Secret Affair

In 1978 the quartet Secret Affair came together, its lineup consisting of Ian Page on vocals, trumpet, piano, and organ, David Cairns on guitar and backing vocals, Dennis Smith on bass and backing vocals, and Seb Shelton on drums. Drawing primary inspiration from the Jam, the group rapidly emerged as a standout act within the late-’70s mod revival. Early visibility arrived through support slots on the Jam’s modest English tours, after which Secret Affair joined several mod package bills that also featured the Purple Hearts. Their debut single, “Time for Action,” functioned as a quintessential youth anthem and became one of the revival’s most memorable and commercially effective releases. Glory Boys, the band’s first album, surfaced late in 1979 on the self-founded I-Spy imprint, distributed by Arista in the U.K. and Sire in the U.S. The album and its follow-up singles registered on the charts, yet by the arrival of 1980’s Behind Closed Doors the movement was already waning and the band’s entrenched stance within it left little room for adaptation. Drummer Seb Shelton’s exit in 1980 initiated the breakup process. The remaining members continued until 1982, issuing one final album, Business as Usual, before an indifferent public; shortly afterward the musicians went their separate ways.