Prefab Sprout was an English sophisti-pop band that released five albums between 1984 and 1990 on Kitchenware Records.

Members: Paddy McAloon (vocals, guitar, keyboards, programming, bass), Martin McAloon (bass, 1978-2010), Michael Salmon (drums, percussion, 1977-83), Wendy Smith (vocals, keyboards, guitar, 1982-2000), Neil Conti (drums, percussion, 1984-92)

Background

Prefab Sprout evolved from The Dick Diver Band, formed in 1977 in Witton Gilbert, Durham, by singer–guitarist Paddy McAloon and his bassist brother Martin McAloon. In 1978, they changed their name to Prefab Sprout and welcomed drummer Michael Salmon.

1982–1983

On February 25, 1982, Prefab Sprout recorded their debut single “Lions in My Own Garden (Exit Someone)” backed with “Radio Love,” both Paddy originals. It first appeared on self-press Candle Records, which also issued a single by one Gerry Welsh: a cover of the Ralph McTell composition “Streets of London” (recently popularized by The Anti-Nowhere League).

A. “Lions In My Own Garden (Exit Someone)” (2:37) Paddy conceived the title as a backronym for Limoges, a French city where his girlfriend attended college.
B. “Radio Love” (4:04)

Prefab Sprout welcomed keyboardist–singer Wendy Smith and cut a second single that appeared after the May 1983 reissue of “Lions” on Kitchenware Records, a newly established Newcastle independent label that also signed Hurrah!, The Daintees, and The Kane Gang.

The reissued “Lions” appeared as the fourth Kitchenware release (SK 4), followed in October 1983 by the second Prefab Sprout single (SK 7).

A. “The Devil Has All the Best Tunes” (4:39)
B. “Walk On” (2:45)

Prefab Sprout recorded “Devil” and “Walk On” with soundman Hal Remington, who also produced an early version of their song “Diane,” which surfaced as a subsequent b-side. The two singles reached No. 16 and No. 14 (respectively) on the UK Independent Chart. Salmon quite the band as they prepared their debut album.

1984–1987

Swoon

Prefab Sprout released their debut album, Swoon, in March 1984 on Kitchenware. The title is an acronym for “Songs Written out of Necessity,” composed across a seven-year span from the band’s inception.

Swoon contains ten unique Paddy McAloon originals and a postlude variations of the track “Green Isaac.” The album presents a trio lineup of the McAloon brothers and guitarist/keyboardist Wendy Smith, each credited here as multi-instrumentalists. Drummer Graham Lant serves as a fourth wheel.

A1. “Don’t Sing” (3:53) follows the plot of The Power and the Glory, a 1940 novel by English author Graham Greene about a renegade “whisky priest” who evades a zealous anti-clerical lieutenant in 1930s Tabasco, Mexico.
A2. “Cue Fanfare” (4:06) was inspired by chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer.
A3. “Green Isaac” (3:31)
A4. “Here on the Eerie” (4:00)
A5. “Cruel” (4:20) examines the complexities of modern male desire.

B1. “Couldn’t Bear to Be Special” (3:49)
B2. “I Never Play Basketball Now” (3:40)
B3. “Ghost Town Blues” (3:21)
B4. “Elegance” (3:45)
B5. “Technique” (4:38)
B6. “Green Isaac II” (1:30)

Prefab Sprout recorded the album in the summer of 1983 in Edinburgh on 24-track with Kane Gang instrumentalist David Brewis, who produced Swoon between his own band’s first two singles. As sessions progressed, Paddy composed and recorded piano parts using drop-ins (his solution as a non-pianist). The album’s liner notes were credited to “Emma Welles,” Paddy’s pseudonym. Between the album’s completion and release, Prefab Sprout opened for Elvis Costello on his Punch the Clock tour.

“Don’t Sing” appeared in January 1984 as the lead single (b/w “Green Isaac II”). The 12″ contains a third track, “He’ll Have to Go,” a 1959 country hit by Jimmy Reeves. In March, “Couldn’t Bear to Be Special” became the second single, backed with the exclusive “Spinning Belinda” and (on the 12″) “Donna Summer.”

B1. “Spinning Belinda”
B2. “Donna Summer”

Swoon entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 22.

Steve McQueen

Prefab Sprout released their second album, Steve McQueen, in June 1985 on Kitchenware. Titled after the Sixties Hollywood leading man, the album established their classic quartet lineup with Martin and Paddy McAloon, Wendy Smith, and drummer Neil Conti, a prior Linx auxiliary.

Steve McQueen contains eleven Paddy originals, including the band’s breakthrough single “When Love Breaks Down,” produced by Cure associate Phil Thornally. Thomas Dolby produced the remaining tracks and plays supplemental keyboards. His guitarist, Kevin Armstrong (ex-Local Heroes SW9), plays on “Hallelujah” and “Desire As,” the latter with Loose Tubes saxophonist Mark Lockheart.

A1. “Faron Young” (3:48)
A2. “Bonny” (3:42)
A3. “Appetite” (3:55)
A4. “When Love Breaks Down” (4:05)
A5. “Goodbye Lucille #1” (4:28)
A6. “Hallelujah” (4:19)

B1. “Moving the River” (3:57)
B2. “Horsin’ Around” (4:37)
B3. “Desire As” (5:20)
B4. “Blueberry Pies” (2:23)
B5. “When the Angels” (4:29)

Dolby produced Steve McQueen in sequence with “Good Friends,” the lead single on Joni Mitchell‘s 1985 twelfth studio album Dog Eat Dog.

“When Love Breaks Down” first appeared in October 1984 as an advance single, backed with the non-album track “Diana.”

B1. “Diana” (-)

A second release of “When Love Breaks Down” followed in March 1985, featuring the non-album B-side “The Yearning Loins.” An April 1985 12″ version includes their 1983 single sides “The Devil Has All the Best Tunes” and “Walk On.”

B1. “The Yearning Loins” (-)

In June 1985, “Faron Young” became the third single with the non-album flip “Silhouettes,” co-produced by Joe Apollo and Andy Todd.

B1. “Silhouettes” (-)

“Appetite” became the third Steve McQueen single in August 1985 with “Heaven Can Wait,” an instrumental version of “When the Angels.” The 12″ contains the non-album track “Oh, the Swiss.”

B1. “Heaven Can Wait” (instrumental)
B2. “Oh, the Swiss” (-)

January 1986 saw the release of “Johnny Johnny,” a re-titled “Goodbye Lucille #1.” backed with “Wigs,” the fifth exclusive Steve McQueen b-side.

B1. “Wigs” (-)

1988–1990

From Langley Park to Memphis

Prefab Sprout released their third album, From Langley Park to Memphis, on March 14, 1988, on Kitchenware.

The album contains ten Paddy McAloon originals, including the US college radio hit “Cars and Girls.” They titled the album after a line in “The Venus of the Soup Kitchen” — “Maybe it hurts your brothers too, from Langley Park to Memphis” — a reference to transatlantic (universal) emotions, drawn here from a village in County Durham, England (Langley Park) to the birth place of rock ‘n’ roll (Memphis).

From Langley Park to Memphis retains the classic quartet lineup (Wendy Smith, Neil Conti, the McAloon’s) with guests appearances by Stevie Wonder (harmonica on “Nightingales”) and Pete Townshend (acoustic guitar on “Hey Manhattan!”). Wonder sideman Lenny Castro (ex-Full Moon) drums on “The Venus of the Soup Kitchen,” which features vocal backing by the Andraé Crouch Singers (also heard on “I Remember That”).

A1. “The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll” (4:22)
A2. “Cars and Girls” (4:25)
A3. “I Remember That” (4:13)
A4. “Enchanted” (3:47)
A5. “Nightingales” (5:53)

B1. “Hey Manhattan!” (4:45)
B2. “Knock On Wood” (4:16)
B3. “The Golden Calf” (5:06)
B4. “Nancy (Let Your Hair Down For Me)” (4:02)
B5. “The Venus of the Soup Kitchen” (4:29)

Sessions occurred in 1987 at studios on Newcastle, London, and Los Angeles. Thomas Dolby produced four tracks (A1, A3, B2, B5) while Paddy McAloon produced the balance, assisted on four tracks (A2, A4, A5, B4) by AIR Studios veteran Jon Kelly, a decorated Seventies soundman (Gino Vannelli, Krazy Kat, Nektar, Robin Trower) with recent credits behind Chris Rea, The Damned, Deacon Blue, and Fruits of Passion.

In February 1988, “Cars and Girls” was released as a single, featuring the non-album b-sides “Vendetta” and (on the 12″) “Nero the Zero.”

B1. “Vendetta” (-)
B2. “Nero the Zero” (-)

In April 1988, “The King of Rock ‘b’ Roll” became the second single, backed by “Moving The River,” a track from their previous album Steve McQueen. The 12-inch version included additional non-album B-sides: “Dandy of the Danube” and “Tin Can Pot.”

B1. “Dandy of the Danube” (-)
B2. “Tin Can Pot” (-)

“Hey Manhattan!” became the third single in July 1988 with the non-album “Tornado” as its b-side.

B1. “Tornado” (-)

Protest Songs

On June 19, 1989, Prefab Sprout released Protest Songs, a self-produced set recorded in September 1985 between Steve McQueen and Langley Park.

The album presents ten simple acoustic songs, recorded quickly as a raw counterpart to the polish of their just-completed Steve McQueen.

A1. “The World Awake” (4:24)
A2. “Life of Surprises” (4:05)
A3. “Horsechimes” (4:21)
A4. “Wicked Things” (3:08)
A5. “Dublin” (3:40)

B1. “Tiffanys” (3:49)
B2. “Diana” (4:09)
B3. “Talking Scarlet” (4:32)
B4. “‘Til the Cows Come Home” (4:12)
B5. “Pearly Gates” (5:28)

Prefab Sprout recorded the album at Lynx Studios in Newcastle with Richard Digby Smith, a Seventies studio vet (Bronco, Free, Patto, Sparks) with mid-Eighties credits behind Blancmange, The Waterboys, and ex-Josef K singer Paul Haig.

Jordan: The Comeback

Prefab Sprout released their fifth album, Jordan: The Comeback, on August 28, 1990, on Kitchenware and CBS. As their first project conceived for the CD format, the album contains nineteen Paddy McAloon originals (divided into four thematic cycles) with the runtime of a double-album (63:45).

Jordan features the classic four-piece (Wendy, Conti, the McAloon’s) augmented by ABC auxiliary percussionist Luis Jardim. “Looking for Atlantis” features harmonica player Judd Landers, famed for his work with Culture Club (“Karma Chameleon”) and The The (“Heartland”). English actress Jenny Agutter (Logan’s Run, An American Werewolf in London) provides guest vocals on “Machine Gun Ibiza.”

“Carnival 2000” features the Phantom Horns, a brass/reed trio with Leisure Process saxophonist Gary Barnacle and ex-Landscape trombonist Peter Thoms.

1. “Looking for Atlantis” (4:03)
2. “Wild Horses” (3:44)
3. “Machine Gun Ibiza” (3:43)
4. “We Let the Stars Go” (3:39)
5. “Carnival 2000” (3:23)

6. “Jordan: The Comeback” (4:13)
7. “Jesse James Symphony” (2:15)
8. “Jesse James Bolero” (4:10)
9. “Moon Dog” (4:12)

10. “All the World Loves Lovers” (3:50)
11. “All Boys Believe Anything” (1:34)
12. “The Ice Maiden” (3:19)
13. “Paris Smith” (2:55)
14. “The Wedding March” (2:50)

15. “One of the Broken” (3:55)
16. “Michael” (3:02)
17. “Mercy” (1:23)
18. “Scarlet Nights” (4:17)
19. “Doo Wop in Harlem” (3:44)

Sessions commended in June 1989 at Ridge Farm Studio, Surrey, and finished in early 1990 in Los Angeles, where Prefab Sprout stayed at the new home of Thomas Dolby, who produced Jordan in sequence with titles by Mecano, Ofra Haza, and Ryuichi Sakamoto. English engineer Paul Gomersall (Echo & The Bunnymen, Twelfth Night) handled the Ridge Farm sessions immediately after The Sensual World, the 1989 sixth studio album by Kate Bush.

Discography: