China Crisis

Malt Room Standing | Age Guidance 16+

The early 1980’s heralded a second Liverpool-based musical renaissance and amongst these lauded Merseyside acts was China Crisis, originally emerging in 1981 from their native Kirkby broadly in the “new wave” genre as the songwriting duo of vocalist/keyboardist Gary Daly and guitarist/vocalist Eddie Lundon.

Citing influences as varied as Davie Bowie, Stevie Wonder, Eric Satie and Brian Eno, it’s not surprising that their sound was quickly distinguishable amongst their peers, combining synthpop with reggae, country and other styles with their own unique melodies and harmonies to create distinctively sophisticated but catchy pop in a style all its own. With their philosophy that “the song is the most important thing”, China Crisis weren’t just resourceful with the emerging technology of the time and the ongoing electronic music revolution but would creatively employ a distinctive sonic blend of more orthodox origins – horns, strings, woodwinds, pedal steel – a sound further enhanced by working with some of the greatest producers of the 20th century, including Mike Howlett, Langer/Winstanley, and perhaps most notably with Steely Dan’s Walter Becker.

The result of their effort was a clearly identifiable China Crisis sound that stood out from the crowd and garnered the band chart success around the globe, including three UK Top 40 albums and eleven UK Top 50 singles, their hits including the beloved “Wishful Thinking”, “Christian”, “Black Man Ray”, “King in a Catholic Style”, “Arizona Sky” and “African and White”. More importantly the early years established a decades-loyal fanbase that continues to grow today.

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