A Flock of Seagulls with Strangelove the Depeche Mode Experience

As well-known for their bizarrely teased haircuts as their hit single “I Ran (So Far Away),” A Flock of Seagulls was one of the MTV video rotation staples of the new wave era. Growing out of the synth-heavy and ruthlessly stylish new Romantic Movement, the group benefitted considerably from MTV’s heavy rotation of the “I Ran” video in the summer of 1982. Mike Score’s outrageous hair style is forever embedded in pop culture.

Hairdresser Mike Score (lead vocals, keyboards) formed A Flock of Seagulls with his brother Ali (drums) and fellow hairdresser Frank Maudsley (bass) in 1980, adding guitarist Paul Reynolds several months later. The group released its debut EP on Cocteau Records early in 1981, and while the record failed to chart, its lead track, “Telecommunication,” became an underground hit in Euro-disco and new wave clubs. The band signed a major-label contract with Jive by the end of the year, and their eponymous debut album appeared in the spring of 1982. “I Ran (So Far Away)” was released as the first single from the album, and MTV quickly picked up on its icily attractive video, which featured long shots of Mike Score and his distinctive, cascading hair. The single climbed into the American Top Ten, taking the album along with it.