Prefab Sprout is the name a pop band from the North East of England. To most people it's the band that recorded that 1980s novelty hit 'The King of Rock 'n' Roll':

...hot dog, jumping frog, Albuquerque...

1970s: The Young McAloons

Prefab Sprout starting life playing in a garage in a village in County Durham. While customers were filling up their cars and chammying their bonnets, Paddy and Martin McAloon were treating them to cover versions of all their favourite pop tunes. The punters loved it and so did the McAloon's dad - he ran the garage.

Paddy started to write his own songs and entertained the local old folks home with renditions of 'Faron Young,' a future single for the band. They later graduated to pubs, playing in wellies to avoid electrocution from their dodgy wiring!

1980s: Hit Records!

It was in the early 1980s that Paddy met his future girlfriend Wendy Smith in a pub in Whitley Bay. Wendy was a big fan of the band, and followed them from gig to gig. She could also sing and, on joining the band, her ethereal vocal style complemented Paddy's rough Geordie vocals perfectly.

1982 saw the release of 'Lions In My Own Garden (Exit Someone)' on Candle Records. After months of gigging and Martin working on building sites they had save up enough cash to go into a studio and record the single. They even had enough cash to get a few records pressed too.

Local record label Kitchenware then signed them up, their first album Swoon was released in 1984. The album is a joy to listen to as it features none of the elaborate production style that later become a regular coating on every Prefab Sprout album. It was Prefab Sprout on a tight budget, sounding pretty much as they did live. However, almost as soon as the album was released, Paddy McAloon dismissed it as 'embarrassing'. That is, until electropopster Thomas Dolby heard them on the radio and asked if he could produce their next LP.

Steve McQueen

Steve McQueen was the result. Often appearing in top 100 albums of all time lists, it is agreed by fans to be the band's finest work. Released in 1985, it spawned a top 30 single 'When Love Breaks Down.' By this time, drummer Neil Conti had joined and the line-up was complete.

Hot Dogs and TV Slogs

In 1988, Prefab Sprout seemed to be everywhere. With the release of From Langley Park to Memphis, their third album, came the single 'Cars and Girls' - very catchy, very radio-friendly...it flopped. However, the next single 'The King of Rock 'n' Roll' shot to number seven in the UK singles charts. Suddenly, everyone had heard of Prefab Sprout... for the wrong reasons. The song was unlike anything they had recorded before and was meant to be a bit of a joke. It was a lampooning of a has-been crooner, loosely based on Elvis Presley, whose trousers are too tight and fans too old. The video featured three people dressed in hot dog outfits dancing round a pool. The kids loved it and bought it in droves.

The 1990s

1990 was the year that the band toured the world promoting their album Jordan: The Comeback. With 19 tracks about God, Love, Elvis and Death, the album put the band back into the serious league. The album was nominated for a Brit Award but was beaten to it by George Michael's Listen Without Prejudice.

1992 saw the release of a 'Best Of' album and a cheeky video for 'If You Don't Love Me' (you won't see it on MTV). The song was adapted for the dance floor and suddenly even clubbers began to like the band!

Around this time, Paddy and Wendy split up but carried on working professionally until the year 2000 when she left to have a baby. That year, the band toured without her, Paddy sporting a long beard and a toned down sound. In 2001, they released The Gunman and Other Stories a CD about The Wild West which flopped. Even the fans didn't like it much.

The Future?

I Trawl The Megahertz - will hopefully restore Paddy as one of the world's best contemporary songwriters. Its rumoured that the band are no longer with Kitchenware Records now that their eight-album deal has expired.

WANTED: Record label to release established Geordie songwriter's album about what you hear when you tune around on a short wave radio for hours on end...

Album Discography

• 1984 - Swoon

• 1985 - Steve McQueen/Two Wheels Good (US release)

• 1988 - From Langley Park To Memphis

• 1989 - Protest Songs

• 1990 - Jordan: The Comeback

• 1992 - Life Of Surprises (previously released material plus two new tracks)

• 1997 - Andromeda Heights

• 1999 - 38 Carat Collection (previously released material)

• 2001 - The Gunman and Other Stories