Prefab Sprout: Difference between revisions

'''Prefab Sprout''' are an English [[pop music|pop]]/rock band from [[Witton Gilbert]], [[County Durham]] who rose to fame during the 1980s. Formed in 1978<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums"/> by brothers [[Paddy McAloon|Paddy]] and Martin McAloon and joined by vocalist, guitarist and keyboard player [[Wendy Smith (singer)|Wendy Smith]] in 1982, they released their debut album ''[[Swoon (Prefab Sprout album)|Swoon]]'' to critical acclaim in 1984. Their subsequent albums, including 1985's ''[[Steve McQueen (album)|Steve McQueen]]'' and 1990's ''[[Jordan: The Comeback]]'', have been described by [[Paul Lester]] of ''[[The Guardian]]'' as "some of the most beautiful and intelligent records of their era".<ref name="Paul Lester">{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/sep/05/paddy-mcaloon-prefab-sprout-make-music | title=Culture: Paddy McAloon: 'I'll do without an audience to make the music I want' | work=The Guardian | date=5 September 2013 | access-date=24 March 2019 | author=Lester, Paul | author-link =Paul Lester}}</ref> Frontman Paddy McAloon is regarded as one of the great songwriters of his time and the band have been credited with producing some of the "most beloved" pop music of the 1980s and 1990s.<ref name="AMG">{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/prefab-sprout-mn0000300024/biography |title=Biography by Stewart Mason |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=4 December 2008}}</ref>

Nine of their [[album (music)|albums]] reached the [[Toptop 40]] inon the [[UK Albums Chart]] and one of their [[single (music)|singles]], "[[The King of Rock 'n' Roll]]", peaked at number seven inon the [[UK Singles Chart]]. The band's other popular songs include "[[When Love Breaks Down]]" and "[[Cars and Girls]]".<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums"/> InThe recentband has not played live since 2000.<ref>{{Cite web |last=admin |date=2015-03-29 |title=The 2000 Tour Revisited in Real Time - Fifteen Years to the Day |url=https://www.sproutology.co.uk/concerts/the-2000-tour-revisited-in-real-time-fifteen-years-to-the-day/ |access-date=2023-09-03 |website=Sproutology |language=en-US}}</ref> Starting from 2003, Paddy McAloon has retained the Prefab Sprout name as a solo project.<ref name="Paul Lester"</>

In 1977, brothers [[Paddy McAloon|Paddy]] and Martin McAloon formed Thethe Dick Diver Band. By 1978, the name had changed to Prefab Sprout, a name McAloon had created years earlier when, as he has said, "all the groups had names like that".<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">{{cite book

Prefab Sprout were signed by Keith Armstrong's [[Kitchenware Records]] in March 1983, after Armstrong heard their music played in the [[Newcastle on Tyne|Newcastle]] branch of [[HMV]] he managed.<ref name="prefabsprout.net"/><ref name="Consett Music Project">{{cite journal |title=No longer a Prefab Sprout |journal=Consett Music Project |date=1984 |issue=4 |url=https://www.sproutology.co.uk/consett-music-project-issue-4-1984/ |access-date=5 June 2019}}</ref> Their two singles were reissued by Kitchenware and attracted notice including laudationpraise from [[Elvis Costello]].<ref name="Young, gifted and... white?">{{cite journal |last1=Thrills |first1=Adrian |title=Young, gifted and... white? |journal=NME |date=27 August 1983 |url=https://www.sproutology.co.uk/interviews/adrian-thrills-kitchenware-feature-nme-august-27th-1983/ |access-date=6 June 2019}}</ref>

Following the departure of Michael Salmon as drummer, the band recorded their debut album with session drummer Graham Lant in a 24-track studio in [[Edinburgh]] on a budget of £5,000.<ref name="Sprout fever">{{cite journal |last1=Pye |first1=Ian |title=Sprout fever |journal=Melody Maker |date=28 January 1984 |url=https://www.sproutology.co.uk/interviews/ian-pye-melody-maker-january-28th-1984/ |access-date=8 June 2019}}</ref><ref name="No Sweat">{{cite journal |last1=Cooper |first1=Mark |title=No Sweat |journal=Q Magazine |date=December 1988 |url=https://www.sproutology.co.uk/interviews/q-magazine-mark-cooper-december-1988/ |access-date=7 June 2019}}</ref> Entitled ''[[Swoon (Prefab Sprout album)|Swoon]]'' (an acronym for Songs Written Out Of Necessity), it was released on the Kitchenware [[record label|label]] in March 1984.<ref name="AMG"/> It was critically acclaimed, with several reviewers highlighting its unorthodox musical style and unconventional lyrics.<ref name="Costello’s new favourites">{{cite journal |last1=Andersson |first1=Jan-Olov |title=Costello’sCostello's new favourites |journal=Aftonbladet (Sweden) |date=26 March 1984 |url=https://www.sproutology.co.uk/interviews/jan-olov-andersson-aftonbladet-sweden-march-26th-1984/}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nichols |first1=Kathryn |title=A Prefabricated Style |journal=Debut Magazine |date=1984 |issue=3 |url=https://www.sproutology.co.uk/interviews/kathryn-nichols-debut-magazine-1984/ |access-date=6 June 2019}}</ref><ref name="Sprout's honour">{{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Graham K. |title=Sprout's honour |journal=Record Mirror |date=3 March 1984 |url=https://www.sproutology.co.uk/interviews/graham-k-record-mirror-march-3rd-1984/ |access-date=6 June 2019}}</ref> and it reached No. 22 on the [[UK Albums Chart]]. The album attracted the attention of musician [[Thomas Dolby]], who began producing a new batch of what McAloon would describe as simpler songs with the band.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Takahashi |first1=Kentaro |title=Prefab Sprout |journal=Music Magazine, Japan |date=September 1986 |url=https://www.sproutology.co.uk/interviews/kentaro-takahashi-music-magazine-japan-july-1st-1986-published-september-1986/ |access-date=12 October 2019}}</ref> Graham Lant's relationship with Prefab Sprout ended soon after recording of ''Swoon'', so [[Neil Conti]] joined the band as drummer.<ref name="Graham Lant">{{cite web |title=Swoon: A Brief Interview with Graham Lant |url=https://www.sproutology.co.uk/interviews/swoon-a-brief-interview-with-graham-lant/ |website=Sproutology |date=4 October 2014 |access-date=6 June 2019}}</ref> The resulting album, 1985's ''[[Steve McQueen (album)|Steve McQueen]]'', (released in America as ''Two Wheels Good'' in anticipation of displeasure from [[Steve McQueen|McQueen]]'s estate),<ref>{{cite web |last1=McAloon |first1=Martin |title=Steve McQueen’sMcQueen's estate never officially commented on the album title, it was nervousness in a notoriously litigious nation, that sparked the name change. |url=https://twitter.com/CulpaFeliks/status/1245467048395898882 |website=Twitter |access-date=1 April 2020}}</ref> was highly praised by critics and gave the band its first hit single on the [[UK Singles Chart]], "[[When Love Breaks Down]]".<ref name="AMG"/>

The band's next project was ''[[Protest Songs (album)|Protest Songs]]'', a sparsely-produced and quickly recorded album intended for a limited release in late 1985. The album was put on hold by [[CBS]] so as not to stunt sales of ''Steve McQueen'',<ref name="Pop Gear">{{cite journal |last1=Takano |first1=Yuko |title=Prefab Sprout: From Langley Park to Memphis |journal=Pop Gear |date=April 1988 |url=https://www.sproutology.co.uk/interviews/yuko-takano-pop-gear-april-1988/ |access-date=18 October 2019}}</ref><ref name="Billboard">{{cite journalmagazine |last1=Dave |first1=DiMartino |title=Prefab Sprout Takes Root |journalmagazine=Billboard |date=20 August 1988 |url=https://www.sproutology.co.uk/interviews/dave-dimartino-billboard-20th-august-1988/ |access-date=18 October 2019}}</ref> finally seeing release in 1989. In 1988, the band released their follow-up to ''Steve McQueen'', ''[[From Langley Park to Memphis]]''. The album gave the band their biggest commercial success in the UK with the single "[[The King of Rock 'n' Roll]]". The song is written from the perspective of a washed-up singer who had a [[one-hit wonder]] in the 1950s with a [[novelty song]] featuring the chorus "Hot dog, jumping frog, Albuquerque". It reached No.&nbsp;7 in the [[UK Singles Chart]], their only single to reach the Top 10. ''From Langley Park to Memphis'' included guest appearances from [[Stevie Wonder]] and [[Pete Townshend]], and used multiple producers including Thomas Dolby, who could not commit to working on the entire album.<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums"/><ref name="Sound on Sound">{{cite web |last1=Doyle |first1=Tom |title=Paddy McAloon: From Langley Park To Memphis (And Back) |url=https://www.soundonsound.com/people/prefab-sprout |website=Sound on Sound |access-date=5 June 2019}}</ref>

In 1990, ''[[Jordan: The Comeback]]'', fully produced by Thomas Dolby, was nominated for a [[BRIT Awards|BRIT Award]]. Though the music was more accessible than their earlier material, the lyrics and subject matter remained characteristically oblique and suggestive. McAloon has alluded in interviews to several albums' worth of songs that he has written but are unreleased/unrecorded including amongst others, [[concept album]]s based on the life of [[Michael Jackson]], the history of the world (''Earth: The Story So Far'') and a fictional superhero (''Zorro the Fox'').<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopfeatures/6163329/Paddy-McAloon-of-Prefab-Sprout-interview.html|title=Paddy McAloon of Prefab Sprout|website=Telegraph.co.uk|date=9 September 2009 |access-date=2 March 2017}}</ref>

Prefab Sprout's first album of new material since 2001, ''[[Let's Change the World with Music]]'', was released on 7 September 2009. The album is actually a collection of McAloon solo demos originally recorded in the early 1990s, intended for an unmade full band Prefab Sprout album. Reviews in the UK press were favourable (e.g. 5/5 in ''[[The Times]]'', 4/5 in ''[[The Guardian]]'', 4/5 in ''[[Record Collector]]'').{{cn|date=July 2023}}

In June 2013, a leak of ten previously unreleased songs on [[SoundCloud]] led to speculation that a new Prefab Sprout album was being recorded. ''[[Crimson/Red]]'', consisting of developed versions of tracks from the vaults,<ref name="Paul Lester"</> that was subsequently released on 7 October 2013 on vinyl and CD on the Icebreaker records label. A limited edition box set with an interview CD was also released. The lead single was "The Best Jewel Thief in the World". A video for this track (produced by Tylar Cornak) was originally posted to [[Vimeo]]. ''Crimson/Red'' also confirmed that Prefab Sprout was now in effect a solo project, with Paddy McAloon singing, playing and programming all of the music on the album on his own. In interviews at the time, McAloon explained that his health issues (in particular, the deterioration of his hearing and eyesight)<ref name=America/> now dictated the way in which Prefab Sprout music was recorded, making it impractical and even impossible for any other musicians to be involved,<ref name="Scotsman 2013">{{citeCitation newsneeded| url=https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/culture/music/paddy-mcaloon-on-the-return-of-prefab-sprout-1-3120463 | title=Paddy McAloon on the return of Prefab Sprout | newspaper=[[The Scotsman]] | date=1 October 2013 | access-date=24 March 2019 | author=Eaton-Lewis, AndrewMay 2024}}</ref> but that he remained fond of and grateful to his former bandmates.

Several interviews have described a significant vault of unreleased material, credited either to Prefab Sprout or to McAloon himself.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/prefab-sprout-s-paddy-mcaloon-like-gandalf-on-his-way-to-work-in-the-house-of-lords-1.3765658|title=Prefab Sprout’sSprout's Paddy McAloon: ‘Like'Like Gandalf on his way to work in the House of Lords’Lords'|first=Tony|last=Clayton-Lea|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]|access-date=31 March 2021}}</ref> ''[[Crimson/Red]]'' was based on tracks from the vault, and ''[[Let's Change the World with Music]]'' was released in a form that was substantially similar to its 1993 demo form.

InOn the10 December 2018, Paddy McAloon featured in an interview on the ''[[Today (BBC Radio 4,)|Today]]'' programme on [[BBC Radio 4]]. McAloon explainedsaid that Sony would be making further releases, and that since 2013 he washad been working on an album of unreleased material, 'Femmes Mythologiques', to be issued in September 2019. During the radio appearance, he played a segment of a song called "Cleopatra".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0001hj5|title=Today – 10/12/2018 – BBC Sounds|website=BBC|access-date=10 December 2018}}</ref> However, the album has yet to be released, and as of 2022, no additional information is available about its release.

* Martin McAloon – bass guitar <small>(1978–2001)<ref name="psmem">{{cite magazine|last=Berkmann|first=Marcus|url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/prefab-sprout-s-comeback-gives-hope-to-the-over-50s|title=Prefab Sprout’sSprout's comeback gives hope to the over-50s|magazine=[[The Spectator]]|date=8 February 2014|access-date=25 August 2020}}</ref></small>

* [[Neil Conti]] – drums, percussion <small>(1984–1993, 2000)<ref name="psmem"/></small>

*''[[Protest Songs (album)|Protest Songs]]'' (1989)

*[https://www.sproutology.co.uk// sproutologySproutology fan site]