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Thread: Sad Cafe (only a northern band)

  1. #1

    Sad Cafe (only a northern band)

    Was there ever a more quintessentially seventies north of England band than Sad Cafe? They nailed it .............. the perms, the leather trousers, the one big hit single, the fiercely loyal fan base. Still a going concern, I'm glad to say. Badly in need of a lovingly-compiled compilation telling their story.

  2. #2
    Member rapidfirerob's Avatar
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    The first album is terrific. The live one is pretty good as well.


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  3. #3
    Jon Neudorf
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    Yep. Facades an Misplaced Ideals are just so good. Love this band.

  4. #4
    Jon Neudorf
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    Can you elaborate on their first. How does it compare to let's say Facades?

    Jon

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by jlneudorf View Post
    Can you elaborate on their first. How does it compare to let's say Facades?
    They have a kind of prog/fusion suite on the B-side. The ending track—“I Believe (Love Will Survive)”—was released as a single and I believe also became a live staple. For sure, Paul Young sang the Hell out of it!

    The original British edition of Misplaced Ideals had one of the most quintessentially hideous album covers ever. What were they thinking?
    Confirmed Bachelors: the dramedy hit of 1883...

  6. #6
    Great band - saw them a couple of times. Have all their albums. The first, Fanx Ta Ra, is probably their best.

  7. #7
    Geriatric Anomaly progeezer's Avatar
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    Thanks very much Iris!

    SC is yet another band that I really loved back in the day & had completely forgotten about. Just bought s/t, Facades & "Ideals" from an Amazon Marketplace vendor for $20 incl shipping for the 3.
    "My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician, and to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference"

    President Harry S. Truman

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by progeezer View Post
    Thanks very much Iris!

    SC is yet another band that I really loved back in the day & had completely forgotten about. Just bought s/t, Facades & "Ideals" from an Amazon Marketplace vendor for $20 incl shipping for the 3.

    Glad to have reminded you of an old favourite! They certainly are a band worth re-discovering. I owned their stuff on vinyl and cd but it went in a clear-out. These things happen! There's a budget best-of but I've been holding out in the hope of some love and attention given to a re-mastered compilation with a smattering of unreleased stuff. Could be waiting a long time for that one, I guess! Their Mancunian compatriots BJH went on to great commercial success in Europe but I don't know if this happened to SC.

  9. #9
    Paul Young was the lead singer for Mike & The Mechanics as well.

  10. #10
    Jon Neudorf
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    Paul Young is certainly missed. RIP

    Jon

  11. #11
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    That's a blast from the past. I remember their big hit when I was a kid (Every Day Hurts) and was surprised to find that they were still going in the early 1990s.

    Some of them played with Barclay James Harvest and BJH Featuring Les Holroyd.

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    I've worked with 2 different ex-members of Sad Cafe over the last few years - Ex Tony Banks vocalist Alistair Gordon(who played keyboards for them briefly and produced Paul Young's solo album) and mixing artist Steve Piggot who played keyboards with them for a few years in the mid 80s.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Harbottle View Post
    Some of them played with Barclay James Harvest and BJH Featuring Les Holroyd.
    Most of the band members played on Davy Rohl’s Mandalaband project, along with members of BJH and 10cc. Vic Emerson went on to replace the great Duncan Mackay in 10cc.
    Confirmed Bachelors: the dramedy hit of 1883...

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    Quote Originally Posted by Progbear View Post
    Most of the band members played on Davy Rohl’s Mandalaband project, along with members of BJH and 10cc. Vic Emerson went on to replace the great Duncan Mackay in 10cc.
    Aha, yes I thought there was a 10cc connection. All I can remember about them though is the cover of 'Fanx Ta Ra'? Was that their first album?

  16. #16
    Steve Piggot, who I mentioned in my post above, also played with 10cc. He told me that they asked him to join a few days before dates in Japan and that he was frantically working out parts on the plane! He ended up staying with them a few years.

  17. #17
    [QUOTE=the winter tree;816351]Steve Piggot, who I mentioned in my post above, also played with 10cc. He told me that they asked him to join a few days before dates in Japan and that he was frantically working out parts on the plane! He ended up staying with them a few years.

    Those shows were captured on a double CD someone sent me from Japan in the mid-1990s called 'Alive'. He'd certainly managed to work out his parts - it's an excellent album!

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Zaragon View Post
    A musically diverse and technically masterful band with an accomplished recorded legacy. Three unique sides of Sad Café are heard in the Moog explosive "Black Rose," the acoustic angularity of "Angel," and the emotive buildup and clarinet-drawn chorus couplets in "Nothing Left to Lose [Toulouse]."
    Three great examples of their work (I'd also throw in Hungry Eyes). I only went off them when they went tried to go too Stones-like as with My Oh My.

  19. #19
    Member interbellum's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Steve983 View Post
    Aha, yes I thought there was a 10cc connection. All I can remember about them though is the cover of 'Fanx Ta Ra'? Was that their first album?
    Another 10cc-connection was Eric Stewart, who produced a couple of albums, while he also was a guest-musician on The Paul Young-Chronicles project.
    Here's the SC-discography: http://www.sadcafe.co.uk/scdiscography2.pdf As you can see Fanx Ta Ra is their first album.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Progbear View Post
    Most of the band members played on Davy Rohl’s Mandalaband project, along with members of BJH and 10cc. Vic Emerson went on to replace the great Duncan Mackay in 10cc.
    Yes. When the Mandalaband split a few members went on to form Sad Cafe. I think I have a Mandalaband album somewhere, must dig it out.

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    I've looked into this and in total thirteen musicians played with SC. It is interesting that several of these musicians also worked with 10cc, BJH and Mandalaband. Someone ought to write a book about this huge Mancunian talent pool. Strawberry Studios in Stockport seems to have been at the heart of it all.

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