Prefab Sprout Biography

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Biography 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.

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 debut album Swoon was released on the Kitchenware record label in early 1984. The following album, the Thomas Dolby-produced Steve McQueen, (released in America as Two Wheels Good when McQueen's estate expressed their displeasure with the title). It was highly-praised by critics, prompting McAloon to remark: "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 success in the U.K. came with the 1988 single "The King of Rock 'n' Roll", taken from the album From Langley Park to Memphis. In 1990, The Comeback, 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 linernotes about the band's lack of touring over the past decade.

Prefab Sprout released Andromeda Heights in the UK in 1997, while a short, 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 a hit for the British actor, Jimmy Nail. These albums while critically acclaimed in places, have not been as commercially successful.

After being diagnosed with a medical disorder which impaired his vision Paddy McAloon released the 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.

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
Fiona Attwood (Chester-le-Street); backing vocals

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)
The Comeback (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 (UK #60, 2001)
Steve McQueen, re-mastered two-disc version with eight acoustic re-workings on second disc (2007)