Note: Okay, I’m stretching it a bit on this one. When I conceived “Depeche Clones Weekâ€, I had three bands in particular in mind and set about writing all three articles before posting the first. Once I had finished the third, I discovered to my horror that the CD was actually released in 1990, thereby making it ineligible to be “Lost in the 80sâ€. I could have sworn it was released in 1989…argh. So, I was faced with a choice – scrap the entire article and post or just throw it up with the assumption that even though the original release came out in 1990 (not the re-release on Zoo, which came out in 1992), the album must have been recorded in – tah dah! – 1989.
Guess which I chose?
Formed in Sacramento, the duo of Robert Rowe and Sean Rowley known as Cause & Effect started off on Nastymix Records, home to Sir Mix-a-Lot of all people (not entirely surprising – Mix’s later collabs with the Presidents of the United States showed his love for alternative rock). Two years after its initial indie release, Cause & Effect’s first album was re-released by major label Zoo, but not without some re-sequencing, remixing and renaming, the formerly self-titled debut now being called “Another Minuteâ€.
Before they got picked up by Zoo, Cause & Effect broke thru the dance charts with “What Do You See†and my favorite, “You Think You Know Herâ€. Later, with major label muscle behind them, “You Think…†actually became a Top 40 hit and “Another Minute†hit the Hot 100. I’m sort of partial to the original indie versions myself, so that’s what I’ve posted.
Things looked bright for Cause & Effect, until tragedy stuck during a 1992 tour. Just before a show, Rowley died from heart failure brought on by an asthma attack. After some time and retooling, Rowe, along with a couple new band mates carried on, releasing “Trip†in 1994 and scoring another Hot 100 hit with “It’s Over Now.†A couple of releases have trickled out since.
…and so ends Depeche Clones Week. I hope fans of the bands featured take it in the lighthearted nature it was intended. And if anyone doubts the Mode-like similarities of the bands featured, allow me to present this unaltered screen shot from Amazon taken earlier this week:
I’m not sayin’, I’m just sayin’ is all.
â€You Think You Know Her†peaked at #38 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at #8 on the Dance Club Play Charts.
“Another Minute†peaked at #75 on the Hot 100 and at #31 on the Dance Club Play Charts.
Get Cause & Effect music at Amazon or on
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