Modern English

[Library Jon]

Any Modern English fans? The original 80s members of Modern English have re-united and a doing a late summer/early fall US tour. They are working on a new album which will be the first new material that the original members have put out since the 80s. I just bought a $24 front row seat to see them at WXPN World Café Live in Philadelphia during August 2013. I just put on "After The Snow" today after many years and had forgotten how great they were back then. I just bought all four original albums with the bonus tracks on Amazon Marketplace. Does anyone know how the newer albums are? Has anyone else ever seen them live? Would anyone like to share their thoughts on their discography?

Library Jon

[GuitarGeek]

I've literally heard exactly one song from this band. And I think you know which one I'm talking about. Always been curious to hear more, though.

[sonic]

I only have After the Snow. It's a pretty good album. Heavy Joy Division influence, but not a carbon copy — they are a lot more upbeat. One of the many great bands of that period.

[ThomasKDye]

I've literally heard exactly one song from this band. And I think you know which one I'm talking about.

Ah yes. "I Make The Earth Spin More And Re-form Into Solid Matter While I'm Alone." My fave.

[klothos]

I like them...I read somewhere a long time ago that the keyboard player primarily uses toy keyboards, like the Casio VL-1, the Speak-n-Spell, etc...some of which were "circuit-bent".....I have been hunting high-n-low for a copy of the article so, if someone happens across it, please post it

[Mythos]

After the Snow is my favorite release from them, a masterfully created album, they had elements that remind me of Talk, Talk, Simple Minds, maybe a bit of Joy Division...!

Gonna see if they are coming to Southern California, I saw the Psychedlic Furs last week and the Cult are coming next week...!

[Library Jon]

I finally completed my collection of the complete discography on CD of the band called Modern English. They really only have 7 studio albums and two CD singles. Now that I have listened to them all, I thought I would let everyone know how they are. Their first three studio albums are wonderful. Every song is good. Their next three albums are spotty. A few good songs. A few bad songs. Their most recent album called "Soundtrack" is a very good album and a true return to form for them. Their newest album should be bought by anyone who misses "After The Snow." Highly recommended. Their two CD singles ("I Melt With You", "Beautiful People") are not very interesting but very cheap to order on Amazon. I think that I paid a 1 cent plus shipping for one of them. I did see them in Philadelphia a few summers ago and the band promised a new album eventually, so I have high hopes about that. Any thoughts?


Library Jon

[Staun]

I liked Ricochet Days and even Stop Start has some good tunes but by then they had started to break apart.

[Progbear]

"I Melt With You" is one of those songs that everyone thinks was a much bigger hit than it actually was on account of saturation airplay on MTV. Seriously, that song seems to have been in continuous rotation from the station's inception through to 1989. Most everyone acknowledges the song as an 80s classic. And it never charted higher than #70? Madness!

The only other song of theirs I've heard is "Ink and Paper." It's OK.

[GuitarGeek]

"I Melt With You" is one of those songs that everyone thinks was a much bigger hit than it actually was on account of saturation airplay on MTV. Seriously, that song seems to have been in continuous rotation from the station's inception through to 1989.
.

Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration. I don't think the song even existed (or at least, hadn't been released yet) when MTV first went on the air. But yeah, there was a period of a year or two where it was getting heavy rotation, but after awhile, it went away, as did all the old things on MTV eventually. There was a long stretch in the mid 80's where I don't remember seeing the video at all. Then in the very late 80's, we started getting the first sort of early 80's nostalgia thing going. That's when MTV pulled Martha Quinn out of cold storage and had her hosting Classic MTV, and that was about when we started seeing stuff like I Melt With You again.

Then during the 90's, VH-1 went into overdrive with their various nostalgia programs, including a "Where are they now" show where they interviewed the lead singer. By that time, I Melt With You was being used in a Burger King advert, and he mentioned that some of the band members were upset because they were vegetarians.

But yeah, I never really thought it was that big of a hit, because MTV was the only context that I remember hearing the song. I don't think I saw it on any of the other music videos outlets that were around at the time, and I don't think I ever heard it on the radio. So it's not too surprising to find out it was, at best, a sleeper hit, as they say.

I imagine there was a lot of stuff like that. I remember being surprised to find out that Doot-Doot was a top ten hit in the UK, but then that was before I understood that a given territory often times will have huge hits that mean nothing anywhere else in the world. But my point is, for a couple years, I thought I was the only person on the planet who knew of the existence of Freur, and would have thought I hallucinated seeing the video on MTV, except that I owned the LP and the 12" single.

[bob_32_116]

Never heard of this band or any of those songs. Am I right in saying this is no relation to Bad English?

[Sunlight Caller]

They come from my home town and headlined a free festival here in Colchester Castle Park a few years back, which was pretty good to see. Melt With You has been used on a number of high profile TV adverts over the years, and I believe brings in enough cash to ensure the writer doesn't really ever need to work that hard again. We never totally warmed to them in the UK, they were written off by the music press as derivative, but I enjoyed a couple of their albums well enough.

[PeterG]

Never heard them.

[beano]

Big Fan..Caught them live in concert at Spize(The Elvis of Dance Clubs)in Farmingdale NY either 1983 or 84'...Great show on a snowy night, place was practically empty..

[GuitarGeek]

Melt With You has been used on a number of high profile TV adverts over the years, and I believe brings in enough cash to ensure the writer doesn't really ever need to work that hard again.

Oh, most definitely. It's one of those evergreen things, even if it wasn't that big a hit initially. It was also brilliantly used in the movie Valley Girl, as sort of the theme song for Deborah Foreman and Nicholas Cage's characters. Supposedly, the director was going to have someone write a "love theme" for the movie, for the two characters, but when he heard I Melt With You, he decided it encapsulated the whole romance so perfectly he used that instead.

[the winter tree]

There's a song on AFTER THE SNOW called "Morning Chorus" that is amazing.

[Library Jon]

Actually, the "Valley Girl" soundtrack is a great collection of obscure 80s sounding new wave type songs. I used to play that album to death when I bought it. People that might just want the "I Melt With You" song alone should consider this path.

Library Jon

[GuitarGeek]

Actually, the "Valley Girl" soundtrack is a great collection of obscure 80s sounding new wave type songs. I used to play that album to death when I bought it. People that might just want the "I Melt With You" song alone should consider this path.

Library Jon

Definitely agree with that. I always dug the song Johnny Are You Queer, which also appears in the film.

Incidentally, I believe I Melt With You might have been the first song where I heard anyone use an E-bow.

[bob_32_116]

After reading all this discussion of "I Melt With You", I had to find a clip to hear it. Sounds an OK song, nothing special.

I may have heard it before; if I did, I probably assumed it was The Church.

[interbellum]

Modern English is one of the bands that is being written about a lot in the book "Facing The Other Way : The Story Of 4AD". Some members also participated in the This Mortal Coil-project. I only have "After The Snow" and This Mortal Coil. I liked it, but I liked Modern Eon better ;-)