Need a fix? Get it from The Fixx!
The band was formed by singer Cy Curnin, and drummer Adam Woods in 1979, initially calling themselves Portraits. The friends would place an ad for musicians, eventually meeting and recruiting keyboardist Rupert Greenall, guitarist Tony McGrail and bassist Russell McKenzie, the last of whom was later replaced by Charlie Barrett.
As Portraits, they released two singles through Ariola Records, after which, McGrail left, and was replaced by Jamie West-Orman. In the process, they changed their name to The Fix and began releasing singles through 101 Records, as well as being featured on numerous compilation albums by the label. This would garner the attention of MCA Records who were keen to sign the band, but worried their name would be associated with drug use. A compromise was reached to add an additional "X" to the name, and thus The Fixx were born.
Their 1982 debut, Shuttered Room, would feature early hits, Red Skies and Stand Or Fall, but the album as a whole would not crack the top fifty in any countries. Barrett departed shortly after its release, with Alfie Agius stepping in to cover the subsequent tour. Though he would stay with them, being credit on writing of all tracks for their 1983 follow-up, Reach The Beach, he departed during those sessions. Dan K. Brown would step in to finish the job and ultimately join the band.
Ironically, Reach The Beach would go on to be their most successful album of all time, going platinum in both Canada and the USA. With it would come their number four Billboard Hot 100 Hit, One Thing Leads To Another. This was followed by Saved By Zero, which peaked at number twenty, and The Sign Of Fire, which landed at number thirty-two. So, file that one under oops Agius.
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Thinks kick off with the hit, One Thing Leads To Another, which admittedly sets the bar rather high right out of the gate for this album. Things stay steadily good, with Saved By Zero becoming my next shuffle worthy track.
With that said, I dig this album a lot. Whether the track is up tempo, or slowed down, the haunting vocals of Cy Curnins cut through each song, grabbing you and pulling you in.
In short, this was a fantastic listening session, and I'm all about jumping into their next release. I would definitely say that I'm a fan, and I may even consider this one for the wall. For those of you not in the know, the wall stands for an album that I think is perfect from front to back, necessitating a first pressing be obtained, framed, and put up on my wall.
Reach The Beach would be the band's last album to chart in the UK, and with subsequent albums, they'd begin to see an overall decline in album sales and charting. This all starts to unfold with 1984's Phantoms, which I'll dive into tomorrow.
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And now, 31 Days Of Halloween!
If I'm being honest, I've never seen the Phantasm series. It's simply here today because it's an iconic horror franchise of the seventies and eighties. It's one I need to get around to.
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