Modern English are an English new wave/

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

band formed in 1979 in

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, England. They are best known for their songs "

I Melt with You "I Melt with You" is a song by the British new wave band Modern English. The song, produced by Hugh Jones, was the second single from their 1982 album '' After the Snow''. It became the band's most successful single, largely in the United ...

", " Hands Across the Sea", and "Ink and Paper". The group disbanded in 1987, only to re-form two years later and then disband after another two years (1991). They reunited again in 1995 and have continued in various lineups since that time.

History

Formed in

, Essex, in 1979 by Robbie Grey (vocals), Gary McDowell (guitar, vocals), and Michael Conroy (bass, vocals) (born 9 August 1962), Modern English were originally known as The Lepers. The group expanded to "Modern English" when Richard Brown (drums) and Stephen Walker (keyboards) were added to the lineup of the band."Mesh & Lace – Modern English – VIVID.PL" (album notes) VIVID.PL, 2007, webpage:
Viv
After a single on their own 'Limp' label (not to be confused with America's

Limp Records Limp Records was an independent record label in Rockville, Maryland, that operated from 1978 to 1982. Run by Skip Groff out of his Yesterday and Today Records store, Limp was one of the first labels releasing music from the nascent D.C. punk sce ...

) in 1979, the band signed to 4AD the following year; with two further singles released, and a session for

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

of BBC Radio 1 recorded before the band's debut album, ''Mesh & Lace'', in 1981. In the band's early days, they showed a strong

Joy Division Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. Sumner and Hook formed the band after attend ...

influence.Strong, Martin C. (2003). ''The Great Indie Discography''. Canongate. . pp. 423–424. A second Peel session was recorded in October 1981. The second album, '' After the Snow'' (April 1982), was more keyboard-oriented and was compared to

Simple Minds Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977. They have released a string of hit singles, becoming best known internationally for "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the '' Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United St ...

and

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...

. It was also released in the US by

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer ...

the following year, where it reached number 70 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' chart, and sold over 500,000 copies. Grey said of the album, "We used to think 'God, we'll never make a pop record. We're artists!', but things don't always turn out as you planned and when you actually create a pop record, it's so much more of a thrill than anything else".Gimarc, George (2005) ''Punk Diary: The Ultimate Trainspotter's Guide to Underground Rock 1970–1982'', Backbeat Books, , pp. 600, 636. The second single from the album was also a hit in the US, "

" reaching number 76. When he reviewed the album, Johnny Waller of ''

Sounds In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

'' described the track as "A dreamy, creamy celebration of love and lust, which deserves to be showcased on as 12" single all by itself, with no B-side", while his colleague Tony Mitchell described it as "suburban amateurism at its most unrewarding". The band relocated to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and worked on a third album, ''Ricochet Days'', which again made the top 100 in the US, after which the band left 4AD and were solely signed to Sire outside the UK and Canada. The album ''Stop Start'' (1986) was the last Modern English record released by Sire, the band splitting up after its release. During 1983–1984, Grey, McDowell and Conroy were also involved with

This Mortal Coil This Mortal Coil were a British music collective led by Ivo Watts-Russell, founder of the British record label 4AD. Although Watts-Russell and John Fryer were the only two official members, the band's recorded output featured a large rotating ...

. Robbie Grey re-formed Modern English with Mick Conroy and Aaron Davidson in 1989 to record a new album, ''

Pillow Lips ''Pillow Lips'' is an album by the English band Modern English, released in 1990. It contains a rerecorded version of "I Melt with You", which charted. The album peaked at No. 135 on the ''Billboard'' 200. The band again broke up after promoting ...

'', released in 1990 on the American TVT label. The album featured a re-recorded "I Melt with You", which was released as a single, and saw the band again in the ''Billboard'' top 100. The band split up for a second time in 1991, after contractual problems with TVT, and Grey formed Engine. In 1995, with legal issues with TVT sorted out, Engine evolved into the next incarnation of Modern English and signed to the Imago label, with Grey and Matthew Shipley (keyboards). This lineup recorded the 1996 album ''Everything's Mad''. Robbie Grey toured the US with a new Modern English lineup from 1998 to 2002. They travelled coast to coast across the US, and recorded a new album with Hugh Jones, who had been producer of earlier Modern English records. The songs written with guitarist Steven Walker (not to be confused with the band's original keyboardist) and including Matthew Shipley came together on the road and back home in London between tours. After a few years on the shelf, this collection of songs, entitled ''Soundtrack'', was released on 24 May 2010 on Darla, with Jon Solomon on drums. The original lineup of the band (minus drummer Richard Brown) re-formed in 2010 and toured the US in July and September and the UK and Paris in June the following year. They were invited by film director Mark Pellington to re-record "I Melt with You" once again for his movie of the same name. The current re-formed line-up of the band includes original members Robbie Grey, Mick Conroy, Gary McDowell and Stephen Walker, augmented by Roy Martin on drums. They recorded a new album which was funded via Pledge with an originally planned March 2016 release date. The album was recorded, produced and mixed by Martyn Young from Colourbox and MARRS, who also adds additional keyboards. They also toured the ''Mesh & Lace'' album in the US in 2016.

Band members

Discography

*''

Mesh & Lace ''Mesh & Lace'' is the debut studio album by English post-punk band Modern English. It was released on 10 April 1981, through record label 4AD. The album was reissued on CD in 1992 with seven bonus tracks. Critical reception ''Trouser Press'' ...

'' (1981) *'' After the Snow'' (1982) *''

Ricochet Days ''Ricochet Days'' is the third album by Modern English, released in 1984 by 4AD in the United Kingdom, Vertigo Records in Canada, and Sire Records in the United States. The album peaked at number 93 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Reception AllMu ...

'' (1984) *''Stop Start'' (1986) *''

'' (1990) *''Everything's Mad'' (1996) *''

Soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

'' (2010) *''Take Me to the Trees'' (2016)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Modern English 4AD artists English new wave musical groups English post-punk music groups Caulfield Records artists Musical groups from Essex Musical groups established in 1979 Musical groups disestablished in 1987 Musical groups reestablished in 1989 Musical groups disestablished in 1991 Musical groups reestablished in 1995 Second British Invasion artists Sire Records artists TVT Records artists