To simply write Ian Mcnabb and his band as a naff 80's soft rock outfit would be insane and criminal, but I have seen that said in some places on the WWW, THE BAND THAT PENNED SOME OF THE BEST ALMOST UNKNOWN POP TUNES of that time deserve more and his solo work has proved time and time again the man is very good at his chosen craft, that of writing some of the most catchy tunes you'll ever here and some the most lovely Love songs ever written.
rather crap band
Ian McNabb musical career started with a band called "Young World" (a rather crap band in his own words)playing covers ,but hey that was the start of some big. Ian joined a band called "City Lights" soon after . In this time he met and became friends with Chris Sharrock and formed "The Icicle Works" in 1980. Coming from the same city that that The Beatles had emerged from some 20 years before was never easy for any band from that area but they were ready to have a go. The debut single Ascending the following year. Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) which secured them a contract with Beggars Banquet was an instant hit and had been a firm live fave it went on to be the bands biggest selling USA single as well.
most enjoyable Pop tunes
In 1984 they released their first album, self titled ,it became a hit both in the UK and he USA thanks to ' Whisper To A Scream' (Birds Fly). In 1985 the band issued their second album,and with much interest in the first ,great things were expected but it failed..The band along the way produced some of the early 80's most enjoyable Pop tunes, with Ian Mcnabb often being touted as the best songwriter of his generation.
almost perfect pop
The songs were all ways Almost Hits ! always drifting in on the outskirts of the charts, the Poppy 'Little Girl Lost -- 'Evangeline' & 'High Time' really setting the pace for the almost perfect pop songs ever and saw the band at their most productive both in studio work and endless tours,they were well crafted and very 60's influenced , and throw such thought provoking songs as 'Up here the North of England - with lyrics like "Mcdonalds finally found us and were folklore in turin")Toward the end days of the original band you should have had a band that was top 10 at least , the bands swan song'Blind' was released in 1988 and a fine way to say goodbye (ish).
very important members leaving
After this both Chris Layhe and Sharrock departed & Ian Mcnabb recruiting some help to keep the band alive,but with two of the founder and very important members leaving there was too much of a massive hole to fill esp live where The Icicle Works had always been fantastic, and the band split.
solo career
1992 saw the release of BBC Live In Concert and The Best Of The Icicle Works + a disc of unreleased an demo tracks was issued in 1994. Ian McNabb started his solo career, starting with Truth And Beauty in 1993 and followed by Head Like A Rock (1994), Merseybeast (1996), The Words & Music of Ian McNabb - My Own Way released in 1997. He followed these with A Party Political Broadcast On Behalf Of The Emotional Party (1998), and Live At Life in 2000. Never sitting back, Ian went on to release Waifs & Strays in 2001 and Gentleman Adventurer in 2002 so he has never been shy of the studio and his small tours over the past years have been sell outs.
2004 saw Potency - The Best Of Ian McNabb .
The recent album, Before All Of This ,was pre-viewed by the Top 40 UK chart placing of "Let The Young Girl Do What She Wants To" It was indeed Ian Mcnabb's first Real HIT for 21 years and as we had known for years proved his worth to music and gave a sharp stab to those who might have forgotten him that Ian Mcnabb poss one of the UKs best Hidden Super star song writers was still around..
So why the harking back of a band that Ian Mcnabb left behind many moons ago, well this year see's him take his band the Icicle Works on a UK tour to celebrate 25 years of the Icicle Works, a tour that I see selling out fast. Check press for dates...