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Best known for the 1980s pop classic "I Melt with You," Modern English is a new wave band that formed in Colchester, England. Vocalist Robbie Grey, guitarist Gary McDowell, and bassist Michael Conroy formed the group in 1979 under a different name, The Lepers, then embraced the Modern English moniker after adding drummer Richard Brown and keyboardist Stephen Walker to the lineup in 1981. Mesh & Lace, the band's debut album, was released that same year, followed by After the Snow in 1982. The latter record went gold in the US, where the single "I Melt with You" reached Number 7 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and later became a staple of 1980s pop music. Although Modern English never charted another Top 10 single in America, Ricochet Days reached Number 5 on the UK Independent Albums Chart in 1984, with "Chapter 12" and "Hands Across the Sea" both becoming moderate hits on both sides of the Atlantic. The band split up after releasing 1986's Stop Start, although Grey reformed the band with a slimmed-down lineup and releasing another record, Pillow Lips, in 1990. Modern English broke up again in 1991, then reformed for another studio album, Everything's Mad, in 1996. Although Modern English focused primarily on its touring operation during the 2000s and 2010s, the band continued to record new material, too, with Soundtrack arriving in 2010 and Take Me to the Trees following in 2016. After another eight-year break from the recording studio, Modern English released 1 2 3 4 in 2024, along with the lead single "Not My Leader."
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