It was 1982 when Peter Cox and Richard Drummie first pulled their artistic talents together to form Go West. With only a publishing deal and a portastudio, but lacking a band or record company, Peter and Richard decided, with the help of their manager, John Glover, to find a producer, go into the studio and record two of their songs for themselves. These songs were ‘We Close Our Eyes’ and ‘Call Me’. Within a matter of days John Glover was negotiating with Chrysalis Records and Go West signed their first record deal.
Their debut single ‘We Close Our Eyes’ was released in 1985 and reached number four in the UK charts, and became a top ten hit in the USA. The success of ‘We Close Our Eyes’ was followed by three other top ten hits; ‘Call Me’, ‘Goodbye Girl’ and ‘Don’t Look Down’.
Their debut self-titled album, Go West sold 1.5 million copies worldwide and established the pair not just as a chart force but as one of the great singer/songwriter duos to emerge in the 80s. They became the focus of media attention, gracing magazine covers and making numerous TV appearances. The Album was quickly followed up by Bangs and Crashes a collection of 12″ mixes and Live performances. Including One Way Street from The Rocky 4 sound track. In 1986 they won a BRIT Award for ‘Best British Newcomer’.
Their third album Dancing On The Couch was released in 1987. The singles ‘True Colours’, ‘I Want To Hear It From You’ and ‘The King Is Dead’ were all top thirty hits, and although it didn’t match the success of their debut LP sales, it once again established them as extraordinary songwriters and has become something of a cult collectors’ item.
In 1992 their fourth album Indian Summer was more mellow, justifying more than ever their early description by legendary producer Arif Mardin as ‘modern Motown’. This album contained their single ‘The King Of Wishful Thinking’ the opening song in the hugely successful film Pretty Woman. The soundtrack album from this film has sold over ten million copies worldwide. ‘The King Of Wishful Thinking’ received an ASCAP award in 1991 for one of the most-played songs on American radio and ‘Faithful’, the second single from this album, received similar BMI awards in 1992 and 1993.
Aces and Kings, the album released in 1993, was a collection of their greatest hits, and the single ‘Tracks Of My Tears’, a re-working of Smokey Robinson’s classic, was released from this album and entered the Top 20
Over the past months Go West have performed a number of live shows around the UK including two arena tours. In 2018-19 we find Go West Gearing up for a few shows in the States and Beyond ****
