” … unlike their (UK) peers, the duo didn’t come up through punk or have any connection to the New Romantic scene,” (ClassicPopMag). “As their name alludes, most of their influences were American – Todd Rundgren, Steely Dan and what today would be dubbed ‘yacht rock.’ ‘When punk was happening, we were listening to The Doobie Brothers. We couldn’t have been more out of step with what was going on.'”
The band shopped its demos for years, but caught fire quickly after its first release, also titled Go West (1985). “‘The very first gig with the band was recorded for Radio One In Concert. Then we all got on a bus and went up to play The Tube. Then came the first Top Of The Pops. After that we did this massive show at Yokohama Baseball Stadium with Culture Club, The Style Council and The Associates … Then there was the States – we played Soul Train. I mean, how on earth did they get us on Soul Train?’ The year culminated in the duo picking up Breakthrough Act at the 1986 BRIT Awards.”
“Don’t Look Down,” one of the album’s singles, starts big and stays there. The whimsical (and no doubt expensive!) crane shots played right into the song’s dizzy mood. The track was the last of five singles from the album, which made top 100 on the year-end charts for 1985 in the US, Canada, the UK, much of the rest of Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Built in A# major overall, the synth-saturated track shifts to F# mixolydian during the bridge (2:18 – 2:35) before returning to the original key.
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