Although in retrospect, the Tourists are seen almost
entirely as the band Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox were in before they formed
Eurythmics, the group was in fact more of a showcase for singer, guitarist, and
primary songwriter Peet Coombes, who had first worked with Stewart in the folk
rock band Longdancer, which was on Elton John's Rocket Records label. They
moved to London, where they met Stewart's girlfriend Lennox, who had dropped
out of a course at the Royal Academy of Music to pursue her ambitions in pop
music, on vocals and occasional keyboards. The new trio dubbed themselves Catch
and released one single, "Black Blood," on the Logo label in 1977.
Adding bassist Eddie Chin and drummer Jim Toomey, the group re-christened
themselves the Tourists and released their first album, The Tourists, in 1978.
The Tourists were a typical British post-punk power-pop group by the evidence of their debut album. Chiming guitars, quickstep martial beats (sometimes borrowing from Bo Diddley or the Ronettes), and the odd rude or belligerent remark ("Nothing means nothing to me," snarled in the first single, "Blind Among the Flowers") placed them in the era of punk hangover when suddenly everybody wanted to sound like the Who, circa 1965. Songwriter and co-lead singer Peet Coombes had a pinched nasal tenor that fit the slightly sour sentiments of songs like "Another English Day" and "Don't Get Left Behind," but, already, the Tourists' secret weapon was Annie Lennox, who tended to overpower Coombes on their duets and helped make the overtly pop "The Loneliest Man in the World" the group's first Top 40 hit.
The Tourists were a typical British post-punk power-pop group by the evidence of their debut album. Chiming guitars, quickstep martial beats (sometimes borrowing from Bo Diddley or the Ronettes), and the odd rude or belligerent remark ("Nothing means nothing to me," snarled in the first single, "Blind Among the Flowers") placed them in the era of punk hangover when suddenly everybody wanted to sound like the Who, circa 1965. Songwriter and co-lead singer Peet Coombes had a pinched nasal tenor that fit the slightly sour sentiments of songs like "Another English Day" and "Don't Get Left Behind," but, already, the Tourists' secret weapon was Annie Lennox, who tended to overpower Coombes on their duets and helped make the overtly pop "The Loneliest Man in the World" the group's first Top 40 hit.
Ripped from the UK only vinyl release to MP3
A1. Blind Among The Flowers 3:31
A2. Save Me 1:55
A3. Fool’s Paradise 3:27
A4. Can't Stop Laughing 3:50
A5. Don't Get Left Behind 1:43
A6. Another English Day 1:15
B1. Deadly Kiss 3:56
B2. Ain't No Room 3:28
B3. The Loneliest Man In The World 4:06
B4. Useless Duration Of Time 4:23
B5. He Who Laughs Last Laughs Longest 1:44
B6. Just Like You 4:49
A1. Blind Among The Flowers 3:31
A2. Save Me 1:55
A3. Fool’s Paradise 3:27
A4. Can't Stop Laughing 3:50
A5. Don't Get Left Behind 1:43
A6. Another English Day 1:15
B1. Deadly Kiss 3:56
B2. Ain't No Room 3:28
B3. The Loneliest Man In The World 4:06
B4. Useless Duration Of Time 4:23
B5. He Who Laughs Last Laughs Longest 1:44
B6. Just Like You 4:49
One of those odd coincidences where two music blogs post the same artist within a day or two of each other:
ReplyDeletehttps://thenewvinylvillain.com/
Not a big fan of the Tourists with the exception of this instrumental, which is a fantastic showcase for the ginger haired fella in the ill-fitting burgundy jacket:
https://youtu.be/0MGtGb21McY
Sometimes reading other blogs sets off a light bulb where you'll have that eureka moment for a future post, but it is rare that two blogs will post similar posts within the same week...Then again, both myself and T'NewVinylVillan are Scot's so you should expect the unexpected...
DeleteFrom The Middle Room taken from Luminous Basement...yet another album that fell through the cracks. Nice little reminder
Great!
ReplyDeleteThanks SIR B
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