London-based indie pop collective Daniel Takes A Train have released ‘Last Ticket To Tango’, the band’s first studio album after a hiatus of over 30 years, having all the makings of a classic album. They also present a romantic video for title track ‘Last Ticket To Tango’, directed by Pavol Korec, where passengers experience a special and spontaneous moment with the appearance of a tango flash mob at the Bratislava railway terminus.
Daniel Takes A Train are Paul Baker (lead and backing vocals), Dan Synge (guitars, synths and backing vocals), James Hannington (drums and percussion), Jez Groves (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Paul Davey (saxophones and clarinet).
After parting ways decades ago, the indiepop outfit reformed in 2018 and are back with 10 brand new songs, for which they worked with legendary producer Pat Collier (Katrina and The Waves, Primal Scream, Maximo Park) at Perry Vale Studios.
“Most of the songs on Last Ticket To Tango were written in the months after we got back together for a surprise reunion in 2018. Eighties style music is embedded in the band’s DNA, but this time we’ve plundered some of our earliest influences – new wave, soul, ska and synth pop – for a turbo-charged pop sound that somehow fits seamlessly into the musical landscape of 2021,” says Dan Synge.
“The album’s title track and final piece of the jigsaw was written just before our final trip to the studio. It just clicked. Start with a guitar riff from Prince, find a groove, add a sprinkling of synth pop then put your best foot forward under the old glitterball.”
It’s a mystery why Daniel Takes A Train never hit the big time in the 1980s. After all, their members had recorded with Tom Robinson and The Monochrome Set, had tea and cakes with Slade and T Rex, partied with Paula Yates and The Pet Shop Boys at the 1987 Brits and even stole a set list from The Smiths!
Fate played a hand in the reversal of band’s fortunes when, 30 years after going their separate ways, they were “discovered” via an old YouTube video by Germany’s leading indie pop label, Firestation, and their previously unheard demos formed the basis of their debut album ‘Style, Charm and Commotion’.
Reforming to play a series of sell-out shows and to share their incredible story with dozens of media outlets, the now fifty-something musicians decided it was time to play the music game all over again. All this new-found creativity resulted in the release of their first ‘proper’ studio album – ‘Last Ticket To Tango’.
