Biography
Formed in Liverpool in 1983, the new wave outfit the Room drew immediate critical enthusiasm during the early years of the decade. The lineup consisted of vocalist Dave Jackson, guitarist Paul Cavanagh, bassist Becky Stringer, and drummer Alan Wills, and the group issued multiple singles through Box Records. Although none reached the pop charts, writers consistently extolled the releases. In 1984 the band supported former Television frontman Tom Verlaine on tour; impressed by what he heard, Verlaine agreed to helm several tracks for the Room’s debut album, In Evil Hour. Veteran Smiths producer John Porter was also brought in for the same project. Despite this high-profile input, the record failed to lift the group beyond cult recognition, leaving praise confined to reviewers while wider audiences remained indifferent. Seeking a broader sonic palette, the Room later recruited Pete Baker on organ and synthesizer along with Phil Lucking on trombone and trumpet. The expanded ensemble delivered one final release, the 1986 album Nemesis, before disbanding. Jackson subsequently launched Benny Profane toward the end of the decade, enlisting Stringer and Baker for the new venture. The track most closely identified with the Room remains “New Dreams for Old,” whose dynamic vocal performance by Jackson and Baker’s jazzy trumpet lines turned the song into an underground radio favorite in the Philippines in 1988, four years after its initial U.K. appearance.
Albums