Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret

In the U.S., , the British duo of singer and instrumentalist , was a classic one-hit wonder, that hit being the remake of ' which dominated dance clubs and eventually peaked in the pop Top Ten with its sound and 's plaintive vocal in 1981-1982. In the U.K., the group not only had a longer career, but also influenced a raft of similar performers. , originally released in Britain in the fall of 1981, contained both the band's first hit and its follow-up, its title referring to what in America would be called a studio apartment. (A third U.K. Top Five hit, emerged from the LP.) At full album length, lyricist 's primary preoccupation, only suggested in was spelled out; this was a theme album about aberrant sexuality, a tour of a red-light district. The point was well made on with its oft-repeated chorus "Isn't it nice/Sugar and spice/Luring disco dollies to a life of vice?" Songs like and expanded upon the subject. The insistent beats taken at steady dance tempos and the chilling electronic sounds conjured by emphasized 's fascination with deviance; it almost seemed as though the album had been designed to be played in topless bars. British listeners saw through 's pretense or were amused by him, or both; more puritanical Americans tended to disapprove, which probably limited the group's long-term success stateside. But the music was undeniably influential. The 2002 CD reissue added two lengthy 12" single mixes of one of them a medley with the old hit the other a dub version. ~ William Ruhlmann