Virgin Prunes – The Moon Looked Down and Laughed
The Virgin Prunes final album, “The Moon Looked Down And Laughed” (recorded in 1984 and released in 1986) produced by Soft Cell’s Dave Ball, demonstrated that the group had deliberately taken a new musical direction. Despite a guest appearance by the anarchic Jim Thirwell of Foetus fame, the confrontational aspect of their music had been replaced by a selection of more twisted melodic songs and ballads. Through their lengthy travels of Europe the group had been exposed to a whole new range of influences including the lush romanticism of the classic chanson singers, a style that Gavin Friday in particular was beginning to embrace as part of a wider exploration of torch songs.