Hosted by PopRambler Iain McDermott, ‘Back To NOW’ is a podcast that celebrates all things related to the variously compiled world of pop and how our favourite compilation albums shaped our lives and now fondly stand as time capsules for our own musical journeys.
Chi Ming Lai of ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK was honoured to be invited back to Back To NOW after his debut appearance in 2024 about the ‘NOW ’81 Yearbook’. On this new episode, he joins Ian Wade, author of ‘1984: The Year Pop Went Queer’, to discuss the ‘NOW ’82 Yearbook’ 4CD set and its companion 3CD set of “Extras”.
The start of 1982 saw a continuation of the amazing Autumn of 1981 with the third singles from albums by SOFT CELL,OMD and JAPAN all hitting the Top5 while the synthesizer pioneers who were ahead of their time like KRAFTWERK and THE HUMAN LEAGUE saw tracks first released in 1978 become Top10 Hits with ‘The Model’ notably dropping down the charts before getting to No1. There were chart breakthroughs for SIMPLE MINDS and ASSOCIATES while YAZOO,CHINA CRISIS,BLANCMANGE,A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS and TALK TALK impressed with their debut long players.
However later in the year, there was a backlash against the synthesizer as exemplified by the Musicians Union tabling a motion to ban synthesizers from recording and live performance. Meanwhile musically, the fiddle and banjo romp of ‘Come On Eileen’ by the Celtic soul incarnation of DEXY’S MIDNIGHT RUNNERS becoming the biggest selling single of 1982 in the UK gave indicators that public may have had enough of all things electronic.
But you cannot halt progress and advances in music technology like the Linn Drum Computer and the Fairlight CMI were to become the perfect tools for producers like Trevor Horn and Tony Mansfield to continue adventures in modern recording with DOLLAR, ABC and SPANDAU BALLET as well as Captain Sensible and Mari Wilson among the beneficiaries. Meanwhile DURAN DURAN truly became the teenyboppers band of choice with their ‘Rio’ album eventually going platinum but if the year before had been 1981 B.C.C. – before CULTURE CLUB, then the end of 1982 saw the emergence of the two Georges, O’Dowd and Michael.
Of the year, the Now Music official website said: “1982 saw the first huge hits from a wealth of new artists including CULTURE CLUB, WHAM! and TEARS FOR FEARS, as well as an incredible line-up from artists who had established their chart presence in the prior 18 months and would produce some of the greatest tracks of the decade; DURAN DURAN, SPANDAU BALLET, ABC, HAIRCUT 100, SOFT CELL, THE HUMAN LEAGUE, and a newly solo Adam Ant.”
In a lively conversation, Iain McDermott, Ian Wade and Chi Ming Lai cover topics as diverse as the importance of Smash Hits in their coverage of pop, predict the possible inclusions for the upcoming NOW ‘Vault ’82’ collection and the unlikely trio of chart toppers from West Germany, thus proving that despite it being the country that seeded innovative electronic music, its cheesy home-grown Schlagermusik could also unexpectedly crossover as grandparents bought their one single of the year!
As Smash Hits Editor David Hepworth said in their end of year review, there were “no patterns” to pop in 1982.
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Iain McDermott
While 1981 was the most important year in synth for its mainstream crossover, 1982 saw it consolidating its presence and finding itself intertwined into other genres.
A number of the school of 1981 such as OMD, KRAFTWERK and JAPAN were absent in album form during 1982 although they maintained a presence on the singles chart with KRAFTWERK getting a belated and well-deserved No1 for 1978’s ‘The Model’ while OMD scored the biggest single of the year in West Germany with ‘Maid Of Orleans’.
Meanwhile, JAPAN became chart regulars with re-issues from their previous label Ariola Hansa and their then-home Virgin Records, notching up a further six Top 40 singles including a pair of Top10s in ‘Ghosts’ and an understated 1980 cover of Smokey Robinson’s ‘I Second That Emotion’, but the band split by the end of the year after a world tour.
It was very much a year much of the past catching up with the present with THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s original 1978 Fast Version of ‘Being Boiled’ reaching No6 on the back of a reissue under licence to EMI while ‘Don’t You Want Me?’ reached No1 in America, just as a remix collection ‘Love & Dancing’ maintained the band’s profile back home.
Taking a leaf out of THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s book, SOFT CELL revealed what they had been doing while clubbing in New York with the remix EP ‘Non-Stop Ecstatic’ and although it didn’t hit the heights of the Sheffield combo, Marc Almond and Dave Ball continued propping up the Top3 of the UK singles chart with ‘Torch’ and ‘What’.
In their album chart absence came new acts like YAZOO, TALK TALK, BLANCMANGE, CHINA CRISIS, BERLIN and RATIONAL YOUTH as those who had made their wider breakthroughs in 1981 such as DURAN DURAN, ABC, ASSOCIATES and SIMPLE MINDS swooped in. Meanwhile as DEPECHE MODE were soldiering on, NEW ORDER found a new electronic direction on the standalone single ‘Temptation’.
Despite all this, signs of a synth backlash were coming to a head and there were those who didn’t consider the use of synthesizers as real music. Songwriters like Elvis Costello and Ian Dury publicly declared their dislike of acts who used synths while the Musicians Union tabled a motion in May 1982 to ban synthesizers from recording and live performance.
Tensions had been brewing for a while; when HEAVEN 17 performed on ‘Top Of the Pops’ for the first time in 1981 with ‘Play To Win’, singer Glenn Gregory remembered how the heavily unionised show, where MU membership was compulsory, refused to let Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh perform behind synths, insisting that they used a guitar and glockenspiel instead! There were plenty of misconceptions about the latest technology as Andy McCluskey of OMD said on ‘Synth Britannia’ in 2009: “The number of people who thought that the equipment wrote the song for you: ‘well anybody can do it with the equipment you’ve got!’ “F*** OFF!!”
But with the best selling UK single of 1982 being the more traditional ‘C’mon Eileen’ by DEXY’S MIDNIGHT RUNNERS, the public were perhaps tiring of the sound of synth and with this in mind, things were never quite the same again. In alphabetical order with the restriction of one album per artist moniker, ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK lists 20 albums that contributed to the electronic legacy of 1982.
ABC The Lexicon Of Love
ABC wanted to be a far more technically polished pop proposition so approached Trevor Horn to produce their debut album ‘The Lexicon Of Love’. The first fruit of labours was ‘Poison Arrow’ which was augmented by some dramatic piano passages from Anne Dudley who also added strings to the smooth electronic funk of ‘The Look Of Love’ and the ballad ‘All Of My Heart’. Meanwhile, Horn planted the seed of the FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD sound on ‘Date Stamp’.
ASSOCIATES were a majestic and outlandish new pop take on Weimar cabaret. Produced by Mike Hedges, ‘Sulk’ was a kaleidoscopic triumph. Featuring reworked versions of ‘Party Fears Two’ and ‘Club Country’, the chromatic overtures of ‘Skipping’ to the evocative drama of ‘No’, the music had the basis for being more accessible, but was still inventive with the brilliant ‘It’s Better This Way’ art and pop in perfect unison.
Inspired by ULTRAVOX and KRAFTWERK, BERLIN’s independent mini-LP ‘Pleasure Victim’ was one of the first occasions of an American pop act embracing the synthesizer which had changed the face of music in Europe, exemplified by brilliant songs such as ‘The Metro’ and ‘Masquerade’ with their motorik drum machines and Teutonic pulses. It led to a deal with Geffen Records and notoriety with the deviantly fuelled breakthrough single ‘Sex (I’m A…)’.
With blistering Linn Drum and elastic synth bass, the aggressive ‘I Can’t Explain’ opened ‘Happy Families’ and set the scene for an impressive debut album from BLANCMANGE. ‘Feel Me’ crossed TALKING HEADS and JOY DIVISION while the haunting melancholy of ‘I’ve Seen The Word’ fused the sombre lyricism of the latter with textures of OMD. Featuring tablas and sitar, breakthrough hit ‘Living On The Ceiling’ headed to towards mystical East.
CHINA CRISIS Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms, Some People Think It’s Fun To Entertain
Of CHINA CRISIS’ debut, Gary Daly said: “I love all the songs, I love the way Ed and me from the off were not a ‘band’ and we made the most of every musician who contributed to our songs”. Making use of four producers, the songs ranged from the tribal mantras of ‘African & White’ to evocative ballads such as ‘Christian’, with catchy synthpop like ‘Some People I Know…’ and the ambient closer ‘Jean Walks In Fresh Fields’ part of a fine collection.
The last of the Conny Plank produced album trilogy, ‘Für Immer’ maintained the industrial standard of its predecessors and featured a re-recording of their 1980 Mute single ‘Kebab Träume’. Transformed into something much heavier, the controversial line “Deutschland, Deutschland, alles ist vorbei!” threw more wood onto the provocation bonfire. But despite the fame, all was not well within DAF with Gabi Delgado and Robert Görl falling out under a haze of sex, drugs and sequencer…
‘Für Immer’ is still available via Grönland Records
While Eric Radcliffe co-produced the first YAZOO album at Blackwing Studios on the night shift, during the day Daniel Miller worked with DEPECHE MODE on their second. With a catchy melodic theme, ‘Nothing To Fear’ made the most of Miller’s programming expertise to signal an optimistic future while ‘My Secret Garden’, ‘See You’ and ‘The Sun & The Rainfall’ utilised pretty ringing tones courtesy of the new PPG Wave 2. But ‘Leave In Silence’ pointed to darker climes.
For his intellectual approach to modern pop, Thomas Dolby adopted a boffin persona. ‘The Golden Age Of Wireless’ was a real ‘Boy’s Own’ adventure of an album featuring the singles ‘Airwaves’, ‘Radio Silence’ and the percussive ‘Europa & The Pirate Twins’ featuring XTC’s Andy Partridge on harmonica. The UK hit breakthrough came with the tremendous ‘Windpower’ which ended with a BBC shipping forecast from John Marsh.
On the Colin Thurston produced ‘Rio’ album with its iconic Patrick Nagel cover image, DURAN DURAN achieved the perfect balance between art and pop. “A dialogue between the ego and the alter-ego”, ‘New Religion’ captured a schizophrenic tension while ‘The Chauffeur’ threw in a drum machine, synths, treated piano and an ocarina alongside a closing monologue about insects. ‘Hungry Like The Wolf’, ‘Save A Prayer’ and the title song provided the hits… and no, ‘Rio’ is not about a girl!
Combining enough conventional rock guitar to have mainstream appeal with a spacey sheen from prominent synths, Liverpool’s A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS had winning formula to break America. Produced by Mike Howlett, their debut was a concept record about an alien invasion that featured ‘I Ran’, ‘Space Age Love Song’ and ‘Telecommunication’. Their greatest achievement was winning a Grammy for the album’s instrumental ‘DNA’.
“The most creative experience I’ve ever had in my life” was how THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s producer Martin Rushent described ‘Love & Dancing’, an album of remixes from ‘Dare’. Pre-sampling, the material was reworked using a multitude of effects with vocal stutters created by cutting up small portions of tape and splicing them together with the aid of his custom-made ruler. The dub laden barrage of ‘Do Or Die’ was a highlight, along with a largely instrumental ‘Don’t You Want Me’.
LUSTANS LAKEJER are the unga moderna trailblazers once described as Sweden’s answer to DURAN DURAN. Their third long player ‘En Plats I Solen’ was produced by Richard Barbieri of JAPAN while Mick Karn also played sax. One of the first pop albums is use an Emulator, it featured prominently on ‘Den Glöd Som Aldrig Dör’ and ‘Något Måste Brista’. An English version was later released as ‘A Place In The Sun’ with the band changing their name to VANITY FAIR.
After the downtempo nature of ‘Dance’, Gary Numan got more energetic again for ‘I Assassin’ but still under the spell of JAPAN, Numan brought in Pino Palladino to take over from Mick Karn on fretless bass which provided the dreamy focus next to crashing Linn Drum programming. Songs like ‘We Take Mystery’ (To Bed), ‘War Songs’ and ‘This Is My House’ were more rhythmical, signalling Numan’s desire to return to the live circuit having announced his retirement in 1981.
‘I Assassin’ is still available via Beggars Banquet
Montreal’s RATIONAL YOUTH comprised of Tracy Howe, Bill Vorn and Kevin Komoda; their debut album ‘Cold War Night Life’ captured the fraught tensions of two opposing ideologies and living under the spectre of Mutually Assured Destruction. A tense vision of young Poles in underground clubs under martial law was captured in ‘Saturdays In Silesia’, while observing “Checkpoint Charlie’s social climb”, there was the possibility of ‘Dancing On The Berlin Wall’.
Following ‘Sons & Fascination’, SIMPLE MINDS lost their intensity and recorded a magnificent album filled with pretty synthesized melodies, effected textural guitar and driving lead bass runs. The titles like ‘Someone Somewhere In Summertime’, ‘Colours Fly & Catherine Wheel’ and ‘Hunter & The Hunted’ made investigation essential and the luckily, the music reflected that. The vocals were fairly low down in the mix to produce a wonderful wash of sound.
Being the main vocalist for YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA did not necessarily mean Takahashi-san was a great singer and it had a Marmite effect. With his solo albums of course, his voice took centre stage although on his fourth offering ‘What Me Worry?’, ‘This Strange Obsession’ written by Zaine Griff featuring vocals from the Kiwi and Ronny provided a highlights. Featuring Bill Nelson’s blistering E-bow, the frantic ‘It’s Gonna Work Out’ signalled where YMO were heading.
‘The Party’s Over’ was an impressive synth flavoured collection devoid of guitar that very much captured the sound of the era with its thundering Simmons drums and fretless bass. While very much of its time, it still retains much of its charm. Despite being generally glossed over in TALK TALK history, the album is an excellent under rated jewel that has aged well, thanks to the quality of its songs such as ‘Today’, ‘Talk Talk’, ‘It’s So Serious’, ‘Have You Heard The News’ and its epic title track.
For ‘Quartet’, ULTRAVOX worked with George Martin. The sound was brighter, more structured and stripped of the density that had characterised the albums with Conny Plank, coinciding with the use of more digital hardware like the PPG Wave 2.2 and Emulator. The catchy ‘Reap The Wild Wind’ opened proceedings with an immediacy that was less angular than before although ‘Hymn’, ‘Visions In Blue’, ‘Mine For Life’ and ‘The Song (We Go)’ provided some neo-classical pomp.
‘The Anvil’ is an underrated album of the period. There was still neu romance in songs such as ‘The Damned Don’t Cry’ and ‘Again We Love’ but influenced by the New York club scene, the title song offered heavy metronomic beat sans hi-hats in a soundtrack to hedonism. But VISAGE got the funk on ‘Night Train’, resulting in Midge Ure and Rusty Egan falling out over the drummer’s insistence that John Luongo remixes were needed for the US market, with the Glaswegian bidding adieu…
‘The Anvil’ is still available via Rubellan Remasters
Disillusioned by the pop circus, Vince Clarke departed DEPECHE MODE in late 1981 and formed YAZOO with Alison Moyet. ‘Upstairs At Eric’s’ was a perfect union of passionate bluesy vocals and pristinely programmed synthpop. Songs such as ‘Only You, ‘Don’t Go’, ‘Tuesday’, ‘Midnight’, ‘Goodbye 70s’ and ‘Winter Kills’ set a high standard but while Clarke and Moyet eventually parted ways, the pair’s talent was apparent.
1981 is the year covered by the second instalment of Cherry Red’s ‘Musik Music Musique’ series.
1980 was something of a transition year for the synth as it knocked on the door of the mainstream charts but by 1981, it was more or less let in with welcome arms. From the same team behind the ‘Close To The Noise Floor’ compendiums and the most excellent ‘Electrical Language’ boxed set, ‘Musik Music Musique 2.0 1981 – The Rise Of Synth Pop’ presents rarities alongside hits and key album tracks from what many consider the best year in music and one that contributes the most to the legacy of electronic music in its wider acceptance and impact.
Featuring HEAVEN 17 with ‘(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang’, OMD with ‘Souvenir’ and the eponymous single by VISAGE, these songs are iconic 1981 canon that need no further discussion. Meanwhile the longevity of magnificent album tracks such as ‘Frustration’ by SOFT CELL and ‘I Remember (Death In The Afternoon)’ by ULTRAVOX can be summed by the fact that they have featured in 21st Century live sets alongside their parent acts’ hits.
Although not quite as celebrated, ‘You Were There’ from pastoral second John Foxx long player ‘The Garden’ captures the move from stark JG Ballard imagery to something almost romantic. DEVO are represented by the LinnDrum driven ‘Through Being Cool’, the opener of the ‘New Traditionalists’ album which comes as a statement that the mainstream was their next target; the Akron quintet were one of the many acts signed by Virgin Records as the label focussed on a synth focussed takeover that ultimately shaped the sonic landscape of 1981.
Then there’s TEARS FOR FEARS’ promising debut ‘Suffer The Children’ in its original synthier single recording and The Blitz Club favourite ‘Bostich’ from quirky Swiss pioneers YELLO. Another Blitz staple ‘No GDM’ from GINA X PERFORMANCE gets included despite being of 1978 vintage due to its first UK single release in 1981. The use of synth came in all sorts of shapes and FASHIØN presented a funkier take with ‘Move Øn’ while the track’s producer Zeus B Held took a more typically offbeat kosmische approach on his own ‘Cowboy On The Beach’.
Pivotal releases by JAPAN with the ‘The Art Of Parties’ (here in the more metallic ‘Tin Drum’ album version) and A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS ‘(It’s Not Me) Talking’ highlight those bands’ then-potential for mainstream success. But in the battle of the New Romantic boy bands, the sitar tinged DURAN DURAN B-side ‘Khanada’ easily blows away the SPANDAU BALLET album track ‘Reformation’ in an ominous sign as to who would crack it biggest worldwide.
The great lost band of this era, B-MOVIE issued the first of several versions of ‘Nowhere Girl’ in December 1980 on Dead Good Records and its inclusion showcases the song’s promise which was then more fully realised on the 1982 Some Bizzare single produced by the late Steve Brown although sadly, this was still not a hit.
The best and most synth flavoured pop hits from the period’s feisty females like Kim Wilde and Toyah are appropriate inclusions, as is Hazel O’Connor’s largely forgotten SPARKS homage ‘(Cover Plus) We’re All Grown Up’. But the less said about racist novelty records such as ‘Japanese Boy’ by Aneka, the better… the actual nation of Japan though is correctly represented by their most notable electronic exponents YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA with ‘Cue’ from ‘BGM’, the first release to feature the Roland TR808 Rhythm Composer.
With these type of boxed sets, it’s the less familiar tracks that are always the most interesting. As the best looking member of TANGERINE DREAM, Peter Baumann had a crack at the single charts with the catchy Robert Palmer produced ‘Repeat, Repeat’ while former Gary Numan backing band DRAMATIS are represented by ‘Lady DJ’ although its epic A side ‘Ex Luna Scientia’ would have equally merited inclusion. But BEASTS IN CAGES who later became HARD CORPS stand out with the stark dystopia of ‘Sandcastles’.
The one that “should-have-been-a-pop-hit” is the ABBA-esque ‘I Can’t Hold On’ by Natasha England and it’s a shame that her career is remembered for a lame opportunistic cover of ‘Iko Iko’ rather than this, but the delightful ‘Twelfth House’ demonstrates again how under-rated Tony Mansfield’s NEW MUSIK were, and this with a B-side!
The rather fraught ‘Wonderlust’ by THE FALLOUT CLUB captures the late Trevor Herion in fine form on a Thomas Dolby produced number with a dramatic Spaghetti Western flavour that is lushly sculpted with electronics. Over a more sedate rhythm box mantra, ‘Love Moves In Strange Ways’ from BLUE ZOO swirls with a not entirely dissimilar mood.
Mute Records founder Daniel Miller was breaking through with his productions for DEPECHE MODE in 1981, but representation on ‘Musik Music Musique 2.0’ comes via the colder austere of ‘Science Fiction’ by Alan Burnham. ‘West End’ by Thomas Leer adds some jazzy freeform synth soloing to the vocal free backdrop, while ‘Surface Tension’ from ANALYSIS is an appealing instrumental.
The strangely accessible weirdness of Chris & Cosey’s ‘This Is Me’, MYSTERY PLANE’s ‘Something To Prove’ and the gritty ‘Brix’ from PORTION CONTROL will delight those more into the leftfield, while AK-47’s ‘Stop! Dance!’, the work of Simon Leonard (later of I START COUNTING and KOMPUTER fame) is another DIY experiment in that aesthetic vein.
Some tracks are interesting but not essential like Richard Bone’s ‘Alien Girl’ which comes over like an amusing pub singer SILICON TEENS, Johnny Warman’s appealing robopop on ‘Will You Dance With Me?’ and the synth dressed New Wave of ‘Close-Up’ by THOSE FRENCH GIRLS. For something more typically artschool, there’s the timpani laden ‘Taboos’ by THE PASSAGE and SECOND LAYER’s screechy ‘In Bits’.
More surprising is Swedish songstress Virna Lindt with her ‘Young & Hip’ which oddly combines showtune theatrics with blippy synth and ska! The set ends rather fittingly with Cherry Red’s very own EYELESS IN GAZA with the abstract atmospherics of ‘The Eyes Of Beautiful Losers’ although they too would eventually produce their own rousing synthpop statement ‘Sunbursts In’ in 1984.
Outside of the music, the booklet is a bit disappointing with the photos of OMD, TEARS FOR FEARS, HEAVEN 17, B-MOVIE and a glam-bouffanted Kim Wilde all coming from the wrong eras. And while the liner notes provide helpful information on the lesser known acts, clangers such as stating Toyah’s ‘Thunder In The Mountains’ was from the album ‘The Changeling’ when it was a standalone 45, “GONG’s Mike Hewlett” and “memorable sleeve designs by Malcolm Garrett’s Altered IMaGes” do not help those who wish to discover the origins of those accumulated gems.
But these quibbles aside, overall ‘Musik Music Musique 2.0’ is a good collection, although with fewer rare jewels compared with the first 1980 volume which perhaps points to the fact that those who had the shine to breakthrough actually did… 40 years on though, many of those hit making acts (or variations of) are still performing live in some form.
Was 1981 the most important year in synth as far becoming ubiquitous in the mainstream and hitting the top of the charts internationally? With VISAGE’s ‘Fade To Grey’ becoming a West German No1 in Spring 1981 through to SOFT CELL taking the summer topspot in the UK and culminating in THE HUMAN LEAGUE eventually taking ‘Don’t You Want Me?’ to No1 in the US, the sound of synth had done its job. Setting the scene for 1982 and 1983, further editions of ‘Musik Music Musique’ are planned.
Out of the bands that emerged post-Synth Britannia, A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS were among those to actually make a worldwide cultural impact, initially gaining traction in the US via the cable phenomenon of MTV.
While frontman Mike Score’s outlandish hair style was honoured in Hollywood with comic references in ‘Friends’, ‘The Wedding Singer’ and ‘Pulp Fiction’, their fourth single ‘I Ran’ has been a ubiquitous staple, appearing in commercials for Grand Theft Auto Vice City, Sensationail, Diet Pepsi and Lexus. Greek synth duo MARSHEAUX even borrowed the main riff from ‘Space Age Love Song’ for their signature tune ‘Dream Of A Disco’.
Today, Mike Score is the only remaining member from the original line-up which included his brother Ali on drums, bassist Frank Maudsley and guitarist Paul Reynolds. Notably his hair is now absent, while his scouse accent has mutated into a Trans-Atlantic drawl from years of living stateside.
Dingwalls in Camden was packed for the second London date of A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS’ first headlining UK tour for many years and opening proceedings was KNIGHT$ whose debut album ‘Dollars & Cents’ has been one of the contenders for best album of 2019.
Photo by Richard Price
Fronted by the suave and charismatic James Knights, dressed in a black leather jacket and sequined shirt combo, he began support set with Eurobeat thrust of ‘What We Leave Behind’ and the heavenly pop ‘Playin It Cool’.
Playing the role of the perfect beat boy, Knights was slightly restrained physically, thanks to the small stage, but he made every effort to engage the audience with his brand of BRONSKI BEAT inspired Britalo like the amorous ‘Gelato’.
Meanwhile, the snappy ‘Alligator’ provided an amusing observation on the phenomenon of one-sided conversations. ‘Julia’ offered a more romantic take on the appealing KNIGHT$ sound while presenting a token of musical friendship to the audience, there was an authentic rendition of PET SHOP BOYS’ ‘Heart’. The slinky ‘What’s Your Poison?’ appropriately threw in some sunset sax at the riverside venue, before the catchy ‘Dollars & Cents’ closed an impressive warm-up on an already hot Saturday evening.
Standing behind a Roland Fantom 06 outputting crystal clear electronic sounds, Mike Score took his position to begin A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS’ performance with the vintage Sci-Fi rock of ‘Modern Love Is Automatic’. Backed by his usual North American band of guitarist Gordon Deppe from Canadian New Wavers SPOONS, drummer Kevin Rankin and bass player Patrick Villalpando, the debut album opener was followed by ‘Hearts On Fire’ from 1995’s ‘The Light At the End Of The World’ which had the classic air of ‘Space Age Love Song’ about it.
Photo by Roger Kamp
With a rockier growl to his vocal presence, the gothic gloom of ‘Nightmares’ came over more like THE CURE, but the darkness turned to light as the under-rated ‘The More You Live, The More You Love’ provided the first rousing moment of the evening for the mature audience.
The moody ‘Man Made’ and more Motorik ‘She Won’t Let You Down’ showcased varied aspects of the band beyond their singles, but 1983’s UK Top 40 hit ‘Transfer Affection’ was spoiled by some unnecessary bombast and Score being unsure of what octave to sing the tune in.
However, a magnificent rendition of that paean to neu romance ‘Space Age Love Song’ snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, aided by Rankin’s use of a synth drum and his bandmates’ triple call-and-response vocal, while Deppe ably reproduced the textures of original guitarist Paul Reynolds.
Photo by Richard Price
That said though, it all got awry again with the quartet going all SIMPLE MINDS with a prolonged reinterpretation of ‘Telecommunication’; the song was originally two and a half minutes for a reason!
Throughout the show, while Score did speak to the audience, it was the more flamboyant Villalpando who acted as Master Of Ceremonies with a loud “rawk” address that although probably endearing across the water, may well have been anathema for British audiences.
‘Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)’ was the moment many were waiting for. A Top 10 UK hit in 1982, it was interesting to be reminded that most of the song’s hooks were instrumental rather than vocal while inspired by a photo of two people running from a UFO, the brilliance of ‘I Ran’ ended the main set.
Photo by Simon Helm
There was room for an encore and that came with the pleasant surprise of ‘Messages’ from the self-titled debut album, with its more guitar driven dynamics enabling the quartet to fire on all cylinders. There was no ‘D.N.A.’ or ‘(It’s Not Me) Talking’ but on the whole, the crowd were entertained and satisfied.
When things were good, it was glorious at Dingwalls and while some may only remember the iconic haircut rather than the music, what A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS have proven is they have a number of great songs which more than stand up in the 21st Century.
And unlike say OMD, DEPECHE MODE and SIMPLE MINDS, they also have a Grammy Award on the mantelpiece. A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS more than deserve their place in British pop history.
With thanks to Debora at London Variety
A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS ‘Inflight (The Extended Essentials)’ is released by August Day Recordings in various formats available from http://www.augustday.net/aday054.html
Led by Mike Score, A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS will embark on their first UK tour for a number of years this July.
A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS got their original break when Bill Nelson produced and released their debut single ‘(It’s Not Me) Talking’ on his Cocteau label in 1981 while another Nelson produced song ‘Telecommunication’ was their first major label release on Jive Records.
But the original line-up of Score, brother Ali on drums, bassist Frank Maudsley and guitarist Paul Reynolds didn’t achieve a breakthrough until their fourth single ‘I Ran’.
It became a 1982 US Top10 hit in the Billboard Hot 100 and later that year, the band scored their biggest UK hit ‘Wishing (I Had A Photograph of You)’. Meanwhile in 1983, the band won a ‘Best Rock Instrumental Performance’ Grammy Award for the track ‘DNA’, at a time when The Second British Invasion had still yet to fully take hold in an America still drunk on TOTO and JOURNEY!
A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS continue live today with Mike Score being the sole remaining original member and have a collection of extended essentials called ‘Inflight’ on the way. He kindly had a quick chat with ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about the continuing interest in their music.
It’s been a while since you’ve done a full UK tour, why is the time right now?
Just happened that way really, the time and the offers to play coincided and it all fell in to place. Other years it hasn’t, we are really looking forward to it.
The use of ‘I Ran’ on adverts for Grand Theft Auto Vice City, Sensationail, Diet Pepsi and Lexus won’t have done your profile or bank balance any harm? What was the song originally inspired by and how did it come together in the studio?
That’s a big question, the popularity of the song. ‘I Ran’ has kept it alive in the hearts of fans over the years and some of our fans are in position to want to use it in movies and advertising etc.
The song itself was inspired by a photo of two people running from a UFO, I think the photo was being considered for an album cover for a TEARDROP EXPLODES album as I saw the photo in Zoo Records office in Liverpool. The song was well rehearsed, so there were no problems recording it and we had great input from our producer Mike Howlett and occasional visits from Mutt Lange to see how it was coming along and of course Mike Shipley engineering. For sure, it sounded fab.
How do you look back on the ‘Ascension’ project with the original band reunited and performing with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra?
It was just another way of looking at the songs a different flavour if you like. We recorded everything in separate studios and then the orchestra was added and it was mixed. Apart from doing my parts, I didn’t have too much to do with it really!
So who will be joining you in your live band for the upcoming shows?
The band for the UK shows will be my band from the US, me on keys and vocals, Gordon Deppe from SPOONS on lead guitar, Patrick Villalpando on bass and Kevin Rankin on drums.
You released a solo album ‘Zeebratta’ in 2014, what led you to drop the A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS moniker for this project and how do you think the album stands up now?
I just wanted to do a solo album for myself and I never intended to release it. I think it’s as good as anything I’ve ever done.
Most people know ‘I Ran’, ‘Wishing (I Had A Photograph Of You)’ and ‘Space Age Love Song’ but ‘The More You Live, The More You Love’ is one of your most under rated singles, any thoughts?
One of my best songs I think, again it was a personal song after a chat with my mom. It’s a bit of a lesson in life and a bit of advice to young romantics to be careful with your feelings.
Were many of the songs a result of jamming?
Yes, of course. You come in with an idea of sorts and show it to the band. Then you just jam it out into shape. Some ideas are just one line it a riff or even a beat but after a while, it takes shape and tells you what it needs to turn in to a song.
What were your tastes in music back in the day?
Then THE BEATLES, PINK FLOYD, ULTRAVOX, ELO and good songs from anyone.
Gary Daly of CHINA CRISIS kept his Jupiter8 and still uses it, what happened to yours?
I had two JP8s, they were stolen. Some people love them but I think synths are much better now and with software synths. Emulating the old ones it’s easy to have a huge range of sounds.
You are back living in the UK again, how are you finding it?
I’m not permanently living in the UK, I live between UK and USA as I have done a long time. But I’m English and I love coming home.
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its sincerest thanks to Mike Score
Additional thanks to Debora at London Variety
A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS tour the UK in 2019 with special guest KNIGHT$ (except Bristol), dates include:
Wolverhampton Robin 2 (11th July), London Dingwalls (12th-13th July), Liverpool Cavern (14th July), Bristol Fleece (16th July), Leeds Brudenell Social Club (17th July), Newcastle Riverside (18th July), Glasgow Art School (19th July)
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