Broken English were a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

rock

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary * Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...

formed in 1987 by Steve Elson (singer and guitarist), who at the time performed in a

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

tribute band A tribute act, tribute band, tribute group or tribute artist is a Musical ensemble, music group, Singing, singer, or musician who specifically plays the music of a well-known music act. Tribute acts include individual performers who mimic the so ...

History

The group started after Elson wrote a song called "Comin' On Strong", which a friend of his Oliver Smallman, heard the song and thought it was too good to be a one-off

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and w ...

and encouraged Elson to put together a band and record more material. The first single did reasonably well; however, the two follow-up singles did not fare so well. This is highlighted and detailed in the

sleeve notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the progra ...

of their only album which was released in 2007, several years after the band stopped performing. Broken English were one of the opening acts on the ITV programme '' The Roxy'', which was set up as opposition to

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...

's ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

''.

Music videos

''Comin on Strong'' features a full-length music video of the band in their ''Ghostbusters'' look, playing the song in a run down work yard. Due to the visible steam of their breath, the video gives the impression that the band is in the cold outdoors. ''Love on the Side'' Has a desert/cowboy theme with the band performing with their guitars. The closing shot shows the band departing up hill into the sunset, where they cross paths with three others dressed in the bands Ghostbusters uniforms. ''Do You Really Want Me Back'' shows the band playing in a studio and is filmed in black and white. The video consists of a woman de icing a window allowing her to observe the band performing. At the end of the video the band appears in the style of the ''

Take On Me "Take On Me" is a song by Norwegian synth-pop band a-ha. The original version, recorded in 1984 and released in October of that year, was produced by Tony Mansfield and remixed by John Ratcliff (producer), John Ratcliff. The 1985 international ...

'' video by

A-ha A-ha (often stylised as ''a''-h''a''; ) is a Norwegian synth-pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. Founded by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars and vocals), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitars and vocals), and Morten Harket (lead vocals), the band ros ...

Band members

* Steve Elson - guitars, vocals (now lead singer 'Nick Dagger' of The Counterfeit Stones * Jamie Moses - guitars (has performed with

Queen + Paul Rodgers Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * ...

Brian May Sir Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, animal welfare activist and astrophysics, astrophysicist. He achieved global fame as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the rock band Queen ...

, Tom Jones and

Paul Young Paul Antony Young (born 17 January 1956) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Formerly the frontman of the short-lived bands Kat Kool & the Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips, he became a teen idol with his solo success in the 1980s. H ...

) * Alan Coates - guitars (used to perform with

The Hollies The Hollies are an English rock and pop band formed in Manchester in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Singer Allan Clarke and ...

) * Paul Fenton - drums (used to perform with T.Rex) * Geoff Cooper - drums (used to perform with The Counterfeit Stones)

Discography

Albums

Broken English recorded one album (called ''Platinum''), which was not released until 2007, nearly 20 years after it was first recorded. The album's sleeve notes give a detailed history of the band and reasons for them slipping into obscurity. * ''The Rough with the Smooth'' (2007) Track listing # "Show a Little Mercy" # "Straight Lace Girls" # "Don't Change" # "Emotional Suicide" # "You Take Me Away" # "Comin' On Strong" # "Casanova" # "Ball 'n' Chain" # "Love on the Side" # "Woman of Stone" # "Do You Really Want Me Back" Bonus tracks # "Comin' On Strong (2)" # "Fire Me Up" # "Rough Cut Diamonds" # "Running Out"

Singles

Popular culture

The band's only hit "Comin' On Strong", appears in the

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

''Grand Theft Auto V'' The song appears on the ingame radio station "Los Santos Rock Radio" and is used as brief cutscene soundtrack for the closing "heist complete" screen in multiplayer for the first heist "The Fleeca job" playing in a bar while the two customizable player characters drink beer.

References

Guinness Book of British Hit Singles ''British Hit Singles & Albums'' (originally known as ''The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles'' and ''The Guinness Book of British Hit Albums'') was a music reference book originally published in the United Kingdom by the publishing arm of ...

- 16th Edition -

External links

Jamie Moses website

The Counterfeit Stones website
* Broken English AMG entry {{Authority control English rock music groups Musical groups established in 1987 EMI Records artists