Geoffrey Deane and David Jaymes formed Modern Romance in 1980, having previously been the mainstays of the punk parody band the Leyton Buzzards which they formed in 1977.
The band split up in 1980 though Deane and Jaymes continued working together, embracing the burgeoning electronic style of dance music that was becoming popular in London clubs at the time. They found a new manager and created a limited company called Business Art Productions, and signed to WEA. In 1980, their first release, eponymously titled "Modern Romance", was unsuccessful. After a second unsuccessful single, "Tonight", the band then opted to lessen the predominantly electronic sound in favour of a Latin-American dance style with emphasis on bass, percussion and brass. They recruited trumpet player John Du Prez into their new line-up. The band released a new single, "Everybody Salsa" in summer 1981, which reached the UK Top 20. However, prior to the release, they recruited a new drummer, Andy Kyriacou, who began promoting the single with the band, and set up their first personal appearance in a club.
They followed this later in the year with similarly themed "Ay Ay Ay Ay Moosey", which reached the UK Top 10. Despite these two hits, the band's debut album, Adventures in Clubland, was not a success. However, in the US they scored a number 2 hit on the Billboard Dance chart with "Can You Move", a mostly rap variation of "Everybody Salsa". After further UK Top 40 hits with "Queen of the Rapping Scene" and a cover of the 1955 hit "Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White", Deane departed the band in 1982 to pursue solo projects.
Michael J. Mullins took over the mantle of lead vocalist, and their next release saw the band reach their highest UK chart position with "Best Years of Our Lives" in late 1982. Further hits followed in 1983: "High Life" (UK No. 8), "Don't Stop That Crazy Rhythm" (UK No. 14), and the ballad "Walking in the Rain" (UK No. 7). Both "Best Years of Our Lives" and "Walking in the Rain" earned Silver discs. Despite being regularly featured in teen pin-up magazines, the band's commercial hot streak waned and further singles were less successful. The band released a compilation album for the Christmas 1983 market entitled Party Tonight. Though it only peaked at No. 45 in the UK, it became their most successful album and was certified gold for sales in excess of 100,000 copies within six weeks of release.
John Du Prez then left the band, and after disagreements with their record company, WEA, the band signed with RCA in 1984. This brought about a change of image – from bright coloured suits and wedge hairstyles to long hair and leather jackets. The band released a new single, a cover of The Temptations' 1971 hit "Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)", but the single was not a success. Modern Romance released a final album, Burn It!, in 1985. The album was received poorly and the band called it quits after releasing the stand-alone single "Tarzan Boy" – a cover of the Baltimora hit from earlier that year – and an anthology mix of their biggest selling songs titled "Best Mix of Our Lives" (also 1985).
After leaving Modern Romance, former lead vocalist Geoff Deane reappeared in 1983 as 'Geoff Deane & The Valley Girls' to release the single "Navy Lark", then again for the solo "What About Romance", and he also wrote "You Think You're A Man" for Divine. Deane later became a scriptwriter and television producer, scripting for television programmes such as Birds of a Feather, Babes in the Wood, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, Chef!, Last Man Standing, and A Many-Splintered Thing. In 2005, he wrote the film Kinky Boots starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, and a year later It's a Boy Girl Thing for Elton John's Rocket Pictures.
David Jaymes has since moved into the management and consultancy side of the music industry. He worked as the music supervisor on the film Fascination (2004) starring Jacqueline Bisset and James Naughton. He has also worked again with John Du Prez, composing music for commercials and feature films. Jaymes has managed artists such as Sinéad O'Connor, Justin Adams, Miles Hunt of The Wonder Stuff, Republica and Drum Club. He has also worked as consultant for Harry Nilsson, Jimmy Webb, George Fenton, and Chuck Mangione. In 2010, he worked with a host of musicians on the Haiti earthquake disaster single (a cover version of "I Put a Spell on You"), including Shane MacGowan, Nick Cave, Chrissie Hynde and Johnny Depp.
In 1999, Andy Kyriacou reformed Modern Romance with a new line-up, joining the burgeoning British 1980s revival scene. The new line-up features no original band members (Kyriacou himself had first appeared on the Modern Romance single, "Ay Ay Ay Ay Moosey", although he had remained their drummer until the band split in 1985). In 2002, the new line-up released the album Back on Track, which consisted mostly of re-recorded Modern Romance hits. Back on Track was also released as Moves 2 Fast, with a slightly different track listing. Kyriacou's Modern Romance continues to play the 1980s festival circuit and appeared as the opening act at the 2010 Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames, which also included Boy George, Rick Astley, Level 42, T'Pau, Kajagoogoo and Heaven 17.
2012 saw the band play Let's Rock the Moor!, a boutique festival in Cookham, Berkshire, with other 1980s acts including Go West, Toyah, Nick Heyward and Billy Ocean. During their set they aired one of their new songs, "Rhythm Is My Lover", from the forthcoming album The 7th Day (penned by Kyriacou and guitarist Peter J Pinto).
Band of Gold
Modern Romance Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All that's left is a band of gold
All that's left of the dream I hold
Is a band of gold
And the memories of what love could be
If you are still here with me
You took me from the shelter of a mother I had never known
We kissed after taking vows
But that night on our honeymoon
We stayed in separate rooms
I wait in the darkness of my lonely room
Filled with sadness, filled with gloom
Hoping soon that you'll walk
Back through that door
And love me like you tried before
Since you've been gone
All that's left is a band of gold
All that's left of the dream I hold
Is a band of gold
And the dream of what love could be
If you are still here with me
Ooh, don't you know that I wait in the darkness of my lonely room
Filled with sadness, filled with gloom
Hoping soon that you'll walk
Back through that door
And love me like you tried before
Since you've been gone
All that's left is a band of gold
All that's left of the dream I hold
Is a band of gold
And the dream of what love could be
If you are still here with me
The lyrics of Modern Romance's "Band of Gold" are a poignant reflection on lost love and the lingering memories of what could have been. The band of gold referred to in the lyrics is a symbol of the commitment and promise of the love that has since been lost. The singer is filled with sadness and gloom as he/she reflects on the emptiness that remains after the departure of their lover. The song tells a story of a love that was once strong and full of promise, but that has since been lost due to circumstances beyond the singer's control.
The second part of the song recalls the circumstances surrounding their separation. The singer left the shelter of a mother she never knew for a new life with her partner. They exchanged vows and shared a wedding kiss, but despite the promise of their union, their honeymoon night was spent apart, foreshadowing the eventual loss of their love. The memory of that night serves as a reminder of the pain and loneliness the singer now feels, trapped in a room filled with sadness and waiting for the return of their partner.
Overall, the lyrics of "Band of Gold" are a moving and heartfelt meditation on love, loss, and the lingering hopes of what could still be. The song speaks to the universal experience of heartbreak and the lingering memories of lost love.
Line by Line Meaning
Now that you're gone
Since you're no longer here with me
All that's left is a band of gold
All I have to remember you is this wedding ring
All that's left of the dream I hold
All my hopes and expectations for our future together are gone
Is a band of gold
All I have left to remind me of our love is this ring
And the memories of what love could be
I still have thoughts about what it would be like if we were together
If you are still here with me
Even though you're not physically here, I still hope you'll come back to me
You took me from the shelter of a mother I had never known
I left my family to be with you
Who loved any other
I didn't feel loved by my family before I met you
We kissed after taking vows
We shared our first kiss after getting married
But that night on our honeymoon
Immediately after getting married, something went wrong
We stayed in separate rooms
We were not intimate on our wedding night
I wait in the darkness of my lonely room
I spend my nights alone, hoping for your return
Filled with sadness, filled with gloom
My emotions are consumed by depression
Hoping soon that you'll walk
I have faith that you'll come back to me
Back through that door
You'll return to the place where we used to be together
And love me like you tried before
I hope you'll love me the same way you did before you left
Since you've been gone
Ever since you left me
Ooh, don't you know that I wait in the darkness of my lonely room
I spend my nights alone, hoping for your return
And the dream of what love could be
I still have hope for love even though you're gone
If you are still here with me
I still hope for your return
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Edythe Wayne, Ronald Dunbar
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Peter Morrison
I've been wanting to hear this for 35 years to see if it was as awesome as I remember in the early 80s. It is. Thanks for confirming it.
Josette Davis
I love this version!
Chris Bryant
What an absolute monster of a cover.
AFC
Along with I fought the law, best cover ever
Allan Buttery
Used in the 1983 Comedy film Party Party-Worth watching if you enjoy nostalgia and the early 1980`s...
bruce wayne
i have that movie on dvd ! its a very funny british comedy. great music all the way through. party batman.
AFC
Really enjoyable film with a killer soundtrack
GoodShot Green
Just watched PARTY PARTY and this was the only song I shazam'd.
AFC
I shazamed a few but this was the best song of the film for me
michael collins
This was a top group with a great sound....play all their stuff still...sadly, and only my opinion once geoff mike and dave went the current line up is just......like me singing in the bath......sorry