Hailing from Colchester, Modern English took the D.I.Y. approach with their 1979 debut single, and from 1980 through 1984, they were key members of the early 4AD roster, releasing Mesh & Lace, the Hugh Jones productions After the Snow and Ricochet Days, and a handful of singles, all of which routinely hit the U.K. indie charts.
"I Melt with You," recorded for the second album and featured in the film Valley Girl, provided the band with an international breakthrough, particularly in the U.S., where it cracked the Billboard Hot 100 and eventually went gold.
Through the remainder of the ’80s and next two decades, frontman Robbie Grey led various configurations of Modern English over four albums for the same number of labels. Since the tail-end of the 2000s, the lineup has featured Grey beside fellow 4AD-era members Gary McDowell, Michael Conroy, and Stephen Walker.
They’ve independently released the albums Take Me to the Trees (2017) and 1 2 3 4 (2024), and have consistently toured, celebrating a body of work that would be significant even without their biggest hit.
Now the band are about to play in Australia and New Zealand with the Buzzcocks. It’s their first visit and they couldn’t be more excited.
In this interview Robbie Grey walks us through the beginnings of the band from punk to post punk all the way up to today.
Hello, I’m Sandy Kaye. A freelance broadcaster, journalist and producer who has spent more than 35 years on both sides of radio and television microphones. I’ve worked with every TV network in Australia, have produced and presented for countless radio stations around the country and have hosted my own commercial radio talk-back show. I’ve even held the distinction of being Sydney’s first female newsreader on radio – way back when!
Today my passion is A Breath of Fresh Air which allows me to immerse myself in one of my favourite things – music. I just love all kinds of music and am fascinated by the people who make it. In particular, it’s the music of the '60s '70s and '80s that takes me back to my youth and means so much to me.
As a journalist, I’m all about digging deep into the classic hits of our time.
I bring you intimate, warm, fireside chats with the artists who tell us about their lives both then and now.
We learn about what makes them tick, who they are in their professional and private lives and how they went about making the soundtrack to our lives.
'A Breath of Fresh Air’ is exceptional - exceptional not because of me, but rather because of the stories that some of the best-known musical artists choose to share with me.
I created this podcast to honour them. It’s all about THEIR lives, THEIR stories, THEIR music, told now, in THEIR voices, before they’re lost forever.
I see my podcast as a personal labour of love, but also as an archival legacy for music fans and practitioners alike, both current and future, who otherwise might never know of the amazing people who helped build the industry.
I really hope you enjoy each and every episode of A Breath of Fresh Air.
