Various
This Is 80s Pop (out West)
Do you think of the West Country in the 1980's as a source of plentiful pop acts? Go on, pull the other one! With the music that's normally associated with Bristol, Bath and places out west, a number of stereotypes come to mind. That can be down to the known success stories or just plain perception. There has always been a broad picture of the scope of music that has come out of the west end of the M4 and M5 in general, from the more fundamental areas of rock, indie, reggae, rap, R 'n B and dance music, through to the more arcane areas of post-punk, jazz, punk-funk, punk jazz, art-rock and even once in a while a moody singer-songwriter. But the most prominent of the acts to have been born, raised and emerged from the city of Bath itself were Tears for Fears in the 1980's. It begs the question, did any other pop-orientated acts from the region come through, and if so what happened to them? Were they any good? This prompted Bristol Archive records owner, Mike Darby, and the long-time music industry creative and journalist, Dave Massey, to go through their extensive archive of local music and see if there was an album that could be compiled of those acts' tracks that could be regarded as 'lost hits'. The 20 tracks on the compilation are worthy contenders to be heard on day-time radio, in a top line club, blasting out of a TV screen or from in a car with the windows wound down on a sunny summer's day, and just listened to by any pop fan. It's a treasure trove of glorious commercial, but savvy and sexy pop music. Get into the groove of this wonderful west of England sonic pleasure feast!