What does it sound like?:
Four singles, thats all they had. Four singles. Complete Epic Recordings, Pah!
Leisure Process were a duo, Ross Middleton formerly of Positive Noise and Saxophonist about town Gary Barnacle and our pocket emptying friends at Cherry Red have compiled all their stuff. So what do you get?. The four singles….and B Sides… and Extended Mixes…. and rough mixes of their unreleased debut album.
They probably did`nt make it big due to the schizophrenic nature of their singles. Love Cascade comes on like Blancmange v Erasure. A Way You`ll Never Be has DNA from Level 42`s Hot Water (Mark King does play bass on it!) and Cashflow has the jauntyness of Interferons Steamhammer Sam but with suitably downbeat lyrics.
So, is it any good?. Well yes, its …. epic. Produced mainly by Martin Rushent the extended mixes are a special delight. Non of this, drop the vocals out and extend the outro. The mixes of Anxiety and Company B are things of great beauty, where the songs are mixed up and rebuilt on an,,, er ,, epic level.
The rough mixes of the unreleased debut album show great songs waiting to be polished as they are nearly there. Interesting Lives and History of my Heart are /were possible single contenders.
What does it all *mean*?
Another of the nearly bands of the `80`s, its a crying shame that their debut album wasn`t released in a time when record labels were pumping out all sorts of fluff ( I`m looking at you Blue Zoo). The Process (!) had a unique twist on the synth pop angle with some great original material. God bless Cherry Red Records
Goes well with…
A dark neon lit bar and dance floor. Lead me there and I`m up and on it!
Release Date:
07/11/2025 – So out now!
Might suit people who like…
Fad Gadget to Frankie, B Movie to ABC, Heaven 17 to Human League.
That’s a great review, love your enthusiasm for a band I was unaware of.
Even my best mate has never heard of Leisure Process…. and he`s been on Popmaster twice!
I remember liking the Love Cascade single when hearing it on John Peel’s show.
Heard nothing at all since and had no idea Gary Barnacle was involved, but “saxophonist about town” Gary Barnacle* was one half of The Horny Horns who sessioned on The Ruts “The Crack” album. Before that he (and his Horny Horns partner in crime Luke Tunney) were in a failed funk band called “Hit & Run” with an old bassist pal of mine who you won’t have heard of, and vocalist JD Nicholas, later of Heatwave and then The Commodores (replacing Lionel Ritchie).
*He was partnered-up for a bit with Kim Wilde too.