Biography
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Years Active
1983 – 1989 (6 years)
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Founded In
London, England, United Kingdom
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Members
- Bryan Hudspeth
- Mark Bandola
- Peter Barraclough
- Rob Vandeven
The Lucy Show was a rock band that was formed in London, England in early 1983.
The band was formed by Mark Bandola (vocals, guitar, keyboards) and Rob Vandeven (vocals, bass), with Pete Barraclough (guitars, keyboards), and Bryan Hudspeth (drums). Bandola and Vandeven, two Canadian-born friends who had moved to England in the late 1970s, shared song writing and lead vocal chores equally, although the bulk of the early (pre-album) material had been written by Vandeven.
In 1983, they released their first single, "Leonardo da Vinci," on independent record label Shout Records, which managed to receive some airplay by John Peel. Guitarist Barraclough provided lead vocals on the single (he would take the lead on vocals only once more, on "The White Space" from 1985's …undone). In 1984, A&M Records signed the band, releasing two singles and an EP during that year (on an off-shoot label imprint called Piggy Bank Records). After providing a cassette recording of their material to R.E.M., The Lucy Show was invited by the Athens band to support them on their 1984 UK tour.
In 1985, the band's debut album, …undone, was released. With a guitar-heavy, lushly atmospheric, brooding sound reminiscent of The Cure and Comsat Angels, it received generally favorable critical notices and, even more importantly, eventually went to the #1 spot on the CMJ album charts in the United States. The band's momentum had been steady up to that point and they naturally assumed continuing chart success would be in their future. However, they were shocked when they learned that A&M UK decided to abruptly drop the band at the end of the year.
In 1986, the band signed to indie label Big Time Records, who released their second album, Mania. The band's songs were much more upbeat and bouncy this time around, and the sound was augmented by a thick wash of synthesizers, making the group sound very much like a typical trendy mid-80's new wave group. The change in direction initially promised to be effective, as the album once again topped the all important CMJ charts, and MTV began playing their music video for the first single off the album, "A Million Things". Both this song, and subsequent single "New Message", were substantial college radio hits.
Bad luck would strike the band again, this time when Big Time Records went bankrupt, leaving The Lucy Show adrift. Barraclough and Hudspeth were asked to leave and Bandola and Vandeven stuck together, releasing one final single, "Wherever Your Heart Will Go", in 1988 on Redhead Records. When that single went nowhere, both Bandola and Vandeven realized it was time to quit, and they permanently disbanded The Lucy Show.
Bandola, Vandeven and Barraclough have continued to work within the music industry under a variety of differing names and projects.
In 2005, Mania was reissued on CD by the Words on Music label, with numerous bonus tracks; …undone was re-released on CD by the same label in February 2010.
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