With the departure of their guitarist, Paul Reynolds during their tour in 1984, A Flock Of Seagulls were at a crossroads. Deciding to move forward as a trio brought came with big changes, and perhaps too large to feasibly carry on.
Brothers Mike and Ali Score wanted to relocate from the UK to America, and agreeable to it at first, Frank Maudsley came with them. Moving to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania started off positive, with a series of sold-out shows. However, deep down, Maudsley wasn't happy. He was in a strange place, with not friends or family, and wanted to go home. Packing his things, he returned to the UK.
During this time, rifts between the Score brothers began to surface, resulting in constant fighting. Though on opposite sides of the world, Maudsley would do his best to keep things going, pushing the band to communicate.
When they finally returned to the studio, Mike initially envisioned his next album as a solo effort. However, the label convinced him that it would go further as a Seagulls release. Despite this, the contributions from the other members were minimal. Ali would only play on three songs, and Maudsley four. They would all last work together on the music videos for Who's That Girl (She's Got It), and Heartbeat Like a Drum, and then disbanded.
Critically, Dream Come True was a massive failure, not charting anywhere, and producing no successful singles. It was labeled uninspired, depressing, and ineffective, with boring lyrics with no substance. In short, people hated it.
So, if that doesn't set expectations incredibly low, I don't know what will.
.jpg)
Much like my previous listening sessions through their discography, I have to scratch my head and ask, "What album was the critics listening to?" Things start off incredibly well with Better & Better, and Heartbeat Like A Drum. Candidly, if the latter doesn't get you tapping your toes, there's something wrong with you.
Playing through the first half of the album, I found nothing to complain about. Each track was full of high energy, and great instrumentation. Things actually don't slow down until the final track of side two.
Granted, you're not going to find top forty hits on Dream Cone True, and I'm okay with that. Good music is good music, regardless of what the masses think. Personally, I find this one to be an overlooked gem. Frankly, it's priced as such too.
A lot of times my knee jerk reactions to obtain a specific artist's discography blows up in my face, and I find myself down an expensive rabbit hole that doesn't pay off. While A Flock Of Seagulls can be pricy for some of their albums, overall, this was a good purchase. Ultimately, I walk away a new fan of their work, something that really surprised me, as I wasn't expecting that at all. Not bad for a band who's biggest hit single I used to not like.
Mike would form a new band in 1994 and release a new album under the banner A Flock Of Seagulls in 1995. Unfortunately, it fared no better than the last, being labeled, "dull, tedious and embarrassing to listen to."
After another three years, Mike would form yet another band, this time sticking to touring, with the exception of the one-off recording of Madonna's This Used To Be My Playground for her tribute album. All and all, the singer seemed content. So much so, that when he was asked to take part in a reunion for VH1's Band's Reunited in 2003, he stated he had a good band already. Regardless, he relented, and all four original members came back together for a one-off show. This was followed by a reunion tour in 2004.
In 2018, all four members would return to the studio for the first time since 1984, and release Ascension, which was met with fairly positive reviews. Since then, they've stuck it out, releasing two more albums to date, String Theory (2021), and Some Dreams (2024).
So, there you go. Dreams come true. A happy ending for A Flock Of Seagulls! With that, we close out 2025 on a high note...well, Retro Spin wise, anyway.
Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.
Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.
No comments:
Post a Comment