Album Essentials: A Flock of Seagulls
By Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor
Oh my, the 1980s. Radio, video... boogie with a suitcase. We got the beat of a Mexican radio gaga. It was a lot to take in. And that’s just the tunes. Never mind the follicles—here's A Flock of Seagulls.
Yes, sad to say, hair reigned supreme from the over-poofed and primped styles of the early part of the decade to the MHO (maximum hairspray overdose) of the later years. Many times, it masked an inferior product, padding questionable sounds with distracting scissor wizardry. Other times, it was simply a questionable foray into, um, fashion—yeah, fashion. Oh my, the 1980s. Enough ridicule, as the band in the spotlight here could have easily done without such hair-raising antics. The debut album from A Flock of Seagulls had the tunes to back it up and stand on its own merits.
One might find it odd, but the roots (no pun intended) of A Flock of Seagulls date back to the progressive rock era. The duo that produced the band’s debut album was each part of significant forces of that era. Mike Howlett was an Australian musician who landed in London in the mid-1970s, joining the legendary band Gong in 1973. After a four-year run with them, he formed the short-lived band Strontium 90, which included Sting, Andy Summers, and Stewart Copeland before they became the Police. Meanwhile, the other man behind the board on some of the A Flock of Seagulls sessions was none other than Bill Nelson of Be Bop Deluxe fame. Following Be Bop's disbanding, Nelson dove headfirst into the new wave currently happening, especially the frantic energy of bands like XTC. He formed his own take on the style under the name Red Noise before making a run of solo albums all informed by the 'modern music' he had, in part, helped shape with Be Bop Deluxe. Howlett would go on to produce significant bands like OMD, Gang of Four, the Alarm, and Joan Armatrading, among others, while Nelson has maintained a strong solo career for decades.
With all that behind them, A Flock of Seagulls took flight, straight out of Liverpool, England, releasing their debut single, "(It's Not Me) Talking," in the spring of 1981. The Nelson-produced 7" was released on his own Cocteau label prior to the band signing with major Jive Records. It set the stage for what this band was all about: modern, catchy, futuristic pop music for the new decade. Though encased in the new technology and gloss available, the songs were simple and informed by rock and pop’s past. A follow-up single, "Telecommunication," was issued that fall and became a college radio hit of sorts in the US, with Nelson’s sharp and striking production making a great-sounding record over the airwaves. Mind you, this all happened before most had any idea of who this band was or what they looked like—an all that would change with single number three and their arrival on MTV.
When "I Ran (So Far Away)" hit MTV, it became a mini sensation, making the Top 10 in America. The first of the Howlett-produced tracks, his style was a bit more spacious and cinematic, which only aided the visual aspect as the video gained heavy rotation. The next single, "Space Age Love Song," followed a similar path but failed to crack the Top 20. Other album tracks such as "Modern Love Is Automatic," "Don't Ask Me," and "Messages" kept things alive via college radio, but it was the visual aspect of the band that truly sold them to the mass market. Though ultimately kind of a curse they could never shake, their exaggerated style, primarily of singer/keyboardist Mike Score, certainly got them attention. We wouldn’t be talking about them or their music if they didn’t have the songs to make it all work.
Though they may have had loftier ideas when they began, the songs were catchy, enjoyable, and can still bring a smile and a foot-tap 40-plus years later. That’s what good pop music is supposed to do, and there is no shame in 'pop music' when it’s done right. For "I Ran" to sit alongside the likes of "Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes," "Indian Giver," "Knock Three Times," and so on is no simple task—and it does so just fine.