Pool Of Sound - A Flock Of Seagulls

A Flock Of Seagulls

Formed in 1980 by hairdresser Mike Score on lead vocals and keyboards with his brother Ali on drums and fellow hairdresser Frank Maudsley on bass, 'A Flock Of Seagulls' may well be known for their bizarrely teased haircuts as much as their hit single, 'I Ran'. With their name taken from 'The Stranglers' song 'Toiler on The Sea', they were one of prime movers in the 1980s new wave era. Growing out of the synth-heavy and ruthlessly stylish new romantic movement, the band added Willie Woo on guitar and then brought in Mark Edmondson to replace Ali on drums when the Score brothers had a falling-out. They would practice in the space above the hair salon that Mike worked at. Not long afterwards, Edmondson departed to make way for a returning Ali and shortly thereafter Woo also departed the band and was replaced by teenager Paul Reynolds, who had been a close friend of Edmondson, at the behest of Maudsley thus creating the band's classic line-up.

The group released its debut EP 'Talking' on Bill Nelsons Cocteau Records early in 1981, and though the record failed to chart, its lead track, 'Telecommunication', became an underground hit in Euro-disco and new wave clubs. They recorded radio sessions for John Peel's Radio 1 programme on the 6th of May 1981. Eventually, under the management of Harry Maguire, Tommy Crossan and Mick Rossi, all directors of Checkmount Limited, they signed a major label contract with Jive Records and their eponymous debut album appeared in the spring of 1982. Mike says, " The first album was initially influenced by Sci-Fi. It was what we were into at the time - watching movies like 'Alien' or Fire In The Sky' - we had a song called 'Fire In The Sky' too - it was a great time as Sci-Fi was just getting into its real stride then and more and more people were starting to believe in aliens and space."

'I Ran (So Far Away)' was released as the first single from the album, and MTV quickly picked up on its icily attractive video, which featured long shots of Mike Score and his distinctive, cascading hair. The single became a worldwide hit, reaching No.1 in Australia and the Top 10 in both New Zealand and the USA taking the album along with it. In the UK., 'I Ran' didn't make the Top 40, but 'Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)' reached No.10 later that year. In America, that single became a Top 40 hit in 1983, after 'Space Age Love Song' peaked at No. 30. 'Wishing' was taken from the group's second album, 'Listen' in 1983. Later the band was praised for having broken the ground for other musical acts during the advent of the video music era and it would transpire that 1982 would be the peak year of their commercial and critical success.

Three more singles were released from 'Listen' in 1983, including a re-recorded version of their debut single '(It's Not Me) Talking', but they were only minor successes in the UK and abroad. Faced with disappointment, the group changed direction from their science fiction themes and produced a more conceptual emotion based third album in 1984, 'The Story Of A Young Heart' with 'The More You Live, The More You Love' as the lead single.
Faced with sliding sales and a loss of direction, the band continued to consider their options whilst touring. During this period, Paul Reynolds left the band in 1984, two years before the band broke up, and was replaced by Gary Steadman from 'Classic Nouveaux' whilst keyboard player Chris Chryssafis was also added.They both were in the band for the recording of their next album 'Dream Come True' but would depart once the tour ended. The album was released in 1985 in the UK and in 1986 in the USA, but failed to chart, thus leading to the dissolving of the band until 1988.

'A Flock of Seagulls' never really broke up'. Mike and Ali moved to the US and the band, now as a trio, released the album, 'Dream Come True' in 1986 but Ali and Frank left in the years afterwards. Mike released the album, 'Light At The End of the World' in 1996 and carried on touring with session musicians and quietly, surely and steadily, the folk lore surrounding the band began to grow bringing the music of the band to a whole new legion of fans. An abortive reunion tour in 2003 came on the back of appearing in VH1 show Bands Reunited, where 'A Flock Of Seagulls' joined the likes of 'The Alarm', 'Haircut One Hundred' and 'Kajagoogoo' in reforming. In 2018, the origina lineup reunited for a new recording, 'Ascension', which saw the group's classics re-recorded with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra - the first time Mike, Paul, Frank, and Ali had all appeared on a recording since 1984.

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