Graduate -

Graduate was an English mod-ska band from Bath, Somerset, that released the 1980 album Acting My Age on Precision, a division of Pye. Guitarist Roland Orzabal and bassist Curt Smith cut two singles in Naked Eyes precursor Neon, then formed Tears for Fears.

Members: Roland Orzabal (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Curt Smith (bass, synthesizers, vocals), John Baker (guitar, vocals), Steve Buck (keyboards, flute), Andy Marsden (drums)

Background

Graduate formed in Bath in 1978 when guitarist-vocalists Roland Orzabal and John Baker expanded their Baker Brothers duo with drummer Andy Marsden, keyboardist-flautist Steve Buck, and bassist Gary Woodland. Orzabal and Baker met through the music department at Culverhay School, where teacher John Fenning directed school ensembles. Baker played double bass in the orchestra. Orzabal played timpani and side drum; both sang in the choir.

At fifteen, Orzabal taught Baker acoustic guitar. The pair adopted the Baker Brothers name for pub dates around Bath. The duo covered Simon & Garfunkel, The Beatles, and the Everly Brothers alongside original songs. Orzabal and Baker also played bass and guitar for local youth musical-theatre group the Bodlets, where they met Marsden. The duo secured dates at Trowbridge House and the Golden Fleece, plus Saturday sets at the Bath hair salon run by Colin Wyatt.

Wyatt heard Orzabal and Baker sing at a Bodlets cast party in December 1977 and offered the pair a management contract. In March 1978, Orzabal and Baker recorded five originals at a Camden Crescent flat owned by producer David Lord. Drummer Glenn Tommey and Korgis member Phil Harrison joined the session. Orzabal and Baker met Korgis members Andy Davis and James Warren while collecting demo cassettes from the flat. Wyatt used the demos to interest songwriter-producer Tony Hatch.

Wyatt renamed the act Graduate and recruited Marsden and Buck. Woodland completed the first live lineup for a September 1978 concert at Fortts tea room in Bath. Graduate took the name from the film The Graduate and opened early sets with “Mrs. Robinson,” the Simon & Garfunkel song used in the film.

Curt Smith attended Beechen Cliff School in Bath. At fourteen, Smith sang in Duckz with guitarist Orzabal, bassist Paul Noble, and drummer Pete Howard. In May 1979, Smith replaced Woodland in Graduate and learned the bass parts from Orzabal and Baker over several weeks of rehearsals. Buck left studies at Cambridge University that year. In early summer, Graduate played a garden-party show at St John’s College.

In summer 1979, Graduate recorded “Mad One” and “Somebody Put Out the Fire” at Crescent Studios with financing from registration-number dealer Tony Hill. Hill issued the tracks on Blue Hat as “Mad One” (b/w “Somebody Put Out the Fire”). Graduate also established a twice-weekly residency at Nero’s in Bath, where publishing and label representatives watched the group. In September, the band played a first London showcase at a Southall pub for publishing and label representatives.

Graduate signed a publishing agreement with Tony Hatch, who brought the band to Pye Records. In January 1980, Graduate signed with Pye subsidiary Precision and entered Crescent Studios in Bath with producers Hatch and Tommey for Acting My Age.

Discography: