Taxxi

Formed in London during the 1980s, the trio Taxxi built a loyal niche audience through their fusion of new wave elements with pop and rock across multiple recordings. Originally from Scotland, vocalist and guitarist David Cummings arrived in the British capital around the middle of the 1970s and encountered drummer Jeff Nead there. Before teaming up with bassist Colin Payne—who had previously performed in a well-known funk and reggae outfit—the two musicians had already cycled through numerous groups. Once the roster was finalized, the ensemble agreed to move across the Atlantic, secured a deal with Fantasy, and put out Day for Night during 1980. Greater notice came with their second full-length, which appeared toward the end of 1982; States of Emergency slipped onto the album listings thanks to broadcast exposure for the song "I'm Leaving." Rock stations later spotlighted "Maybe Someday," yet this failed to place Foreign Tongue on any ranking a year afterward. Expose marked their last release and featured the memorable cut "Still in Love," but the effort could not propel the act to wider success, leading to their eventual breakup. Chequered Past arrived in 2001 as a collection that drew material from Taxxi's discontinued back catalog, offering an essentially complete overview for enthusiasts.