A Flock of Seagulls

In its prime, Liverpool's A Flock of Seagulls was essentially a two-gimmick band, the first being its blend of minor-key melodies and low-tech electronics, the second being singer Mike Score's hair, an astonishingly ambitious bit of pompadour that spilled over his forehead like a breaking wave. Score's look, along with the arty urgency of the Bill Nelson-produced "Telecommunication," lent A Flock of Seagulls a certain cutting-edge sheen at the time, but the old-fashioned hooks of "I Ran" earned the group an audience. Four subsequent albums have gone out of print; no great loss, since the Gulls ran out of compelling ideas pretty fast. The cream of their later catalogue, including the minor hits "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)" and "The More You Live, the More You Love," can be found on The Best of a Flock of Seagulls. Swap a handful of that album's lesser-known tunes for a few even more lesser-known ones and you've got Platinum & Gold Collection. I Ran, misleadingly called a best-of, is actually a bunch of tacky rerecordings perpetrated by Score at the dawn of the 21st century. Steer well clear. (J.D. CONSIDINE/MAC RANDALL)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide