This week in 1984, THE LOTUS EATERS released their debut album, NO SENSE OF SIN, (May 1984).
By summer 1982, Liverpool’s THE WILD SWANS had splintered into two bands; Paul Simpson found THE CARE with the help of local veteran Ian Broudie while Gerard Quinn, Jeremy Kelly and Peter Coyle formed THE LOTUS EATERS.
A year later, the latter outfit scored a soaraway, sun-drenched Top 20 hit with FIRST PICTURE OF YOU.
Before long, the band were featured on a spread of music magazines and appeared on Top of The Pops. But pure chart-friendly pop they were not, offering something far more dimensional and melancholy. This may have surprised those seeking further silky pop pleasures in the album ‘No Sense of Sin’.
With sophisticated follow-up singles more gossamer than chart-polished, the average Top 20 explorer may have been left unimpressed. Yet songs like ‘You don’t need someone new’, ‘Set me apart’ and ‘It hurts’ were sparkling songs with touching vocals and clever use of strings and synths.
In 1985 the band split without recording a second album. It took 25 years to realise how much their small but treasured legacy was missed; they reunited to play shows and record a second album, 2001’s marvellous Silentspace making it worth the considerable wait.
"Never for a moment did I believe The First Picture Of You would be a hit' says The Lotus Eaters' Peter Coyle. "I was nowhere near ready. People really connected with it, which was lovely, even though I was a rabbit in the headlamps just waiting to be mashed.