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A little '80's nostalgia - What synths did A Flock Of Seagulls use?


tucktronix

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The Kajagoogoo thread got me a little nostalgic, thinking back to my times spent as a teenager sitting in betw 2 speakers while A Flock Of Seagulls' "Listen" was playing on the turntable, amazed at those cool, spacy synth drones. I can remember seeing the synths in the videos of "Space Age Love Song", especially that one in "I Ran". I've always wondered, "what synths were actually played in those songs?". I vaguely remember someone mentioning a Juno-60 several threads ago. I can also recall a small device sitting above the synth in the "Space Age Love Song"(and, I think, in the "Wishing") vid. Oh synth gods, please elaborate:)

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I read someware, they used:

 

Korg Delta, MS10, Roland RS-09, SH-09, and Juno 6.

 

Tuck, i used to listen to their 'Dream Come True' album when i was a teenager. I was always wondering how they got that epic orchestral violin sound on 'Hot tonight' Not sure if it was synthetic or real.

 

Although we all take the piss outta their hair cuts, they wrote some catchy music.

 

220px-DreamComeTrue.jpg

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I will need to go look at KB Mag tonight for a refresher, but I did stumble onto an article about them in an early '80s issue. Seems like he had 2 keyboards side-by-side, I want to say they may have been Juno 60 or SH101...can't remember. The little box above was either a TB303 bass line or TR606 drum box. It's amazing how my short-term memory is starting to really suck, because I just skimmed the article less than a week ago as I was looking for something else.

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If my memory is correct, I think I remember seeing a video where the keyboard/vocalist with the whacked out hair, playing with just one finger and it looked like a Moog Source...

 

 

 

I stand corrected..it definately wasn't a Moog Source,,,it was a small Roland

either the RS or SH model ....

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From an interview with Mike Score the lead singer/keyboardist :

 

Let's see. Early stuff used on flock records:

Well early on my main synth was a Korg MS 10, A mono synth with patch cords (still the fatest sound I ever heard !!). I put it through an electro harmonix chorus box to give it a stereo effect and spread the sound a bit - that did all the drone and bass sounds. And for strings and pads I had a Korg Delta. None of these synths had memories so it was all in my head and it made each night on stage a little more interesting. When we recorded the first record I also used a Jupiter 8 which had just come out. I would have liked to buy one but they were very rare and expensive, but I did get one later on. It was stolen from my house in the UK and I replaced it with an Ensoniq ESQ1 - that started my Ensoniq days.

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Ok, I found the article in Oct '83 Keyboard Mag. Mike Score "Flying High with A Flock of Seagulls." I knew I was just looking at this. His live rig they have pictured has a Juno 60 on the bottom, 2 SH-101s on top of that and then a TR-606 perched above them.

 

In the interview, he talks about the Korg Delta, MS-10, Jupiter 8, MC-202 and also states that he is "panting for a PPG" because the dude in the Fixx uses one.

 

Pretty wild that Mike Score got a 5-page spread in KB Mag back then.

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When we recorded the first record I also used a Jupiter 8 which had just come out. I would have liked to buy one but they were very rare and expensive, but I did get one later on. It was stolen from my house in the UK and I replaced it with an Ensoniq ESQ1 - that started my Ensoniq days.

 

That REALLY sucks!:cry:

 

If anyone deserves a big guy like the Jupiter 8, Mr. Score does.

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Ok, I found the article in Oct '83 Keyboard Mag. Mike Score "Flying High with A Flock of Seagulls." I knew I was just looking at this. His live rig they have pictured has a Juno 60 on the bottom, 2 SH-101s on top of that and then a TR-606 perched above them.


In the interview, he talks about the Korg Delta, MS-10, Jupiter 8, MC-202 and also states that he is "panting for a PPG" because the dude in the Fixx uses one.


Pretty wild that Mike Score got a 5-page spread in KB Mag back then.

 

 

Howdy

 

Any chance you could scan the article in question and post it somewhere on the net? would be much appreciated :)

 

Micke

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Did anyone here watch the VH-1 show Bands Reunited? They had an episode reuniting AFOS which was really fun to watch. Mike Score used ae Ensoniq TS-10 on stage... and iirc he had an early version of the OS or something and couldn't load his sounds into it! Oh, the woes of working with synths. - J.

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Did anyone here watch the VH-1 show Bands Reunited? They had an episode reuniting AFOS which was really fun to watch. Mike Score used ae Ensoniq TS-10 on stage... and iirc he had an early version of the OS or something and couldn't load his sounds into it! Oh, the woes of working with synths. - J.

 

 

Yep, saw it myself. Paul Reynolds still looked somewhat boyish, allbeit a little weighty.

 

Eric,

 

Would have loved to see that article:thu:

 

I can recall the time that I recorded myself doing a cover of "Wishing", playing a little Casio CT-something(with the drum pads) and a crappy little Yamaha PSS-270(thru a Realistic reverb box), both connected to a Y-adapter plugged in the aux jack of my boom box. Can't find that cassette tape anywhere.

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Howdy


Any chance you could scan the article in question and post it somewhere on the net? would be much appreciated
:)

Micke

 

My scanner broke awhile ago and I have not replaced it. So I can't do anything like this other than take digital photos of stuff...which does not translate well from these older mags. Hopefully I'll get another scanner one day.

 

I'm always glad to provide quotes and info from any KB Mag. I own every single one of them from Issue 1 in 1975 to present.

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I'm pretty sure I have this issue myself, I may be able to post a PDF of it but would have to somehow sneak the zine into my office to do this... I think I'd get a lot of flack for bringing in an old Keyboard mag with AFOS on the cover! I'll try to though. - J.

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I'm pretty sure I have this issue myself, I may be able to post a PDF of it but would have to somehow sneak the zine into my office to do this... I think I'd get a lot of flack for bringing in an old Keyboard mag with AFOS on the cover! I'll try to though. - J.

 

 

Oscar Peterson is on the cover. Would you catch flack for this?

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OK, I confirmed that I do have this issue of Keyboard with the interview with Mike Score. He used two SH-101s "taped" on top of a Juno-60 and a Drumatix on top of all that. The 101s are side-by-side above the knobs/sliders of the 60.

 

I would have scanned it in and posted it today but forgot to bring it to work. It's worth scanning just so you can see the photo of the rig setup. I will try and do this if you guys are still interested.

 

J.

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I liked it! What are you using?

 

 

A very simple setup :[ATTACH]219848[/ATTACH]

Fantom-S with SRX-07 and Audacity on my PC for recording via an Audigy.

My voice and the metalic hit from the original song where sampled in my FS.

I used the onboard sequencer for all tracks.

The song was recorded in one shot (no overdub and multitrack) in my PC and tweak a bit in Audacity (limiter and EQ)

I guess that would make a nice demo for the Fantom-S/X hehehe.

 

Numina I also look foward to the Keyboard magazine scan !!!

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