Secret Affair are a

mod revival The mod revival is a subculture that started in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s and later spread to other countries (to a lesser degree). The Mod Revival started with disillusionment with the punk scene when commercialism set in. It was f ...

band, formed in 1978 and disbanded in 1982 during which period their work is predominantly best-known. They reformed in 2002 and have since then produced an album in 2012.

Career

Formed after the demise of the CBS Records signed

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...

band New Hearts, singer Ian Page and guitarist David Cairns spent the second half of 1978 writing songs that would form the basis of the first two Secret Affair albums. After spending January 1979 demoing songs, Page and Cairns enlisted the services of bassist Dennis Smith from the power pop band Advertising and Young Bucks drummer Seb Shelton. Saxophone player Dave Winthrop, originally playing with the group in his capacity as a session musician, would join as a full-time member of the band later in the year. After the demise of the group in 1982, Cairns went on to form a band called Flag, with Archie Brown from The Bureau and signed a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording act (artist or group), where the act makes an audio recording (or series of recordings) for the label to sell and ...

in the US. He subsequently teamed up with Scottish singer Alan King in Walk on Fire, writing the majority of the band's material and playing keyboards on tours. Signing to MCA in the US, the band released the album ''Blind Faith'' in 1990 and toured supporting Foreigner,

Nils Lofgren Nils Hilmer Lofgren (born June 21, 1951) is an American rock musician, recording artist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Along with his work as a solo artist, he has been a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band since 1984, a memb ...

and Dan Reed Network, before Cairns joined

Gibson Guitars Gibson, Gibson's or Gibsons may refer to: Business * Gibson Appliance, a former American refrigerator manufacturer * Gibson (guitar company), an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment * Gibson Greetings, ...

USA as Special Projects and Events manager. Page released two solo singles before leaving the music industry. Having departed the band in late 1980, drummer Seb Shelton joined Kevin Rowland's

Dexys Midnight Runners Dexys (known as Dexys Midnight Runners from 1978 to 2011) are an English pop rock band from Birmingham, with soul music, soul influences, who achieved major commercial success in the early to mid- 1980s. They are best known in the UK for their ...

and enjoyed success with them between 1980 and 1982.

Reunion

In June 2002, Page, Cairns, Smith and Winthrop, with drummer Paul Bultitude, reunited for three gigs, including a performance at London's

Shepherd's Bush Empire Shepherd's Bush Empire (currently known as O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the BBC Television Theatre) is a music venue in Shepherd's Bush, West London, run by the Academy Music Group. It was original ...

. They returned in June the following year, playing at The Scala in

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

to promote the release of ''Time For Action: The Anthology'' (

Sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

), a major CD retrospective of hits, rarities and previously unreleased tracks. The concert was filmed and released on DVD. In 2006, Page and Cairns attempted to mend their sometimes fractious relationship and started work on a fourth Secret Affair album, recording five new songs for Peer Music. The album remains unfinished, but in 2010 Captain Mod Records released ''Secret Affair, The Singles Collection'' which featured two of the Peer Music tracks, "Soho Dreams" and "Land of Hope". Page and Cairns reformed Secret Affair as a touring band with a new line-up. In 2009 they played regularly around the UK and further afield, having played their first ever concerts in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. In July 2011, Secret Affair re-recorded "Time For Action" for

Save The Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization. It was founded in the UK in 1919; its goal is to improve the lives of children worldwide. The organization raises money to imp ...

. The latter spearheaded their campaign for health workers in poor countries, and over 42,000 people signed the petition in the UK which was taken to

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...

in September 2011, resulting in funds for the cause endorsed and approved by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. On 5 December 2011, Dave Cairns appeared as a guest on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

programme, ''

Never Mind The Buzzcocks ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' is a British comedy panel game show with a pop music theme. It has aired on Sky Max since September 2021, having originally aired between November 1996 and January 2015 on BBC Two. The original series was first host ...

''. Secret Affair released their fourth studio album, ''Soho Dreams'' after an absence of 30 years on their label, I-SPY Records, on 10 September 2012, distributed by Code7/Plastic Head and supported by a 13-date UK tour ending at The 229 Club, London, on 24 November. The band continue to tour throughout 2013 and perform their end of year show at the Islington Assembly Hall, 7 December. On 5 September 2014, Secret Affair begin their '35th Anniversary Tour' of the UK in Gloucester at the Guildhall, followed by Stockton on Tees and ending in Manchester at the Band on the Wall venue, on 13 December 2014, celebrating the 1979 release of their debut album, '' Glory Boys''. In November that year, Sony/BMG/Captain Mod Records released ''Est 1979''; The Secret Affair 35th Anniversary Box Set featuring all four albums from 1979 to the present day. In August 2016, I-SPY Records released Secret Affair's cover of the

Northern soul Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in Northern England and the Midlands in the early 1970s. It developed from the British Mod (subculture), mod scene, based on a particular style of African American music, Black American ...

classic " Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)" on 7-inch vinyl only. In September that year the band appeared on Vintage TV, episode 28, performing live in concert three tracks, "Do I Love You' (Indeed I Do)", "I Don't Need No Doctor" and "My World". Secret Affair celebrated their 40th anniversary in 2019 with a 14 date UK tour.

Band members

;Current members * Ian Page – vocals (1979–1982, 2002–present) * David Cairns – guitars (1979–1982, 2002–present) ;Former members * Dave Winthrop – saxophone (1979–1982, 2002–2008) * Dennis Smith – bass (1979–1982, 2002–2003) * Chris Bennett – drums (1979) * Seb Shelton – drums (1979–1980) * Paul Bultitude – drums (1980–1982, 2002–2003) * Simon Hanson – drums (2012, 5 tracks on the 'Soho Dreams' album.) ;Current touring musicians *Steve Rinaldi – trombone (2006–present) * Russ Baxter – drums (2008–present) * Ed Pearson – bass (2011–present) * Stevie Watts – hammond organ (2016–present) * John O'Neill – saxophone (2015–present) * Tim Pannell – trumpet (2012–present) ;Former touring musicians * Andy Brush – saxophone (2008–2012) * Martyn Blagden – trumpet (2008–2012) * Sean Kelly – bass (2008–2011) * Bryn Barkham – hammond organ (2009–2011) * Stephen Wilcock – saxophone (2012–2015) * Andy Fairclough – hammond organ (2011–2016)

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

*'' Glory Boys'' (1979) – UK #41 *'' Behind Closed Doors'' (1980) – UK #48 *'' Business as Usual'' (1982) – UK #84 *''Soho Dreams'' (2012)

Live albums

* ''Live at the Bridge'' (1999) * ''Time for Action'' (2012) * ''Time for Action - Live red vinyl '' (2022)

Compilation albums

* ''Time for Action – The Very Best Of'' (1997) * ''Time for Action – The Anthology'' (2003) * ''Mod Singles Collection'' (2010) * ''35th Anniversary Box Set'' (2014)

Singles

References

Other sources

* Sleevenotes to the CD reissues of ''Glory Boys'', ''Behind Closed Door'' and ''Business As Usual'', by

Chris Hunt Chris Hunt is a British journalist, magazine editor, and author. Hunt has worked in journalism for over thirty years, most often writing about football or rock music. He was editor of ''Match'' from 1993 to 2001, a period that saw the weekl ...

External links

Secret Affair Official band site
The story of the Mod Revival, by

, published in the ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a " rock inkie", the ''NME'' would become a maga ...

'' Mod special edition, April 2005 * Secret Affair biographyat

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1979 English new wave musical groups British mod revival groups