May 31, 2017

RhoDeo 1722 Aetix

Hello,



Today's artists were started by Mike Score and his brother Ali in 1979 in Liverpool. Mike, who was previously a hairdresser, played keyboards, guitar, and vocals, Ali played drums and their friend fellow hairdresser Frank Maudsley played bass. The band took their name from a line in the song "Toiler on the Sea" by The Stranglers, which appears on their album Black and White.They added guitarist Paul Reynolds and began writing songs, playing clubs and trying to land a record contract. The group released its debut EP on Bill Nelson's Cocteau Records early in 1981, and while the record failed to chart, its lead track, "Telecommunication," became an underground hit in Euro-disco and new wave clubs.....N'Joy

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A Flock of Seagulls was started by Mike Score in 1980 in Liverpool. The band's name was taken from The Stranglers song "Toiler on the Sea", according to Mike Score. The inaugural line-up of the band featured Mike, who was previously a hairdresser, on keyboards and lead vocals, Ali Score on drums, and Frank Maudsley on bass. The band added Willie Woo on guitar; and then brought in Mark Edmondson to replace Ali on drums when the Score brothers had a falling out. Not long afterwards, Edmondson departed to make way for a returning Ali; and shortly thereafter Woo departed the band and was replaced by teenager Paul Reynolds (of the band Cindysbeentrippin), who had been a close friend of Edmondson, at the behest of Maudsley; thus creating the band's classic line-up. After practising above Score's hair salon, the band started playing clubs and eventually got a recording contract.

Eventually, under the management of Tommy Crossan and Mick Rossi (Checkmount Limited), they began to release singles through Jive Records. The group released their debut single 'Talking' (produced by Nelson), on Bill Nelson's Cocteau label. They were then signed to major label Jive, distributed through CBS records, where they released their second single 'Telecommunication'. The single was also produced by Nelson and became a club hit. Their third release was the EP 'Modern Love is Automatic'. Originally released as a 4 track EP on both 7" and 12", the 12" edition was soon reissued adding 'Telecommunication'. This 5 track EP was also their first release in the U.S. In 1982, the group's fourth single 'I Ran (So Far Away)', produced by Mike Howlett, the former bass player of the band Gong, became a worldwide hit, reaching number 1 in Australia and the Top 10 in both the US and New Zealand. Their debut album and another single, 'Space Age Love Song', were both also successful. In late 1982, the band finally found major success in their home country with 'Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)', the first single from their next album Listen, which reached the Top 10. Later, the band was praised for having broken the ground for other musical acts during the advent of the video music area, but as it turned out, 1982 was the peak year of their commercial and critical success.

Three more singles were released from Listen in 1983, including a re-recorded version of their debut single '(It's Not Me) Talking', but they were only minor successes in the UK and abroad. Faced with disappointment, the group changed direction from their Science Fiction themes and produced a more conceptual emotion based third album in 1984 called The Story of a Young Heart, with 'The More You Live, the More You Love' as the lead single. Despite heavy rotation on MTV and other music video shows at that time, the single was only moderately successful, but the album's other two singles – 'Never Again (The Dancer)' and 'Remember David' (released only in a few European counties) – did not make any headway. Faced with sliding sales and a loss of direction, the band continued to consider their options whilst touring. During this period, Paul Reynolds left the band, and was replaced by Gary Steadman; with the band bringing in keyboardist Chris Chryssaphis at the same time to augment their sound. Both would stay in the band for the sessions during which their next album, Dream Come True (released in 1985 in the UK and 1986 in the USA), would be recorded, but would depart thereafter.

Brothers Mike and Ali Score decided that they wanted to base the band out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With past success in the USA, both brothers thought leaving the UK and a new life in America was a perfect solution. With the popularity of the first two albums and the name "A Flock of Seagulls" still having some equity, they had 4 straight sell-out shows in Philadelphia. Mike, Ali and Maudsley all applied for and were conditionally awarded green cards based on celebrity status under the O-1 work visa. The conditional approval was granted to all three, who settled in Philadelphia. However, shortly after moving to the states, and whilst recording Dream Come True, Maudsley became disillusioned with living in a strange city; he had no family in the USA. Missing the UK, he ultimately returned to England following the completion of the album. Mike and Ali stayed in Philadelphia and satisfied the terms of the visa. With Frank in Britain and the brothers in the USA the band appeared to be splitting into two camps; whereas in fact, it was actually Frank Maudsley who kept the band communicating. Ultimately, the brothers had a falling out which resulted in the band dissolving in 1986; shortly after the US release of Dream Come True.

Mike Score initially reformed the band in 1988 in Philadelphia under the name A Flock of Seagulls with a line-up composed of himself along with numerous local musicians; consisting of guitarists Ed Berner and Dave Maerz, bass guitarist, Mike Radcliffe, keyboardist Mike Railton, and drummers' Kaya Pryor and Jonte Wilkins. This line-up expanded the following year to include drummer Mike Marquart; but was then reduced to a five-piece band consisting of Score, Berner, Pryor, Radcliffe, and Railton; and it was this line-up which released the single "Magic" that same year.

In 1994 the band's line-up changed again; this time to a formation consisting of Score, Berner, and new recruits A.J. Mazzetti (drums) and Dean Pichette (bass guitar). This line-up recorded the band's most recent album, The Light at the End of the World, in 1996, but the album failed to chart.

In 1998 Berner, Mazzetti, and Pichette departed the band and were replaced by Joe Rodriguez, Darryl Sons, and Rob Wright respectively. In 1999 the band re-recorded the Madonna song "This Used to Be My Playground" for the 2000 Madonna tribute album The World's Greatest 80s Tribute to Madonna. In November 2003 the original line-up of Mike and Ali Score, Paul Reynolds and Frank Maudsley reunited for a one-off performance on the VH1 series Bands Reunited. In September 2004 they reformed again and did a brief tour in the United States. Though the tour continued to be advertised as the "original lineup", later shows no longer included the reunited band but was Mike Score's continuation of the original band; which by this point consisted of Score, Rodriguez, and new recruits Michael Brahm (drums), and Pando (bass guitar). This line-up of the band has gone unchanged since that time.

On 4 February 2013 Score indicated via his YouTube account that he was pursuing his solo career. He released the singles "All I Wanna Do" in February 2013, and "Somebody Like You" in January 2014. On 1 March 2014, Score released a solo album, Zeebratta.

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The Liverpool quintet A Flock of Seagulls first gained attention in the dance clubs with "Telecommunication," included on this debut release. The band benefited from heavy play on MTV and quickly became known for their outrageous fashion and lead singer Mike Score's waterfall-like haircut. However, their self-titled debut is an enjoyable romp that was set apart from other synth-heavy acts of the time by Paul Reynolds' unique guitar style. The kinetic "I Ran (So Far Away)" became a video staple and a Top Ten radio hit. "A Space Age Love Song," with its synthesizer washes and echo-laden guitar, also managed to score at radio. The rest of the album consists of hyperactive melodies, synthesizer noodlings, and electronic drumming. The lyrics are forgettable. In fact, they rarely expand on the song titles, but its all great fun and a wonderful collection of new wave ear candy.



A Flock Of Seagulls - Flock Of Seagulls (flac  371mb)

01 Modern Love Is Automatic 3:49
02 Messages 2:52
03 I Ran 5:06
04 Space Age Love Song 3:47
05 You Can Run 4:26
06 Telecommunication 2:32
07 Standing In The Doorway 4:41
08 Don't Ask Me 2:46
09 D.N.A. 2:31
10 Tokyo 2:55
11 Man Made 5:41
Bonus
12 Pick Me Up 3:07
13 Windows 3:31
14 Tanglimara 4:31
15 Intro 3:24

A Flock Of Seagulls - Flock Of Seagulls   (ogg  133mb)

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Following their gold-selling Top 10 debut, A Flock of Seagulls returned in 1983 with Listen. Mike Howlett again handled the production chores, but the band errantly chose to pursue even more reliance on electronics, which gives Listen a bit of a sterile feel. Nonetheless, there are still several tracks here that are as strong as their debut, even if, as a whole, the album isn't as consistent. Listen spawned only one hit, but it's a gem; the multi-layered, hypnotic "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)." Other standouts include the eerie, moody "Nightmares" with its sparse guitar and synthesizer squawks, and a surprisingly effective ballad "Transfer Affection." Ultimately, the band loses the plot on the second half, when they seem to forget melodies and focus on hardware; although the Bill Nelson-produced "(It's Not Me) Talking" is a bracing, breakneck tempo return to their interest in aliens.



A Flock Of Seagulls - Listen (flac 460mb)

01 Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You) 5:34
02 Nightmares 4:39
03 Transfer Affection 5:23
04 What Am I Supposed To Do 4:13
05 Electrics 3:37
06 The Traveller 3:27
07 2:30 1:00
08 Over The Border 5:04
09 The Fall 4:30
10 (It's Not Me) Talking 5:01
Bonus
11 Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You) (Extended Version) 9:13
12 Committed 5:38
13 Nightmares (12" Version) 5:05
14 Quicksand 4:44
15 Tanglimara 4:31

A Flock Of Seagulls - Listen   (ogg  171mb)

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Faced with declining sales and a sound that was already becoming considered passé, A Flock of Seagulls retooled a bit for their third album, The Story of a Young Heart. Steve Lovell stepped into the producer's role and the band eased up on its heavily synthesized approach for more of a Europop feel, to no avail. The less cluttered, more polished sound of album is undermined by the limited vocal ability of singer Mike Score. His monotone delivery fails to imbue the songs with any warmth. "The More You Live, the More You Love" is as good as anything they've done and gave the band one final chart hit. Otherwise, the best stuff is near the end and sounds most reminiscent of their debut. "Over My Head" and "Heart of Steel" bound along but sound thin. However, they almost recapture their hyperkinetic glory with "Remember David." The Story of a Young Heart is the sound of a band slowly losing momentum.



 A Flock Of Seagulls - The Story Of A Young Heart (flac 501mb)

01 The Story Of A Young Heart 6:06
02 Never Again (The Dancer) 5:05
03 The More You Live, The More You Love 4:10
04 European (I Wish I Was) 4:26
05 Remember David 4:06
06 Over My Head 3:55
07 Heart Of Steel 5:45
08 The End 3:34
09 Suicide Day 5:23
Bonus
10 The More You Live, The More You Love 4:13
11 The More You Live, The More You Love (Full Moon Mix) 6:16
12 Lost Control (Totally) 4:12
13 Never Again (The Dancer) (7" Version) 3:45
14 Never Again (The Dancer) (12" Dance Mix) 5:17
15 Living In Heaven 5:32
16 Remember David (7" Version) 4:06

A Flock Of Seagulls - The Story Of A Young Heart   (ogg  183mb)

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Breathing new life into bands who disappeared before their time, once again placing this band as a trail blazer on the musical frontier. It is by no accident that the largest percentage of fans are coming from the gothic and industrial underground. This scene has often been at the cutting edge of introspective art in a world that is dark and alienating, not unlike some of the Seagulls lyrics. An incredible collection of new versions of these career spanning songs, energetically and progressively mixed by such Gothic Industrial stalwarts such as Pigface, KMFDM, Mission UK, Spahn Ranch, and Die Krupps. Futuristic and intense music you might hear in a Blade Runner world! These are intense (Gothic) Rock epics, which I differentiate from 'Industrial' because of the melodic and textural electric guitar playing, utilizing also a percussive sampled approach on "Space Age Love Song (KMFDM mix)". Whether one is an old fan or new, this remix project is recommended for its timeliness and great dance beats. It remains and additional testament for a band who reflects its namesake, ever striving for a higher ground and flying above the others, undaunted by obstacles and changing climates.



A Flock Of Seagulls - Greatest Hits Remixed (flac  459mb)
 
01 I Ran (Die Krupps Remix) 3:46
02 Space Age Love Song (KMFDM Remix) 4:50
03 The More You Live (Mission UK Remix) 4:51
04 Telecommunication (JLAB Remix) 3:04
05 Wishing (Intra-Venus Remix) 5:00
06 Messages (Interface Remix) 4:52
07 The Traveller (Julian Beeston Remix) 5:00
08 Burning Up (Pigface Remix) 4:05
09 Wishing (LCD Remix) 4:42
10 Nightmares (Interfaith Psi-Fix Remix) 4:59
11 Rainfall (Spahn Ranch Remix) 4:32
12 I Ran (Pistel Remix) 5:00
13 Space Age Love Song (Astralasia Remix) 4:56

A Flock Of Seagulls - Greatest Hits Remixed   (ogg  147mb)

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4 comments:

  1. Bollocks to whoever wrote the "losing momentum" bit about Story Of A Young Heart. (I'm assuming that was pasted from somewhere?) An incredibly underrated album from an incredibly underrated band. Paul Reynolds, especially, was a truly individual and outstanding quitarist.

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  2. Anon i'm afraid Paul Reynolds would agree that his band lost momentum and so he decided to leave after Story Of A Young Heart. Remember the writing here is decades after the fact. Clearly you are a fan, that's ok but you must understand that such tends to cloud your 'vision'.

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  3. You might have a point, except for the fact that I've been championing this album since, literally, the day it came out. So when it comes to "clouded vision", I would respectfully (though that part is hard sometimes) suggest that the view of someone from decades after the fact - who wasn't there to begin with - could be a bit "misty" as well.

    None of that directed at you personally, mind you - just saying.

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  4. Well anon you might be surprised that these Flock vinyls can be found in my cabinet, bought at the time, but opinions tend to shift and as this blog makes clear there's so much much more out there to N "Joy

    ReplyDelete