Coffee works and it works real good! 
– Icicle Works – live The Watershed, Bristol – May 25, 1985 – BBC Radio 1 –
Ending up our week in the 80s with a set from Icicle Works, recorded at The Watershed in Bristol by BBC Radio for their In concert series.
I remember when Icicle Works came out with their first album, via Arista here in the U.S. – and then they disappeared. They actually didn’t, but were largely ignored after their debut album by their American label and continued enjoying a modicum of success in the UK. Part of that Neo-Psych movement from Liverpool in the early 80s which gave us Echo & the Bunnymen and The Teardrop Explodes, Icicle Works had a promising start, with the release of their six-song cassette and a follow up single which became a hit for them and got much favorable press as a result.
After their debut release, and their huge hit Whisper To A Scream, things started getting a bit wonky. Arista refused to issue their follow-up album, and the remainder of their recorded career was sketchy as far as further U.S. releases were concerned. It was a shame because they were a good band, but were in the midst of personnel changes. It wasn’t until 1987 when they secured another U.S. distribution deal that their single High Time was issued and became a hit for them in the U.S. in 1988.
But with much in-fighting and direction disputes, the band didn’t last and in 1991 called it quits. They have since (in 2006) reformed for occasional gigs and featured founding member Ian McNab, but with mostly new members for the current lineup.
As a reminder of how they were during their formative period, here is their concert from Bristol, at the Watershed, recorded on May 25th 1985 by the venerable BBC.
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