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Prefab Sprout
Prefab Sprout
NTS aired an episode dedicated to the music of Prefab Sprout on 22 December 2023. Prefab Sprout has been played on NTS over 280 times, featured on 252 episodes and was first played on 2 June 2014.
Prefab Sprout is an English pop band from Witton Gilbert, County Durham formed in 1976, who rose to fame during the 1980s. Though critically acclaimed, and considered by many to have released some of the best pop albums of the decade, the band never matched this acclaim with commercial success. The band's best known lineup comprised Paddy McAloon (vocals, guitar, keyboard), Wendy Smith (vocals, guitar, keyboard), Martin McAloon…
Prefab Sprout is an English pop band from Witton Gilbert, County Durham formed in 1976, who rose to fame during the 1980s. Though critically acclaimed, and considered by many to have released some of the best pop albums of the decade, the band never matched this acclaim with commercial success. The band's best known lineup comprised Paddy McAloon (vocals, guitar, keyboard), Wendy Smith (vocals, guitar, keyboard), Martin McAloon (bass), and Neil Conti (drums).\n
Their biggest commercial and critical success came with 1990's Jordan: The Comeback (one of two albums produced by Thomas Dolby), which was a hit in the UK and nominated for a BRIT award. The band also had a UK Top 10 hit with their 1988 song The King of Rock 'n' Roll.\n
Perhaps their finest album, Steve McQueen (originally released in June 1985) was re-released in August 2007 as a 2-CD deluxe edition, with a bonus disc of eight acoustic reinterpretations of some of the original tracks. Of the release, the record company said: \"Digitally remastered by original producer Thomas Dolby, the album is sounding even better than ever. As if that weren't enough it is complemented here with a second disc containing eight sublime acoustic versions, which have been specially re-recorded for this release by Paddy McAloon.\"\n
Steve McQueen was released in the US under the title Two Wheels Good following pressure from the late actor's estate.\n
Prefab Sprout released Let's Change the World With Music - The Blueprint in 2009 on the Kitchenware Records label (website). See also Sprout Trivia below.\n
Discography:\nLions In My Own Garden (Exit Someone) / Radio Love - Feb 25, 1982 (their first record, released on their own label Candle)\nThe Devil Has All the Best Tunes / Walk On - Oct 1983 (Kitchenware) (feat. Wendy Smith and Fiona Attwood)\nSwoon - Mar 1984\nSteve McQueen aka Two Wheels Good (US) - Jun 1985\nFrom Langley Park to Memphis - Mar 1988\nProtest Songs - Jun 1989\nJordan: The Comeback - Aug 1990\nThe Best of Prefab Sprout: A Life of Surprises - Jul 1992 (compilation; exit Conti hereafter)\nAndromeda Heights - May 1997\n38 Carat Collection (disc 1) - Oct 1999 (compilation)\n38 Carat Collection (disc 2) - Oct 1999 (compilation)\nThe Gunman And Other Stories - Jun 18, 2001 (sans Smith)\n
Chronology of Bandmembers:\nPaddy McAloon (born Patrick Joseph McAloon, Jun 7, 1957, Durham); vocals / guitars / keyboards\nMartin McAloon (born Jan 4, 1962, Durham); bass guitar\nMichael Salmon; drums / percussion\nWendy Smith (born May 31, 1963, Middlesbrough); vocals / guitars / keyboards\nNeil Conti (born Feb 12, 1959, Luton); drums / percussion\nFiona Attwood (Chester-le-Street); backing vocals","excerpt":"NTS aired an episode dedicated to the music of Prefab Sprout on 22 December 2023. Prefab Sprout has been played on NTS over 280 times, featured on 252 episodes and was first played on 2 June 2014.\n\nPrefab Sprout is an English pop band from Witton Gilbert, County Durham formed in 1976, who rose to fame during the 1980s. Though critically acclaimed, and considered by many to have released some of the best pop albums of the decade, the band never matched this acclaim with commercial success. The band's best known lineup comprised Paddy McAloon (vocals, guitar, keyboard), Wendy Smith (vocals, guitar, keyboard), Martin McAloon...","excerptHtml":"
NTS aired an episode dedicated to the music of Prefab Sprout on 22 December 2023. Prefab Sprout has been played on NTS over 280 times, featured on 252 episodes and was first played on 2 June 2014.\n
Prefab Sprout is an English pop band from Witton Gilbert, County Durham formed in 1976, who rose to fame during the 1980s. Though critically acclaimed, and considered by many to have released some of the best pop albums of the decade, the band never matched this acclaim with commercial success. The band's best known lineup comprised Paddy McAloon (vocals, guitar, keyboard), Wendy Smith (vocals, guitar, keyboard), Martin McAloon…"},"episodes":[{"status":"published","updated":"2023-12-22T14:14:07+00:00","name":"In Focus: Prefab Sprout","description":"\"Quiet genius\" might seem like a trite platitude to bestow a pop musician, but there are fewer more deserving of the title in the 20th Century than Prefab Sprout's now retired songwriter Paddy McAloon. \nThe true centre of the band, McAloon's musical arrangements, which playfully interpret country, rock'n'roll, synth pop and more, are at once heartwrenching and inventive. His famously wry lyrics, which import the deep interiority and experimentalism of midcentury novelists to three-minute pop songs, defy easy comparison. \nExperience unalloyed pop joy, with two hours of Prefab Sprout. ","description_html":"
\"Quiet genius\" might seem like a trite platitude to bestow a pop musician, but there are fewer more deserving of the title in the 20th Century than Prefab Sprout's now retired songwriter Paddy McAloon. \n
The true centre of the band, McAloon's musical arrangements, which playfully interpret country, rock'n'roll, synth pop and more, are at once heartwrenching and inventive. His famously wry lyrics, which import the deep interiority and experimentalism of midcentury novelists to three-minute pop songs, defy easy comparison. \n
Experience unalloyed pop joy, with two hours of Prefab Sprout. 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![[TITLE: English singer-songwriter Paddy McAloon and singer-guitarist Wendy Smith of English pop group Prefab Sprout, 1985. (Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images)] [AUTHOR: Michael Putland] [SOURCE: Getty Images]](https://media3.ntslive.co.uk/crop/100x100/0103e766-5c33-4a9f-b45d-13fe8e79e66b_1703203200.jpeg)
