Scarlet Party
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| Scarlet Party | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Essex, England |
| Years active | Recording: 1982-1983 Live: 1982-1985 |
| Genres | Rock Progressive rock |
| Labels | Parlophone Records |
| Past members | Sean Heaphy, Steven Dye, Graham Dye, Mark Gilmour, Micky Portman |
Scarlet Party formed in Essex, England in the early 1980s: their sound combined contemporary and Sixties influences, and they were a popular live band until they split up in 1985.
The band’s first single, "101 Dam-Nations", was released in November 1982 on EMI’s Parlophone label. The band’s 1982 recording sessions at Abbey Road Studios coincided with the Beatles’ 20th anniversary at EMI, and this helped to get them noticed. With singer Graham Dye's vocals uncannily resembling John Lennon, a television and radio publicity campaign helped reinforce the connection. The single was enthusiastically received (Kate Bush described it as her favourite), and it reached number 44 in the UK charts.
"101 Dam-Nations" was followed by another single, "Eyes Of Ice", released in February 1983. This seemed to stall on its way to the charts, when EMI at the last minute diverted its marketing resources to promote Kajagoogoo. This single was to be Scarlet Party's last.
An album, Scarlet Skies, was recorded and completed, but never released. It is a lively and engaging record, albeit slightly over-produced: its linked songs explore themes of war, love and alienation, in styles reminiscent of both the mini pop operas of The Who and the progressive concept albums of Pink Floyd. Unfortunately there are still no plans to give it a full release (as at October 2006).
Scarlet Party were: Graham Dye, Steven Dye and Sean Heaphy, with Mark Gilmour (1982-1983, brother of Pink Floyd's Dave Gilmour) and Micky Portman (1984-1985). Graham Dye went on to work on several albums with Alan Parsons.
