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In 1982 Go West, determined to find a music producer and record label, recorded the tracks “We Close Our Eyes” and “Call Me” on a portastudio, a portable and affordable home recording studio. The songs drew some attention in the industry and landed the duo a recording contract with Chrysalis Records. Shortly after singing with Chrysalis Go West enlisted the help of British guitarist Alan Murphy, whose musical input and tonal sounds have contributed a lot to the band’s identity.
“We Close Our Eyes” was officially released as Go West’s debut single in 1985 to across the board good reviews. The single reached No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 and proved to be Go West’s highest placed UK single. The band’s video for the song, directed by Godley & Creme, became popular on MTV almost instantly and the pair were voted “Best Newcomers” at the 1986 Brit Awards.
The band’s self-titled debut album was also released in 1985 and featured the singles “We Close Our Eyes”, “Call Me” and “Don’t Look Down”. The album performed well in the charts peaking at No. 8 in the UK and No. 60 in the U.S and was followed by the album of B-sides and live tracks entitled “Bangs and Crashes” in 1986. Go West’s official follow-up to their debut was entitled “Dancing on the Couch” (1987), the album made the UK Top 20 and earned the band their first Top 40 U.S. single with “Don’t Look Down - The Sequel”.
A few years later in 1990 Go West contributed the single “King of Wishful Thinking” to the “Pretty Woman” soundtrack to chart success across the world. The song became highly popular especially in the States where it was a Top 10 hit and received an ASCAP award in 1991 for being one of the most played songs in America in 1990.
The band has subsequently released the album “Indian Summer” in 1992 which peaked at No. 13 in the UK chart and the 2008 album “futurenow” released through Blueprint Records. In 1997 Cox released his debut self-titled solo album and went on to release a string of solo album throughout the new millennium. In 2010 Go West released the first in a three-part series of EPs entitled "3D" through Townsend Records. The release features some new original material and new recordings of old songs.
In popular terms, at least, Go West are probably best remembered for hits like ‘We Close Our Eyes’, ‘Call Me’ and ‘King of Wishful Thinking’, which proved to be top ten smashes across the globe, but it’s actually in terms of their different take on the pop genre in the eighties that the duo will be best remembered; when everybody else was rushing to incorporate new wave stylings into their music at a time when that particular genre was absolutely de rigeur, Richard Drummie and Peter Cox were opting for an altogether more soulful sound, and their bravery in defying the conventions of the day was undoubtedly one that was rewarded by the success they enjoyed. In the years since their eighties heyday, the London pair have continued to write and record, releasing their first album in sixteen years, futurenow, in 2008, and following it up with an ambitious, three-part series, titled 3D, that was comprised of nine different EPs of new material - the records dropped in 2010, 2011 and 2013 respectively. In terms of live performance, they’ve continued to play eighties and nostalgia festivals across the country, with a couple lined up for later this year in the UK.
Joeg_67
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