Might get a bit of slagging for this one, but in that case, well…. feck off.
Captain were an English band that released a very good debut album called ‘This is Hazelville’ in 2006. It was a very enjoyable clutch of well-crafted modern pop songs, with vocals shared by lead singer/guitarist Rik Flynn and keyboardist Clare Szembek.
I’d almost forgotten all about them until the other day, when their song ‘Broke‘ came up on shuffle on my iPod (the ‘shuffle’ feature is proving a particularly valuable tool for this series). I used to play this song ALL the time. Their brand of melodic guitar-based indie pop was right up my street.
You cannot tell me that this isn’t a great song!
OK, you might say there’s a whiff of Deacon Blue about them. And to that, I counter ‘What’s wrong with Deacon Blue??!’ Alright then, alright: they were a little bit naff. But NOT this song, and I will punch (verbally and/or physically) anybody who says otherwise.
But back to Captain. The last I heard, they were working on a second album, ‘Distraction‘, but that never surfaced. They were dropped from EMI, as far as I know, and eventually split last year.
Farewell, then, Captain: you made a damned fine album, and played a very good gig in Whelan’s when it was released, too.
THE WORLD WON'T LISTEN 
Posted by G on November 15, 2010 at 12:57 pm
Never heard of Captain but damn that’s catchy.
Loved Real Gone Kid though they did become unbearably naff after it. That said I played Raintown to death as a kid and would still say it’s a classic album. Screw the haters.
Posted by Lauren on November 15, 2010 at 1:23 pm
Too right, G! :)
Posted by Mr.Savage on November 16, 2010 at 12:33 pm
Loved Captain – Solid songs, great production but they couldn’t get a break
i’ve a copy of the 2nd album if you want to listen to it?
Posted by Lauren on November 16, 2010 at 12:41 pm
Yes yes, Mr. Savage, I would love to. Pete said he had one, too, actually.
Posted by Mr.Savage on November 16, 2010 at 2:52 pm
i’ll dig it out so –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4zOlU1geg4 – ‘Build a Life’ was also a good one!
Posted by Lauren on November 17, 2010 at 1:11 am
That’s a great song, too, yeah. I actually love Rik’s voice, it’s got a lovely strange quality to it.