The elaborately coiffed hairstyles, the prodigiously large white spectacles of the lead guitarist, the groundbreaking, at times robotic, experimental synth music along with the Liverpool heritage all spelled the pioneering 4 man group "A Flock of Seagulls". Widely attributed as having defined the 1980s New Wave genre, despite winning a Grammy they perhaps never received the acclaim they deserved, drowned out by the hordes of copycat groups which followed them. However, to this day the original seagulls line-up have a strong fan base on both sides of the Atlantic, an indication of their lasting contribution to the evolution of popular music.
Typical contemporary comments from fans include -
"Throughout their music and lyrics they captured the excitement and wonder of a young generation emerging from the doldrums of the 70's into a brave new world...no group captured it quite like this band."
"…… a testament to a time of explosive creativity, where bands were free to explore new ideas, new sound, and of course new looks."
The seagulls disbanded in the mid-80s after the charismatic and able Paul Reynolds left the band. They were to reform on several occasions with different personnel under Mike Score, and staged re-unions for the original members in 2003 and 2004, but this was not to last. Mike Score continues under the original band name with new members while the remaining original members retired from playing.
The Score brothers settled in America, while Maudsley and Reynolds remained in the UK, the former owning a newsagent in the centre of Liverpool, the latter continuing to play with jazz bands and keeping in touch with fans through his website.
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