Tag: Simple Minds (Page 1 of 9)

The Electronic Legacy of LIVE ALBUMS

2 December 2025 /

Photo by Chi Ming Lai

The general purpose of a live album is to document a concert experience. But such is the average person’s equipment used for listening to music at home, in the car or on earphones, the capabilities of quality PA systems can never be replicated.

Something of a credible rock staple, live albums are often seen as profile builders and tour adverts, symbolic of an act hitting the big time while greatest hits collections can be perceived as an indicator of a career on the wane.

However, in the synth-laden electronic world, the live album is something of a polarising beast. With a significant number of acts reliant on tapes and latterly pre-programmed backing tracks, live albums can be rendered almost pointless with parts often sounding almost identical to the original record. In many cases, overdubs and new vocals are prevalent and essential.

But even some of the best known live rock albums such as THIN LIZZY ‘Live & Dangerous’ and KISS ‘Alive!’ were heavily tinkered with in the studio during post-production. Of the former, producer Tony Visconti reckoned the album was “75% recorded in the studio” with only the drums and audience noise remaining from the original live recordings. Meanwhile of the latter, Gene Simmons later said “Most people assume it was all live. It wasn’t” with only the drums remaining from the original shows recorded. On the opposite side of the coin, Joe Jackson recorded his ‘Big World’ live album in front of invited audiences who were instructed NOT to clap.

Photo by Chi Ming Lai

While the spirit of a performance is an essential ingredient on a live album, extra parts or arrangements not used in the actual shows can cause much head scratching, as can the inclusion of unrelated studio recordings. A concert is for a particular moment in time and for that reason, ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK is not generally enthusiastic of live recordings but accepts they have their place and can have their moments.

Not a best of, here are 20 records listing the good, the bad and the pointless to represent The Electronic Legacy of LIVE ALBUMS. These are subject to the conditions that they are standalone physical releases in their own right, not initially part of a corresponding live DVD or Bluray package, not a bootleg or a bonus CD in a deluxe boxed set; for this latter reason, OMD’s spirited 1983 ‘Dazzle Ships’ live presentation at Hammersmith Odeon that came with the ‘Souvenir’ career anthology is not included.

The albums are presented in yearly order and then alphabetical within…

TANGERINE DREAM Encore (1977)

‘Encore’ is seen as the definitive TANGERINE DREAM live album by the classic line-up of Edgar Froese, Christophe Franke and Peter Baumann. But as with their previous live release ‘Ricochet’, there were questions as to what was live and what was Memorex… opener ‘Cherokee Lane’ was edited together from several performances while on the second side, suspicions were raised that ‘Coldwater Canyon’ was a studio creation.

‘Encore’ was originally released by Virgin Records

https://www.tangerinedreammusic.com/

KLAUS SCHULZE …Live… (1980)

A trailblazer for The Berlin School, Klaus Schulze saw synthesizers as a route to creative freedom and his imperial works like ‘Timewind’, ‘Moondawn’, ‘X’ and ‘Mirage’ were largely improvised live. Concerts were seen as an opportunity to spontaneously compose new works. On his first live album featuring concerts in Amsterdam, Berlin and Paris, ‘Sense’ was a half hour ball of hypnotic energy with live drums from Harald Grosskopf.

‘…Live…’ was released by Brain Records

https://www.klaus-schulze.com/

YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA Public Pressure (1980)

Recorded as a six-piece, ‘Public Pressure’ captured YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA walking a tightrope, utilising early synthesizer technology like syndrums, sequencers and a Moog modular out on the road. However, while fairly lively and with highlights like ‘Rydeen’ and ‘Tong Poo’, in the inevitable post-production, guitarist Kazumi Watanabe was mixed-out and replaced with more synths while most of Yukihiro Takahashi’s trademark on-off vocals were re-recorded.

‘Public Pressure’ was originally released by Alfa Records

http://www.ymo.org/

GARY NUMAN Living Ornaments 79 & 80 (1981)

A singular double LP boxed set, this live document captured highlights of Gary Numan during his imperial phase at Hammersmith Odeon during ‘The Touring Principle’ in 1979 and the 1980 ‘Teletour’. Engineered and co-mixed by Tim Summerhayes, this remains one of the best live releases of its type with ‘Living Ornaments 80’ just nudging ahead. The release coincided with Numan’s retirement from live work with three concerts at Wembley Arena… that retirement lasted just over a year!

‘Living Ornaments 79 & 80’ was originally released by Beggars Banquet

https://garynuman.com/

JEAN-MICHEL JARRE The Concerts In China (1982)

In 1981, Jean-Michel Jarre became the first Western rock musician to perform in China. The five live performances as a 4 piece ensemble included the debut of the Laser Harp. Jarre also composed new material for the occasion with highlights including the dramatic ‘Arpegiator’ and the elegiac studio closer ‘Souvenir Of China’. But one particular track stood out, a traditional rearrangement with The Peking Conservatoire Symphony Orchestra, retitled ‘Fishing Junks At Sunset’.

‘The Concerts In China’ was originally released by Polydor Records

https://www.jeanmicheljarre.com/

JAPAN Oil On Canvas (1983)

‘Oil On Canvas’ was a contractual obligation by the now-split up JAPAN. Only the drums came from the band’s run of Hammersmith Odeon shows during their final tour with other parts redone in the studio. The version of ‘Nightporter’ bore no relation to the actual arrangement performed while three unrelated ambient pieces were included instead of ‘Life In Tokyo’, ‘European Son’ and ‘Fall In Love With Me’ which were part of the live set!

‘Oil On Canvas’ was originally released by Virgin Records

https://sylvianvista.com/

ULTRAVOX Monument (1983)

Leaving listeners wanting more, ‘Monument’ originally only featured 6 tracks including the studio intro title track with the hits ‘Vienna’, ‘Reap The Wild Wind’ and ‘Hymn’. Superbly capturing ULTRAVOX on their 1982 ‘Quartet’ tour, the undoubted highlight was the elongated rendition of ‘The Voice’ with the energetic THIN LIZZY-inspired Simmons drum climax. ‘Monument’ has since been expanded into  8 track and later 9 track variants.

‘Monument’ was originally released by Chrysalis Records

https://www.ultravox.org.uk/

DURAN DURAN Arena (1984)

Released at the height of their worldwide fame, ‘Arena’ was sadly more ‘Oil On Canvas’ than either ‘Living Ornaments 79 & 80’, ‘Monument’ or ‘101’. Unlike the latter, it now symbolises the downfall of DURAN DURAN rather than the rise. The mix was muddy and not a patch on the subsequent soundtracks of the DVD releases of their Hammersmith Odeon 1982 and Wembley Arena 2004 shows. The incongruous inclusion of the single ‘The Wild Boys’ no doubt helped shift copies.

‘Arena’ was originally released by EMI Music

https://duranduran.com/

SIMPLE MINDS Live In The City Of Light (1987)

On the ‘Sparkle In The Rain’ and ‘Once Upon A Time’ tours, SIMPLE MINDS had been pompously bloating songs out for up to 10 minutes. The excesses were dialled down for this well-recorded if frustrating record. There was much post-production tinkering with ‘Someone Somewhere In Summertime’ featuring extra violin by Lisa Germano while uncredited, former bassist Derek Forbes was brought in replace John Giblin’s live take.

‘Live In The City Of Light’ was originally released by Virgin Records

https://www.simpleminds.com/

DEPECHE MODE 101 (1989)

“Who have thought DEPECHE MODE plink-plonking away would play in stadiums?” bemoaned Jim Kerr of SIMPLE MINDS in 2004; but ‘101’ recorded at the Pasadena Rose Bowl in 1988 affirmed their arrival into the stadium league. The audience was mixed so loud that the band were almost drowned out while Dave Gahan bellowing “YEAH!” was a frequent occurrence. In a drumhead free zone, this was an enjoyable set capturing more comparatively innocent times.

‘101’ was originally released by Mute Records

https://www.depechemode.com/

ASHRA @shra (1998)

Recorded on location in Tokyo and Osaka, this live collection saw Manuel Göttsching, Lutz Ulbrich and Harald Grosskopf reunite the 1979-80 band incarnation of ASHRA. Containing 3 lengthy tracks and the much shorter ‘Timbuktu’ in an energetic set with hypnotic blend of progressive guitar and electronics. The highlight was the magnificent sample-free take on 1990’s ‘Twelve Samples’. A second volume was issued in 2002.

‘@shra’ was originally released by Think Progressive

https://www.manuelgoettsching.com/

HEAVEN 17 How Live Is (1999)

In their heyday, HEAVEN 17 never toured. Recorded in Glasgow when the trio came out of hiatus and opened for ERASURE in 1998, the 50 minute set was very electronic, in line with their comeback album ‘Bigger Than America’. Packed full of their best known songs and a version of ‘Being Boiled’, some new arrangements fell under the spell of THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS but they impressed enough for repeat business and continue to play live regularly today.

‘How Live Is’ was originally released by Almafame

https://www.heaven17.com/

SOFT CELL Live (2003)

Reuniting as SOFT CELL first time round in 2001, this double live album caught Marc Almond and Dave Ball in support of their 2002 comeback album ‘Cruelty Without Beauty’. Almond was particularly animated and sounded like he was having fun while Ball’s solid electronics grooved. Almond’s motorbike accident in 2004 put a stop to performing but SOFT CELL reunited again in 2018 for ‘One Night Only’ at London’s O2 Arena.

‘Live’ was originally released by Cooking Vinyl

https://www.softcell.co.uk/

KRAFTWERK Minimum-Maximum (2005)

Featuring founder members Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider, this first official KRAFTWERK live album provided another “is it live or is it Memorex?” conundrum. Suspicions were aroused with the credits in both English and German language versions indicating that many of the tracks were recorded at the same venues! Regardless, the crisp versions on ‘Minimum-Maximum’ provided a far superior listening experience than 1991’s ‘The Mix’.

‘Minimum-Maximum’ was originally released by EMI Music

https://kraftwerk.com/

YAZOO Reconnected Live (2010)

YAZOO’s ‘Reconnected’ tour saw Alison Moyet and Vince Clarke completing unfinished business following their premature spilt in 1983. Clarke provided more analogue-tuned backing compared to the Fairlight-driven tracks of their 1982 tour while Moyet was in fine voice, to the point that you could be forgiven for thinking you were hearing the records if it wasn’t for her breaths. This was a wonderful souvenir for those who were there.

‘Reconnected Live’ was originally released by Mute Records

https://yazooinfo.com/

JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS Rhapsody (2013)

John Foxx’s 2002 live album ‘The Omnidelic Exotour’ with Louis Gordon had been recorded in rehearsals with no audience and ‘Rhapsody’ followed the same route. With a band featuring Benge with Serafina Steer and Hannah Peel, the quartet ran through highlights of the John Foxx portfolio alongside his ULTRAVOX! ballads ‘Hiroshima Mon Amour’ and ‘Just For A Moment’.

‘Rhapsody’ was originally released by Metamatic Records

http://www.metamatic.com/

HYPERBUBBLE Live In London (2015)

Texans HYPERBUBBLE may look like a mutant Country & Western duo but are actually synthpop’s answer to Carter & Cash. ‘Live in London’ was a high quality recording from The Lexington that captured the heart of their “part-performance art, kitsch cabaret pop”. Like a greatest hits set, it featured 45 minutes of fun uptempo numbers including ‘Candy Apple Daydreams’ and ‘Non-Biodegradable Hazardous Waste Disposal’.

‘Live In London’ was originally released by Pure Pop For Now People

https://www.hyperbubble.net/

NEW ORDER featuring LIAM GILLICK ∑(No,12k,Lg,17Mif) (2019)

Back in the day, NEW ORDER were a rather shaky live act which meant their live bootlegs provided unintended entertainment. Since relaunching in 2011 without Peter Hook, they have released 5 live albums. The most interesting was ‘∑(No,12k,Lg,17Mif)’ when NEW ORDER played Manchester’s Old Granada Studios accompanied by a 12 piece synth orchestra. Aside from the dreadful ‘Who’s Joe’ and ‘Guilt Is A Useless Song’, it was a choice selection of firm fan favourites.

‘∑(No,12k,Lg,17Mif)’ was originally released by Mute Artists

https://www.neworder.com/

KITE At The Royal Opera (2020)

Swedish duo KITE performed two theatrical shows at the Royal Swedish Opera augmented by a 16 piece orchestra and choir. Filmed for broadcast on SVT2, the performances were issued as a live double album featuring a lengthy impassioned rendition of the epic ‘Up For Life’. Never doing things by halves, KITE have since performed at the cavernous former limestone quarry Dalhalla and more incredibly, on ice at Stockholm’s Avicii Arena.

‘Kite At The Royal Opera’ was originally released by Astronaut Recordings

https://www.facebook.com/KiteHQ

HOWARD JONES Live At The O2 (2024)

Perhaps too ambitious in trying to take on the O2 Arena, OMD called on Howard Jones as opening act to help get bums on seats. The original solo synth man delivered an enjoyable 50 minute set with a band comprising right hand man Ronnie Bronnimann, the sadly missed Dan Clarke and KAJAGOOGOO bassist Nick Beggs; a cover of ‘Too Shy’ thrown in for good measure alongside ‘New Song’ and a danced-up ‘Things Can Only Get Better’.

‘Live At The O2’ was originally released by Cherry Red Records

http://howardjones.com/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
2nd December 2025

A Beginner’s Guide To PAUL STATHAM

14 August 2025 /

Paul Statham is undoubtedly the silent success story of the ‘Some Bizzare Album’.

The guitarist of B-MOVIE who also comprised Steve Hovington (vocals + bass), Rick Holliday (keyboards) and Graham Boffey (drums), their track ‘Moles’ was included alongside DEPECHE MODE, SOFT CELL, BLANCMANGE and THE THE on the iconic futurist showcase compiled by DJ Stevo Pearce that was released in early 1981.

Signing to Phonogram via Some Bizzare, despite an imperial trio of singles ‘Remembrance Day’, ‘Marilyn Dreams’ and ‘Nowhere Girl’, the quartet were unable to get their deserved mainstream chart breakthrough and as the band fragmented, the B-MOVIE story became just that. Although a belated album ‘Forever Running’ would emerge in 1985, the remaining founding duo of Hovington and Statham disbanded B-MOVIE not long after.

Photo by Peter Ashworth

In 1988, Statham found solace in Peter Murphy who had recently gone solo after 4 studio albums fronting goth trailblazers BAUHAUS. Becoming Murphy’s main songwriting partner over 4 successive albums, during the making of the 1995 album ‘Cascade’, Statham met producer Pascal Gabriel who proposed working together on a more dance oriented “ABBA meets THE KLF” type of project; starting out as NEURONIC and with the addition of dance and vocalist Lisa Lamb, they would become the electropop trio PEACH whose song ‘On My Own’ was featured during a key scene in the Gwyneth Paltrow movie ‘Sliding Doors’.

PEACH would become a springboard for Statham to find considerable success as a songwriter and producer, working with artists as diverse as Kylie Minogue, Rachel Stevens, Dot Allison, Dido, Sarah Nixey, Lisa Scott-Lee, Tina Arena, Shelly Poole, and Gabriella Cilmi as well THE SATURDAYS, BANANARAMA, RIGHT SAID FRED and SIMPLE MINDS.

Photo by Adrian Green

In parallel to his songwriting and production career, the original line-up of B-MOVIE reformed in 2004 while in 2009, Statham started his dark country project THE DARK FLOWERS. There has also been a series of solo experimental electronic albums in parallel to launching his own label Loki Records.

Despite releasing two new albums ‘The Age of Illusion’ (2013) and ‘Climate of Fear’ (2016) since their reformation, talk always returned to B-MOVIE’s Some Bizzare period with demand for their imperial trilogy of singles to be made available in the digital era. Those three singles plus 7 previously unreleased recordings from between 1981-1982 were digitised and restored to create the debut “that never was”. Titled ‘Hidden Treasures’, it presented documentary evidence as to why back in the day, the major record labels were clamouring for B-MOVIE’s signature.

Thanks to the positive reception for ‘Hidden Treasures’, another compilation album is planned focussing on ‘The Age of Illusion’, ‘Climate of Fear’ and latter era of B-MOVIE which Statham says will feature “more of the time and songs when I co-wrote a lot more with Steve and produced the tracks”.

After the recent B-MOVIE show in London, Paul Statham sat down to offer some insightful commentary on 20 career highlights selected by ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK from his long and varied music career.

B-MOVIE Moles (1981)

“We were always amazed at how fast Rick could play solos!” said Statham of B-MOVIE’s ‘Some Bizzare Album’ breakthrough, “Recorded at Studio Playground Wragby, we felt like a proper band in this 8 track studios with a live room. The fact we travelled there from Mansfield unified us. In Andy Dransfield, we had a sympathetic producer/engineer who more to the point would buy us a round of drinks in the village pub. All good bands bond in the pub!”

Originally from the ‘Some Bizzare Album’ (V/A), now available on the B-MOVIE expanded CD + digital album ‘Hidden Treasures’ via Wanderlust Records

https://www.b-movie.org/

B-MOVIE A Letter from Afar (1984)

“Terrible press shot in a fake desert setting that became the back cover” remembered Statham of the standalone single ‘A Letter from Afar’ which was based around his sequencer programming on a Roland JX3P and a ghostly SIMPLE MINDS-type pad on the intro; “During the London recording, producer Jellybean Benitez invited me to New York to finish adding parts. We worked out of Sigma Studios, I got an insight into how professional musicians can add to the song”.

Available on the B-MOVIE album ‘The Platinum Collection’ via Warner Music

https://www.facebook.com/B.MovieMusic/

PETER MURPHY Roll Call – Reprise (1989)

“I loved writing music for Peter” said Statham of his partnership with the BAUHAUS front man, “He is highly individualistic, it was always great waiting to hear how he shaped tracks I’d give to him”. Sometimes just a few chords and sometimes fully formed backing tracks”. The guitars on the verse chord progression of ‘Roll Call – Reprise’ paid homage to Iggy Pop while there was a sombre synth brass close; “Peter later said the ‘With Your Red Shirt’ lyric was about me going out clubbing!”

Available on the PETER MURPHY album ‘Deep’ via Beggars Banquet Records

https://www.petermurphy.info/

NEURONIC Heaven (1995)

“Things went south a little with Peter’s management on ‘Cascade’” recalled Statham, “so Pascal Gabriel offered me a way out to start a Europop band with him, big bright and bold and he would go play it to Daniel Miller at Mute and get us a deal… hard to believe but that was exactly what happened. Daniel gave us a deal on the spot, with just 2 backing tracks and no singer”. The vocals on ‘Heaven’ came from session singer Anna Ross, now touring with DURAN DURAN.

‘Heaven’ was originally released as a NEURONIC single via Interpop / Mute Records, currently unavailable

http://melophobia.com/

PEACH On My Own (1996)

“NEURONIC quickly morphed into PEACH with the addition of the lovely Lisa Lamb… Lisa Cougar would be a better fit, she would laugh at that, believe me! We changed direction, producing electronic symphonies and kitchen sink dramas that led to the first single ‘On My Own’ going into the film ‘Sliding Doors’ and giving us a bona fide US Billboard hit single peaking at #11 on the pop airplay charts” Statham said but “We promptly split up after supporting ERASURE.”

Available on the PEACH album ‘Audiopeach’ via Mute Records

https://www.inspiracy.com/peach/

DOT ALLISON Close Your Eyes (1999)

“I bought the ONE DOVE album that Dot Allison sang on and she looked so elegantly cool on the cover… I wondered how on earth do I meet singers like that to work with!” pondered Statham, “Then here she was! Mike Sault, our respective publisher set up a co-write with Pascal and me. I really found a niche here, writing tracks with strings, synths and electric guitars with Pascal providing big beats! Dot is a great writer, anything with the word ‘Satellite’ in is always a good lyric!”

Available on the DOT ALLISON album ‘Afterglow’ via Heavenly Records

https://dotallison.com/

DIDO Here With Me (1999)

Inspired by Brian Eno’s ‘Apollo’ album, this was a life changer for Statham: “Dido was an occasional backing vocalist in her brother Rollo’s band FAITHLESS. The Dot Allison single had laid the groundwork and ‘Here With Me’ was a sophisticated cousin to ‘Close Your Eyes’. Dido has a beautiful voice, fully formed, everything she sang sounded cool!. It became the opening theme to the US TV series ‘Roswell’. Having a big hit like this was without a doubt a very nice feeling.”

Available on the DIDO album ‘No Angel’ via Arista / BMG

https://didomusic.com/

KYLIE MINOGUE Your Love (2001)

“Writing with Kylie was undoubtably a high point” said Statham, “Back then, it wasn’t file sharing and a day with the artist, we had a full week of writing together. Just sitting with her and writing lyrics was a little ‘pinch yourself’ moment, especially when she dropped me at the pub in front of friends! She is extremely hardworking and yet unfailingly polite. In hindsight we should have gone more electronic, especially as we had an early listen to ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’.”

Available on the KYLIE MINOGUE album ‘Fever’ via EMI Music

https://www.kylie.com/

RACHEL STEVENS I Will Be There (2005)

“It seems that writing with very attractive women became almost normal!” Statham said on the call to provide a song for the now-solo SCLUB7 starlet’s second album, “But I never met Rachel Stevens. The track was predominantly written with Pascal and Hannah Robinson, a great writer too. I love the electro pulse and the dry drum sound in this track, her vocal delivery has a sort of strange indifference that suits the sombre lyric about a dead friend.”

Available on the RACHEL STEVENS album ‘Come & Get It’ via Polydor Records

https://rachelstevens.com/

SARAH NIXEY When I’m Here With You (2007)

“Sarah Nixey was a joy to work with, she was indie-influenced and great fun too” said Statham of the former vocalist of BLACK BOX RECORDER who liked to project a stern persona, “There was no real remit here, we wrote 3 songs together over a period and I found her lyrics to be intelligent and offbeat at the same time. My original version wasn’t as programmed as the final mix and had a more organic leaning which I feel better suited the song”.

Available on the SARAH NIXEY album ‘Sing, Memory’ via ServiceAV

https://www.sarahnixey.com/

THE SATURDAYS Why Me, Why Now (2008)

Statham was invited to work with THE SATURDAYS on their debut album: “Having only a small, converted bedroom as a studio was a challenge with all 5 girls and my friend / co-writer Hannah Robinson, a challenge I was happy to accept! They were enthusiastic and hardworking, Una and Vanessa were great singers too. The song had a Motown feel with a great melodic arc through leading to a strong chorus, it was mixed with a more electronic feel to the demo.”

Available on THE SATURDAYS album ‘Chasing Lights’ via Polydor Records

https://www.thesaturdays.co.uk/

B-MOVIE Dark Lines (2013)

Having reformed in 2004, a new B-MOVIE long player emerged in 2013: “A favourite of mine from an overlooked album, written by Steve and produced by myself, it has a dark quality that goes against the more uptempo feel of the album. Here, working predominantly in a sparsely produced electronic vein, we got it right. I played most of the keyboards as well on this album as Rick had begun to get disillusioned… the opposite to the title and Rick liked to swim upstream!”

Available on the B-MOVIE album ‘The Age Of Illusion’ via Wanderlust Records

https://twitter.com/bmovieuk

THE DARK FLOWERS Radioland featuring JIM KERR (2013)

Conceived whilst Statham was reading Sam Shepard’s ‘Motel Chronicles’ and listening to an instrumental album ‘The Hired Hand’ by Bruce Langhorne featuring old instruments left out to weather in the same US deserts, he said of THE DARK FLOWERS: “It involved me mixing Eno sequences electronics with piano / banjo and found sound. Jim nailed this perfectly, a slightly Bowie vocal for the dark tale of a man who inhabits an imaginary ‘Radioland’.”

Available on THE DARK FLOWERS album ‘Radioland’ via Lojinx

https://www.facebook.com/theflowersdark

SIMPLE MINDS Kill Or Cure (2014)

“As huge SIMPLE MINDS fans, Steve Hovington and I saw them numerous times” said Statham, “my younger self would find it hard to believe Jim would become a good friend and I would write tracks with him! Based around the bassline that echoes Gina X ‘No GDM’, I tried to evoke the early feel of SIMPLE MINDS. An instrumental demo was passed on to Jim in a chain link of 4 different friends of friends and he called me straight away on hearing it and was in my studio a week later!”

Available on SIMPLE MINDS album ‘Big Music’ via Demon Music Group

https://www.simpleminds.com/

PAUL STATHAM Asylum (2017)

Statham’s more experimental work came after meeting art curator Victor De Circasia in their daughters’ school playground: “I became involved in the world of painters and sculptors, where I would be commissioned to write music to accompany an exhibition or as part of the installation” he said, “‘Asylum’ was music that was based initially from these interactions acting as an almost palimpsest that I overlaid and sculpted, so the original idea was covered multiple times”.

Available on PAUL STATHAM album ‘Asylum’ via Loki Records

https://www.paulstatham.com/

B-MOVIE Stalingrad (2018)

“A real gem and one that we should go back to!” said Statham of the best B-MOVIE song of their reunion era, “this was also a very creative time and we released a lot of one-off songs that were great to produce and write and that went down well with fans and live too. I put it in the same feel as ‘A Letter From Afar’ in that it is sequencer-driven, lyrics musing on the folly of war with a slight Eastern feel in some of the melodic instrumental passages.”

Available on B-MOVIE EP ‘Repetition’ via Loki Records

https://www.instagram.com/b_movieband/

AFTER THE RAIN Gospel Train (2019)

“To be updated!” confirmed Statham on AFTER THE RAIN, “I wanted to release my own project that had some vocal element and at that time not wanting to use my own voice, this went down the route of Moby’s ‘Play’ album, using old vocals lifted from Blues and Gospel. It was never fully released on streaming platforms, but I remain committed in 2025 to releasing these tracks, mixed properly and continuing in an 80s electro feel with my own vocals and guests.”

Available on AFTER THE RAIN EP ‘Black Is The Colour’ via Loki Records at https://aftertherain1.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/aftertherain.london/

THE DARK FLOWERS Dead & Lovely featuring THE ANCHORESS (2021)

From an interim Murder Ballad covers EP, the highlight was this Tom Waits song: “I asked long-time collaborator Catherine Anne Davies aka THE ANCHORESS to do this version” Statham said, ”Catherine always sings so well but I feel my production was not quite right on this. It’s way too happy and synthetic in places. The main problem is that it’s a very long song and the narrative arc is necessary to tell the tale, but I did almost edit it down!”

Available on THE DARK FLOWERS EP ‘Death & Desire’ via Loki Records at https://thedarkflowers.bandcamp.com/

https://theanchoress.co.uk/

PAUL STATHAM & DANIEL PENNIE Hadar (2024)

The songwriting module leader at Solent University, Statham became friends with experimental music module colleague Dan Pennie: “He is a fabulous guitarist with his own outfit NOISE IN YOUR EYE. I had conceived these tracks as a follow-up to ‘Asylum’ but once I sent one to Dan, and he added guitar loops to run through the track, it made sense for the album to go down this avenue, making it less predictable with some unexpected rhythm and textures from his guitar playing”

Available on PAUL STATHAM & DANIEL PENNIE album ‘Object No Distance, Distance No Object’ via Loki Records at https://paulstathamdanielpennie.bandcamp.com/

https://www.instagram.com/paulsta123/

SIMPLE MINDS Your Name In Lights (2024)

Coming back to the here and now, Statham was working with SIMPLE MINDS again: “My writing with Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill for me is one of the highlights of my career in music. Jim has an iconic voice and Charlie is one the three inspirational guitarists to me, the others being John McGeoch and Robin Simon. Predominantly keyboard led with a KRAFTWERK-style pulse and a dark meditation on fame, that they chose it as a standalone single made my year”.

Available on the SIMPLE MINDS single ‘Your Name In Lights’ via BMG

https://www.facebook.com/simpleminds

Text by Chi Ming Lai with grateful thanks to Paul Statham
13th August 2025

BACK TO NOW: NOW ‘82 Yearbook with Ian Wade + ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK

25 July 2025 /

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

Tune into past episodes of ‘Back To NOW’ via https://linktr.ee/poprambler

https://shows.acast.com/backtonow

https://www.facebook.com/poprambler

https://www.instagram.com/poprambler

https://www.threads.net/@poprambler

Text by Simon Helm
25 July 2025

THE DARK FLOWERS Interview

11 June 2025 /

THE DARK FLOWERS is the dark country project led by Paul Statham.

Best known as a member of B-MOVIE and PEACH but also as a songwriter whose credits include Peter Murphy, Dot Allison, Dido, Kylie Minogue and Rachel Stevens, for THE DARK FLOWERS’ 2014 debut album ‘Radioland’, Statham brought together a group of guest vocalists that not only included his previous collaborators Murphy and Allison but also Jim Kerr from SIMPLE MINDS and Shelly Poole of ALISHA’S ATTIC.

The songs themselves were inspired by Sam Shepard’s ‘Motel Chronicles’, a collection of poems and memoirs depicting the first 40 years of the American playwright’s life. MOJO magazine described it as “a perfect album for a lonely winter night”. Then in 2021 came a standalone Murder Ballads covers EP in ‘Death & Desires’ from which Tom Waits ‘Dead & Lovely’ with vocals from The Anchoress was a highlight.

2025 sees the release of a second album from THE DARK FLOWERS called ‘Indian Summer’ which again is inspired by Sam Shepard, but via ‘Hawk Moon’, the companion volume to ‘Motel Chronicles’. Jim Kerr and Shelly Poole return while the three vocalists who premiered on ‘Death & Desires’, The Anchoress, David J and Gabriella Cilmi also participate.

In a break between shows with B-MOVIE, Paul Statham chatted to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about THE DARK FLOWERS and the processes involved in realising the concept.

The music styles you have been involved in have included post-punk, new wave, synth, goth, dance and pop, so what inspired you to start a dark country project?

‘Paris Texas’, the film directed by Wim Wenders, has always been a favourite, with its wide-open landscapes and the strange people that can inhabit these tiny, isolated towns. The screenplay written by Sam Shepard led me in turn to his book ‘Motel Chronicles’, which is short story and prose about that same self-thing. I was reading it whilst listening to a movie soundtrack ‘The Hired Hand’ which was composed on old worn instruments that had been left out in the desert heat, so I had a starting point of combining these 2 sources of words and music.

I was listening to Bon Iver’s first album and thought that would give the project more form. But I realised it would be too ‘normal’ so by adding elements of Brian Eno’s album ‘Another Green World’ (one of my top 3 albums of all time!), it could add strange textures, found sound etc. The resulting album was a hybrid of all these things, a sort of dark folk / country-tinged electronica album!

The first album ‘Radioland’ had a long gestation period which started in 2009 and you called upon vocalists you had worked with before like Peter Murphy, Shelly Poole, Helicopter Girl and Dot Allison… how amenable were they to the idea and did anyone need more persuading than others?

Helicopter Girl required a little coaxing! But Dot Allison was working in a similar frame of mind and Shelly is one of my closest friends so the music I gave them had less experimental elements which I then added later, once the vocals were added. Peter Murphy was different, as we had worked together on many of his albums, but Peter’s lyrics are every personal and spiritual in nature so he sort of just played with words from Shepard’s prose but added these incredibly strange and beautiful wailing backing vocals.

In terms of the creative dynamics with your guest vocalists, are there set roles or does the collaborative process differ with each individual?

Always the same; I chose a small portion of Shepard’s prose that I feel is evocative, either complex or simple, create a musical backing and then send both to the artist. Once I have the vocal returned I’m free to then deconstruct the track and rebuild it.

Did you record vocalists in the same room or did things often have to be remote out of practicality?

From all over the place! Jim Kerr mostly came to me though as we were working together on some of his own material.

Jim Kerr appeared on ‘Radioland’ and also features on the number of songs from ‘Indian Summer’, how did he become to be involved and how is he to work with?

I was introduced to Jim through a mutual friend, and we collaborated on a song ‘Return Of The King’ for his ‘Lost Boy’ solo album. We quickly realised we shared similar music / literary tastes, background and humour so it seemed natural to do more. He is a very intelligent guy, great with words and hugely expressive vocal range so on ‘Radioland’, it was a perfect fit. Since then, I have co-written ‘Kill Or Cure’ with him for SIMPLE MINDS album ‘Big Music’ and co-wrote the band’s last single ‘Your Name In Lights’ with him and Charlie Burchill with more tracks completed. He is always enthusiastic and a very generous person with his time and creativity.

What was the idea behind the 2021 interim EP ‘Death & Desire’ as none of the four songs are duplicated for ‘Indian Summer’?

It was getting too long between albums and Covid came along. I now work as well at Solent University and ICMP London, running songwriting modules so doing a cover version EP was just a stop gap really. I specifically enjoyed ‘Death Valley 69’ with David J from BAUHAUS and LOVE & ROCKETS.

David J sings ‘The Stars Stand In’ on the new album, is he a quite different personality from Peter Murphy?

Yes, very different! He was instantly enthused and has produced an eclectic body of work of his own in the more acoustic / troubadour vein. So, working from Shepard’s prose instantly appealed to him. He had also listened to ‘Radioland’ whilst driving across America’s heartland at night so understood the work well.

Peter Murphy is a one-off, a highly individual person, but also with a dark sense of humour and charisma on tap. We have known each other 40 years now and I was also in his backing band THE 100 MEN for 8 years so had performed on lots of US tours with him. We stopped working together for a long time after I left, but it was great to have co-written ‘Silver Shade’ together after a long time not working with him. His new album of the same name is brilliant.

The new album is much more electronic than its predecessor which was very acoustic, in what ways did you want the sound to be different for ‘Indian Summer’?

Yes, I feel you’re always improving the more you continue to work at something, so my skill set had improved in the 12 years between albums. As you get older, there’s fewer good things happen! But one thing is you start to want your work to reflect what you want to express and less about where does it fit in, you sort of return full circle to why you started making music in the first place. I love electronic music and have my own experimental label Loki Records which THE DARK FLOWERS album will come out on via the lovely people at Cargo Records.

What were your chosen tools for constructing the music for THE DARK FLOWERS and does it differ much from say, your more experimental solo instrumental work?

Yes, by a significant margin. THE DARK FLOWERS songs have a recognisable form, and space has to be made for the vocal, melody and lyrical narrative so the experimental edge sort of works in the margins. In my own releases I love basically fucking up sound and recombining elements. I’m a huge fan of synthesizers and sound modules / effects and create long experimental delay chains and send things back in on themselves. Various magazines have given my albums very good reviews so that’s really important to me!

There are several different vocalists on the ‘Indian Summer’ album including The Anchoress and Gabriella Cilmi, what had you heard from these two talents that made you feel they were suitable for THE DARK FLOWERS?

Well, I go way back with Catherine AD aka The Anchoress and obviously the SIMPLE MINDS connection as she became their keyboard player (after ‘Radioland’ album actually). She has a unique voice, is literary minded and loved the idea of translating prose to song lyric.

Gabriella, I had worked with previously and although best known for her big hit ‘Nothing Sweet About Me’, she is a seriously talented vocalist and her lyrics on her more folk / country related tracks pointed to a storyteller, which is perfect for THE DARK FLOWERS project.

Which are your favourite tracks on songs on ‘Indian Summer’, the ones that give you most satisfaction?

Hmmmmmm… I would say ‘Celebrate You’ featuring Shelly and ‘The Dominant Colour Is Rust’ with Jim.

Will THE DARK FLOWERS ever perform live in the future?

Not in the sense of a revue! With all the different vocalists and of course Jim Kerr and Peter Murphy are not UK residents and have genuinely successful and very busy commitments, so to have them commit to come on and sing 3 songs is a lot.

Saying that, I would love to do a very small show, with maybe vocalists, and they could sing any song from the album. That way, people would be coming to hear the album and not to see their favourite front man perform!

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Paul Statham

‘Indian Summer’ is released by Loki Records on 13th June 2025 as a vinyl LP and CD, available via Cargo at https://cargorecordsdirect.co.uk/products/the-dark-flowers-indian-summer

THE DARK FLOWERS other releases are available digitally from https://thedarkflowers.bandcamp.com/

https://www.paulstatham.com/news

https://www.facebook.com/theflowersdark

https://www.instagram.com/thedarkflowersmusic/

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
11th June 2025

THE ELECTRONIC LEGACY OF 1985

9 January 2025 /

Electronic pop music laid slightly wounded in 1985.

It was a year of transition as DEPECHE MODE did not release a new album, but consolidated with a handy compilation ‘The Singles 81-85’ although its very weak new track ‘It’s Called A Heart’ was thankfully not a sign of things to come.

Meanwhile after the critical acclaim with their debut single, the Bobby Orlando produced version of ‘West End Girls’ in 1984, PET SHOP BOYS were struggling to gain traction despite signing a deal with EMI with their first single for the label ‘Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots Of Money)’ which stalled on its first release at No116; but a re-recorded version of ‘West End Girls’ produced by Stephen Hague issued towards the end of 1985 would change fortunes in time for the start of 1986.

One of the key singles of 1985 was ‘Slave To The Rhythm’ by Grace Jones; wonderful, sun-kissed funky pop in its radio version, producer Trevor Horn took the multiple remix approach he had piloted with FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD to its zenith with the parent album. Having worked endlessy to come up with the perfect version and therefore different approaches, rather than actually do a collection of songs, why not do an album that was effectively multiple remixes and interpretations of one song?

The rise of FM synthesis, sampling and computer controlled systems during 1984, sidechained to the success of more guitar driven acts such as U2 and THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS in America, meant that traditional instruments and realistic presets were now the new badge of honour as music made with the inventive electronic sounds prevalent during Synth Britannia faced a backlash. EURYTHMICS moved away from synths to a more conventional band sound while THE SMITHS would continue to be held up by the music press as purer flagbearers of “real music” with Morrissey having already declared “there was nothing more repellent than the synthesizer…”

An early indicator of where things were heading came when ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’ was released by SIMPLE MINDS in February 1985 in the US as the theme to a new teen angst movie ‘The Breakfast Club’. Written by Steve Schiff with Keith Forsey who already had co-writes for ‘Flashdance’ and ‘Never Ending Story’ to his name, Radio1’s Richard Skinner called the song “bland” but highly FM radio friendly, it was an American No1 before the start of the Summer and was one of centrepieces of the US leg of Live Aid at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. The event coincided with an explosion in corporate rock and “DDD” music made for the up-and-coming CD format by the likes of DIRE STRAITS.

This more rock-infused but technically polished new wave sound would be key to TEARS FOR FEARS’ huge success across the Atlantic with their second album ‘Songs From The Big Chair’. It saw bands like VITAMIN Z adopting that style and they even went as far as hiring Ross Cullum who co-produced TEARS FOR FEARS debut to helm their first album ‘Rites Of Passage’; despite a UK tour opening for Midge Ure, although sales were not forthcoming, singer Geoff Barradale would later use his experience to great effect when he managed ARCTIC MONEYS and took them to stardom.

The most disappointing record of 1985 was ‘Crush’ by OMD; while producer Stephen Hague made their sound more palatable for Trans-Atlantic consumption with more guitars, piano and acoustic drums as exemplified by the uninspiring single ‘So In Love’, the inner sleeve credit of “electronic keyboards” instead of individual synths as on ‘Dazzle Ships’ and ‘Junk Culture or “synthesizers” as on previous albums was a pointer to the blanding out of this once great band for a wider audience in the US.

Despite synths being less desirable in terms of Trans-Atlantic marketability in the move away from cooler European artistry, ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK has been able to assemble a list of 20 albums seen as being part of the admittedly weaker electronic legacy of 1985. Listed in alphabetical order, there is a restriction of one album per artist moniker.

ABC How To Be A Zillionaire!

After the rockisms of ‘Beauty Stab’, the third ABC album sprung a major surprise in its New York electro flavoured lead single ‘How To Be A Millionaire’. “We saw it happening in Times Square, there were B-Boys doing that whole thing to KRAFTWERK which was just amazing. The minute the Emulator II came out, we bought one. No need to pay a Fairlight programmer £750 a day!” said Mark White; ‘Fear Of The World’ would later be sampled for the ELECTRONIC B-side ‘Lean To The Inside’.

‘How To Be A Zillionaire!’ is still available via Mercury Records

https://www.abcmartinfry.com/

A-HA Hunting High & Low

Despite being labelled a teenybop group, from the beginning A-HA were always so much more than just the catchy pop of ‘Take On Me’. Containing another three hit singles, there was the wistful ‘Hunting High & Low’ title song while ‘The Sun Always Shines On TV’ revealed a lyrical darkness as the combination of synths and edgy guitar put them in the same league as ULTRAVOX and ASSOCIATES. But ‘Living A Boy’s Adventure Tale’ was the track that outlined A-HA had longevity.

‘Hunting High & Low’ is still available via Rhino Entertainment

https://a-ha.com/

ARCADIA So Red The Rose

In response to THE POWER STATION, ARCADIA was Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and Roger Taylor’s attempt to be JAPAN, smothered in an esoteric pond of lush arty indulgence. ‘Election Day’ featuring Grace Jones could have been a DURAN DURAN song, as could ‘The Flame’ which bore a resemblance to ‘A View To A Kill’. But ‘Goodbye Is Forever’ was art funk that pointed to where DURAN DURAN would head with ‘Notorious’.

‘So Red The Rose’ is still available via EMI Music

https://duranduran.com/

ASSOCIATES Perhaps

With the departure of Alan Rankine after ‘Sulk’, Billy Mackenzie recruited Martyn Ware and Martin Rushent on its follow-up ‘Perhaps’. Although more glossy in sound, the Rushent produced ‘Waiting For The Love Boat’ could have easily come off ‘Sulk’ while ‘Those First Impressions’ produced by Ware narrowly failed to crack the UK Top40. But the epic string laden drama of ‘Breakfast’ helmed by Rushent was possibly Mackenzie’s greatest single moment.

‘Perhaps’ is still available via Warner Music

http://www.billymackenzie.com/

BLANCMANGE Believe You Me

Despite good crossover songs such as ‘Why Don’t They Leave Things Alone?’ and ‘Lorraine’s My Nurse’, with synthpop now no longer in-vogue, there was a lukewarm reception for the third BLANCMANGE album ‘Believe You Me’. With a proclamation from Neil Arthur that “I feel like I’m losin’ my mind” in the electro-funk of ‘22339’, it led to him and Luscombe calling it a day in order to protect their friendship after a show at the Royal Albert Hall.

‘Believe You Me’ is still available via London Records

https://www.blancmange.co.uk/

CHINA CRISIS Flaunt The Imperfection

Produced by Walter Becker of STEELY DAN, the influence of his band on ‘Flaunt The Imperfection’ resulted in much more of a live soulful feel with the contribution of accomplished session musicians while Gary Daly and Eddie Lundon focussed on the songwriting. Classic CHINA CRISIS songs like ‘Black Man Ray’ and ‘King In A Catholic Style’ secured two UK Top20 hits from a single album for the first time.

‘Flaunt The Imperfection’ is still available via Caroline International

https://www.facebook.com/chinacrisisofficial

DEAD OR ALIVE Youthquake

DEAD OR ALIVE looked like they’d missed the boat when their rivals FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD reached No1 with ‘Relax’. Having heard ‘You Think You’re A Man’ by Divine, Burns recruited the song’s production team of Stock, Aitken & Waterman to work on ‘You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)’ which hit the top of the UK singles chart. The eventual ‘Youthquake’ album was a mixed bag, but included another hit ‘In Too Deep’ and the gothic funk epic ‘It’s Been A Long Time’.

‘Youthquake’ is still available via Edsel Records

https://www.demonmusicgroup.co.uk/catalogue/releases/dead-or-alive-youthquake-40th-anniversary-edition-4cd/

JANSEN BARBIERI Worlds In A Small Room

After JAPAN, drummer Steve Jansen and keyboardist Richard Barbieri formed a new creative partnership. ‘Worlds In A Small Room’ was an instrumental suite commissioned by JVC to accompany a documentary about the Space Shuttle Challenger. ‘Breaking The Silence’ was a beautiful opening piece with elements recalling Ryuichi Sakamoto while the more structured ‘Moving Circles’ had a Jansen vocal added for the Japanese release’s bonus song ‘Move In Circles’.

‘Worlds In A Small Room’ is currently unavailable

https://www.stevejansen.net/

http://www.richardbarbieri.co.uk/

HOWARD JONES Dream Into Action

Thanks to the success of his debut album ‘Human’s Lib’, the follow-up ‘Dream Into Action’ was written by Howard Jones on the road by necessity; “I was writing in dressing rooms on an Akai 12 track recorder…” he said, “we were experimenting a lot so it’s a much more complex record”. There were hopeful anthems in ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ and ‘Life In One Day’ while the plaintive ‘No One Is To Blame’ would become a huge Trans-Atlantic hit in a new version produced by Phil Collins.

‘Dream Into Action’ is still available via Cherry Red Records

http://www.howardjones.com/

NEW ORDER Low-life

‘Low-life’ saw for the first time, a single ‘The Perfect Kiss’ taken from a NEW ORDER album as a compromise following a new US deal with Qwest Records. ‘Low-life’ featured several other highlights and opened with the Country ‘n’ North Western ghost story ‘Love Vigilantes’. The mighty ‘Sunrise’ was another number in the tit-for-that exchange with THE CURE which was clearly influenced by ‘A Forest’ while the brilliant ‘This Time Of Night’ exuded a throbbing post-punk growl.

‘Low-life’ is still available via Rhino

https://www.neworder.com/

GARY NUMAN The Fury

Co-produced with PPG operators The Wave Team, ‘The Fury’ was the best Gary Numan album since ‘Telekon’. Although very much with the times and in line with acts like FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD and DEAD OR ALIVE, the hard but bright digital sound complimented Numan’s downbeat lyricism. Among the highlights were ‘Call Out The Dogs’, ‘Tricks’ and ‘Miracles’ while the haunting closing track ‘I Still Remember’ was a vocal reimagining of the 1979 instrumental ‘Random’.

‘The Fury’ is still available via Eagle Records

https://garynuman.com/

PHILIP OAKEY & GIORGIO MORODER Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder

After the worldwide success of ‘Together In Electric Dreams’ and the lukewarm response to THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s ‘Hysteria’ in 1984, Virgin Records swiftly despatched Philip Oakey to record an album with Giorgio Moroder. ‘Now’ was Oakey’s heartfelt commentary on economic corruption while the thumping side one segue of ‘Why Must The Show Go On?’, ‘Good-Bye Bad Times’ and ‘Take A Chance’ was a thrilling train ride.

‘Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder’ is still available via Virgin Records

https://www.giorgiomoroder.com/

PROPAGANDA A Secret Wish

Düsseldorf’s PROPAGANDA were dubbed “ABBA in Hell”! The magnificent film noir of ‘Dr Mabuse’ was their opening salvo produced by Trevor Horn. The producer’s helm was handed over to engineer Stephen J Lipson for the album ‘A Secret Wish’. ‘Duel’ exuded an accessible ice maiden cool while the Teutonic ‘P.Machinery’ was full of state of the art technical tricks. With the lengthy and poetic ‘Dream Within A Dream’, the listener was taken on a massive sonic adventure.

‘A Secret Wish’ is still available via ZTT / BMG

https://propband.tilda.ws/

SCRITTI POLITTI Cupid & Psyche 85

The first major label SCRITTI POLITTI LP ‘Cupid & Psyche 85’ contained the 1984 Arif Mardin produced hits ‘Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)’ and ‘Absolute’, the latter also seeing input from Gary Langan and JJ Jeczalik of THE ART OF NOISE. Green Gartside embraced of mainstream dance pop and state-of-the-art studio production with new song writing partner David Gamson. Meanwhile self-produced reggae inflected ‘The Word Girl returned to sound of earlier Scritti.

‘Cupid & Psyche 85’ is still available via Virgin Records

https://www.scritti.net/

SIMPLE MINDS Once Upon A Time

After the harder new rock sound of ‘Sparkle In The Rain’ produced by Steve Lillywhite, SIMPLE MINDS brought the synths back in, albeit with a Trans-Atlantic sheen helmed by American production heavyweights Jimmy Iovine and Bob Clearmountain. Despite the modern FM rock bombast which even included a rhythm n blues flavour on ‘Sanctify Yourself’, ‘Alive & Kicking’ saw Mick McNeil’s Gaelic accordion virtuosity applied to electronic keyboards for a huge hit in the US and Europe.

‘Once Upon A Time’ is still available via Universal Music

https://www.simpleminds.com/

YUKIHIRO TAKAHASHI Once A Fool,…

“Spreading out” rather than splitting, Yukihiro Takahashi still had his YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA band mates Haruomi Hosono and Ryuichi Sakamoto playing on seventh solo album ‘Once A Fool,…’; as could be expected from Japan’s answer to Bryan Ferry, this was a sophisticated production with strong percussive backdrops. ‘Providence (Subarashiki Gensou)’ was a particularly uplifting highlight while there was also a cover of Todd Rundgren’s ‘I Saw The Light’.

‘Once A Fool,…’ is still available via TENT

http://www.ymo.org/

TEARS FOR FEARS Songs From The Big Chair

DespiteTEARS FOR FEARS adopting more guitar compared to its predecessor ‘The Hurting’, the more band oriented ‘Songs From The Big Chair’ were still characterised by electronics and rhythm programming in its backbone. Cold War angst provided the tension to ‘Shout’ and the big American driving hit ‘Everybody Wants To Rule The World’ while ‘Head Over Heels’ with its blistering synth solo was another Stateside hit, later in the 2001 psychological thriller ‘Donnie Darko’.

‘Songs From The Big Chair’ is still available via Universal Music

https://tearsforfears.com/

WINSTON TONG Theoretically Chinese

Produced by Alan Rankine, ‘Theoretically Chinese’ was as much of an electronic pop departure for Winston Tong from TUXEDMOON as Robert Görl’s ‘Night Full Of Tension’ was from DAF. The era’s inherent Cold War tensions also loomed large on the fine pulsing opener ‘Big Brother’ as well as an excellent uptempo cover of Marianne Faithfull’s ‘Broken English’ while ‘Reports From The Heart’ provided an elegant sweeping ballad.

‘Theoretically Chinese’ is still available via LTM

https://www.ltmrecordings.com/theoretically_chinese_ltmcd2382.html

MIDGE URE The Gift

Midge Ure finally took the solo album plunge with ‘The Gift’. Songs like ‘When The Wind Blows’, ‘That Certain Smile’ and the title track sounded like ULTRAVOX enough to potentially worry his bandmates. But ULTRAVOX would never have covered JETHRO TULL’s ‘Living In The Past’ or recorded the lovey-dovey UK No1 single ‘If I Was’ which was rescued from the unreleased vaults of MESSENGERS whose instrumentalist Danny Mitchell was Ure’s main collaborator on this great adventure.

‘The Gift’ is still available via Chrysalis Records

http://www.midgeure.co.uk/

YELLO Stella

‘Stella’ was the first album YELLO made without founder member Carlos Perón; Boris Blank and Dieter Meier headed towards a more cinematic style of experimental pop, making greater use of the Fairlight and digital synths. It included the delightful ‘Vicious Games’ featuring vocals by Rush Winters but the album’s biggest track was ‘Oh Yeah’ which ended up in ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’, ‘The Secret of My Success’ and ‘The Simpsons’.

‘Stella’ is still available via Universal Music

https://www.yello.com/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
9th January 2025

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