Formation and success The Lotus Eaters was formed in September 1982. Jeremy "Jem" Kelly had been guitarist in the Dance Party with
Michael Head and co-founded
the Wild Swans in 1980. Peter Coyle had previously been in the Jass Babies. Joined by ex-Wild Swans member
Ged Quinn on keyboards, the Jass Babies were offered to record a session for
John Peel in August 1982, but before they could fulfill their commitment the band broke up. Coyle and Kelly then invited Quinn to join them, extended the line-up with drummer
Alan Wills and bassist Phil Lucking, and recorded the
Peel session in October 1982 as the Lotus Eaters including the song "The First Picture of You". This led to the band being signed by
Arista Records. Replacing Wills and Lucking with bassist
Michael Dempsey (formerly of
the Cure and
Associates) and drummer Steve Crease, "The First Picture of You", produced by
Nigel Gray, became an iconic song for The Lotus Eaters in 1983, giving them a UK hit single before the band had even played a live gig. The band recorded a second session for Peel in October 1983. The band's debut studio album,
No Sense of Sin, was released in 1984 on Arista subsidiary Sylvan Records, preceded by two further singles, "You Don't Need Someone New" and "Out on Your Own". Both songs hit the top 100 of the
UK Singles Chart, promoted by a black and white video featuring footage of
Louise Brooks and some heavily stylised appearance of the band. However, no further release took place that year and by mid-86, the split was confirmed.
Aftermath Coyle recorded as a solo artist, releasing the albums
A Slap in the Face for Public Taste and ''I'd Sacrifice Eight Orgasms with
Shirley MacLaine Just to Be There'', and went on to found dance company 8 Productions and the G-Love nightclub. As a songwriter/producer, he had success with Marina Van-Rooy's 1990 single "Sly One", and worked with a host of emerging artists on Liverpool's dance scene. Coyle later pursued academic interests at the
University of Edinburgh. Meanwhile, Kelly reformed the Wild Swans, releasing the
Bringing Home the Ashes album on Sire in 1988. Since 1989, Kelly has been writing, staging and performing in music-driven theatre, including
Phantoms of the Aperture Part 1: Ted (2015) and
Phantoms of the Aperture Part 2: Pictures of Me (2016) examining intersections of time, space, memory and music. A
compilation album of The Lotus Eaters' music,
First Picture of You, was released in 1998 by Vinyl Japan/
BBC Worldwide, consisting of sessions recorded at
BBC Radio 1.
No Sense of Sin was reissued that same year by Arista Japan.
Reunion In 2001, the Lotus Eaters, comprising the duo of Coyle and Kelly, reformed after almost two decades, recording and releasing a new album titled
Silentspace on the Vinyl Japan label. On 13 March 2009, the band announced a one-off concert to be held at the
Liverpool Philharmonic Hall on 25 July. The gig, a performance of the album
No Sense of Sin, featured Coyle, Kelly and Emmer accompanied by a string quartet from the
University of Huddersfield. In April 2009, Coyle and Kelly collaborated with Emmer, and announced that they were working with producer
Steve Power on material for a new album called
A Plug-in Called Nostalgia, A limited-edition acoustic album,
Differance, was issued the following year as a limited release on Sylvan. The Lotus Eaters played their first London show in 10 years at the
Camden Barfly on 11 June 2010, followed by a string of shows in the UK. The band also toured in Japan in October 2010, with gigs in Tokyo and Osaka. In 2015, the band announced on their Facebook page that they were still working to release
A Plug-in Called Nostalgia. In 2016 Coyle and Kelly performed with British Electric Foundation at the Rewind Festival, but have not worked together since. ==Discography==