I bought the limited edition 7" gatefold double pack of The Love Parade from Sound Seekers in Staple Hill (then a suburb of Bristol, now in an entirely different county), which introduced me to a couple of other things. Firstly, Girl In A Million (For Edie Sedgwick), a beautiful song and the first I'd heard of the doomed socialite and Andy Warhol muse. Secondly, Things We Said Today, a stripped back cover of a 1964 song by The Beatles, which originally appeared on A Hard Day's Night.
As of themselves, both clear references for The Dream Academy. When you add that their three albums were co-produced by David Gilmour (first and third) and Lyndsey Buckingham (second), you'll have a pretty good idea of the band's aspirations: classic pop, with a hint of psychedelia, bathed in Californian sunshine. Just what I needed at that time in my life.
Aside from their debut hit, The Dream Academy gained some recognition in the USA when John Hughes used a couple of their songs in his classic movie, Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Well, I say classic, I didn't actually see it until the 1990s, possibly the early 2000s. No idea why, but probably because I was a bit of a film snob back then and was likely irked by Matthew Broderick's smug gurning from the film poster. My loss.
Return visits to Sound Seekers meant that I picked up the 12" singles of their cover of The Smiths' Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want (packaged with a 'free' 12" of Life In A Northern Town) and Indian Summer, presaging their second album, Remembrance Days.
After that, I lost track of The Dream Academy until I bought a copy of NME in 1990 and read that they were back, with another cover - this time Love by John Lennon - and a guest vocal from Poly Styrene from X-Ray Spex. Apart from the introduction of a fashionable beat and club remixes from Junior Vasquez, it was pretty much business as usual. The UK record buying public sadly remained indifferent to both this and their third album, as did I to be honest, although I got it many years later and belatedly gave it some love.
I can still find much to love about The Dream Academy, but I think for the most part it's because their music is inextricably linked to a significant point in my life - early teens, making terrible fashion choices (but they were my terrible choices), finding my own identity and expression, and falling in love.
I couldn't whittle down the selection from an hour to 45 minutes, so instead I've split it into two sides. Just imagine it as a late period budget K-Tel or Ronco vinyl compilation and I think it'll work. A more comprehensive compilation, The Morning Lasted All Day, was released in 2014 featuring a newly recorded song, Sunrising, which I've included in today's selection.
In researching the post, I also came across a video of The Love Parade from 1985. It's a bit of an oddity in that it appears to be a performance on Italian TV. The backdrop logo (in reverse) seems to be for a brand of perfume and the unoccupied drum kit in the upper left side space suggests it was part of a larger show. An intriguing few minutes.
Side One
1) The Edge Of Forever (Album Version) (1985)
2) The Love Parade (Remix) (1985)
3) Sunrising (2014)
4) In Places On The Run (Album Version) (1985)
5) Lucy September (1990)
6) Mordechai Vanunu (1990)
7) Bound To Be (1985)
Side Two
1) Indian Summer (Extended Version) (1987)
2) The Party (Album Version) (1985)
3) The Demonstration (Unreleased Alt. Mix) (1990)
4) Power To Believe (Album Version) (1987)
5) Life In A Northern Town (Extended) (1985)
6) Girl In A Million (For Edie Sedgwick) (1985)1985: Life In A Northern Town EP: B5
1985: The Dream Academy: A1, A4, A7, B2
1985: The Love Parade EP: A2 (USA 7"), B6
1987: Indian Summer EP: B1
1987: Remembrance Days: B4
1990: A Different Kind Of Weather: A5
1990: Love EP: A6
2014: The Morning Lasted All Day: A3, B3
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