Label: Jet
Year of Release: 1978
Steve Parsons - aka Snips - was a key member of the much-fancied (but commercially under-achieving) mid-seventies band Sharks along with Chris Spedding. When that band's time came to a natural end, he burst out on his own with a string of solo singles throughout the late seventies and eighties.
Debut 7" effort "Waiting For Tonight" was an incredibly strong opener. Aided no end by its chiming Steve Lillywhite production and insistent hooks, it's the kind of track that would be held in higher regard had it been issued by an established New Wave artist of the day, as opposed to someone who had already been around the block a few times (though that riff in the link to the track "Sophistication" above shows that some members of the punk brethren were certainly listening to Sharks). A simple riff propels things along, and there's a distinct power-pop edge at play here too.
While Snips never really tasted fame or success of the mainstream kind despite issuing two LPs and five singles on Jet and EMI, all was not entirely lost. Parsons became, and presumably remains, a force to be reckoned with in the soundtrack world, and also still maintains a presence on the live music scene with his present group The Presence LDN. Sharks also reformed briefly to issue the comeback LP "Like A Black Van Parked On A Dark Curve" in 1994. Unlike the vast majority of bands on this blog, he is clearly not a man whose musical ideas will easily be put to rest.
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