rivers2cross

Department S was the first small independent band that I got into and I discovered them before the band achieved commercial success with their one chart success song Is Vic There? As a young teenager I discovered them on night-time Radio 1. Back in the 1980s Maidenhead had a really good independent record shop called Opus-One and I was able to order the original independent release on Demon Records. I played this song to death and followed its success riding high in the Independent Charts for months I seem to recall. In 1981 the song was released on RCA and made it into the top 40 and the band appeared on Top of the Pops. Sadly the band never got to release their Sub-Stance album at that time, and it wasn’t finally released until 2003 over two decades after the band split. The record company dropped the band before the recorded album was released and put a £50,000 price tag on the recording effectively preventing the band releasing the material.

I had written to the band in 1982 to find out what was happening in terms of single and album releases, and I got a personal reply from Vaughn Toulouse the lead singer who sadly passed away in 1991, and I finally discovered that the band was no more. In 2007 the band reformed and have been touring and making excellent new music ever since. I’ve achieved a life-long ambition of seeing them live.

Today I received my beautiful red vinyl of the 7″ Is Vic There? single. This is a brand new recording and it’s stunning featuring Eddie Roxy on vocals. There is a new album coming soon, which I am also excited to get my hands on too.

Today I was able to confirm that my Fields of Dawn debut album will be called A New Dawn and this is with thanks to Natalie Woodward and Gina Irlam, who both basically came up with this name. I can begin to get started on the artwork, and most importantly crack on with finishing the final couple of tracks to complete the album. If you are interested in getting a vinyl copy please get in touch, as I need as many people to come on board as possible with the vinyl edition to make it viable.

Finally today some good news on Prince. He had physio today, and Charlotte his physio was ever so pleased with him. He looked and felt great, so an A1 report. Physio is now stretched out to 8 week intervals. After his diagnosis four and a half years ago he was having physio every week. He has come such a long way and completely smashed the two months to two years life expectancy prognosis. He’s 13 now and I just am making the most of every day with him. Oh and he’s pretty good company too ❤