Fatal Charm - Debut Album

Debut Album

The third single, 1984's "Summer Spies" (previous singles "Paris" and "Christine" had not attracted much interest) was something of a turning point. The song's hypnotic driving rhythm and occasional whispered vocals captured the imagination of UK indie music fans and despite disappointing sales, proved to be a catalyst for 1985's debut album, Endangered Species. The singles "King of Comedy" and "You Know (You'll Never Believe)" were also released in the lead up to the album launch, but were poorly promoted. The album was however, well received and prompted more radio work.

Arnall and Simmonds followed up with the single "Images of Fire" in 1986, recorded on 8-track at home released by Native Records and reaching number 16 in the UK Independent Chart. The song won the band many more fans. Likewise, 1987's single "Lucille", also released by Native, charted and finally broke the jinx that had surrounded the song; previous recording attempts having been thwarted by record company problems. Around this time, Simmonds revealed a talent for writing melodies and hook lines and the pair set about writing some more material. They also toyed with the idea of changing their name to 'The Love Brigade' and developing a more 'thrash' pop sound; however following a lack of interest from Native, the idea fell flat.