Height Of Fashion, The - Fashion

Fashion were lumped in with the early 80's New Romantic movement, presumably because they all looked good and used synthesisers, but musically easily knocked their peers like Duran and Spandau into a cocked hat. Think more of them as Roxy Music's younger, hipper brothers, throw in the sights and sounds of late-night jazz in smoke-filled night clubs full of wide boys and sassy girls, penthouse suite lovemaking at 3AM, fast cars, beautiful women and ...
...of which this "Best Of" basically is, originally took five months to record, with three different studios used (Cambridge, Paris and Cologne) so lord only knows how much it must have cost to make. Arista released four singles from the album and not one made the charts, though the album itself did go Top 10 in June 1982. All in all not the best way to get an extension on your recording contract!


The line up at the ... more

Fashion were lumped in with the early 80's New Romantic movement, presumably because they all looked good and used synthesisers, but musically easily knocked their peers like Duran and Spandau into a cocked hat. Think more of them as Roxy Music's younger, hipper brothers, throw in the sights and sounds of late-night jazz in smoke-filled night clubs full of wide boys and sassy girls, penthouse suite lovemaking at 3AM, fast cars, beautiful women and bespoke tailoring.

"Fabrique", the album of which this "Best Of" basically is, originally took five months to record, with three different studios used (Cambridge, Paris and Cologne) so lord only knows how much it must have cost to make. Arista released four singles from the album and not one made the charts, though the album itself did go Top 10 in June 1982. All in all not the best way to get an extension on your recording contract!

The line up at the time of release was Dave "Dee" Harriss (vocals, guitars, keyboards); Martin Recchi (bass, bass synth, vocals); Dik Davies (drums, percussion) and Mulligan (keyboard programming).

Highlights? Every single number on here, but for starters we have the upfront funk of Streetplayer, all loud and proud, get out of my way because I know what it's all about and how to get it; the atmospheric Love Shadow, with its male/female spoken middle section and Fairlight descending keys; the pointed questioning of Do You Wanna Make Love...."uh huh" is the answer apparently.......all beautifully tailored songs to suit the subject, as if Dee Harriss is taking a tool out of a box to fit the job required of it.

The sharp staccato of Dressed To Kill, with its rapid percussion. "hit the floor, you're standing on the front line", mingles with the vanity tale of White Stuff, all electronica and stuttery guitar lines smoothed out with numerous synths. As is the nightclub anthem Move On, with its theme of heading from place to place looking for where it's at. And for a few months in 1982 this band knew exactly where it was at.

Slow Blue, the closing track on here, is simply one of the lushest, yummiest ballads you could wish to find. "so you had to leave when we were winning, oooh my friend this is just the beginning, the one thing, something, you always wanted to..."

For extras you also get the 12" remixes of the A and B sides of two of the singles, Mechanix Streetplayer c/w Do You Wanna Make Love (At 5 AM), and Love Shadow (Smokey Dialogue) c/w Something Wrong With Your Picture.

Slick, stylish and timeless, every one of these songs are gorgeous. 25 years later I'm still scratching my head as to why they never made it. The slippery basslines of Recchi are every bit as good as those of Mick Karn, ex of Japan; Harriss (note the extra "s") has a fabulous nasal delivery that fits the style to a T, and all these songs should strike a chord with anyone aged 21-35 who's ever been in, out, or in and out, of serious long-term relationships. So that'll be just about everyone then.

Dave "Dee" Harriss left the band and went on to make an album (with Rick Wright, ex Pink Floyd of all people) under the guise of Zee in 1984. I also have this album, called "Identity" and it's pretty good too. By the time the band found a replacement singer, namely Alan Darby (who later when on to be in Eric Clapton's stage band) it was over, though they did bring out another album "Twilight Of Idols" on the De Stijl label, also in 1984.

I must say I don't have a clue what Dave Harriss is doing these days, but I suspect if he stayed in the business he could easily have done very well for himself. Not only a good songwriter but slim, tall dark and handsome with it. (He's third from the left in the cover shot). As the late Robert Palmer once sang, some guys have all the luck.

This was reissued in 2004 on Cherry Red Records, and believe me when I tell you that this CD is really, really good. I cannot give it any higher praise than that. If you missed out first time around, and there were many who did, don't this time. Brilliant.
 

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