Man did this post - and the photos - take me back to my misspent teens! That first pic of them in the parkas and lone Harrington could not be more 1979 Mod Revival if it came wrapped in a copy of Quadrophenia with a target on top! Christ, were bands young back in those days! My memory is every one liked LTS but as you note, they never got the foothold, even the inkling of a run of releases that separated Chords, Purple Hearts, Merton Parkas and Secret Affair and... everyone else. I really do need to spend more time with some of the cuts you mention. Everyone was sad to lose Tony Perfect to Covid, not least because the band seemed to be still active and still liked. Cheers for this Joe.
Joe, do you know the compilation Millions Like Us: The STory of the Mod Revival 1977-1989? It's a 4-CD set from Cherry Red and is consciously hit-and-miss, as in it alternates the heavy hitters from that movement with the also-rans. BUt it does have all those heavy-hitters and their hit singles, and there is the occasional Hidden Gem. LTS - one of the few groups who fits in between - have two songs on there. It was put together by John Reed, who did an excellent job. My own band Apocalypse, is not on there, which is fine by me as we were not a mod band, but one of our songs, Nobody But Me, from 1982 does show up on power-pop/mod-adjacent playlists and explores the same subject matter as 10th Floor. CHeers!
Oh for sure, a great comp, but yeah, uneven, esp in the latter discs. But it did turn me on to Sema 4, the Donkeys, and Small Hours, terrific bands I was unaware of. I quibble here and there with song selections from the major bands, but the liners and pics are great.
Forgive me for not knowing more about Apocalypse! I see that you're included on that mammoth Into Tomorrow: The Spirit Of Mod 1983-2000 comp. I'm jamming to "Nobody But Me" now. No escape from 9 to 5, indeed....
Man did this post - and the photos - take me back to my misspent teens! That first pic of them in the parkas and lone Harrington could not be more 1979 Mod Revival if it came wrapped in a copy of Quadrophenia with a target on top! Christ, were bands young back in those days! My memory is every one liked LTS but as you note, they never got the foothold, even the inkling of a run of releases that separated Chords, Purple Hearts, Merton Parkas and Secret Affair and... everyone else. I really do need to spend more time with some of the cuts you mention. Everyone was sad to lose Tony Perfect to Covid, not least because the band seemed to be still active and still liked. Cheers for this Joe.
Thanks, Tony! Always love to hear your on-the-ground takes and memories of this era. I was quite impressed with the bulk of their stuff. Alas.
Joe, do you know the compilation Millions Like Us: The STory of the Mod Revival 1977-1989? It's a 4-CD set from Cherry Red and is consciously hit-and-miss, as in it alternates the heavy hitters from that movement with the also-rans. BUt it does have all those heavy-hitters and their hit singles, and there is the occasional Hidden Gem. LTS - one of the few groups who fits in between - have two songs on there. It was put together by John Reed, who did an excellent job. My own band Apocalypse, is not on there, which is fine by me as we were not a mod band, but one of our songs, Nobody But Me, from 1982 does show up on power-pop/mod-adjacent playlists and explores the same subject matter as 10th Floor. CHeers!
Oh for sure, a great comp, but yeah, uneven, esp in the latter discs. But it did turn me on to Sema 4, the Donkeys, and Small Hours, terrific bands I was unaware of. I quibble here and there with song selections from the major bands, but the liners and pics are great.
Forgive me for not knowing more about Apocalypse! I see that you're included on that mammoth Into Tomorrow: The Spirit Of Mod 1983-2000 comp. I'm jamming to "Nobody But Me" now. No escape from 9 to 5, indeed....
Oh that's right, the song is on THAT compilation, which is a more musically interesting one for sure. Cheers.
Love every single bit of this!
Thanks, Seth!