Ian Page (vocals/trumpet 1979-present)
Dave Cairns (guitar/vocals 1979-present)
Dennis Smith (bass/vocals 1979-2003)
Sean Kelly (bass/vocals 2008-present)
Seb Shelton (drums 1979-80)
Paul Bultitude (drums 1986-2003)
Dave Winthrop (sax/vocals 1986-90)
Andy Brush (sax 2008-present)
Martin Blagden (trumpet 2008-present)
Influences
IM NOT FREE BUT IM CHEAP
Sounds Like
SECRET AFFAIR STATEMENT RE FROM THE JAM SHOWS
Secret Affair regret to announce, that they will no longer be appearing as "Special Guests" to 'From The Jam' at Birmingham Academy and Hammersmith Apollo in December 2008 as advertised.
In April of this year we were approached by 'From The Jam' and offered the pick of several shows on their December tour. After consideration we finally agreed on just the two shows and the deal was finalized with their promoter Nigel McIntyre and Regular Music.
In August (despite an assurance that we would not appear in any 'From The Jam' advertising prior to our own London Astoria show on Sept 13th), adverts for the shows appeared in Scootering Magazine and more recently in Uncut and Mojo. This was also driven on websites and forums connected with both bands, in particular by ourselves.
On September 13th Promoter Nigel McIntyre contacted us to say that "There was a problem" regarding our appearance at these gigs (but without giving any specific explanation). After a further four weeks of apparent deliberation we were finally told by the Promoter and on behalf of From The Jam that we were "no longer welcome to appear as "Special Guests" despite the fact our name had been used to advertise and sell 'From The Jam' concert tickets for over two months. Furthermore by this time it was too late for us to organize alternative end of year shows, which we had originally planned to do before From The Jam invited us to guest with them.
Despite at all times being ready, available and looking forward to performing at these shows, we have yet to receive any proper explanation as to why we have been dropped from the bill at such short notice, nor for that matter have we received any form of apology, to us or our fans.
Once again we can only apologize to all our loyal fans for any disappointment and inconvenience but this matter is entirely out of our hands. We recommend that should you seek a refund - you should contact Nigel McIntyre and Regular Music, since he is the promoter and responsible for publishing the magazine advertising confirming we were on the bill and with whom fees had been agreed.
Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to seeing you at our future shows.
Best regards
Ian page & Dave Cairns
Secret Affair
Secret Affair 2008 are:-
Ian Page – Lead Vocals, Trumpet, Piano
Dave Cairns – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Sean Kelly – Bass, Backing Vocals
Russ Baxter – Drums
Andy Brush – Lead Saxophone
Steve Rinaldi – Trombone
Martin Blagden – Trumpet
Bryn Barklam-Hammond
Additional information check out www.secretaffair.info or www.myspace.com/secretaffairofficial
Email: secretaffairinfo@yahoo.co.uk
UK SINGLES CHART
"Time For Action" - 1979 - Number 13
"Let Your Heart Dance" - 1979 - Number 32
"My World" - 1980 - Number 16
"Sound Of Confusion" - 1980 - Number 45
"Do You Know" - 1981 - Number 57
UK ALBUM CHARTS
Glory Boys - 1979 - Number 41
Behind Closed Doors - 1980 - Number 48
Business As Usual - 1982 - Number 84
REFERENCES
Guinness Book of British Hit Singles - 16th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-190-X
Guinness Book of British Hit Albums - 7th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-619-7
Sleevenotes to the CD reissues of Glory Boys, Behind Closed Door and Business As Usual, by Chris Hunt
Wikepedia-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Affair
NME special http://www.chrishunt.biz/features08.html
BIOGRAPHY
In a period of a little over two years, they posted five releases in the UK Singles Chart, and released three albums. The debut single "Time For Action" sold 198,000 copies and reached number 13 in the UK chart, putting them at the forefront of the mod revival movement. More chart success followed with "Let Your Heart Dance", "My World" and "Sound Of Confusion".
Formed after the demise of the CBS-signed power pop band New Hearts, singer Ian Page and guitarist Dave Cairns spent the second half of 1978 writing songs that would form the basis of the first two Secret Affair albums. They also drew up plans for a smart-dressing youth movement - the Glory Boys – based around the idea of Sixties gangster chic, influenced by the movie Performance.
After spending January 1979 demoing songs, Page and Cairns enlisted the services of bassist Dennis Smith from power pop band Advertising and Young Bucks drummer Seb Shelton. Sax player Dave Winthrop would join later in the year.
From their very first gig, opening for The Jam at Reading University in February 1979, the band were adopted by a group of East End mods, who readily embraced Ian Page’s Glory Boy concept. This group of fans began referring to themselves as Glory Boys, often tattooing the name on their arms or inner lips as a badge of allegiance. Secret Affair had become so closely linked to the emerging mod revival that in March 1979 Dave Cairns wrote what would become the youth movement's main anthem, "Time For Action".
Just a few months later, Secret Affair had signed to Arista Records and "Time For Action" was in the pop charts. It was soon followed into the charts by "Let Your Heart Dance", "My World" and "Sound Of Confusion". Their first two albums, Glory Boys (December 1979) and Behind Closed Doors (September 1980), with its more complex orchestrated arrangements, proved successful and in their first year Secret Affair regularly appeared on UK television show Top Of The Pops and were cover stars of many UK magazines, including New Musical Express, Sounds and Smash Hits. Likened to Jimmy Pursey, Ian Page was asked to appear on UK television programmes and was viewed as an articulate spokesman for his generation, although his opinionated views alienated as many potential fans as they won over.
The mod movement that had swept Secret Affair into the pop charts had all but evaporated by mid 1980, losing out to the rival Two Tone fashion movement, and after the release of the band's second album drummer Seb Shelton quit to join the "Come On Eileen"-era Dexys Midnight Runners. Secret Affair regrouped, recruiting ex-Advertising drummer Paul Bultitude and embarking on a lengthy tour of America, before returning in late 1981 with their final chart hit, "Do You Know".
One more single followed, "Lost In The Night", before the release of Business As Usual, an album that saw the band return to the rock-soul fusion of their earlier work. Although a spirited album, it was a commercial failure and Secret Affair split-up midway through 1982.
In June 2002, Page, Cairns, Smith, Bultitude and Winthrop reformed for three gigs, including a performance at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire. They returned in June the following year, playing at The Scala in Islington (2003) to promote the release of Time For Action: The Anthology (Sanctuary), a major CD retrospective of hits, rarities and previously unreleased tracks. The concert was filmed and released on DVD.
Page and Cairns have recorded several new tracks for a major UK music publisher which remain unreleased at this time
January 2008
MY WORLD
TV DOCUMENTARY
TIME FOR ACTION
LET YOUR HEART DANCE
Online Now!
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