After the success of All The Rage in 1984 General Public followed it up in 1986 with Hand To Mouth that only managed to reach number 83 in the Billboard Hot 100. The core band of Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger from The Beat, Mickey Billingham from Dexy's Midnight Runners and Horace Panter from The Specials remained but Stoker has been replaced by Mario Minardi with Gianni Minardi also joining the ranks, the special guests this time include Pato Banton, Gaspar Lawal and Digby Cleaver.
The A-side opens with the brassy soulful pop of Come Again a plea to be treated fairly and honestly for a change. Faults And All is a Europop song to give yourself a good talking too, get passed all your indecision, go on believe in each other.
Forward As One is a tropical jazz marching song against war, we should all march together to stop war, ignore that reveille bugle call, avoid the curfew, bring about peace and avoid the destruction of war, a message we need as much now as they did then sadly.
Murder sounds totally upbeat, musically very spry, as you notice all the pain and sorrow in the lyrics as your love has descended into a constant swirl of arguments and fights, life has become Murder, all your rage and jealousy come coated in cartoon style brass stabs.
Cheque In The Post is a line from a previous century, as you'd be promising a paypal these days. Although the dark desperate plea for fair treatment and prompt payment hasn't changed, just pay up so they can survive and thrive and throw some bitcoin my way.
The B-side opens with Too Much Or Nothing for that moment when you realize how surface or plastic some people really are, you're looking for more depth no matter how shallow the 80's funky pop backing maybe, they still get to the point.
Love Without The Fun is smooth soulful pop, for love in the middle of the AIDS crisis, as you become more afraid to seal the deal with the one you crave.
On Conversation opens like a typical Mid 80's Peter Gabriel song that slowly tries to find answers to how he's ended up here now, with these people in his life, as the music becomes slinkier through the long dancefloor disco break.
Never All There is for one of those friends who always takes the wrong advice, descending into all sorts of personal hells accompanied by a super mild backing that's Never All There either.
Cry On Your Own Shoulder is a post break up soul torch song for the recently broken hearted, they tell you to stop crying on your Own shoulder, stop lying and get your act together they've had enough apparently.
Find Out More at https://generalpublic.lnk.to/HTM You can see them this summer on the Lost 80's package tour https://lost80slive.com/
