The brainchild of Steve Elson (along with several colleagues and a handful of guests that included Jamie Moses, Paul Fenton and Zak Starkey), Broken English hit like a breath of fresh air in 1987. With a Ghostbusters-style image (see the jumpsuits and guitars welded to backpacks) and a sound that could give The Rolling Stones a kick start, they invigorated the singles charts with Comin’ On Strong. Despite it being a hit, their album was never released. The sleevenotes to this issue tell the story well enough, while the music argues a better case for its betterlate- than-never issue.
Opener Show A Little Mercy (a poppy track with a decent melody and chorus) quickly gives way to the sleazy guitar rock of Straight Lace Girls, which sets the pace for much of the album. An element of typical 80s guitar pop-rock can be traced throughout but, thankfully, Broken English weren’t so reliant on the synths that date similar releases of the time. With two hit singles, four bonus cuts and informative sleenotes, it’s a decent package worth buying for Comin’ On Strong alone.
