Neon Hearts
No sooner than Steve Heart had exited Suburban Studs with his sax under his arm (ousted because the band didn’t think the sax was punk enough so they remixed the single without it) after recording their debut single Questions than he formed Neon Hearts in the summer of 1977.
Along with Steve, his cousin Paul Raven was on, Keith Allen on drums, and Martin Ratcliffe on guitar. An encounter with solo singer Tony Deary, later to call himself Tone Dial, added the final piece to the jigsaw.
In true punk fashion, they released the double A-sided single, Regulations and Venus Eccentric, on December 1, 1977, on their own Neon Hearts Records.
The band’s sound was original and their look colourful and glam, setting them apart; from homemade streetwear to leopardskin pants, ruffs (WTF?!) pyjama tops and dyed blonde mops. These boys had elegance! So much so that Satril, a satellite of WEA (WEA had released the Live At The Hope & Anchor album) came knocking and signed the band in May 1978.
That’s where the trouble started as surreally the label attempted to interfere with their sound and direction to the point of requesting them to enter the Eurovision song contest. But the band persisted and released their next single Answers though that wasn’t their first choice.
The band had recorded demos at PYE Studios in London, where creative clashes culminated in the release of Answers in July 1978, overshadowing the band’s preference for Popular Music. A TV appearance on Look! Hear! introduced by a youthful Toyah Wilcox in January 1980 showcased Popular Music and another song Synchronisation.
They also released an album which is a bit of a patchy affair and suffers from not the greatest production. Times were also changing and both the band and label were struggling to find an identity and audience with a sound that’s punky, poppy, mod and sax driven all with a glam look!
The band went through various lineups and recorded a John Peel Session at Maida Vale Studios in London in 1980, but eventually disbanded.
Keith the drummer would go on to play in mod band The Circles and Steve Heart would open a rehearsal studio. Paul Raven would go on to find fame in Killing Joke Love Like Blood period, replacing Youth, and various industrial bands before passing away in 2007 aged just 47.
TalkPunk
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