China Crisis

China Crisis are a British pop and rock group formed in 1979 in Kirkby, Merseyside, and based in Knowsley, United Kingdom. The core of the group is vocalist and keyboardist Gary Daly and guitarist Eddie Lundon, who begin writing songs together after growing tired of playing in various Knowsley post-punk groups. Their work draws on pop, new wave and synth-pop, with a style associated with the new romantic movement but also shaped by post-punk ideas, including a wider mix of influences and occasional political commentary.

Early recordings and first success

Daly spends much of his time at home experimenting with synthesizers and a drum machine, and he and Lundon start composing with those tools before asking percussionist Dave Reilly to join them. In 1982 they release African & White on the independent label Inevitable; it is later reissued by Virgin Records and becomes the group’s first UK hit. Their early line-up also includes Gary “Gazza” Johnson and Kevin Wilkinson, who join when the band records its debut album Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms.

The group then reaches the UK singles chart with Christian, which peaks at number 12, followed by singles from the second album, Working with Fire and Steel Possible Pop Songs, Vol. 2. Their biggest chart period comes in 1984 and 1985, beginning with Wishful Thinking, their first top-ten single.

Albums, collaborators and later career

Flaunt the Imperfection, the third album, is produced by Walter Becker and yields the hits Black Man Ray and King in a Catholic Style (Wake Up). China Crisis later release What Price Paradise in 1986 and work with Becker again on Diary of a Hollow Horse in 1989. That album receives strong critical response but less commercial attention. Across the 1980s and 1990s, the group continues to maintain a recognisable sound while drawing on a broad range of influences, including jazz and progressive rock.

China Crisis has moderate success in the United Kingdom, western Europe, Australia, the Philippines and the Americas. The group’s line-up includes Dave Reilly, Gazza Johnson, Kevin Wilkinson, Gary Daly, Eddie Lundon, Brian McNeill and Derek Lovelady. Wilkinson dies in 1999, and Daly later contributes a track to the tribute compilation Green Indians in his memory.