The Railway Children (band)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Railway Children is an alternative rock band from England. They are best known for their song "Every Beat of the Heart", which peaked at #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.

[edit] Career

In 1984, Gary Newby (born 5 June 1966, England), Brian Bateman, Guy Keegan, and Stephen Hull formed The Railway Children. Factory Records recorded their debut album Reunion Wilderness in 1987, which topped the UK independent chart along with their second single 'Brighter'. They left Factory shortly after and were signed to Virgin Records.

The next year, the band released their second album, Recurrence, to little commercial success. In 1990, they released Native Place, an album that incorporated some elements of the current club music trends in England at the time. "Every Beat of the Heart" became a Top 40 hit in the UK with a peak at #24, and the song became a #1 hit on the newly-founded Modern Rock Tracks chart in the U.S.

In 1992, EMI took over Virgin Records, and the band left the label. Two years later, the original line-up broke up, leaving Newby to continue alone. Newby has since released two albums as The Railway Children: "Dream Arcade" (1997 Ether Records) and Gentle Sound (2002 Ether Records) as well as a "Rarities" album in 2007 available only by download from his official site:www.railwaychildren.co.uk

Keegan later had a spell in the Wigan based folk-rock band, The Tansads.

Gary Newby now resides in Japan, writing/arranging music and lyrics for several major Japanese artists including Anna Tsuchiya and Every Little Thing

[edit] Discography

Reunion Wilderness, Factory Records, FAC185, 1987/ Ether Records (re-issue), ETH2, 2001
Recurrence, Virgin Records, V2525, 1988.
Native Place, Virgin Records, V2627, 1990.
Radio One Evening Sessions, Strange Fruit, CDNT002, 1993
Listen On: The Best of, Virgin Records, CDOVD451, 1995
Dream Arcade, Ether Records, ETH1, 1997.
Gentle Sound (acoustic compilation album), Ether Records, ETH3, 2003.
Rarities (download only) 2007