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MODERN ENGLISH - RICOCHET DAYS and STOP START

Release years: 1984 and 1986
Cuts on covers: Both the Warners' Saw Cut
US Chart Peaks: #93 and #154
(UK Indie Chart Peak for Ricochet Days: #5 - No mainstream UK album placement)

After their turn in the spotlight in the 80's, Modern English have been here and there, peeping around, enjoying their strong standing in the music scene's New Wave memories with a small following reportedly still active with the odd release every now and then (most recent is 2010's Soundtrack). in a way, you can't really fault them for turning into a short lived Pop machine that released catchy sounds on a regular basis for a couple of years after their debut album Mesh and Lace caused little interest in 1981 despite a promising Indie Top 10 placement and struggling to find some kind of audience. Still their two albums after After the Snow still spark some interest with fevered New Pop fans who wanted to know just after "I Melt With You" gave them a much deserved iconic hit.

Introducing the Band: Robbie Grey is their leader, Gary McDowell is the Guitarist with a bad fashion sense, and at the Production Boards for their 4AD records was Hugh Jones. Rounding up the band were Michael Conroy (B), Richard Brown (D), and Stephen Walker (K).

To give you a pre-history, before they "Melt"-ed into the US New Wave scene, this was the band before smoothing out the edges. Even then, there was a Pop sound hidden behind the arty moves. They had the Post-Punk sound down, but not very convincingly.



They were on 4AD, which after being a start up label for bands aimed for Beggar's Banquet (This was where Goth legends Bauhaus entered the BB history) was fast moving into becoming one of THE definitive Indie labels of The 80's - With a roster that included Cocteau Twins, The Birthday Party, Wolfgang Press, Dead Can Dance, Throwing Muses, The Pixies, and the 4AD artists collective This Mortal Coil and collections including Lonely as a Eyesore, you knew that this was serious business. It was serious enough to see the increasingly Pop-centric Modern English to be shoved aside.

By their next album in 1982's After the Snow, Modern English, turned out to be the label's Pop kids having to face the facts in The UK that being on 4AD was a little tricky for them - Too Pop for the Serious Gothic and Indie crowd who bought 4AD on a regular basis and being on a label that the Pop side of the UK media possibly did not want to really know about even if some of their songs would have made strong impressions on the radio. Still, when you have a song like "I Melt With You" turn into something that still gets airplay around the world (even if it actually charted at #18 UK Indie with no Mainstream chart peeping) and still retain credibility despite all of the re-recordings, movie placements, and commercial use, it's good to have the last laugh in the end. Their 1982 album may not have been an Indie smash (only a small appearance peaking at #15), but it did OK in The US (#70 with a quick rise and fall of about four months) with the hit single turning into an iconic song of the year, despite only going to #78, which was enough to think of a move to The States.

To skip the over-played song I'm sure you have heard a million (deserved) times already, here's something to make this a real report and not another mountain of words, here's the UK Indie #43 single "Someone's Calling" which was the "I Melt With You" follow-up from After the Snow, to show that the album had some strong merit beyond the hit despite dodgy videos which was possibly the major stumbling block of the band...



Now onto the albums in review!

While their US following was running smooth as silk, things were a little shaky back home. As there was some notice with "I Melt With You" stirring up the Stateside scene, things could have been a little better in England as they had the hooks to break through although they were in a growing mountain of New Pop bands that went under-performing after aiming for the big time (Remember this Journal's report on the "CS Angels"?). There was the potential, although they could have done with better videos, and their first 1984 video did not change things while album #3, Ricochet Days, was about to be unleashed.




Starting off their 1984 account in March was "Chapter 12" which did as well as "I Melt..." there, but that's both the good news and the bad news. Promoted with one of those "Band trying to look serious in the cold weather" things, you could say that things were not looking too good despite the music still New Wave Top Pop as ever with those slightly Post-Punk Guitar and Bass sounds adding a nice touch. Still, achieving another Indie Top 20 which did not even grace the main charts only added to the pain of trying to break through while the album actually regained their Indie Top 10 status briefly but again not troubling the big chart.

Then around the next month, there was the trouble of having yet another classy single with an even worse video to promote the album in The States in "Hands Across the Sea", with the song filled with that Acoustic feel that made "I Melt With You" a Pop treat. Sadly, in a possible case of Blame the Director, this was a case that Videos with Pop bands and kids was never a wise move, even with good intentions. Plus, the song did not grace the UK Indie Singles chart as it was possibly due to it being not with the Gothic Doom and Gloom and the Wanna-Be Smiths attitude that was trendy at the time in Indie-land while the US chart placement was only down to #91 circa Apr. for a one month stay...not a good sign!



In 1984, it looked like that they were going to be one of THOSE 80's bands - Not so well known in The UK, better known in the US but still winding up something of a one-hit wonder that was pushed aside by the time MTV developed their superstars. There were some fine songs on Ricochet Days, but there was some trouble in trying to convince a lot of people who only go by the last video and move with the trends about this, although the increasingly twee nature of some of them was also another problem. The album wound up doing #93 in The States on a three month sighting, only to wind up in the Cut Outs very soon.




After many years, fans of the 4AD era had a chance to hear what was happening by this time. Again, this is filed in the "you can't blame them" department as the band aimed for higher ground as they moved to Sire completely after possibly seeing themselves as small priority over at the legendary Indie. There may have been some hints with this final recording for them...



...which then turned into this.



Then the problems really started.

A change in sound was now in order...or possibly ordered by Sire after seeing a lot of it's New Pop bands fall by the wayside by 1984 (I'm sure Seymour Stein was not happy that the once world-conquering Soft Cell went into more interesting worlds as their sales slipped big.). Through a quiet 1985, and a prominent change in base in NYC, they wound up on the main label and went to work on their Mid-80's album that would sink the band quick. True, there's fans of Stop Start, but it's convincing that they love that BIG BIG 80'S SOUND - filled with Treble. With album #4, I heard a band that was willing to do anything to make sure they were going to continue while losing their unique edge as they sounded like any other band by this time...with bad videos and a guitarist that looked like Long John Silver's lost cousin.

Still, let this be a warning, this song will hook you. It's a Big 80's Sound with everything in place.




As 1986 rolled around, dropping off Brown and a change of Keyboardist to Aaron Davidson rounding out the band, Modern English turned out one of the many Quick to Cut Out Land albums of the year, and it's first single, "Ink and Paper", this time written in collaboration with the Rubinoos (and with a dash of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run" thrown in), showed that the plan to Pop which worked a charm the first time around back in '82 was their ruin in '86 despite a halfway decent single in there. Was there anything else good about this album other than the last 4AD era song given a new production? To me, with one 80's song after another coming at you loud without any substance to back them up and with 80's Guitar solos all around, not really.

OK, I might have been harsh, and there are moments where the Modern English harmonies show up, but truth is truth. Still, as a credit reader, it was nice to see Gary Barnacle, Horn player to the British New Pop stars, getting another gig on this album. See, I'm not THAT judgmental!



So what happened after? A move to TVT who unfortunately forced them to re-record "I Melt With You" for their failed comeback Pillow Lips album, a move to Imago for 1996's Everything's Mad, the usual retrospectives (The 4AD released one is the one to go for!), many live shows with Grey and a new line-up, and 2010's Soundtrack that got a good write up in AMG. While all of this was happening, "I Melt With You" still gets played and possibly offers the original line-up some nice change from time to time (Written by Modern English read the credit!). Despite having that sad Mid 80's fall off, the end of the story was not bad for an iconic one-hit wonder that had more to offer.

Well, as you traveled this far into my report, here's that song. Plus, it's straight from the 4AD You Tube list. They have every right to be proud (despite, once again, a very dodgy...aah, forget it, it's iconic, the song's great, that's all that matters!).