Product Perfect

In the brief spotlight of their fifteen minutes of fame Birmingham, England band Fàshiön toured both the USA and UK as opening band for The Police, did a UK club tour with a then unknown band from Ireland called U2, opened for The B52'S on their first ever UK tour, and had a new band called Duran Duran open shows for them Hammersmith Odeon, London The Police/ Fàshiön (Message In A Bottle tour) Sounds review, September 1979 “… Though what Fàshiön appeared to be when they rushed into “Burning Down” was a fairly standard new wave band, brazen and incoherent. Then they came looping out of that into their most oddly identifiable piece to date, “Citinite”. Bassist Mulligan switched to synthesizer and began to crank out the distinctive rolling chords. Luke’s fattened-up guitar sound wheeling along behind it. The vocal a stylized urban horror show. It was a strange kind of quivering tango as seed and jolly as a fairground hurdy-gurdy and cosmic as a starry night. Pretty and silly and rich-textured. Not like anybody else at all … Fashion use electronics and they use their brains. Don’t hold it against them though. Pop for the undead….” Squeeze/Fashion Canterbury Odeon Melody Maker review, February 1980 “ …In Citinite Fàshiön released one of the diamond singles of last year … and I remain convinced they are one of the bands to pay attention to for the duration. Old favorite “Product Perfect” teased as ever, almost pop, almost catchy, almost toe-tapping, perversely pleasing. New songs to me “Fiction Factory” and “Do It In The Dark” were full of Fàshiön freshness and challenging to orthodox song-making. Primitive sophistication? A new theorem: ‘People who play in garages don’t have to have mundane brains.’ Ultimate proof was “Artificial Eyes”. A manically feverish reggae, a white nightmare in a black night, it featured the lengthy Luke whose salient vocals and inventive guitar playing had kept Fàshiön’s music in motion when all else was in turmoil. From punk buzzsaw to John Williams harmonics he’s the most exciting instrumentalist I’ve seen since the last time I said he was the most exciting instrumentalist I’ve seen since…” Fàshiön: Citinite (Fàshiön Music) Sounds review of second single release. Umlauts all over the place which will be a Brummie laugh on reviewers who don’t read the enclosed blurbs and think they’re Krautrockers. Bloody excellent single. I feel I ought to say something more aesthetic as there are so many electronic tricks involved in producing the sound that this could well be Art. On the other hand it’s also pop. A glorious warm texture of burbling, purring synthi-guitar and bass. Plus a tune and discreet vocal. Discover them on tour right now …”