are three unfinished instrumental sketches too, all layered with padded synth but while all are listenable, their potential is inconclusive.

Today while Gary Barnacle has toured the world with SOFT CELL, Ross Middleton is promising new music as part of the leisurely process. Until then, the original LEISURE PROCESS portofolio is finally in the digital domain, waiting to be discovered and enjoyed. One definitely for Martin Rushent completists but in its mix of post-punk, funk, synthpop and new wave disco with distinctive honest vocals, they certainly don’t make acts like LEISURE PROCESS anymore.

‘The Complete Epic Recordings’ is released as a 2CD set by Cherry Red Records on 7th November 2025, pre-order from https://www.cherryred.co.uk/leisure-process-the-complete-epic-recordings-2cd

http://www.discogs.com/artist/Leisure+Process

Text by Chi Ming Lai
3rd November 2025