Like the better-known Teardrop Explodes and
Echo & the Bunnymen, the
post-punk band
Modern Eon was based in Liverpool, England. Fitting somewhere between the odd rhythms and textured turmoil of
The Comsat Angels and the aggressive side of
Sad Lovers and Giants, the band released only one studio LP, 1981's excellent Fiction Tales.
Alix Plain (
Alex Johnson) and
Danny Hampson started the group in the late '70s, initially calling their band Luglo Slugs. After two more name changes, they became
Modern Eon and made their recorded debut in 1978 on Street to Street: A Liverpool Album. A handful of singles for labels like Inevitable, DinDisc, and their own Eon predated Fiction Tales, which quickly -- and disappointingly -- didn't so much register on the commercial radar as it went down the drain with little notice. Prior to the recording of the album, the band's lineup changed significantly; guitarist/saxophonist
Tim Lever, keyboardist/percussionist
Bob Wakelin, and drummer
Cliff Hewitt came in at various points to replace
Ged Allen and
Joey McKechnie. Aside from the overlooked status of Fiction Tales, another factor that threw a wrench into the band's progress was the injuring of drummer
Hewitt's wrist.
Hewitt, who resembled the Comsat Angels'
Mik Glaisher with his off-kilter, toms-heavy playing, proved impossible to replace. The group went on with the tour, using tapes of
Hewitt's playing to accompany them. After the tour, demos for a second album weren't completed and the band dissolved. Sans
Plain, the group continued briefly as
This Time Next Year, who released one record in 1982.
Lever played a number of years with
Dead or Alive and eventually went into producing;
Hewitt became a member of
Apollo 440; Wakelin worked as an artist in the video game industry and then did work for Marvel comics for well over a decade;
Plain worked briefly as a solo artist under the name
Che. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
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