Artist:Modern EnglishSong:I Melt With You
Album:Valley Girl: Music From The Soundtrack
I Melt With You was the only memorable song by the British group Modern English. It was never a chart hit but more of an 80s MTV staple because it was used in the popular 1983 film Valley Girl. Other than that, Modern English had some success in England but not in the US. Part of the problem may have been that Modern English were more of a punk band and I Melt With You wasn't typical of their music. They were called The Lepers when they started out in Colchester, England in 1979. Original members were Robbie Grey on lead vocals, Gary McDowell on guitar and Michael Conroy on bass. They changed their name to Modern English and added Richard Brown on drums and Stephen Walker on keyboards. They signed with 4AD Records and released their debut album Mesh & Lace in 1981. The music is clearly punk influenced with a heavy Joy Division influence. Their 1982 album After The Snow got them a US record deal with Sire Records. I Melt With You became a hit when Martha Coolidge used it in the closing credits of her 1983 film Valley Girl. But at the time, there was no soundtrack album because they couldn't clear the music rights. Rhino released this Valley Girl soundtrack CD in 1994. Fans liked I Melt With You so the album sold half a million copies and the video went into heavy rotation on MTV. The song became a hit again when it was used in a 1990 Burger King commercial. Modern English released two more albums before they were dropped by Sire and then they split up. They reformed in 1990 to record a CD and then split up again due to contractual issues with TVT Records. Robbie Grey formed the group Engine and when the legal issues cleared, he reformed Modern English. They still tour today. Here's the video for I Melt With You by Modern English.
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