The Passage

Formed in Manchester in 1978, the Passage stood out among post-punk acts for the incisive, literary bent of frontman Richard "Dick" Witts and for favoring abrasive keyboards and synthesizers over guitars. At the outset the project ranked as a sideline for Merseyside Arts Association officer and Granada TV presenter Witts as well as for Fall bassist Tony Friel; keyboardist Lorraine Hilton completed the initial trio. By year’s end, after a few early shows—one of which found them billed above Joy Division—they issued their first recording, the four-song New Love Songs EP on local imprint Object Music, still billed simply as Passage. A second EP of similar length, About Time, appeared in 1979 under the guidance of Flying Lizards producer David Cunningham. Personnel gradually shrank until only Witts remained; he inserted the definite article into the group’s name and pursued a more experimental direction on the debut album Pindrop, which reached number ten on the U.K. indie chart in 1980.

Drummer Joe McKechnie, guitarist Andrew Wilson, and additional vocalist Lizzy Johnson later augmented Witts for both live and studio work. In this configuration the band cut the 1981 single “Devils and Angels,” the inaugural release on their own Night & Day label, distributed by Virgin. Johnson’s departure left a trio that promptly delivered another single and the album For All & None. After McKechnie exited, Witts and Wilson continued, moved to Cherry Red, and closed 1981 with the 7-inch “Taboos.” The 1982 album Degenerates featured Paul Mahoney on drums and was previewed by the single “XOYO,” one of the group’s most radio-friendly outings and a track whose sound sat between contemporaneous Soft Cell and Travelogue-era Human League. A period of intensive touring throughout Britain and overseas was interrupted later that year by the “Waves” single. Mahoney then left; McKechnie returned in his place. The band’s fourth and last album, Enflame, surfaced in 1983 and became their third Top Ten indie-chart entry. A BBC session for Janice Long—following three earlier ones for John Peel—marked their final joint studio appearance.

Witts, who had already presented Oxford Road Show and filed reports for BBC Radio 3, later established himself as a professional musicologist. He wrote the books Nico: The Life and Lies of an Icon and The Velvet Underground and has taught at multiple universities. Friel, McKechnie, Wilson, and Mahoney each pursued separate musical activities. In 2003 the LTM label reissued expanded editions of all four Passage albums.