Emerging in the early 1980s, China Crisis stood apart from most acts in the new romantic scene by drawing on related influences yet weaving occasional political commentary and bluesy reggae rhythms into their pop material. The Liverpool-area duo of vocalist and keyboardist Gary Daly and guitarist Eddie Lundon came together in 1979.
Their debut single, “African and White,” surfaced in 1982 and soon attracted Virgin Records, which secured a U.K. chart entry. Drummer Dave Reilly joined for the full-length debut Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms, released later that year and likewise charting; the album’s follow-up single “Christian” reached number 12. Bassist Gazza Johnson and drummer Kevin Wilkinson participated in the sessions for the next album, Working with Fire and Steel: Possible Pop Songs, Vol. 2, which climbed to number 20 in the U.K. and registered on charts in Canada and Western Europe while yielding the Top Ten single “Wishful Thinking.”
Walter Becker of Steely Dan produced the 1985 album Flaunt the Imperfection, which delivered the Top 20 singles “Black Man Ray” and “King in a Catholic Style,” marked China Crisis’s first appearance on the Billboard 200, and reached the Top Ten in both the U.K. and New Zealand. The 1986 follow-up What Price Paradise? featured Brian McNeill on synths in place of Becker, peaking at a career-best 114 in the U.S. while finishing outside the U.K. Top 50. Becker returned to helm 1989’s Diary of a Hollow Horse, an effort that drew strong critical praise yet modest sales and concluded the band’s association with Virgin. Warped by Success surfaced on Stardumb Records in 1994; subsequent compilations included Virgin’s China Crisis Collection: The Very Best of China Crisis (1997), after which the group entered an extended recording hiatus even as Daly and Lundon maintained occasional live appearances under the China Crisis name.
December 2013 brought the release of “Everyone You Know,” issued to support a crowdfunding drive for a seventh album. Autumn in the Neighbourhood finally appeared in June 2015, prompting tour dates across the U.K., the Netherlands, and North America. In 2017 Caroline issued a deluxe reissue of Working with Fire and Steel that added demos and several contemporary BBC radio performances.
