A Flock of Seagulls is a British new wave band that broke through internationally in the early 1980s. The band's best-known songs were Wishing (I had a photograph of you) from 1983, I Ran (So Far Away) from 1982, and The more you live, the more you love from 1984.
A Flock of Seagulls ("a flock of seagulls") was founded in 1979 in Liverpool by brothers Mike and Ali Score, joined by Frank Maudsley. The band was a successor to Tontrix, a group that remained unknown. A few months after the name change, Paul Reynolds joined A Flock of Seagulls. Mike Score sang and played synthesizer (sometimes also guitar), his brother Ali played drums, Frank played bass guitar, and Paul was the lead guitarist.
In 1981 they released their first single, It's not me talking, on the independent label Cocteau Records. Although this work later became a new wave icon, it largely went unnoticed at the time. However, the song Telecommunication on the subsequent maxi single did attract attention. In 1982 they signed a contract with Mike Howlett of Jive Records. That same year saw the release of their first LP, simply titled A Flock of Seagulls, produced by Bill Nelson. Although this record was initially not a commercial success, it gained enough traction in the alternative circuit to launch the band. It is our Sunday Morning Classic for today!
The theme of their first LP was extraterrestrials: the record began with the song I Ran, in which the "narrator" meets an attractive woman on the street but suddenly sees lights from UFOs and runs away as far as possible. The following songs on the album describe the invasion of Earth by the extraterrestrials, who ultimately triumph.
I Ran became their biggest success in the United States, thanks to MTV. This music channel was new and constantly looking for new material: A Flock of Seagulls made a now legendary music video for this song. However, popularity grew slowly: in the early 80s, the United States was dominated by rock, and it took some time for rock stations to adapt to the clearly new style (new wave was mainly a British phenomenon). Nevertheless, A Flock of Seagulls established their reputation in the US as many listeners kept requesting the record. The single stayed at number 9 in the charts for weeks. 500,000 copies were sold. In the United States, the title was changed to I Ran (So Far Away) due to the tensions the country had with Iran at the time. They also won a Grammy Award for D.N.A..
Later hits by the band included Space Age Love Song and The more you live, the more you love. However, the song they are best remembered for is Wishing (If I had a photograph of you) from their second album Listen: this song reached the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart in their home country, the United Kingdom. The second album was recorded in 1984 in West Germany. The original fans completely rejected this album: clear electronic influences had crept in (including from Kraftwerk), which the early Seagull fans no longer liked. However, this new style appealed to electronic music lovers: Transfer Affection is considered a classic in the club circuit, but this fan base was small.
In response, the band returned to their original sound with the third album, The Story of a Young Heart. This was a failure, as it was seen as artistic stagnation. The success of A Flock of Seagulls was irreversibly declining: they gave the impression of trying to regain their old popularity, while in those few years new wave had given way to synthpop. They hoped to achieve new successes by moving to the United States. Paul Reynolds left the band: he had become addicted to drugs and was completely worn out by the stress. The remaining members settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but Frank Maudsley soon became homesick and returned to the United Kingdom.
In 1986 a final album, Dream Come True, was released. It was an absolute failure: they had to manage without Paul Reynolds' guitar playing, and moreover, they had come into conflict over the content of the LP. A Flock of Seagulls disappeared from the scene.
In 1995 Mike Score gathered a new group of musicians around him and released the album The Light at the End of the World, which enjoyed some success. The original members reunited in 2004 for a tour of the United States. Since then, Mike has mainly toured the US with a new version of A Flock Of Seagulls. Frank Maudsley and Paul Reynolds occasionally perform under the same name, but mainly in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
In terms of appearance, A Flock of Seagulls was also notorious for Mike Score's bizarre, extravagant hairstyle. He was also imitated in this: the band's entire image consequently carries a very strong eighties stamp.
In November 2003, the original band members (Mike and Ali Score, Paul Reynolds and Frank Maudsley) reunited for a one-off performance on the television programme Bands Reunited on the American cable television network VH1. In September 2004, the band came together again for a number of live shows in the United States, only to split up immediately afterwards. In 2005, the band consisted of Mike Score, Joe Rodriguez (guitar), Pando (bass) and Michael Brahm (drums). In 2008, A Flock of Seagulls performed in the Philippines, and in 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada, where Mike Score was the only original band member.
On 3 May 2018, it was announced that the original four band members would reunite to record a new album titled Ascension. The album was recorded with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. The album contains 10 tracks composed of unique performances of their previous hits and a new song. The music video for Space Age Love Song premiered on 6 June on YouTube, and an EP with 5 tracks featuring 5 versions of the song was released digitally. The album was released digitally and in physical stores on 6 July.
Top 2000
In the 23rd edition of the Top 2000 (we are now in 2023), there are no entries for A Flock of Seagulls.
Sunday Morning Classic
Delightful to return on 22 October 2023 to the early 80s with our Sunday Morning Classic. From the shelf, we take the debut album of A Flock of Seagulls.
Very tasty guitar wave, but feather-light (which suits a band name like that, of course). Their exuberant look, in our opinion, also helped them gain a solid foothold in the US. "And you made me smile for a little while," sings Mike Score in Space Age Love Song. And that is what this record always manages to do; bring us a smile. There is not a bad song on the album. This is a smooth, light-footed, atmospheric and consistent album and thus a fine prelude to an 80s party.
Source: NPO and Wikipedia Photo: albums (back cover)
