LAIRD-CLOWES’ DREAM BLASTS INTO REALITY

When Nick Laird-Clowes talks about the music of his band, the Dream Academy, he’s roaringly enthusiastic, almost to the point of rapture. Music--especially Dream Academy’s dreamy pop-rock--is clearly his passion, as necessary to him, he gushed, as breathing.

Over early evening cocktails during a recent local visit, Laird-Clowes, an impassioned talker, was in obvious ecstasy about the sudden success of the English band, which burst out of obscurity into prominence in the last two months.

He was also baffled by it.

“I never thought this would happen,” said Laird-Clowes, a smallish 28-year-old with ‘60s-style long hair. “You just hope for modest success so the record company will let you make more records. I think our music is great but that doesn’t mean anything. So much great music gets ignored.

“We weren’t thinking about fame. That’s sort of a dream, or a fantasy really. All artists daydream about setting the world on fire. But how many ever do it? We may not be setting the world on fire but we’re a hit, we’re a hit! I still can’t believe it.”

The figures prove it’s not a dream. The album, “The Dream Academy,” is No. 21 on the Billboard pop chart. The band’s first single, “Life in a Northern Town,” is No. 7 on the pop singles chart.

“Life in a Northern Town,” done in lush harmonies, has an eerie, ethereal texture. Like the other songs on the album, it’s very melodic pop with classical and folk overtones. Basically, it’s ‘60s pop-folk spruced up with assorted ‘80s touches.

Singer/guitarist Laird-Clowes writes all the lyrics but gets help with the music from keyboardist Gilbert Gabriel. The third member, oboist Kate St. John, contributes to the arrangements. This trio is the only other popular group to have the same odd racial-sexual makeup as the Thompson Twins--white male, black male (Gabriel) and white female (St. John).

Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, a friend of Laird-Clowes since they met on a beach in Greece in 1978, produced the album.

Gilmour was rigorously supportive of him in every area except one. “He doesn’t like my guitar playing,” Laird-Clowes said, wincing. “He laughs at my playing. He’s a great player, so what can I say? I feel like a bumbling amateur guitarist around him. He intimidates the hell out of me.”

Unlike many English artists who have become popular in America, the Dream Academy was not a smash in England first. “Life in a Northern Town” was an English hit, but the album was just a mild success over there. Last fall, the album started off in America like a dud, inching onto the Top 200 and then quickly dropping off.

“My God, did we panic,” Laird-Clowes yelped, clutching his head with both hands as he recalled the trauma. “We thought it was all over. But the record company assured us things would be different once the single got exposure. But who ever believes record companies? We still were panicked. But this time the record company turned out to be right.”

Formed in early 1983, the Dream Academy is Laird-Clowes’ third band in the past 10 years. The first two--Alfalfa and the Act--recorded albums that went nowhere.

“Alfalfa was my school band,” he explained. “That was three-part harmonies and acoustic guitars. We wanted to be Crosby, Stills & Nash. The Act was more sophisticated but there wasn’t much interest in it.”

Laird-Clowes assembled the Act with Gabriel in 1979. Though the band--lauded in some circles--crumbled, the pair continued to work together, recruiting St. John to join a rock band with folk-classical leanings that eventually became the Dream Academy.

There’s a reason why some of the Dream Academy’s music has such a strong Simon & Garfunkel flavor. Paul Simon was his music tutor. After meeting Laird-Clowes at the Grammy show in New York in 1982, Simon offered to teach him in music theory.

“I was all rock ‘n’ roll instinct then,” he explained. “That can only take you so far. I needed a better grasp of the basics of music. Paul was willing to be my teacher.”

Laird-Clowes, a London resident, borrowed the money to go to New York for the Simon lessons, living with his girlfriend’s sister during the two months of intense tutoring. “I learned a lot about theory from him,” Laird-Clowes said. “I learned quite a bit about pop sensibility too.”

At the time, Laird-Clowes had finished all but two songs for “The Dream Academy” album. “Paul liked only one or two of them but he didn’t discourage me,” he said.

Surprisingly, Laird-Clowes, a fairly accomplished lyricist, never discussed lyrics with Simon who, in his heyday, was the best in the business. “I never wanted to discuss lyrics with him,” Laird-Clowes explained. “Lyrics are instinct. They come from my experience. I have my own way of doing them. I don’t want anybody telling me how or what to write.”

Despite its success, the Dream Academy may not tour.

Laird-Clowes is keenly aware of the importance of an artist’s second album. Invariably, the artist has years--largely pressure-free--to assemble the material for that first album. But after that debut hits, the artist is tossed into the show-biz pressure cooker. Usually, the second album has to be written quickly, often after a long tour. Meanwhile, the artist is busy adjusting to substantial demands of fame. Partly because of these circumstances, the album following the debut hit is often inferior.

Determined to avoid these pitfalls, the band has opted to forgo touring in favor of working on the second album. “It would be nice to tour and earn some money,” Laird-Clowes said. “But it’s more important to look at our career in long-range terms. That second album is unbelievably important. If we want to do it right, we have to make sure we have enough time to work on it.”

But this rather radical plan could change. “If we have another hit we may have to tour,” Laird-Clowes explained. “There would be a big demand for us to go on the road. The album may get so big that it wouldn’t make sense not to go on the road.”

So if the follow-up singles flop, a tour this year is unlikely, thereby giving the band the time it needs for the second album.

Is Laird-Clowes quietly rooting for flop singles? “I would never publicly admit to anything like that,” he said, laughing. “I’d better not say any more. I may have said too much already.”