Hurrah!

With their torn denim and leather outerwear, the English guitar-pop outfit Hurrah! could have passed for rebels if the calendar had read the 1950s. Instead, the band found itself at the center of an unexpected dispute in 1987 when American broadcasters refused to air the clip for the single “Sweet Sanity.” The footage showed two women clasping hands, a detail that nearly blocked the musicians from entering the United States altogether.

The quartet had come together in the first years of the decade under the name the Green-Eyed Children, its original lineup consisting of Paul Handyside on guitar and vocals, David “Taffy” Hughes also handling guitar and vocals, bassist David Porthouse, and drummer Mark Sim. Kitchenware Records in England added the group to its roster in 1982. Shortly afterward Sim departed, making room for Damien Mahoney behind the kit. Mahoney himself stepped away in 1986 to join the police force, prompting the arrival of Steve Price.

While still on Kitchenware the band issued a string of singles that earned strong critical notice without translating into sales. To keep eating, the musicians even parted with their own instruments. Eventually Arista Records offered a deal. Their first full-length effort, Tell God I’m Here, appeared in 1987; because they no longer owned equipment, the sessions relied on gear borrowed from Prefab Sprout and Martin Stephenson & the Daintees. Around the same time the group supported U2 at London’s Wembley Stadium and performed in Iraq, Jordan, and Egypt.

The follow-up album, The Beautiful, surfaced in 1989 yet fared no better commercially, leading to the band’s exit from Arista. A third album was tracked in 1991 but remained unreleased. Hughes subsequently formed the post-punk group Star Witness, later renamed Candy Coloured Clowns, alongside bassist Mark Shearman and Adrian Evans, who had become Hurrah!’s last drummer. Handyside began issuing recordings under the alias Bronze, while Porthouse pursued instruction as a faith healer. In 2000 BMG Funhouse in Japan reissued Tell God I’m Here on compact disc, appending seven bonus tracks.