Secret Affair Story by Mick. The SF convention, the place to be!

For those too young to remember.............

Secret Affair, consisting of Ian Page (vocals, trumpet, piano, organ), David Cairns (guitar, backing vocals), Dennis Smith (bass, backing vocals), and Seb Shelton (drums), formed in 1978. Taking their inspiration from the Jam, the group was quickly seen as one of the shining stars of the mod revival movement of the late '70s. They received their most important early exposure by supporting the Jam on small-scale tours in England and followed with several mod package tours with bands such as the Purple Hearts. Their first single, "Time for Action," was the perfect youth anthem for the time and certainly one the most memorable and successful of the movement. The band released its first album, Glory Boys, late in 1979 on their own label, I-Spy (distributed by Arista in the U.K. and Sire in the U.S.). Both the album and their subsequent singles charted, but by the time 1980's Behind Closed Doors was released, the revival was dissolving and they were too firmly rooted in the movement to change their arrogant stance. The band began to break up when drummer Seb Shelton left in 1980. They held on until 1982, releasing one more album, Business as Usual, to an uninterested public; the members went their separate ways shortly after its release.

Secret Affair first slid into the U.K.'s consciousness in September 1979 with their exhilarating debut single "Time for Action," which danced its way to number 13 in the charts. Britain was in the grip of a mod revival, spearheaded by the success of the Jam, and Secret Affair were perfectly placed to take advantage of the prevailing mood. Although their follow-up 45, "Let Your Heart Dance," stalled in the lower reaches of the Top 30, their debut album, which included both songs, was eagerly anticipated. Glory Boys didn't disappoint and quieted any sneering suggestions that this new crew of mods were merely Jam wannabes. Of course Secret Affair shared influences with their bigger brethren — Tamla Motown and British beat bands — but from them the group fashioned a unique style far removed from the Jam's own. This was partially due to singer Ian Page bringing his trumpet to the proceedings, gracing Affair with a much more genuine retro sound, while also adding further exhilaration to the music. Page's horn solo on "Don't Look Down" (with nods to, of all things, the E Street Band) just cooks — it also punches up the aforementioned "Dance," and is vital to their cover of the Miracles' "Going to a Go-Go." The Jam were so impressed by the authenticity brass gave to Affair's sound that they promptly began including some on their own records. But of equal importance was Affair's attitude; they reveled in their modness, and their upbeat mood had little in common with Paul Weller's angst and alienation. This stance is clearest on the album's centerpiece, "Glory Boys" itself. A rousing mod-like punk exhortation of mod pride, it immediately became the movement's anthem for parka-clad youth across the nation. Secret Affair had arrived in definite style. The CD reissue appends two bonus tracks to the original album — the rocking "Soho Strut" and "Sorry, Wrong Number," the closest a mod band could get to Two Tone without using a syncopated beat. Both were previously released as B-sides on "Time for Action" and "Dance," respectively.

TIME FOR ACTION INDEED!! - THE SMALL FACES CONVENTION IS THE BEST PLACE TO BE THIS COMING SUNDAY - BE THERE!!...........................Mick