Dramatis - For Future Reference (Expanded Edition) (2022)

Back in 1979, at the height of the post-punk era, Tubeway Army’s ‘Are ‘Friends’ Electric?’ all but defined a new style of edgy synthesised pop for the cold war era. The band had evolved rapidly from new wave roots to lead the new charge. But then singer Gary Numan went solo, leaving his backing band to reinvent themselves as Dramatis – Chris Payne (vocals, keyboards), Rrussell Bell (guitars, keyboards), Cedric Sharpley (drums), and Denis Haines (keyboards).

Dramatis eventually signed to Elton John’s Rocket label, releasing a string of promising synth pop singles across 1981-82 and a woefully overlooked album ‘For Future Reference’. Perhaps critics couldn’t see past the fact they had been Tubeway Army.
Certainly, the records were strong, catchy, contemporary – but success, for the most part, eluded them. Only a single credited to Gary Numan & Dramatis on their old label Beggars Banquet, ‘Love Needs No Disguise’, troubled the Top 40 (reaching #33; their 1982 single ‘I Can See Her Now’ reached #57).

Since, then, though fans of early ‘80s synth pop have continued to rate Dramatis highly, bemoaning the fact the album had never been re-issued properly on CD (previous efforts shamefully relied on the Numan connection). For the first time, Dramatis’ sole album appears on CD, remastered from the original tapes, swelled by all relevant non-album material and with the welcome bonus of a previously unissued live BBC broadcast from 1982, recorded at London’s Paris Theatre. Curated with the full support of Dramatis members Rrussell Bell, Chris Payne and Denis Haines, this long-overdue double-CD Digipak reissue will appeal to fans of both the early ‘80s Synth Pop boom and
Gary Numan alike.