The Sinceros
1979-12-13
The Palladium, New York, NY
FM Broadcast (WNEW-FM), very good quality
with bonus tracks from:
1980-09-22 (or 23), Hammersmith Odeon, London, UK
1980-01-18, Goldsmith College, London, UK
Here's another fine, but relatively unknown, band that popped-up as part of the British New Wave movement in the late seventies-early eighties, had some (but not enough) success, then disappeared without a trace a couple years later, never to be heard from again. It's too bad, cause I really liked
The Sinceros' sound and style. They played what I guess would be considered Power Pop. Their music was energetic, bright (almost cheery), and just a whole lot of fun. Their songs were quick, catchy, and clever. They were a wonderful antidote to the bludgeoning anger, aggression, and heavyness of the punk movement at that time. Sure, it's pretty lightweight pop, but it's quirky and fun stuff. They only made 2 albums,
The Sound of Sunbathing (1979) and
Pet Rock (1981), before breaking up by the end of 1981. They were lead by the singing and songwriting of Mark Kjeldsen, but all four members sang and contributed in various ways. I stumbled upon these guys quite accidentally myself, when I picked up their 2nd album (
Pet Rock) based on what I recalled as a previous recommendation by my old college roomate (It actually turned out his recommendation was for a different band altogether, The Sorrows). But once I listened to
The Sinceros album, it immediately became one of my favorites from this period, and the rest of the eighties (BTW, I later heard The Sorrows, and was not impressed, so much for that recommendation). Anyway, so here are
The Sinceros, another in a long line of wonderful, talented, original bands, that never quite made it. But at least we will always have the music that they did make, to enjoy and remember them by. Fortunately, there are several live shows that were recorded, as well as several demos and unreleased tracks by them that we can share and enjoy. Thus, this is the first of multiple posts featuring
The Sinceros. Check 'em out if you have any interest in new wave/power pop, or just fun pop-rock music. By the way, after the band broke up, most of the band members went on to successful musical careers: Don Snow (later J.Santana) played in multiple incarnations of
Squeeze and
Procol Harum over the years, as well as being a regular member of
Van Morrison's Band. Ron Francois briefly joined
The Teardrop Explodes, and then moved to Australia to join
The Eurogliders, and has stayed there, working with many different Australian bands and artists over the last several years. Bobbi Irwin has worked extensively with
Nick Lowe and
Van Morrison, among others. Mark Kjeldsen, however, after briefly joining another band, left music and became a social worker in London, but his life was tragically cut short when he died of AIDS in 1992.
Tracklist:
Palladium tracks:
01. Something's Happening Now
02. I Still Miss You
03. Quick Quick Slow
04. Count The Beating Hearts
05. Disappearing
06. Little White Lie
07. Good Luck (to You)
08. Take Me To Your Leader
09. Worlds Apart
10. Walls, Floors & Ceilings
11. Up There
12. I Can't Stop
13. Television Vision
14. Girl I Realize
15. Are You Ready?
Hammersmith tracks:
16. Disappearing
17. I Can't Stop
18. Little White Lie
19. Socially
20. Take Me To Your Leader
21. Worlds Apart
Goldsmith College tracks:
22. As The World Turns
23. Come On Out And Play
Mark Kjeldsen - Guitar and Vocals
Don Snow (aka Jonn Savannah) - Keys and Vocals
Ron Francois - Bass and Vocals
Bobbi Irwin - Drums and Vocals
New Link (Updated 11/13/23)
The_Sinceros_-_Palladium_Plus.rar
The Palladium show was part of a larger concert that also featured Bruce Woolley, Paul Collins' Beat, and 20/20 Band (their songs not included here), which was all broadcast on WNEW-FM and was known as the "$5 Rock and Roll Show".
