| A Flock of Seagulls | |
| Background: | group_or_band |
| Origin: | Liverpool, United Kingdom |
| Genre: | New wave, synthpop, electropop |
| Years Active: | 1979 – 1986 1989 – present |
| Label: | Cocteau, Jive |
| Current Members: | Mike Score Joe Rodríguez Pando Vladimir Baldelomar Michael Brahm Rob Koreman Steven Zhou |
| Past Members: | Ali Score Frank Maudsley Gary Steadman Paul Reynolds |
A Flock of Seagulls (also known as Flock of Seagulls) are a British Grammy Award winning band originally formed by brothers Mike Score (keyboards, Vocals) and Ali Score (drums), with Frank Maudsley (bass) and Paul Reynolds (guitar). They became notable in the 1980s for their MTV video for the song "I Ran (So Far Away)".
A Flock of Seagulls was started by Mike Score and his brother Ali in 1979 in Liverpool. Mike, who was previously a hairdresser, played keyboards, guitar, and Vocals, Ali played drums and their friend Frank Maudsley played bass. The band took their name from a line in the song "Toiler on the Sea" by The Stranglers, which appears on their album Black and White.Smith, Steve Bits and Pieces: the Penguin Book of Rock and Pop Facts and Trivia. Penguin, 1988 ISBN 0140107436The band added guitarist Willie Woo and Mark Edmondson joined briefly when Ali and Mike had a fall out with Ali re joining when Mark took ill. They then began writing songs. Soon later Willie left allowing Paul Reynolds to join. They then started playing clubs, and soon enough, they got a contract. The choice of their name was between "The Seagulls" and what it is today. A friend chose "A Flock of Seagulls" because it was a shorter name to write on first time gig posters.
Eventually, under the management of Harry Maguire Tommy Crossan and Mick Rossi (Checkmount Limited), they began to release singles through Jive Records. The group released an EP and a couple of singles in 1981 that made only a small impact in the UK and abroad. In 1982 the group's third single proper "I Ran (So Far Away)" became a worldwide hit, most notably reaching number one in Australia and the top ten in the US. The parent album A Flock of Seagulls and another single "Space Age Love Song" were also successful. In late 1982 the band found major success in their home country with "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)" which reached the top 10[1] . Unfortunately for the four-piece, 1982 would prove to the peak of their commercial and critical success.
1983 saw the release of three singles to back their second album Listen. Each was only a minor success in the UK and abroad. The album bore a heavily processed electronic sound that was a break from the Duran Duran guitar and bass driven sound of their début. Faced with disappointment the group produced a third album in 1984 that leant closer to a guitar sound. "The More You Live, The More You Love" was The Story of a Young Hearts lead single. It was moderately successful, despite having production that recalled their breakout hit "I Ran". The album's other two singles - "Never Again (The Dancer)" and "Remember David" - didn't make any headway.
Faced with sliding sales and a loss of direction following the third album the group relocated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania minus Paul Reynolds. Eventually in 1985 the group released a new album; Dream Come True. Despite having a new sound based around the Fairlight Synthesizer the album was critically panned and a commercial failure. The remaining members fell out and A Flock Of Seagulls in it's original incarnation disbanded. In promotion of Dream Come True, two videos - "Who's That Girl" and "Heartbeat Like a Drum" - were filmed in quick succession. These two videos were the last time the three remaining members were together in a recording or performance capacity until 2004.
In November 2003, the original line-up (Mike and Ali Score, Paul Reynolds and Frank Maudsley) reunited for a one-off performance on the VH1 series, Bands Reunited. In September 2004, they reformed again and played a small number of live shows in the United States, but broke up immediately afterward.
Maudsley returned to Liverpool and is now the owner of a newsagent in the City Centre, while Mike and Ali Score stayed in Philadelphia. The brothers then had a falling out that resulted in Mike Score remaining as the sole original member of the band and Ali going to Boston, where he played in a hard rock band and then worked for a computer company in Cambridge.
Following the dissolution of the band in the wake of Dream Come True, Mike Score resurfaced in a series of new bands with changing line-ups. The band released two singles ("Magic" and "Burnin' Up") and one album (The Light at the End of the World) which achieved some success. The group made a cameo appearance in the 1999 movie The Suburbans, starring Jennifer Love Hewitt and Will Ferrell.
In 2003, A Flock of Seagulls performed for the unveiling of the Syracuse A-league football logo and team's name, Syracuse Salty Dogs, in Syracuse, New York. The band returned later that year for a performance at one of the Salty Dogs' games at Syracuse's P&C Stadium.
In November 2003, the original line-up (Mike and Ali Score, Paul Reynolds and Frank Maudsley) reunited for a one-off performance on the VH1 series, Bands Reunited. In September 2004, they reformed again and played a small number of live shows in the United States, but broke up immediately afterward. The reunion included performances at Nike Run Hit Wonder (L.A., not NYC), a series of 5000 and 10,000 metre road races, featuring popular one hit wonder bands (including Devo, General Public, and Tommy Tutone) playing along the race course.
Mike Score continues to tour under the band's name with a new line-up, but the other original members have retired from music. The band played a show at Classic Bowl in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
The band's 2005 lineup was Mike Score, lead singer, keyboards; Joe Rodriguez, lead guitarist; Pando, bassist; and Michael Brahm, drums. In June 2005, the current line-up appeared on the debut episode of the American edition of NBC's Hit Me Baby One More Time. Besides performing their hit song I Ran (So Far Away), they also performed a cover of Ryan Cabrera's "On the Way Down".
Classic line-up (1979 – 1984)
| Year | Album | Chart Positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.K [2] | DEU [3] | SE | U.S [4] | FLOCK | OF | SEAGULLS&sql=11:3ifixqe5ldje~T5 |
| 1981 | Modern Love Is Automatic EP
| – | – | – | – | |
| 1982 | A Flock of Seagulls
| 32 | 26 | 32 | 10 | |
| 1983 | Listen
| 16 | 14 | 44 | 16 | |
| 1984 | The Story of a Young Heart
| 30 | 31 | – | 67 | |
| 1985 | Dream Come True
| – | – | – | – | |
| 1995 | The Light at the End of the World
| – | – | – | – | |
| Year | Title | Album | Chart Positions | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.K. [5] | U.K. Indie [6] | AUS | DEU [7] | IRL [8] | U.S [9] | FLOCK | OF | SEAGULLS&sql=11:3ifixqe5ldje~T51 | |||
| Hot 100 | MSR | Dance Club Play | |||||||||
| 1981 | "(It's Not Me) Talking" | — | – | 45 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| "Telecommunication" | A Flock of Seagulls | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 19 | ||
| 1982 | "I Ran (So Far Away)" | 43 | – | 1 | 31 | – | 9 | 3 | 8 | ||
| "Space Age Love Song" | 34 | – | – | – | – | 30 | 59 | – | |||
| "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)" | Listen | 10 | – | – | 37 | 6 | 26 | 3 | 62 | ||
| 1983 | "(It's Not Me) Talking" (Cocteau Records re-issue) | — | – | 22 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| "Nightmares" | Listen | 53 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| "Transfer Affection" | 38 | – | – | – | 22 | – | – | – | |||
| "(It's Not Me) Talking" (Rerecording) | 78 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 1984 | "The More You Live, The More You Love" | The Story of a Young Heart | 26 | – | – | 37 | – | 56 | 10 | – | |
| "Never Again (The Dancer)" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| "Remember David" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 1985 | "Who's That Girl (She's Got It)" | Dream Come True | 66 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 1986 | "Heartbeat Like a Drum" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1989 | "Magic" | — | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 1995 | "Magic" (Re-issue) | The Light at the End of the World | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| "Burnin' Up" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 1996 | "Rainfall" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 2000 | "Rainfall" (Re-issue) | — | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 2007 | "I Ran (So Far Away)" (A Flock Of Seagulls vs. The Angry Kids) | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
Mike Score's distinctive hairstyle has been mentioned, copied, and parodied many times in the media: