A Flock of Seagulls
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A Flock of Seagulls |
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A Flock of Seagulls (also known as Flock of Seagulls) are a British Grammy Award-winning band originally formed by brothers Michael "Mike" Score (keyboards, vocals) and Alister "Ali" James Score (drums), with Frank Maudsley (bass) and Paul Reynolds (guitar).
The group had a string of international hit singles including "I Ran (So Far Away)", "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)" and "The More You Live, The More You Love", and became notable in the 1980s for their MTV video for the song "I Ran (So Far Away)".
History
A Flock of Seagulls was 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 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.[3] The band added guitarist Willie Woo, and Mark Edmondson joined briefly when Ali and Mike had a falling out; however, Ali re-joined when Mark took ill. They then began writing songs. Soon after, Willie left, allowing Paul Reynolds to join. They then 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 an EP and a couple of singles, 'Its Not Me Talking' and 'Telecommunication' on Bill Nelson's 'Cocteau' label; both tracks produced by Nelson. In 1982 the group's third single "I Ran (So Far Away)" became a worldwide hit, most notably reaching number 1 in Australia and the top 10 in the US and New Zealand (where the band became popular). The parent album A Flock of Seagulls and another single "Space Age Love Song" were also successful. In late 1982 the band found major success in their home country with "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)" (first single from their next album) which reached the top 10.[4] As it turned out, 1982 would prove to be the peak year of their commercial and critical success. The band is regarded as breaking the ground for other musical acts during the advent of the video music area.[5]
1983 saw the release of three singles to back their second album Listen. Each was only a minor success in the UK and abroad. The album bore a heavily processed electronic sound that was a break from the Duran Duran guitar and bass driven sound of their début. Faced with disappointment the group produced a third album in 1984 that leant closer to a guitar sound. "The More You Live, The More You Love" was The Story of a Young Heart's lead single. It was moderately successful, despite having production that recalled their breakout hit "I Ran". The album's other two singles - "Never Again (The Dancer)" and "Remember David" - didn't make any headway.
Faced with sliding sales and a loss of direction following the third album the group relocated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania minus Paul Reynolds. Eventually in 1985 the group released a new album; Dream Come True. Despite having a new sound based around the Fairlight Synthesizer the album was critically panned and a commercial failure. The remaining members fell out and A Flock Of Seagulls in its original incarnation disbanded. In promotion of Dream Come True, two videos - "Who's That Girl" and "Heartbeat Like a Drum" - were filmed in quick succession. These two videos were the last time the three remaining members were together in a recording or performance capacity until 2003.
For the next 18 years, Mike Score worked with various musicians under the Flock Of Seagulls banner, playing live gigs and occasionally issuing new recordings. In 1989, the group released a single called "Magic" which did not chart. The follow-up album (The Light at the End of the World) which included the single did not appear until 1995, and similarly did not chart.
In November 2003, the original line-up (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 played a small number of live shows in the United States, but broke up immediately afterward. Mike Score continues to tour with other musicians as A Flock Of Seagulls.
Although parodied in later years, the band is now recognized as a pioneering act, capturing the zeitgeist of their time, particularly with multi-layered hits such as "Space Age Love Song", Telecommunication and Modern Love is Automatic.[6]
Personnel
Original line-up (1979–1984)
- Frank Maudsley — Bass
- Paul Reynolds — Guitar
- Alister "Ali" James Score — Drums
- Michael "Mike" Score — Keyboards, Vocals
Discography
Studio Albums
| Year | Album | Chart Positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.K[7] | DEU[8] | SE | U.S[9] | AUS[10] | ||
| 1981 | Modern Love Is Automatic EP
|
– | – | – | – | – |
| 1982 | A Flock of Seagulls
|
32 | 26 | 32 | 10 | 19 |
| 1983 | Listen
|
16 | 14 | 44 | 16 | 90 |
| 1984 | The Story of a Young Heart
|
30 | 31 | – | 67 | – |
| 1985 | Dream Come True
|
– | – | – | – | – |
| 1995 | The Light at the End of the World
|
– | – | – | – | – |
Compilation albums
- The Best Of A Flock Of Seagulls 1991
- 20 Classics Of The 80's 1995
- Wishing (compilation album) 1996
- The Best Of A Flock Of Seagulls (Import) 1998
- Greatest Hits Remixed 1999
- I Ran (live album) 1999
- Platinum & Gold Collection 2003
- Essential New Wave 2003
- I Ran: The Best Of A Flock Of Seagulls 2003
- We Are The 80's 2006
- Space Age Love Songs 2008
- Playlist: The Very Best Of A Flock Of Seagulls (compilation album) 2008
Singles
| Year | Title | Album | Chart Positions | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.K.[7] | U.K. Indie[11] | AUS[10] | DEU[8] | IRL[12] | NZ[13] | U.S[14] | ||||||
| Hot 100 | MSR | Dance Club Play | ||||||||||
| 1981 | "(It's Not Me) Talking" | — | – | 45 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| "Telecommunication" | A Flock of Seagulls | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 19 | ||
| 1982 | "I Ran (So Far Away)" | 43 | – | 1 | 31 | – | 7 | 9 | 3 | 8 | ||
| "Space Age Love Song" | 34 | – | 68 | – | – | 31 | 30 | 59 | – | |||
| "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)" | Listen | 10 | – | 46 | 37 | 6 | 33 | 26 | 3 | 62 | ||
| 1983 | "(It's Not Me) Talking" (Cocteau Records re-issue) | — | – | 22 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| "Nightmares" | Listen | 53 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| "Transfer Affection" | 38 | – | – | – | 22 | 43 | – | – | – | |||
| "(It's Not Me) Talking" (Rerecording) | 78 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 1984 | "The More You Live, The More You Love" | The Story of a Young Heart | 26 | – | – | 37 | – | 32 | 56 | 10 | – | |
| "Never Again (The Dancer)" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| "Remember David" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 1985 | "Who's That Girl (She's Got It)" | Dream Come True | 66 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 1986 | "Heartbeat Like a Drum" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1989 | "Magic" | — | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 1995 | "Magic" (Re-issue) | The Light at the End of the World | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| "Burnin' Up" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 1996 | "Rainfall" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 2000 | "Rainfall" (Re-issue) | — | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 2007 | "I Ran (So Far Away)" (A Flock Of Seagulls vs. The Angry Kids) | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
Video Albums
| Year | Title | Format |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Through the Looking Glass
|
VHS |
Hairstyle
Mike Score's distinctive hairstyle has been mentioned, copied, and parodied many times in the media:
- In the American television sitcoms Friends (by Chandler in a flashback to his and Ross's college years, when they had formed a New Wave band)
- In That '70s Show when they parodied the '80s.
- It was referred to, as a means of scoff, in Pulp Fiction.
- In the musical The Wedding Singer the character Sammy sings a line in the song "Saturday Night" referring to Mike Score's hair style: "Can't wait 'til chicks start flocking to my Flock of Seagulls hair".
- A Diet Pepsi commercial shows a man telling us that he wants to feel young again, then it shows a montage of the man with Score's hairstyle while the song "I Ran (So Far Away)" plays, but finding out it's a bad idea.
- In the song "Albuquerque" by "Weird Al" Yankovic, the song's main character encounters a hermaphrodite with a "Flock of Seagulls haircut"
- In a Supercuts commercial, a man enters a hair salon. After a few moments he notices that the only hairstyle given is Mike Score's famous haircut. (In the background, the sound of seagulls can be heard.)
- When Danny Pintauro came out of the closet, The Daily Show referred to his Flock of Seagulls haircut on Who's the Boss? as an indicator of his orientation.
- In the film The Wedding Singer, Adam Sandler's character approaches an airline ticket agent who is sporting a Mike Score hairstyle. The ticket agent says "Do you like Flock of Seagulls?" with Sandler's reply, "I can see you do."
- In an XM Satellite Radio TV commercial, the logo's wavelengths take different shapes; one of which is Mike Score's hairstyle as the guitar riff for "I Ran (So Far Away)" plays on the background.
- In the Larry the Cable Guy Christmas Special, Tony Orlando and Larry look at photographs of the past and sees a picture of Larry with Mike Score's hairstyle. Orlando says, "Look at that! The 80s!" Larry replies, "No, that was actually last year. I just like Flock of Seagulls."
- In an episode of Family Guy titled "One If by Clam, Two If by Sea", Peter can be seen with a haircut similar to Mike Score's in the beginning of the episode.
- In the swiffer commercial, an 80's DJ imitates the hairstyle.
- The band is referenced in Austin Powers: The Spy who Shagged Me when Austin Powers says "The 70s and the 80s? You're not missing anything, believe me. I've looked into it. There's a gas shortage and A Flock of Seagulls. That's about it."[15]
Grammy Award
The album track, "D.N.A. (song)" from A Flock of Seagulls, won a Grammy Award in 1983 for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.
References
- ^ A Flock of Seagulls on MySpace Music
- ^ A Flock of Seagulls Fan Club
- ^ Smith, Steve Bits and Pieces: the Penguin Book of Rock and Pop Facts and Trivia. Penguin, 1988 ISBN 0140107436
- ^ http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=10242
- ^ Never mind the hair bands, here's a Flock of Seagulls!
- ^ Space Age Love Song: The Mix Tape in a Digital Universe Megan M. CarpenterMM Carpenter - works.bepress.com
- ^ a b http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=3577
- ^ a b http://www.charts-surfer.de/
- ^ http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=A%7CFLOCK%7COF%7CSEAGULLS&sql=11:3ifixqe5ldje~T5
- ^ a b Kent, David Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. David Kent, 1993 ISBN 0646119176
- ^ http://www.cherryred.co.uk/books/indiehits/a.htm
- ^ http://www.irishcharts.ie/
- ^ http://charts.org.nz/search.asp?cat=s&artist=a&artist_search=starts&title=&title_search=starts
- ^ http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=A%7CFLOCK%7COF%7CSEAGULLS&sql=11:3ifixqe5ldje~T51
- ^ Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) - Memorable quotes (IMDB)