Crimson/red

Description

Prefab Sprout was formed in 1978 in England, driven by Paddy McAloon, composer, guitarist, keyboardist, and singer, and his brother Martin McAloon on bass. They recruited singer Wendy Smith (Paddy's girlfriend) and drummer Michael Salmon, who was replaced in 1984 by Neil Conti. The band's first single, "Lions in My Own Garden: Exit Someone," was released in 1982. Promoted by John Peel on BBC 1, it allowed Prefab Sprout to sign with the Kitchenware label, a subsidiary of CBS, and release the EP "Swoon" (1984) with the single "Don't Sing." The following album, "Steve McQueen" (renamed "Two Wheels Good" in the United States for rights reasons), was released in spring 1985. Smartly produced by Thomas Dolby, this pop album revealed the hit "When Love Breaks Down." Prefab Sprout then recorded "Protest Songs," which would not be released until 1989, and followed up with "From Langley Park to Memphis" (March 1988), which features "The King of Rock'n'Roll" (ranked #7) and "Cars and Girls," a masked tribute to Bruce Springsteen. The album includes a solo by Pete Townshend and harmonica by Stevie Wonder. In August 1990, the conceptual "Jordan: the Comeback" (still produced by Dolby) did not deviate from the band's sophisticated pop label with its clear guitars, atmospheric keyboards, and alternating female and male vocals. Between albums, Paddy McAloon accumulated unreleased projects, an album about Michael Jackson or on ecology ("Earth: the Story So Far"). In 1992, a compilation, "A Life Of Surprises - The Best Of Prefab Sprout," was released, representing their best ranking in their home country (#3). Seven years after their last studio album, Prefab Sprout released "Andromeda Heights" (#7) in 1997. Written and recorded in Paddy McAloon's brand new studio. In 2000, Prefab Sprout emerged from silence and surprised everyone by announcing a short English tour that would end with an appearance at the Fleadh Festival. The band released "The Gunman And Other Stories" in 2001. Produced by Tony Visconti, and involving only Paddy McAloon and his brother Martin, the album consists mostly of songs that Paddy had written for various artists (mainly for Jimmy Nail and his "Crocodile Shoes," or Cher ("The Gunman"), and for which he gives his own interpretation. In 2003, "I Trawl The Megahertz" was released under the name Paddy McAloon, an ambitious project, largely instrumental or punctuated by the voice of a narrator. "I Trawl The Megahertz" is actually one of the many albums written and recorded as demos by Paddy during the 90s that were never released. In 2007, Sony reissued the album "Steve McQueen" on double CD in a remastered version. The main album is accompanied by a second CD presenting eight songs in acoustic form, recorded by Paddy in 2007. The album "Let's Change the World with Music" was released in September 2009. It is part of the long series of unreleased albums by the band. Originally written and recorded in 1992, its release had been postponed at the time in favor of the compilation "A Life Of Surprises." It was mastered in early 2009 by Calum Malcolm, who had co-produced "Andromeda Heights" and mixed "I Trawl the Megahertz." In June 2013, ten new songs were discovered on SoundCloud, leading to speculation that a new album was in preparation. On July 14, the release date of the new album "Crimson/Red" was confirmed.