Fay Ray (band)

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Fay Ray
OriginBangor, Wales
GenresNew wave
Years active1979–1982
Labels
Websitefayray.co.uk
Past members
  • Sheila Macartney
  • John Lovering
  • Jeff Taylor
  • Tony Travis
  • Owen Hughes

Fay Ray were a Welsh new wave band who were active from 1979 to 1982.[1] The band formed in Bangor in north-west Wales[2] in 1979 and despite rumours to the contrary were not named after the dog of photographer William Wegman.[3]

The band was signed by producer Nigel Gray to his Surrey Sounds label, and they released a single, "Family Affairs", in 1980.[2] Following a chance meeting between the boyfriend of the band's prospective manager and the US head of Elektra Records, Fay Ray were then signed to WEA.[4] The band recorded their debut album Contact You with Gray and it was released in 1982, preceded by the single "(Waiting for the) Heatwave". Two music videos were made for songs from the album, "Heatwave" and "Modern Lovers".[3]

Despite some commercial success in the US and in Europe,[vague][citation needed] sales of Contact You in the UK were poor.[citation needed] A second album had already been recorded but was not released when the label dropped the band.[3] Disillusioned with the music business, the band split up shortly afterwards.[4] In 2018, due to increased attention to their music via the Internet, the band reissued a remastered Contact You on CD with five bonus tracks and new sleeve notes.[5]

Band members[]

  • Sheila Macartney – lead vocals, guitar, organ, tambourine
  • John Lovering – guitar
  • Jeff Taylor – saxophone, accordion, flute, backing vocals
  • Tony Travis – bass, backing vocals
  • Owen Hughes – drums

References[]

  1. ^ Martin, Andrew (19 October 2018). "Fay Ray back on stage to celebrate re-release of 80s album". North Wales Chronicle. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Fay Ray". fayray.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-12-06.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c Sutton, Michael. "Fay Ray | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Jones, Graham (2010). Last Shop Standing: Whatever Happened to Record Shops?. Omnibus Press.
  5. ^ Martin, Andrew (19 October 2018). "Fay Ray back on stage to celebrate re-release of 80s album". North Wales Chronicle. Archived from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2019.

External links[]


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