B-Movie - The Age of Illusion

by Dave Goodwin

published: 27 / 2 / 2014

Label: No Emb Blanc
Format: CD

Impressive nostalgia-inducing second album and first in nearly thirty years from reformed 80’s Mansfield-based new wave group, B-Movie

Review

Here's a hard one for you. Does anyone remember B-Movie? I do, but only just. They were one of the more obscure bands from the new wave/synth/New Romantic days. They were a cultish group signed to Some Bizzare. They were formed in Mansfield in 1979, and released two singles on Lincoln indie label Dead Good Records before signing to Stevo's Some Bizarre label in 1980. They also appeared on the legendary ‘Some Bizzare Album’ compilation with their track 'Moles', alongside debut outings from Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, The The and Blancmange. Their debut single on Phonogram’s Deram label 'Remembrance Day' entered the charts in March 1981, and reached the dizzy heights of 61. They supported Duran Duran on their first UK tour. The follow-up single, ‘Marilyn Dreams’, failed to chart, but they will be best remembered for their third single 'Nowhere Girl' which was a decent-sized hit in Europe, reaching the Top Ten in many countries and also had a good run in the US. After this they signed to Sire in 1983, and recorded the album, 'Forever Running', and a single, 'A Letter from Afar', at Abbey Road with John “Jellybean” Benitez. The band’s keyboard player Rick Holliday left in 1983 to form Six Sed Red with Soft Cell's Cindy Ecstasy, and Paul Statham jumped from guitar to keyboards and was briefly replaced by Stuart McLean of Charming Snakes on a tour of Israel. They eventually split in 1986, with front man Steve Hovington moving on to form a band called One in the late 1980s with Steven Webster and drummer Bob Thompson, who released an album and two singles on Chrysalis. Statham meanwhile went on to collaborate with ex-Bauhaus singer Peter Murphy. In 2012, they released the ‘Echoes’ EP, their first new release in twenty-six years. And now in 2014 we are treated to this, their second album. This isn't that far away from their stuff back in the day. And that’s not a bad thing really. The first few tracks - 'Age Of Illusion', 'Other People's Lives' and 'Perfect Storm' – are reminiscent of days gone by. It is as if we never left the 1980s, and pretty soon you get the feeling that there's a moment of brilliance coming. And it does. Track four is a pop sensation. 'She's a Car Crash' is five minutes of what 80’s new wave was all about, but is is brought up to date to the new post Millennium audience. Take that last track and couple it along with the next one, 'Zeitgeist', which is a semi-instrumental, and you've got something to present to the kids - Evidence that the 80’s is alive and kicking once again. 'Razor's Edge' is another cult number that does everything in its power to relieve you of your no new wave blues. There are echoes of early New Order as 'To the Ends of the Earth' fades into the Beloved sounding 'Dark Lines'. This is a remarkable album. It's the first B-Movie record in over thirty years to have the original line up. If you remember them from back then, you will no doubt be into this in a big way. It is not big or powerful or euphoric or anything like that. It doesn't need to be. But what it is, however, is plain, honest new wave for today. The first listen will drift over you, but I guarantee you will stick it on again. Such is the pull of the nostalgic brilliance of this piece. But that's not the remarkable thing. Although it sounds like a soundtrack for any cult film today, it also has the power to take you back thirty years too.

Track Listing:-

1 The Age of Illusion
2 Other Peoples Lives
3 Perfect Storm
4 She's a Car Crash
5 Zeitgeist
6 For the Dreamers
7 Razor's Edge
8 Echoes
9 To the Ends of the Earth
10 Dark Lines