Zerra One - Zerra 1

The Irish quartet Zerra One had enough soaring harmonies and ringing guitars to follow in the footsteps of compatriots U2. And while commercial success never happened, Zerra One possessed too much talent to be written off as failed U2 impersonators. Formed in 1982 by Paul Bell (vocals, keyboards), Andreas Grimminger (guitar), Adrian Wyatt (bass), and Korda Marshall (drums), Zerra One had the spiky haircuts and dour vocals common to British new wave artists from that period. The band supported The Cure on their 1982 UK and European tour in April-June (which means I actually saw them live, but didn’t know it at the time) and later in December, the band supported U2 for five dates. In February-March 1984, the band toured as a support act of The Boomtown Rats and later that same year saw the band signing to Mercury. Their first single for the label was "Ten Thousand Voices, Message from the Peoples" with their self-titled debut album also released that year. The album was produced by Todd Rundgren, but failed to give the band their commercial breakthrough, owing much to U2 and Simple Minds, Zerra 1 featured dark, epic rock that may have been too moody or weird for commercial radio. Zerra One went for a big, bombastic sound, with lyrics full of grandiose imagery. On “Tumbling Down,” singer Paul Bell majestically proclaims, “We see it, we hear it, we know, we say.” The problem was: they didn’t.

Ripped from a vinyl source (due to there being no CD release) to moody and weird MP3 @ 320kbps

Zerra One; Zerra 1

A1.  Mountains And Water

A2.  Tumbling Down

A3.  Diaries

A4.  I Feel It

A5.  The Other Side

B1.   Rain

B2.   I Know

B3.   Nothing

B4.   Young Love

B5.   Children