Editing Prefab Sprout (section)

==Career==
===Early days (1977–1983)===
In 1977, brothers [[Paddy McAloon|Paddy]] and Martin McAloon formed the Dick Diver Band. By 1978, the name had changed to Prefab Sprout, a name McAloon had created years earlier when, as he has said, "all the groups had names like that".<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">{{cite book
| first= David
| last= Roberts
| year= 2006
| title= British Hit Singles & Albums
| edition= 19th
| publisher= Guinness World Records Limited
| location= London
| page= 433
| isbn= 1-904994-10-5}}</ref><ref name="Sounds">{{cite journal |last1=McCullough |first1=Dave |title=From Brussels with LOVE |journal=Sounds |date=16 April 1983 |url=https://www.sproutology.co.uk/interviews/dave-mccullough-sounds-april-16th-1983/ |access-date=5 June 2019}}</ref> The band first played live in 1979, having been joined by drummer Michael Salmon.

The band recorded their first single "[[Lions in My Own Garden (Exit Someone)]]" b/w "Radio Love" on 25 February 1982, and self-released it on their own Candle Records (slogan: "The wax that won't get on your wick"). Songwriter Paddy McAloon wanted a song title where the first letters of the words spelled out [[Limoges]], the French city where his former girlfriend was studying at the time.<ref name="AMG"/><ref name="Club Pour Hommes">{{cite journal |last1=Perrone |first1=Pierre |title=McAloon interview |journal=Club Pour Hommes |date=1988 |url=https://www.sproutology.co.uk/interviews/je-ne-lis-club-pour-hommes-que-pour-les-articles-pierre-perrone-1988/ |access-date=13 July 2020}}</ref> Music journalist [[Stuart Maconie]] described the track as "enigmatic, melancholy, tuneful and therefore perfect for a jobless literature graduate with girlfriend problems".<ref name="Cider">{{cite book |first= Stuart |last= Maconie |author-link =Stuart Maconie |year= 2004 |title= Cider With Roadies |publisher= Random House |location= London |isbn= 0-09-189115-9 |page=161}}</ref> Their lineup expanded shortly after to incorporate vocalist Wendy Smith, and they recorded a second single "[[The Devil Has All the Best Tunes]] / Walk On" that September.<ref name="prefabsprout.net">{{cite web |title=About |url=http://www.prefabsprout.net/about.html |website=prefabsprout.net |access-date=5 June 2019}}</ref>

===Peak commercial success (1983–1992)===
Prefab Sprout were signed by Keith Armstrong's [[Kitchenware Records]] in March 1983, after Armstrong heard their music played in the [[Newcastle on Tyne|Newcastle]] branch of [[HMV]] he managed.<ref name="prefabsprout.net"/><ref name="Consett Music Project">{{cite journal |title=No longer a Prefab Sprout |journal=Consett Music Project |date=1984 |issue=4 |url=https://www.sproutology.co.uk/consett-music-project-issue-4-1984/ |access-date=5 June 2019}}</ref> Their two singles were reissued by Kitchenware and attracted notice including praise from [[Elvis Costello]].<ref name="Young, gifted and... white?">{{cite journal |last1=Thrills |first1=Adrian |title=Young, gifted and... white? |journal=NME |date=27 August 1983 |url=https://www.sproutology.co.uk/interviews/adrian-thrills-kitchenware-feature-nme-august-27th-1983/ |access-date=6 June 2019}}</ref>

Following the departure of Michael Salmon as drummer, the band recorded their debut album with session drummer Graham Lant in a 24-track studio in [[Edinburgh]] on a budget of £5,000.<ref name="Sprout fever">{{cite journal |last1=Pye |first1=Ian |title=Sprout fever |journal=Melody Maker |date=28 January 1984 |url=https://www.sproutology.co.uk/interviews/ian-pye-melody-maker-january-28th-1984/ |access-date=8 June 2019}}</ref><ref name="No Sweat">{{cite journal |last1=Cooper |first1=Mark |title=No Sweat |journal=Q Magazine |date=December 1988 |url=https://www.sproutology.co.uk/interviews/q-magazine-mark-cooper-december-1988/ |access-date=7 June 2019}}</ref> Entitled ''[[Swoon (Prefab Sprout album)|Swoon]]'' (an acronym for Songs Written Out Of Necessity), it was released on the Kitchenware [[record label|label]] in March 1984.<ref name="AMG"/> It was critically acclaimed, with several reviewers highlighting its unorthodox musical style and unconventional lyrics.<ref name="Costello’s new favourites">{{cite journal |last1=Andersson |first1=Jan-Olov |title=Costello's new favourites |journal=Aftonbladet (Sweden) |date=26 March 1984 |url=https://www.sproutology.co.uk/interviews/jan-olov-andersson-aftonbladet-sweden-march-26th-1984/}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nichols |first1=Kathryn |title=A Prefabricated Style |journal=Debut Magazine |date=1984 |issue=3 |url=https://www.sproutology.co.uk/interviews/kathryn-nichols-debut-magazine-1984/ |access-date=6 June 2019}}</ref><ref name="Sprout's honour">{{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Graham K. |title=Sprout's honour |journal=Record Mirror |date=3 March 1984 |url=https://www.sproutology.co.uk/interviews/graham-k-record-mirror-march-3rd-1984/ |access-date=6 June 2019}}</ref> and it reached No. 22 on the [[UK Albums Chart]]. The album attracted the attention of musician [[Thomas Dolby]], who began producing a new batch of what McAloon would describe as simpler songs with the band.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Takahashi |first1=Kentaro |title=Prefab Sprout |journal=Music Magazine, Japan |date=September 1986 |url=https://www.sproutology.co.uk/interviews/kentaro-takahashi-music-magazine-japan-july-1st-1986-published-september-1986/ |access-date=12 October 2019}}</ref> Graham Lant's relationship with Prefab Sprout ended soon after recording of ''Swoon'', so [[Neil Conti]] joined the band as drummer.<ref name="Graham Lant">{{cite web |title=Swoon: A Brief Interview with Graham Lant |url=https://www.sproutology.co.uk/interviews/swoon-a-brief-interview-with-graham-lant/ |website=Sproutology |date=4 October 2014 |access-date=6 June 2019}}</ref> The resulting album, 1985's ''[[Steve McQueen (album)|Steve McQueen]]'' (released in America as ''Two Wheels Good'' in anticipation of displeasure from [[Steve McQueen|McQueen]]'s estate),<ref>{{cite web |last1=McAloon |first1=Martin |title=Steve McQueen's estate never officially commented on the album title, it was nervousness in a notoriously litigious nation, that sparked the name change. |url=https://twitter.com/CulpaFeliks/status/1245467048395898882 |website=Twitter |access-date=1 April 2020}}</ref> was highly praised by critics and gave the band its first hit single on the [[UK Singles Chart]], "[[When Love Breaks Down]]".<ref name="AMG"/>

The band's next project was ''[[Protest Songs (album)|Protest Songs]]'', a sparsely-produced and quickly recorded album intended for a limited release in late 1985. The album was put on hold by [[CBS Records International|CBS]] so as not to stunt sales of ''Steve McQueen'',<ref name="Pop Gear">{{cite journal |last1=Takano |first1=Yuko |title=Prefab Sprout: From Langley Park to Memphis |journal=Pop Gear |date=April 1988 |url=https://www.sproutology.co.uk/interviews/yuko-takano-pop-gear-april-1988/ |access-date=18 October 2019}}</ref><ref name="Billboard">{{cite magazine |last1=Dave |first1=DiMartino |title=Prefab Sprout Takes Root |magazine=Billboard |date=20 August 1988 |url=https://www.sproutology.co.uk/interviews/dave-dimartino-billboard-20th-august-1988/ |access-date=18 October 2019}}</ref> finally seeing release in 1989. In 1988, the band released their follow-up to ''Steve McQueen'', ''[[From Langley Park to Memphis]]''. The album gave the band their biggest commercial success in the UK with the single "[[The King of Rock 'n' Roll]]". The song is written from the perspective of a washed-up singer who had a [[one-hit wonder]] in the 1950s with a [[novelty song]] featuring the chorus "Hot dog, jumping frog, Albuquerque". It reached No.&nbsp;7 in the [[UK Singles Chart]], their only single to reach the Top 10. ''From Langley Park to Memphis'' included guest appearances from [[Stevie Wonder]] and [[Pete Townshend]], and used multiple producers including Thomas Dolby, who could not commit to working on the entire album.<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums"/><ref name="Sound on Sound">{{cite web |last1=Doyle |first1=Tom |title=Paddy McAloon: From Langley Park To Memphis (And Back) |url=https://www.soundonsound.com/people/prefab-sprout |website=Sound on Sound |access-date=5 June 2019}}</ref>

In 1990, ''[[Jordan: The Comeback]]'', fully produced by Thomas Dolby, was nominated for a [[BRIT Awards|BRIT Award]]. Though the music was more accessible than their earlier material, the lyrics and subject matter remained characteristically oblique and suggestive. McAloon has alluded in interviews to several albums' worth of songs that he has written but are unreleased/unrecorded including amongst others, [[concept album]]s based on the life of [[Michael Jackson]], the history of the world (''Earth: The Story So Far'') and a fictional superhero (''Zorro the Fox'').<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopfeatures/6163329/Paddy-McAloon-of-Prefab-Sprout-interview.html|title=Paddy McAloon of Prefab Sprout|website=Telegraph.co.uk|date=9 September 2009 |access-date=2 March 2017}}</ref>

Their greatest hits, ''[[A Life of Surprises: The Best of Prefab Sprout]]'', gave them their biggest US hit, "If You Don't Love Me", which spent several weeks in the Top 10 on the [[Hot Dance Club Play|dance chart]]. McAloon joked in the album liner notes about the band's lack of [[concert tour|touring]] over the past decade.

===Line-up changes (1997–2001)===
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:PrefabSprout2000.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Prefab Sprout performing at [[Shepherd's Bush Empire]] in 2000]] -->
After a five-year hiatus, Prefab Sprout released their first new studio album since 1990's ''Jordan'', ''[[Andromeda Heights]]'', in 1997. After its release, Wendy Smith left the band to pursue a new career as a voice instructor.<ref>{{Cite web|date=19 June 1997|title=Wendy Smith singer with hit band Prefab Sprout has launched a new Stock Photo - Alamy|url=https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-wendy-smith-singer-with-hit-band-prefab-sprout-has-launched-a-new-20251516.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200704152317/https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-wendy-smith-singer-with-hit-band-prefab-sprout-has-launched-a-new-20251516.html|archive-date=4 July 2020|access-date=4 July 2020|website=Alamy Stock Photo}}</ref>

A double album anthology, the ''[[38 Carat Collection]]'' was released by CBS in 1999 as the group was leaving the record label.<ref name="AMG"/> The group's US label, [[Epic Records|Epic]], belatedly reissued this set as ''The Collection'' in early 2001.<ref name="AMG"/> To promote the compilation, in 2000 the band embarked on their first UK tour in ten years.

In 2001 the band, now reduced to Paddy and Martin McAloon, released ''[[The Gunman and Other Stories]]'', a [[concept album]] themed on the [[American Old West|American Wild West]], produced by [[Tony Visconti]]. The opening track "Cowboy Dreams" was a hit for the British [[actor]]-singer [[Jimmy Nail]]. Though critically acclaimed, neither enjoyed major commercial success.

===Paddy McAloon solo project (2003–)===
After being diagnosed with a medical disorder that seriously impaired his vision, Paddy McAloon released the album ''[[I Trawl the Megahertz]]'' under his own name in 2003 on the EMI Liberty label. Fifteen years later, in autumn 2018, the album was reissued on Sony Music as a Prefab Sprout record, as originally intended.

In early 2007 a remastered edition of ''Steve McQueen'' was released in a two-[[Compact disc|CD]] package, containing new versions of eight of the songs from the original album, in different arrangements performed by McAloon on acoustic guitar.

Prefab Sprout's first album of new material since 2001, ''[[Let's Change the World with Music]]'', was released on 7 September 2009. The album is actually a collection of McAloon solo demos originally recorded in the early 1990s, intended for an unmade full band Prefab Sprout album. Reviews in the UK press were favourable (e.g. 5/5 in ''[[The Times]]'', 4/5 in ''[[The Guardian]]'', 4/5 in ''[[Record Collector]]'').{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

''[[Crimson/Red]]'', consisting of developed versions of tracks from the vaults,<ref name="Paul Lester"</> was released on 7 October 2013 on vinyl and CD on the Icebreaker records label. A limited edition box set with an interview CD was also released. The lead single was "The Best Jewel Thief in the World". ''Crimson/Red'' was a solo project, with Paddy McAloon singing, playing and programming all of the music on the album on his own.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}

In a 2013 interview, McAloon explained that his health issues (in particular, the deterioration of his hearing and eyesight)<ref name=America/> now dictated the way in which Prefab Sprout music was recorded, making it impractical and even impossible for any other musicians to be involved,<ref name="Scotsman 2013">{{cite news| url=https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/culture/music/paddy-mcaloon-on-the-return-of-prefab-sprout-1-3120463 | title=Paddy McAloon on the return of Prefab Sprout | newspaper=[[The Scotsman]] | date=1 October 2013 | access-date=24 March 2019 | author=Eaton-Lewis, Andrew }}</ref> but that he remained fond of and grateful to his former bandmates.

On 3 March 2017, McAloon's manager Keith Armstrong, one-time head of Kitchenware Records, posted a short clip on [[Instagram]] of McAloon performing a new song "America" to a camcorder; operated by McAloon himself. A longer version appears on Armstrong's [[YouTube]] page.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jbdjD6a-xw |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/0jbdjD6a-xw |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|title=PREFAB SPROUT : AMERICA|date=3 March 2017 |publisher=[[YouTube]]|access-date=18 August 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name=America>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2017/mar/06/paddy-mcaloon-america-prefab-sprout-frontman-returns | title=Music blog: Why Prefab Sprout's return with America is a whim and a wonder |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] | date=6 March 2017 | access-date=24 March 2019 | author=Paphides, Pete | author-link =Pete Paphides}}</ref>

On 8 November 2018, [[Rough Trade Records|Rough Trade]] announced the availability of vinyl LP and CD versions of ''I Trawl the Megahertz'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/music/prefab-sprout-i-trawl-the-megahertz|title=Prefab Sprout – I Trawl The Megahertz|website=Roughtrade.com|access-date=10 December 2018}}</ref> including a white vinyl special edition of 1000 copies. On the same day, Sony Music announced the release under their "Legacy" brand.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wearesonymusiclegacy.com/news/prefab-sprout-i-trawl-the-megahertz|title=Prefab Sprout – I Trawl The Megahertz|website=Wearesonymusiclegacy.com|access-date=10 December 2018}}</ref> The Sony press release notes that although this was originally a solo album, it is now fitting to classify it as a Prefab Sprout record.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sproutology.co.uk/interviews/tell-the-stars-im-coming-sony-press-release-november-8th-2018/|title=Tell the Stars I'm Coming… Sony Press Release |date=8 November 2018|website=Sproutology.co.uk|access-date=24 March 2019}}</ref>

Since 2023 bass player Martin McAloon has toured and performed Prefab Sprout material as a solo artist.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.sthelensstar.co.uk/news/24135509.interview-prefab-sprouts-martin-mcaloon-plays-st-helens-citadel/|title='I'm a roadie at heart!' - Prefab Sprout's Martin McAloon plays The Citadel|date=24 February 2024|newspaper=[[St Helens Star]]|access-date=27 May 2024}}</ref>

=== Unreleased material ===
Several interviews have described a significant vault of unreleased material, credited either to Prefab Sprout or to McAloon himself.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/prefab-sprout-s-paddy-mcaloon-like-gandalf-on-his-way-to-work-in-the-house-of-lords-1.3765658|title=Prefab Sprout's Paddy McAloon: 'Like Gandalf on his way to work in the House of Lords'|first=Tony|last=Clayton-Lea|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]|access-date=31 March 2021}}</ref> ''[[Crimson/Red]]'' was based on tracks from the vault, and ''[[Let's Change the World with Music]]'' was released in a form that was substantially similar to its 1993 demo form.

On 10 December 2018, Paddy McAloon featured in an interview on the ''[[Today (BBC Radio 4)|Today]]'' programme on [[BBC Radio 4]]. McAloon said that Sony would be making further releases, and that since 2013 he had been working on an album of unreleased material, 'Femmes Mythologiques', to be issued in September 2019. During the radio appearance, he played a segment of a song called "Cleopatra".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0001hj5|title=Today – 10/12/2018 – BBC Sounds|website=BBC|access-date=10 December 2018}}</ref>