It Bites 'Calling All The Heroes'

Chart Peak: 6
YouTube

Charted at No. 58 on 8th July, peaked at No. 6 on 19th August. It Bites are the first Cumbrian group ever to make the British Top 10.

As far as I know they remain the only Cumbrians to have a Top 10 single, although British Sea Power have also made the Top 10 album chart. As if exhausted by this attainment, It Bites never made the Top 40 again, despite a sizeable live following and many semi-successful releases.

'Calling All The Heroes' is an odd confection with a swashbuckling prog-rock lyric sung over some sort of synth-pop thing. It has an undeniably memorable chorus, which explains how frontman Francis Dunnery went on to become a successful co-writer; he's done even better as a producer, but then he wasn't responsible for the rather flat sound of this track which feels incredibly dated now. It's really neither one thing nor the other.

Available on: Whole New World (The Virgin Albums 1986-1991)