Scarlet Party

Scarlet Party
Scarlet Party circa 1982: (l. to r.) Heaphy, S. Dye, G. Dye, Gilmour
Background information
Origin	Essex, England
Genre(s)	Rock Progressive rock
Years active	Recording: 1982-1983 Live: 1982-1985
Label(s)	Parlophone Records
Associated acts	The Alan Parsons Project
Former members
Sean Heaphy (drums) Steven Dye (vocals, keyboards, bass) Graham Dye (vocals, guitar) Mark Gilmour (lead guitar) Micky Portman (bass)

Scarlet Party formed in Essex, England in the early 1980s; their sound combined contemporary and Sixties influences, and they were a popular live band until they split up in 1985. The band’s first single, "101 Dam-Nations", was released in November 1982 on EMI’s Parlophone label. The band’s 1982 recording sessions at Abbey Road Studios coincided with the Beatles’ 20th anniversary at EMI, and this helped to get them noticed. With singer Graham Dye's vocals uncannily resembling those of John Lennon, a television and radio publicity campaign helped reinforce the connection. The single was enthusiastically received (Kate Bush described it as her favourite^[1]), and it reached number 44 in the UK charts. "101 Dam-Nations" was followed by another single, "Eyes Of Ice", released in February 1983. This seemed to stall on its way to the charts, when EMI at the last minute diverted its marketing resources to promote Kajagoogoo. This single was to be Scarlet Party's last. An album, Scarlet Skies, was recorded in 1983, but has never been officially released. Its linked songs explore themes of war, love and alienation, in styles reminiscent of both the mini pop operas of The Who and the progressive concept albums of Pink Floyd. Scarlet Party were: Graham Dye, Steven Dye and Sean Heaphy, with Mark Gilmour (1982-1983, brother of Pink Floyd's Dave Gilmour) and Micky Portman (1984-1985). Graham Dye went on to work on several albums with The Alan Parsons Project.

Discography

Singles

• "101 Dam-Nations" / "What Is This Thing" - 1982, UK #44
• "Eyes Of Ice" / "Another World" - 1983, UK #77

Albums

• Scarlet Skies - recorded in 1983 but not officially released
  • "101 Dam-Nations"
  • "(War) Stop Your Game"
  • "Aftermath"
  • "Now’s Good Times"
  • "Judy, Judy, Judy"
  • "Eyes Of Ice"
  • "Scarlet Skies"
  • "In A World"
  • "A Deadly Silence"
  • "Another World"
  • "The Smell Of Summer"

Compilations

• Chart Wars - 1982, Ronco LP album
• Shake Some Action Volume 5 - 2001, bootleg CD album
• Lost And Found Volume 1 : Imagination - 2001, EMI CD album
• Mod and Beyond - 2005, Crimson Productions CD album

all include "101 Dam-Nations".

Music excerpt

References