"glory boys"
Year: 1979
Country: UK
City: London
Label: Sony
Format: CD, LP
Tracks: 10
Time: 36 min.
Genre: rock
Style: Mod
Secret Affair first slid into the UK's consciousness in September 1979 with their exhilarating debut single "Time for Action," which danced its way to number 13 in the charts. Britain was in the grip of a mod revival, spearheaded by the success of the Jam, and Secret Affair were perfectly placed to take advantage of the prevailing mood. Although their follow-up 45, "Let Your Heart Dance," stalled in the lower reaches of the Top 30, their debut album, which included both songs, was eagerly anticipated. Glory Boys didn't disappoint and quieted any sneering suggestions that this new crew of mods were merely Jam wannabes. Of course Secret Affair shared influences with their bigger brethren -- Tamla Motown and British beat bands -- but from them the group fashioned a unique style far removed from the Jam's own. This was partially due to singer Ian Page bringing his trumpet to the proceedings, gracing Affair with a much more genuine retro sound, while also adding further exhilaration to the music. Page's horn solo on "Don't Look Down" (with nods to, of all things, the E Street Band) just cooks -- it also punches up the aforementioned "Dance," and is vital to their cover of the Miracles' "Going to a Go-Go." The Jam were so impressed by the authenticity brass gave to Affair's sound that they promptly began including some on their own records. But of equal importance was Affair's attitude; they reveled in their modness, and their upbeat mood had little in common with Paul Weller's angst and alienation. This stance is clearest on the album's centerpiece, "Glory Boys" itself. A rousing mod-like punk exhortation of mod pride, it immediately became the movement's anthem for parka-clad youth across the nation. Secret Affair had arrived in definite style. The CD reissue appends two bonus tracks to the original album -- the rocking "Soho Strut" and "Sorry, Wrong Number," the closest a mod band could get to Two Tone without using a syncopated beat. Both were previously released as B-sides on "Time for Action" and "Dance," respectively (*Review by Jo-Ann Greene ).
"behind closed doors"
Year: 1980
Label: Sony
Format: CD, LP
Tracks: 10
Time: 36 min.
Genre: rock
Style: Mod New Wave
It's understandable that numbers of unwary buyers thought there had been some mistake; the sleeve claimed this was a Secret Affair record, but surely this couldn't be the same band that gave the world Glory Boys? Actually, it could. The group had seen which way the wind was blowing, or more accurately, felt the first stings of the mod backlash, and had reacted accordingly. The result was Behind Closed Doors, singer Ian Page's vision for the band's future. The grand idea was to make the album a showcase of both Affair's musical abilities and to expand beyond their mod sound of yore. Gone were all references to their Motown heroes, and while hints of British beat did shine through, they were so transmuted as to barely qualify for the label. As for punk, not even a tinge of that remained, no matter how hard one searched through the grooves. If anything, Doors was the antithesis of all things punk, and one final kick in the dying genre's head. Instead, listeners were presented with an album that heralded the '80s, in all its glory and excesses, a good two years before the rest of the rock world caught up. Amazingly, the band accomplished this transformation all on their own. Page not only produced the record, but also arranged the strings, whose lush tones spilled across many of the tracks. In retrospect, it's amazing Doors didn't slam to the top of the charts, at least in America. Packed with ten pop/rockers, littered with Springsteen-esque brass (now augmented by new member Dave Winthrop's sax), rocky guitars, occasional flashes of British Invasions past, fleshed out by a grand piano and synths, and all accentuated by the slick production, it was perfect for the U.S. market. Perhaps if the band had changed their clothes as well as their sound, it all could have been different. It sank without a trace here, and barely stumbled into the U.K. Top 50 -- a classic case of too much, too soon. The CD reissue appends two B-sides to the original album. The oh-so-cool "So Cool," backed Affair's "My World" single, while the funk-esque "Take It or Leave It" accompanied "Sound of Confusion."
(*Review by Jo-Ann Greene ).
"business as usual"
Year: 1982
Label: Sony
Format: CD, LP
Tracks: 12
Time: 36 min.
Genre: rock
Style: Mod Pop
