In the summer of 1985, I worked in the cassette department of Tower Records in New York City. A few months before, my girlfriend of a year told me at a birthday party that I threw for her, that she was sleeping with somebody else. Later, when I asked why she left me, she answered, “You’re too nice. I need somebody a little meaner.”

Still carrying the burden of broken promises and a shattered heart when I met my Tower’s Records co-worker Barry Walters. A student at NYU, Barry also wrote music reviews for the Village Voice. While stacking shelves, he and I would get into these long discussions about pop music. Perhaps picking-up on my melancholy nature, he introduced me to the two discs that became my favorites of 1985: Bryan Ferry’s wonderful Boys and Girls and Prefab Sprout’s brilliant Steve McQueen aka Two Wheels Good.

While I admired Ferry’s laid back cool, it was the Prefab’s bitterly charming singer/songwriter Paddy McAloon with whom I connected as his compositions “When Loves Break Down,” “Horsin’ Around” and “Appetite” became my instant musical manifestos of post-teen misery. With each subsequent album, Paddy and Prefab’s sound only got better, richer and more ambitious. In addition, it was from reading interviews with Paddy in various Brit-pop newspapers that got me into listening to George Gershwin and Cole Porter.


to read the rest, please go here: http://blackadelicpop.blo...prout.html

Great band.
Part of their sound should be credited to the great Thomas Dolby who produced Steve McQueen/Two Wheels Good.

paligap can read you chapter and verse on them.


A few from another Dolby produced album Jordan: The Comeback...



...One of the Broken & Machine Gun Ibiza




...Ice Maiden & Scarlet Nights





Music for adventurous listeners

tA

Tribal Records

Thanks for this post. They're my all-time favourite band. His music manages to be both melancholic and uplifting at the same time like only some privileged musicians can do (Pet Shop Boys, for example).

Love them, love them...

when love breaks down and king of rock n roll are two of the greatest songs ever. and then cars and girls. fantastic underrated stuff