the police

Things We Love/Hate About The 80s

The news today is that Spandau Ballet are re-forming and becoming the next in a long line of former stadium acts to get back on the road for a mammoth nostalgia tour and the opportunity to perform once again in front of their legions of screaming fans. Take That, Spice Girls, The Police – it’s all the rage these days.

The cynics consistently interpret moves such as these as transparent attempts to make a fat pile of cash without having to do anything original. “They’ve just got mortgages to pay”, they cry. But so what, I say? Musicians are normal people like anybody else (well, except Mariah Carey). They should be allowed to pay their mortgages if that’s what they want. I mean, when Wispa bought out the Wispa Gold back in the ’90s, people didn’t go around saying “No man, that is WAY cynical. It’s just the Wispa executives trying to pay off their mortgages”.

Anyway, that’s not really the point I’m attempting to make here. What I’m more interested in discussing is this – which elements of the ’80s would we all like to bring back and which should remain forever buried?

To start everybody off, here’s my tuppence worth:

’80s STUFF WE SHOULD BRING BACK
– Marty McFly
– Michael Jackson making decent music
– Supergran
– The Dukes Of Hazzard
– Paul Daniels
– Jim’ll Fix It

’80s STUFF THAT SHOULD REMAIN HIDDEN FOREVER
– Shellsuits
– Shoulder pads on anybody except superheroes
– Thatcherite government
– Me wetting the bed

OK, I’m done.

……Contributions welcome!

Chris Lightyear

Lightyears complete new album “London, England”

It’s been nine months since we first set foot in the Voyager Studio to begin work on our second full-length album – and as 2008 draws to a close, we can now announce that the record is finished!  

The ten-track album is called London, England and features familiar tracks “This House Will Burn”, “Filmstar” and “She’s The One” along with lesser-heard material such as “England”, “I’m Not” and “Firefly”. We’re also very excited to reveal that it will include the tracks we recorded last year with Hugh Padgham, “Sleepless” and “Emily”. Hugh has worked with countless great artists such as Sting & The Police, Genesis, Paul McCartney and David Bowie, won four Grammys and sold over 50 million records – so we’re incredibly honoured to have his work on our album.

We’re really proud of the record and can’t wait for you guys to hear it. London, England will be released in the New Year – watch this space for updates!

Lightyears to appear on National TV

It has just been announced that The Lightyears will be appearing on ITV1’s new chat show The Alan Titchmarsh Show on Thursday 18 October.



Alan will interview the band, along with new Lightyears producer Hugh Padgham (Sting & The Police, Genesis, Paul McCartney, David Bowie etc), and following this the LYs will play a song live in the studio. Other artists currently scheduled to appear in the series include Kaiser Chiefs, Jools Holland, Sugababes and Lionel Ritchie.



The show is aired at 3pm daily and is expected to go out to around 3 million viewers.



…In the meantime, don’t forget that The Lightyears are headlining the Clapham Grand this Wednesday 5 September for Feedme Music’s INDY AWARDS CELEBRATION PARTY.



Doors 7.30pm, first band 8pm. LYs onstage 9.30pm. See you there!

LYs record with legendary producer Hugh Padgham



If you’re wondering why The Lightyears have been a little quiet for the last few weeks, here’s why – the band have been busy in the studio, recording new tracks with legendary producer Hugh Padgham.



Hugh Padgham is generally regarded as one of the most important producers in the history of popular music. He has worked with Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Kate Bush and Elton John but is perhaps most famous for his work with Sting, The Police, Genesis and Phil Collins. Hugh’s production skills were behind such classic hits as Sting’s Fields Of Gold, Every Breath You Take by The Police and Phil Collins’ In The Air Tonight. Over his prestigious career he has won 4 Grammys and sold over 250 million records.



Over recent weeks, The Lightyears have recorded three songs with Hugh. Watch this space for further updates over the coming months!