Dream Come True (A Flock of Seagulls album)

Dream Come True
Studio album by A Flock of Seagulls
Released	1985 (U.K.) March 1986 (U.S.)
Recorded	1985–1986
Genre	New wave
Label	Jive
A Flock of Seagulls chronology
The Story of a Young Heart (1984) Dream Come True (1985/1986) The Light at the End of the World (1995)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

Dream Come True is the fourth album by A Flock of Seagulls, released in 1985 in the UK and in 1986 in the US by Jive Records.

Recording history

Left with three members with the departure of Paul Reynolds, the band waited and toured. Brothers Mike and Ali Score wanted to base the band out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With past success in the USA, both brothers thought leaving the UK and a new life in America was a perfect solution. With the popularity of the first two albums and the name "A Flock of Seagulls" still having some equity, they had 4 straight sell-out shows in Philadelphia. Mike, Ali and Frank Maudsley all applied for and were conditionally awarded green cards based on celebrity status under the O-1 work visa. The conditional approval was granted to all three, who settled in Philadelphia.

Frank became disillusioned with living in a strange city; he loved A Flock of Seagulls but had no family. Missing the UK, he returned to England. Mike and Ali stayed in Philadelphia and satisfied the terms of the visa. With Frank in Britain and the brothers in the USA it would appear the band was split into two camps. In fact, it was Frank Maudsley who kept the band communicating. Unfortunately, the brothers had a falling out that resulted in Mike becoming the sole remaining original member of the touring band and Ali moving to Boston. Ali played in a hard rock band and then worked for a computer company in Cambridge once the work visa turned into a permanent resident.

Frank was the go-between for the brothers and, during the recording of Dream Come True, some have indicated that Ali played on only 3 songs, Frank on 4 and Mike did all 9. One of the songs that all three did play on was entitled "Cosmos (Effect of the Sun)" and was dropped from the album. This dropping of the song brought the track listing down to 9 songs for the album.^[2] A large row ensued where Frank and Ali wanted to drop "Love on Your Knees" and include "Cosmos." It was with this argument that two videos, "Who's That Girl" and "Heartbeat Like a Drum," were filmed in quick succession. These two videos were the last time the three remaining members were together in a recording or music capacity until 2004.

In 2011, a remastered CD was released including the 7" and 12" versions of "Who's That Girl (She's Got It)" and "Heartbeat Like A Drum," and "(Cosmos) The Effect Of The Sun" as bonus tracks.

Reception

The album failed to chart on either side of the Atlantic and thus was a commercial failure,^[3] whilst one reviewer from AllMusic noted the songs were "lifeless."^[1]

Track listing

All tracks written by A Flock of Seagulls (Mike Score, Ali Score and Frank Maudsley).

1. "Better & Better" – 5:21
2. "Heartbeat Like a Drum" – 5:33
3. "Who's That Girl (She's Got It)" – 4:17
4. "Hot Tonight" – 5:56
5. "Cry Like a Baby" – 6:28
6. "Say So Much" – 3:35
7. "Love on Your Knees" – 3:57
8. "How Could You Ever Leave Me" – 3:24
9. "Whole Lot of Loving" – 6:03

CD Bonus tracks on the 2011 remaster

10. "Who's That Girl (She's Got It) (Extended Version)" – 6:53
11. "Who's That Girl (She's Got It) (7" Version)" – 3:38
12. "Heartbeat Like a Drum (12" Version)" – 6:57
13. "Heartbeat Like a Drum (7" Version)" – 4:01
14. "(Cosmos) The Effect of the Sun" – 12:30

References