Prefab Sprout

Prefab Sprout is an English pop band from County Durham, which rose to moderate fame during the 1980s. Though critically acclaimed and considered by many to have released some of the best pop albums of the decade, the band never broke thro

Prefab Sprout is an English pop band from County Durham, which rose to moderate fame during the 1980s. Though critically acclaimed and considered by many to have released some of the best pop albums of the decade, the band never broke through to the mainstream and had only moderate commercial success.

They debuted in 1982 with their self-released single "Lions In My Own Garden: Exit Someone" - songwriter Paddy McAloon wanted a song title where the first letters of the words spelled out "LIMOGES" (where his former girlfriend was staying at the time). Their first album was Swoon, a collection of quirky pop songs in the same vein as "Lions...", released on the Kitchenware label in early 1984. The following year saw the release of their second, the Thomas Dolby-produced Steve McQueen (released in the USA as Two Wheels Good when McQueen's estate expressed their displeasure with the title). Either way, it was so highly-praised by the critics that even the shy and retiring McAloon remarked: "I'm probably the greatest songwriter in the world, you know."