It may be about as past it as a Glen Madeiras haircut but boy does this tune get the memories flooding back. Times spent in a remote outpost in the West of Ireland where the arrival of the weekly piece of vinyl was always something to was celebrated (the 10 mile cycle in the dark to pick up the Joshua Tree at it’s midnight launch was an adventure of Marco Polo proportions). Back then Dave Fanning’s Fab 50 represented the highlight of my musical year and was eagerly committed to tape (an offence akin to downloading mp3’s today!). Who cares if the same songs turned up every year, this was the sound of the underground amid the piecing din of cow’s calfing. I’d often miss the crucial Top 10 due to the inconvenience of having to go to Christmas Eve mass but there was always next week’s RTE guide to get the full rundown. In those internet disabled times it was a famine for new band discoveries, gives me a shiver even thinking about it. ‘The Love Parade’ was a 12-inch purchase and was backed up by the less sonically clothed but no less enjoyable ‘Girl In A Million’. For a song that sounded so futuristic in 1985 ‘The Love Parade’ has not aged too badly at all and you’ve got to applaud the cleverly camouflaged blue theme. The good old times, give me a break. KD

The Dream Academy - The Love Parade

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More Info: Fan Site & Myspace
Buy Songs: The Dream Academy
Year: 1985