Scarlet Party was formed in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, England, in the early 1980s. The founder members were, singer/songwriters Graham Dye, and brother Steven Dye, with drummer Sean Heaphy. They began to perform at many top venues, to a well established following, and had already recorded an album of original material, and were signed to a major record company, when joined by fourth member, Mark Gilmour, brother of

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

David Gilmour David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined as guitarist and co-lead vocalist in 1967, shortly before the departure of founding member Syd Barrett. P ...

, on lead guitar. The debut single, "

101 Dam-Nations "101 Dam-Nations" is a song written by Graham Dye and Steven Dye. The catch-phrase "101 Damnations", is a play on words, derived from the title of the animated feature film One Hundred and One Dalmatians, made by The Walt Disney Company in 1961 ...

", was released on Parlophone, on 16 October 1982, alongside a special re-release of "Love Me Do", celebrating

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' 20th anniversary at EMI. This helped to get Scarlet Party noticed, and with the voice of Graham Dye, uncannily resembling that of

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

, a television, radio, and magazine, publicity campaign, helped to reinforce the connection. The single was enthusiastically received ( Kate Bush described it as her favourite), and reached number 44 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. It was voted number 4 in the All-Time Top 100 Singles from

Colin Larkin Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British writer and entrepreneur. He founded, and was the editor-in-chief of, the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', described by ''The Times'' as "the standard against which all others must be judged". Along wit ...

's ''

All Time Top 1000 Albums ''All Time Top 1000 Albums'' is a book by Colin Larkin, creator and editor of the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. The book was first published by Guinness Publishing in 1994. The list presented is the result of over 200,000 votes cast by the ...

''.. Larkin states 'it should have been an anthem monster number one.' The follow-up single " Eyes Of Ice" reached number 8 in the Portuguese chart. The single was released in February 1983, on ice-clear vinyl, which was a request from the band, and all art-work for the sleeve was created by Graham Dye, using coloured pencils. 'Scarlet Skies', was recorded at

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...

in 1981-82, but has never been officially released. The linked songs explore themes of war, love, and alienation, in styles reminiscent of both the mini pop operas of

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

, and the progressive concept albums of

. The band recorded more original songs written by the Dye brothers, as a four-piece, until the departure of Mark Gilmour at the end of 1983, and then, once again, as a three-piece, also working on other projects, including a musical cartoon adventure based on the band, none of which were taken on by EMI. Scarlet Party continued performing live shows, joined briefly by new member Micky Portman on bass, and recorded several more tracks at Abbey Road Studios. However, the band now feeling disheartened, and disappointed in EMI, decided to call it a day at the end of 1985. Graham Dye went on to work as lead vocalist, on several albums by

The Alan Parsons Project The Alan Parsons Project was a British rock band active between 1975 and 1990, whose core membership consisted of producer, audio engineer, musician and composer Alan Parsons and singer, songwriter and pianist Eric Woolfson. They were accompanie ...

, and more recently, a new version of "101 Dam-Nations" was made, featuring Graham and Steven Dye, together with

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

, playing the

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

s. The brothers requested the help of

Alan Parsons Alan Parsons (born 20 December 1948) is an English audio engineer, songwriter, musician and record producer. Parsons was involved with the production of several notable albums, including the Beatles' ''Abbey Road'' (1969) and ''Let It Be'' ( ...

to produce the recording, which is not yet available.

Discography

Singles

* "101 Dam-Nations" / "What Is This Thing" - 1982, UK #44 (Parlophone R6058) * "Eyes Of Ice" / "Another World", - 1983, (Parlophone R6060),

Albums

*'Scarlet Skies' - recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, in 1981-82, not released. Track listing: ** "101 Dam-Nations" ** "Stop Your Game (War)" ** "Aftermath" ** "Now's Good Times" ** "Judy" ** "Eyes Of Ice" ** "Scarlet Skies" ** "In A World" ** "A Deadly Silence" ** "Another World" ** "101 Dam-Nations" (reprise)

Anthology

* Shining, - featuring Mark Gilmour, recorded at EMI Studio, Manchester Square, London, 1982 * Sky High, - featuring Mark Gilmour, recorded at Hook End Studio, Henley, 1982 * Fly by Night, - engineered by Phil Harding, 1983 * Wonder, - engineered by Phil Harding, 1983 * Flying Saucers, - engineered by Phil Harding, 1983 * Genuine?, - recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, 1984 * Love Is..., - recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, 1984 * At The End Of The Day, - recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, 1984 * Save Me!, - recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, 1984 * 101 Dam-Nations, - featuring Phil Collins, recorded at Dinamec Studios, Geneva, Switzerland Words and Music by Graham Dye/Steven Dye - published by Sony/ATV Music

Compilation albums featuring "101 Dam-Nations"

* ''Chart Wars'' - 1982,

Ronco Ronco was an American company that manufactured and sold a variety of items and devices, most commonly those used in the kitchen. Ron Popeil founded the company in 1964, and infomercials and commercials for the company's products soon became per ...

LP album * ''The Rock Collection : Indie Rock'' - 1993, Time-Life Music CD album * ''Shake Some Action Volume 5'' - 2001,

bootleg Bootleg or bootlegging most often refers to: * Bootleg recording, an audio or video recording released unofficially * Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages, hence: ** Moonshine, or illicitly made ...

CD album * ''Lost And Found Volume 1 : Imagination'' - 2001,

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

CD album * ''Mod And Beyond'' - 2005, Crimson Productions CD album

References

External links

Scarlet Party website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scarlet Party Parlophone artists English rock music groups Musical groups from Essex