The Lucy Show (band)

The band was formed by Mark Bandola (vocals, guitar, keyboards) and Rob Vandeven (vocals, bass), with Paul Rigby on drums, under the name "Midnite Movie". Rigby quickly quit, and Pete Barraclough (guitars, keyboards) and Bryan Hudspeth (drums) were added to the line-up,[1] and the band changed name to "The Lucy Show". Bandola and Vandeven, two Canadian-born friends who had moved to England in the late 1970s, shared song writing and lead vocals equally, although the bulk of the early (pre-album) material had been written by Vandeven.

In 1983, they released their first single, "Leonardo da Vinci," on independent record label Shout Records, which managed to receive some airplay by John Peel.[1] Guitarist Barraclough provided lead vocals on the B-side of the single for his song "Kill The Beast". In 1984, A&M Records signed the band, releasing two singles and an EP during that year (on an offshoot label imprint called Piggy Bank Records). After providing a cassette recording of their material to R.E.M., The Lucy Show was invited by the Athens band to support them on their 1984 UK tour.[2]

In 1985, the band's debut album, ...undone, was released. With a guitar-heavy, brooding sound similar to The Cure and Comsat Angels, it received generally favourable critical notices and, even more importantly, eventually went to the No. 1 spot on the CMJ album charts in the United States.[1] The band's momentum had been steady up to that point and they naturally assumed continuing chart success would be in their future. However, they were shocked when they learned that A&M UK decided to drop the band at the end of the year.[2]

In 1986, the band signed to indie label Big Time Records, who released their second album, Mania. Produced by the now-legendary John Leckie, the band's songs were much more upbeat and bouncy this time around, with added acoustic guitar and piano, harmonica, synthesizer - and most noticeably, brass , making the group sound very different from their previous incarnation as a "jangly" guitar and new wave group. The change in direction initially promised to be effective, as the album once again topped the all important CMJ charts, and MTV began playing their music video for the first single off the album, "A Million Things". Both this song, and subsequent single "New Message", were substantial college radio hits.[2]

Bad luck would strike the band again, this time when Big Time Records went bankrupt, leaving The Lucy Show adrift.[3] Barraclough and Hudspeth were asked to leave and Bandola and Vandeven stuck together, releasing one final single, "Wherever Your Heart Will Go", in 1988 on Redhead Records. When that single went nowhere, both Bandola and Vandeven realized it was time to quit, and they permanently disbanded The Lucy Show.[2]

In 2005, Mania was reissued on CD by the Words on Music label, with numerous bonus tracks. In 2009, ...undone was released on CD for the first time by Words on Music.[4] In 2011, Words on Music released Remembrances, a compilation album of rare and previously unreleased songs recorded by the band during the mid-1980s.

• The Lucy Show official homepage
• Trouser Press: The Lucy Show entry
• Words On Music
• Supernova Pop