PREFAB SPROUT

'Prefab Sprout' are an English pop band from Witton Gilbert, County Durham, who rose to moderate fame during the 1980s. Critically acclaimed and considered by many to have released some of the best pop albums of the decade, the band never became part of the mainstream, but saw moderate commercial success.

Contents

Career

Personnel

Albums

UK Top 75 Singles

See also

References

External links

Career

They debuted in 1982 with their self-released single "Lions In My Own Garden: Exit Someone" - songwriter Paddy McAloon wanted a song title where the first letters of the words spelled out "LIMOGES" (where his former girlfriend was staying at the time). Their first album was ''Swoon'', a collection of quirky pop songs in the same vein as "Lions...", released on the Kitchenware record label in early 1984. The following year saw the release of their second album, the Thomas Dolby-produced ''Steve McQueen'' (released in the U.S. as ''Two Wheels Good'' when McQueen's estate expressed their displeasure with the title). Either way, it was so highly-praised by the critics that even the shy and retiring McAloon remarked: "I'm probably the greatest songwriter in the world, you know." Subsequently, they recorded ''Protest Songs'' which found only limited release, but yielded the song "Life of Surprises", which later became the title track for their greatest hits compilation.
Their biggest commercial UK success came with an arguably atypical track for the Sprouts, the 1988 single "The King of Rock 'n' Roll", taken from the ''From Langley Park to Memphis'' album. In 1990, '', which was a hit in the UK, was nominated for a BRIT Award. Though the music was more accessible than their earlier material, the lyrics and subject matter remained characteristically oblique and suggestive (McAloon has often cited Stephen Sondheim as an influence). In addition to its religious overtones, perhaps reflecting McAloon's education in a Catholic seminary, there were several allegorical songs about a character who embodied a mix of Howard Hughes, Jesse James, and Elvis Presley. McAloon has alluded in interviews to several albums-worth of songs that he has written but are unreleased/unrecorded including amongst others, concept albums based on the life of Michael Jackson (''Behind the Veil''), the history of the world (''Earth: The Story So Far'') and ''Zorro the Fox'' about a fictional superhero.
Their greatest hits, ''Life of Surprises: The Best of Prefab Sprout'' yielded their biggest U.S. hit, "If You Don't Love Me", which spent several weeks in the Top 10 on the dance charts. McAloon joked in the album liner notes about the band's lack of touring over the past decade.
In 1997 Prefab Sprout released a new album ''Andromeda Heights'' in the UK. A short, but well received UK tour followed in 2000. This tour (and the subsequent album) did not feature Wendy Smith, who by this time had reportedly left the band. In 2001 the band released 'The Gunman and Other Stories' a concept album themed on the American West. The opening track "Cowboy Dreams" was originally a success for the British actor, Jimmy Nail. These albums while critically acclaimed in places, have not been as commercially successful (and only been available in the United States on import).
Their greatest hits collection, 1999's ''38 Carat Collection'', was released in the United States in 2001 with a new title ''The Collection''.
After being diagnosed with a medical disorder which impaired his vision Paddy McAloon released the spoken word/instrumental album ''I Trawl The Megahertz'' under his own name in 2003 on the EMI Liberty label. As of 2006, McAloon had suffered another setback: his hearing had deteriorated, reportedly due to Ménière's disease.
In January 2007, a remastered edition of ''Steve McQueen'' was announced for a UK release in April 2007 with a second disc of recently recorded acoustic versions of eight of the album's tracks to be included as well. The remastering was done by original record producer, Thomas Dolby. There has been some speculation about another release of new music but nothing definite has been set.

Personnel

Core members:

★ 'Paddy McAloon' (born Patrick Joseph McAloon, 7 June 1957, Durham); vocals / guitars / keyboards

★ 'Wendy Smith' (born 31 May 1963, Middlesbrough); vocals / guitars / keyboards

★ 'Martin McAloon' (born 4 January 1962, Durham); bass guitar

★ 'Neil Conti' (born 12 February 1959, Luton); drums / percussion

Albums

★ ''Swoon'' (UK #22, 1984)

★ ''Steve McQueen'', released in the U.S. as ''Two Wheels Good'' (UK #21, U.S. #180 1985)

★ ''From Langley Park to Memphis'' (UK #5, 1988)

★ ''Protest Songs'' (UK #18, 1989)

★ '' (UK #7, 1990)

★ ''The Best Of - A Life Of Surprises'' (UK #3, 1992)

★ ''Andromeda Heights'' (UK #7, 1997)

★ ''38 Carat Collection'' (1999)

★ ''The Gunman and Other Stories'' (2001)

★ ''Steve McQueen'', re-mastered two-disc version with eight acoustic re-workings on second disc (2007)

UK Top 75 Singles

★ "Don't Sing" (#62 - 1984)

★ "Faron Young" (#74 - 1985)

★ "When Love Breaks Down" (1985 re-Release) (#25 - 1985)

★ "Johnny, Johnny" (#64 - 1986)

★ "Cars and Girls" (#44 - 1988)

★ "The King of Rock 'N' Roll" (#7 - 1988)

★ "Hey Manhattan" (#72 - 1988)

★ "Looking For Atlantis" (#51 - 1990)

★ "We Let The Stars Go" (#50 - 1990)

★ "Jordan - The EP" (#35 - 1991)

★ "The Sound of Crying" (#23 - 1992)

★ "If You Don't Love Me" (#33, U.S. #3 Hot Dance Club Play - 1992)

★ "All The World Loves Lovers" (#61 - 1992)

★ "Life of Surprises" (#24 - 1993)

★ "A Prisoner of The Past" (#30 - 1997)

★ "Electric Guitars" (#53 - 1997)

See also

★ List of bands/musicians from North East England

References

★ Guinness Book of British Hit Albums - 7th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-619-7

★ Guinness Book of British Hit Singles - 16th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-190-X

★ Guinness Rockopedia - ISBN 0-85112-072-5

★ The Great Rock Discography - 5th Edition - ISBN 1-84195-017-3

External links

The following are websites created by fans of Prefab Sprout:

★ "sproutnet" - with media and message boards

★ "Life of Surprises" in English and Spanish

★ Longest-running fan site, since 1996

★ A French fan site