Shazam

   "A Penzance-based band from the early 1980s. Known for Two very rare 7" Demo songs entitled “Let’s Get Together” & “Memories”, and featured icy cold-wave futurist synths -a Roland Promars, an Octave Kitten & a Roland TR 606, if you’re counting- and mannered post-punk/pre-goth vocals. The two songs were issued on a 45 in 1983 on the band’s own ADSR label. 

   The band consisted of Paul "Frankie" Abbott on vocals, Steve Millard & Johnny Mellor both on synths, and were active from 1981-83, playing shows on the local circuit, mostly at Demezla’s & Kenegie Manor. It seems that they were pretty much working in isolation; there were a few post-punk bands still working in the area, but no other groups had made the leap to electronic music. The 45 was recorded in 1981 at John Knight’s studio near St Keverne; sadly the band couldn’t raise sufficient funds to press & distribute it until 1983, by which time their moment might have passed. 250 copies were pressed, of which almost 200 copies were sent to radio stations & record labels with the aim of attracting a major deal. Sadly there was little response from either radio or potential labels, and disappointed by the lack of reaction, the band split towards the end of 1983. "

After the band split, Frankie continued working within the music biz as a producer in his own record label and is still an active singer-songwriter in west Cornwall. Steve still plays in a band, on Bass Guitar, whilst Johnny kept his creativity going by ghostwriting electronic tracks alongside a long career in developmental IT.

Much to the band's surprise, in 2016 Frankie was approached by a German record label called Mannequin, who specialise in re-releases of minimal synth obscurities, and who subsequently reissued the single on 12”.

It was also a surprise to discover that Memories had become somewhat of a want for collectors and also DJ's on the Dance Circuits of the Globe and has been heard by partygoers all other the world hidden within DJ sets. It was at this point the record had become an extremely expensive DJ Collectible costing over £300. There used to be a few Youtube videos of DJ sets that used the tracks but these have since dissappeared.

It's no surprise though that there have been several unauthorised re-releases by others using an original 7" Vinyl to jump onto the bandwagon. So Shazam decided to release these tracks digitally via Bandcamp so that anyone could also listen for free, or download and mix-in for themselves. 

In 2019, Johnny's Mum had found some remaining records in the old Garden Outhouse that was once their makeshift studio. Not many were left in good condition, but those that were are now available via Bandcamp at https://shazam.bandcamp.com , alongside new downloadable versions that were digitally remastered for online services. 

And during the 2020 Lockdown, Johnny & Frankie re-released the two tracks online to ALL major outlets in addition to Bandcamp.

It was hoped that it would be followed by some extra original tracks recovered from the 80's. Maybe even some retrospective new'ish instrumental ones too that may also join the playlists of dance clubs around the globe alongside memories. But that is now very unikely to happen as all three are busy with their own musical directions.