The Pasadenas

Emerging amid an era of glossy, superficial mainstream pop, the Pasadenas seemed to occupy an entirely different decade. Their sound drew freely from 1950s doo-wop, 1960s Motown, and the funk and R&B of the early 1970s, yet the approach felt fresh rather than out of step. The group received limited notice in the United States while achieving star status across their native England. Originally a dance outfit named Finesse, the lineup of twins David Milliner and Michael Milliner, Andrew Banfield, Hammish Seelochan, and Aaron Brown signed with Columbia Records in the late 1980s and adopted the Pasadenas name. Every member contributed lyrics, production ideas, and arrangements without any single voice dominating. Although contemporaries such as Breathe, Johnny Hates Jazz, and Terence Trent D'Arby likewise explored vintage soul, several Pasadenas tracks—among them the Smokey Robinson homage “Enchanted Lady”—could easily pass for authentic period recordings. Rather than updating the urban grooves of the 1960s and 1970s, the band simply revived the visceral excitement those styles once delivered. Their debut single, “Tribute (Right On),” arrived in May 1988 and reached the U.K. Top Five, launching a string of hits. Live shows earned praise for precise playing and synchronized choreography. The first album, To Whom It May Concern, followed in October 1988 and moved more than one million copies. Their final release, Yours Sincerely, appeared in 1992, a year that yielded five U.K. Top 40 entries, including the single “I'm Doing Fine,” which sold over 200,000 units. In 2002 Cherry Red Records brought To Whom It May Concern back into print on CD.