Day 62: A Flock of Seagulls – A Flock of Seagulls
Album cover courtesy of Jive Records
Big day today. My partner has been cutting down on cheese for health reasons, but today we’re splashing out and going to a cheese shop. I get to practice the art of aesthetic cheeseboard assembly, which is arguably my favourite form of art because you get to eat it. To prepare for my big night, I decided to go for A Flock of Seagulls as my album of the day.
The band was formed in Liverpool in 1979 after Mike Score, then a hairdresser and hair salon owner, bought a second hand keyboard and invited his pals over and asked them if they wanted to start a band. Originally the band didn’t have a singer, but Mike Score sang to show what the vocals should sound like and the band suggested he become the frontman. He reluctantly agreed. They went to a Stranglers gig where the singer looked directly at them while saying “a flock of seagulls!” so they decided to use that as their band name. Their self-titled debut record was released three years after they were formed, in 1982.
First of all, I didn’t realise how into aliens these guys are. Like all good things in life, their big hit “I Ran (So Far Away)” was UFO-inspired, after band members saw a poster with a couple running away from a flying saucer. Some of the covers of their singles also feature a UFO. Score’s iconic hairdo was also partly inspired by aliens. His bandmate patted him on the head and flattened his bouffant, leaving only the sides standing upright:
I was a little space cadet and I wanted to look like an alien … Looking at photos of that first gig where Frank flattened my hair, I thought, ‘That looks pretty alien’, and I tried to bend it towards being more alien.
It’s hard to believe that A Flock of Seagulls is the debut album of a fairly inexperienced band. Apparently when they first got together, their bassist had never played bass and their drummer had never played drums, but they still got their first song together in less than three hours. The album is just incredibly well-made with a cohesive sound and brilliant prog-inspired new wave synth-pop. Genuinely, I think this album is pretty peak when it comes to pop music.
Synths? Check. Alien inspiration? Check. I was bound to love this album, it’s right up my street. 9.5/10. It’s so good that it makes me sad that bands aren’t really a thing anymore.