Rewind: 1980 Behind Closed Doors - Secret Affair

Behind Closed Doors - Secret Affair

I-Spy Records

Produced by Ian Page and Dave Cairns

Released 12th September 1980

UK Chart #48

With the Mod Revival slowly running out of steam Secret Affair unleashed their second album. The debut Glory Boys had shown a lot of promise but the album didn't even make the Top Forty, stopping short at #41. In the singles department Time For Action had done well reaching #13 but the follow up Let Your Heart Dance stumbled outside the Top 30 at #32, which is a shame because personally I think it was a better single than Time For Action (there'll be a Parka wearing horde banging at my front door I predict howling their annoyance!).

After the recording of the album Drummer Seb Shelton upped Drum Stools, ditched his zoot suit and headed toward the Come On Eileen Era of Dexy's Midnight Runners. His replacement was Paul Bultitude who had been in the power pop band Advertising with Bassist Dennis Smith.

I saw them at the Hammersmith Odeon on the tour promoting this album and whilst they were good a lot of the energy that had been generated around places like The Bridge House, Marquee, The Wellington appeared sapped. Hard to explain why because the songs on the second were pretty good. That night though it was the support act that stood up and won - Laurel Aitken, that legendary Ska man backed by three quarters of The Ruts (Paul Fox on Guitar, Segs Jennings on Bass and Dave Ruffy on Drums). 

Late 1981 Secret Affair would return to the lower reaches of the chart with Do You Know (#57) and their last single Lost in the Night (Mac the Knife) (did not chart) and final album (at least until Soho Dreams released in 2012!) Business As Usual couldn't recapture the heady days of 1979! It's a real pity because Lost in the Night (Mac the Knife) is actually one of my favourites of theirs and the album was much better than Behind Closed Doors (another bone of contention I'll have to face!). Personally I thought that if Secret Affair had released One Day In Your Life the lead single for the album then it might have been a very different story for the band at the time.

 

A1 - What Did You Expect?
A2 - I'm A Bullet
A3 - Only Madmen Laugh
A4 - When The Show's Over
A5 - My World
B1 - Sound Of Confusion
B2 - Life's A Movie Too
B3 - Through My Eyes
B4 - Live For Today
B5 - Streetlife Parade

Singles From The Album

My World - UK Chart #16

Sound of Confusion - UK Chart #45