The Flys - See For Miles Compilation (1977-1980)

The Flys are one of pop music's best kept secrets. Unfortunately they happened at a time when pop music was temporarily kicked into touch, by the onslaught of punk. If The Ruts were the most poptastic of all the hardcore bands, with a punk attitude, then The Flys were their mirror image, combining great pop songs with a raw, staccato delivery which actually did have some people think that, they were merely one of the many punk, bandwagon jumpers. Anybody listening to this album will realise they were far more than that. They weren't just good in the studio either. I saw them live on several occasions and they were simply wonderful. The Bowie influence is obvious, but far more than this, The Flys displayed a rare talent for writing memorable and intelligent pop songs, which should have catapulted them into the top division of the genre. Unfortunately they got little exposure and are now virtually forgotten. One of the two main songwriters later resurfaced in a band called The Lover Speaks who released one amazing album in the mid eighties. The album included the sublime 'No More I Love You's', later covered by Annie Lennox on 'Medusa', but history repeated, as they once again sank without trace. Anyway back to the album in question. It has not got one bad track on it and my only complaint is, that through lack of available running time, many great tracks had to be left off it. Easy solution is to buy the two original albums 'Waikiki Beach Refugees' and 'Fly's Own', which have been reissued with loads of bonus tracks. The Flys are gone, never to return but we can still reminisce and dwell on what might have been.

1 - Name Dropping
2 - Love And A Molotov Cocktail
3 - Waikiki Beach Refugees
4 - We Are The Lucky Ones
5 - Walking The Streets
6 - Beverley
7 - Don't Moonlight On Me
8 - We Don't Mind The Rave
9 - Down
10 - What Will Mother Say
11 - Undercover Agent Zero
12 - Night Creature
13 - Today Belongs To Me
14 - Let's Drive
15 - Fascinate Me
ThFls(1978-1980)