100%! This is the epitome of New Wave. I'll never forget the first time I heard "I Ran." Was at a record store buying Ozzy Osbourne lapel pins 🤣 when I suddenly heard that atmospheric riff. I turned around and just stared at the music video. It was the coolest thing I'd ever heard.
some years there is no nobel prize for literature as no one is deemed good enough. that being said having existed or even 1 or 2 hits doesnt get you into the hall fame. there should be some kind of rule. lets face it, its a popularity contest and thts not how you get into any hall of fame. is skill and musicianship. not bullshit
That Rock n' Roll 'Hall of Shame' charade DOES NOT even deserve born musical geniuses like A.F.O.S. gracing its halls. The institution is a silly cash-commerce driven joke and and has a downright embarrassing history of how it treats extremely talented Artists.
I've been saying this for days, couldn't agree more, what a way to learn the way they did it and gel with the band and jam together at the same time, what a concept!!!!
They would only do it near the end of their careers. When they are still making money they wouldn't want to give their secrets away. I've heard that Peter Hook of New Order used to scrape the markings off his bass pedals so that people couldn't see how the sound was made.
Great player yes. "Virtuoso" might be an overstatement. Look at the tab here - not that complicated. Set the delay and a beginner can play it. Now look at tabs at what 19 year old Jimmy Page or Jimmy Hendrix were playing. It would look like a Beethoven music sheet.
@A.C. B. ART You are aware that this isn't the only song AFOS has, right? Not to mention, you make it seem like keeping things simple is "wrong" or "bad" when just about every major musician strives to do just that - keeping it simple. Some of the most famous and popular songs of all time are simple with just a few notes throughout. There's a reason this band (the original lineup) still attracts tons of positive attention, even after nearly 3+ decades of not having played together... guy...
80s talent and energy, you just had to be there to understand. there will never be a time like the 80s again. we were in our prime then....Damn the time and gravity
I know, I really wish I could experience it. sometimes I just wanna restart my life in some perfect world that people seem to remember it as. I know realistically it wouldn't be all that great, but it'd really have its moments. the modern world just makes me sad. sometimes I just wanna escape most technology for a while, get some friends and just go out somewhere
One of the best songs from maybe the best musical decade. I was thinking as I clicked on the video, imagine being 17 when this was released and hearing it for the first time.
It was a glorious time and the music fitted it like a glove. I flew out to Perth W.A in August 1982 and this was rapidly climbing the charts Down Under. Couple that with Hot in the City (Billy Idol) Dexy's etc and you realise the coming summer (Down Under) was Just...So... Perfect Thanks for the Ch00ns AFOS. Your band was a major soundtrack of my youth.
You know consistency when a band can play the same song 30+ yrs later and it sounds near perfectly identical to the original studio recording. That was excellent.
@@ChadtheHammer people can have opinions. They also are not bound over to explain them. Genius is a relative and unquantifiable term. To him, this could be the result of genius musicians. Just let him say it, it wont hurt you.
I'm not gonna lie..... This is seriously the coolest thing I have ever seen on RU-vid... This song has so much going on and it all blends in perfectly.... real musicians are extremely rare these days...
@Sono2 Why do you answer your own question with a question? Do you always dig up graves to find girls to go out with? Wait, did I just do that? Did I just do that again? Aagh!!!
@Sono2 All business is about money, the music industry are not bothered about talent in the respect they would rather focus their money on throwaway artists who they can control like puppets. Which in turn is detrimental to a diverse spectrum of talented people who create there own work.
Check out bass player Frank Maudsley in this fun clip. He’s a gentleman you would want to find in a pub and chat over a pint. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-d8Cw2jpeLXs.html
@@Ed_Okin I met him about 11 years ago in his house in Norris Green Liverpool. Don’t know if he still lives there but I never recognised him and asked about all his musical equipment in the front room . He said he’d been in a band that had been quite big in the 80s in America
Xul Nag , I was probably 4th grade or so. I wasn’t too big of a fan at the time , but the girl in my class who I had a crush on, was ... so I pretended to like em . But today , some 37 years later , I like and respect the band - if for no other reason than sparking memories of growing up in the 80s - a blessing.
Sadly I don't think another reunion of the original lineup is going to happen. Mike prefers his touring band, plus recent health issues with Frank (has a rare heart condition) & Paul (recovering from a stroke he suffered in early 2020, though I have heard he's doing better).
Maybe I'm biased as a fellow guitar player, but I completely agree; Paul's guitar bits transformed a catchy synth pop song into an instant classic. He plays with great restraint.
Mike, I know you've played/sung that song till you are blue in the face...BUT, that song is a masterpiece. You, Ali, Frank, and Paul helped DEFINE The 1980s and THE FUTURE (as We speak and hear)...everything officially blew in to view with this classic! Thank you, Gentlemen. I'm getting your new album as a Xmas present.
I wouldn't bother with the album. I'm a big fan but the album is a major disappointment. The best gift would be if the original four members reunited and toured, but of course Mike won't let that happen. He'll just keep plodding on with his second division FOS tribute band
Well said, Anthony! Just adding to what you wrote songs like "I Ran" was what made MTV what it was back in the 1980's. Unfortunately since about the early 1990's MTV has become a ghost of it's former self and I had to quit watching it. Now I come to RU-vid when I want to see a music video of the past. To hell with MTV!
Phayzyre105 -- Someone, a few years ago online, very correctly commented that RU-vid is the new MTV/VH1 in the 21st Century. It is truly twisted that a video here can rake up 5 million views, but the song/single will barely net repeated plays on the radio. To think that much of the original, great visual material made in the '70s, '80s, and '90s have been stowed away and relegated to MTV2 and Classic VH1 seems antithetical to what the original channels were committed to. Thank goodness for RU-vid.
I was a teenager in the 80s. It sucked. Some of the music was good. That's about it. High unemployment, terrorism, run down council estates and schools. It was aweful.
I know perhaps every generation feels this way about the music that was popular at the time but still there was something special, inventive and exciting about the 80's with the introduction of MTV. It was a special time with a huge deluge of good bands worth listening to. Today it is a struggle to find anything good.
I can't help but recall a funny scene from the movie "The Commitments" when they were looking for a name for their bad. One person suggested "Flock Of Budgies" LOL.
Watching that old bass player bounce gives me more joy than i know how to express . What a grand old diamond he is . If you ever see this thanks for the wonderful feelings .
Wonderful !!! A Flock Of Seagulls - I Ran , a great song from the 80s that has trascended ! Bye bye 2024 , let´s go back to the 80s ! 80's music is UNBEATABLE !
This is the pioneering sound that seismically changed the landscape of modern and electronic rock music, forever. You are the heartbeat of the eighties, and you're still going strong! Thank you for still being here for us.
This video is music history. They had such a big fallout because of the stress and fame and it never seemed like in a million years they would ever collaborate again. This video is just amazing... PS I know they got together in that one show awhile ago but this video is still grand!
I love a Flock of Seagulls. Paul Reynolds is amazing. The guitar sound in this masterpiece is just perfection. I can listen to this song every day. Thank you guys.🤩
ya watch people play And I wonder how to play the space age love song the right way many just use tons and tons of delay but there's a trick that Paul used I believe just a great song too
First heard I ran in a club in mount isa Queensland Australia in 1982, when this song came on the whole place went into hysterics, absolute meltdown, there was no one sitting everyone was up and dancing to this masterpiece of drum beat, synth, guitars and that unique voice of score.. and in 2021 it's better than ever..!!!
285 dislikers got no sense for this genious work. It is a pure pleasure to look, listen and feel these guys playing this masterpiece. I remember when this song comes out i was a young man and i loved it from the first time i have heard it. Now, 40 years later, i am still flashed from this song. And the idea to make this video is absolutely fantastic! Thank you guys so much! You made my day!
personally i would love a lesson from Paul for EVERY song. which i mean as no insult to the rest of the band i would to see a lesson like this for ALL the songs, its just that the guitar is what i play and Paul had an absolutely amazing sound.
Saw them open for the Fixx in a Connecticut jai-alai fronton, early 80s. Fixx rocked and were good, a but sterile if remember, but the Flock kicked seriously major a**. Seeing them bang the hell once again, out of this anthemic beautiful song, some 40ish years later, is mind-blowing. Cheers.
Thats a hell of a bass line. The guitar is hypnotic. Love it and the concept of the video is so cool. Helps you realize what a great timeless song this.
Headphones on, record spinning, after class, in dorm room, laying on top bunk, room dark, eyes closed, songs taking my imagination light years away from where I was, feeling at peace from the troubles of college in the 1980’s. Thank you so much for your music.
thats good! i see them next month. I went to a concert last year with AFOS playing but we had to leave early to catch a jet airliner {Miller the guitarist} . So hopefully, i see them next month for the 1st time unless we have an unforseen roadblock
@@hueyxz1121 Thankyou for asking, IT WAS AWESOME!!!! Also performing last saturdaynight, aug 17 were: Wang CHung, Missing persons, the Motels, Real Life, Annabella from Bowowow, the Vapors {i think im turning japanese}, Josie Cotton, Musical Youth {pass the dutchie}, The guys that do "Promises", Trans X, and a couple other 1 hit wonders! The show was Fantastic...Lost 80s live, baby! All these musicians still performing strongly in 2019! I have pledged to go to 80s concerts till i die or they die, well see who goes 1st. Its so fun to rock out with a bunch of middle aged and senior citizens that were young in 1983. I will be 60 next month but i feel 25 mentally a lot!
Just temporarily though, mike tours with his other garbage bands currently. I know Paul and Frank still stay in contact and Ali works in some kind of plastic control factory ( not sure ).
you call what that guitarist is doing "pop" ?? lol Hell no son!! :) That's talent and skill. He was like 19-19 playing those riffs....unforgettable talent. I'd love to see some normal guitar pro even try to come close to replicating how he works all those amazing arpechgios and riffs into the tune so seamlessly.
Saw them in 82 in Boston in a club across the street from the Green Monster at Fenway Park. I forgot the name of it then! I do remember it was Drum Tobacco night, or at least they sponsored the show! The good ole’ days with lots of military jumpsuits, a big Sting influence at the time. I was 20 then and will be 60 in a few months. But when I hear The Police, The Clash, New Musik ( Tony Mansfield), XTC, and all the others, it just takes me back, and I’m 20 again! Music is powerful!
that brings back memories, first vid was video killed the radio star, i was there when it first started. There was a lot of hype in my circles about MTV, Shame the bean counters took over.
Nobody can play "I Ran" as well as Paul Reynolds himself. Amazing to see him teach how to play it. Paul, Frank, Ali and Mike are all amazing musicians. The original Flock. Thanks for making this video. Loved it!
I am not a musician but it was such a joy to see the musical notes used. It made me more feel deeply connected to the song. I didn't wait till the end before I saved it and pressed replay!
Just saw this by accident when trying to show my daughter Mike’s hair... this is so awesome! Having the band show (with musical notation, tab, and chord diagrams, no less!) is just incredible. I LOVED this album when I was a teenager, and I love seeing the guys showing how to play this! Such a class act!!
All the other content creators are like "Dang, now my video is worth crap. They can learn directly and with total authenticity from the masters". It would be awesome if every group out there could make videos as awesome as this one.
I'm not quite sure that someone from the group will read this, but guys, you have created a true masterpiece. It's a damn shame that I found it 25 + years later. God bless you all! You all are true legends!
By far one of the greatest things I have seen on RU-vid. As simple as it is, this song has many layers going. The bass line is just groovy. The guitar melodic, just blends so we'll together.
