Sunday, August 31, 2014

Fay Ray - Modern Lovers

Originally from Bangor, Wales, Fay Ray were a new wave act who made one really solid album before things went south.  The band was named after one of photographer William Wegman's Weimaraner dogs and was fronted by Sheila McCartney.  Other members of the band were John Lovering (guitar), Owen Hughes (drums), Tony Travis (bass), and Jeff Taylor (sax).

Fay Ray were sometimes lazily compared to Siouxsie and the Banshees, another British new wave band with a female lead singer.  However, they sounded quite different from Siouxsie, with a strong pop sense folded into their new wave sound.  This could have made them quite successful, had things broken their way a bit more.

The band released their debut album, Contact You, in 1982, but it did not chart.  They did make a couple of videos, and even picked up a bit of airplay on MTV.  However, Elektra/Warner dropped the band after the recording of their second LP, and refused to release the master tapes (!).  Fay Ray broke up soon afterwards, although they have re-formed in the early 2000s and are still occasionally active as of this writing.

"Modern Lovers" was off Contact You, and is a great driving new wave song with a cheap and colorful video to boot.  File this one under rare and really good.

4 comments:

  1. Yikes!
    80's Rare Videos
    Thank you for your amazing effort.
    Really, An Amazing Site
    All The Best.
    -Sam

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    1. Thanks, Sam -- glad that you liked it! Have gone with a few really rare ones lately.

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  2. Holy cats! I haven't heard this song in over 30 years. What a great find! I didn't know they were from Maine - I went to college in Lewiston and we always lamented the absence of local bands.

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    1. Bangor yes, Maine, no. They are from the other Bangor -- in Wales. (No, I hadn't heard of it either before the post). The song sounded vaguely familiar to me, but I don't clearly recall hearing it back in the day. However, it is a great timepiece. Glad that you liked it too.

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