Ex Luna Scientia
This is a bit of a very rare treat. Digging through my old vinyl collection a couple of days ago I came across a promotional copy of “For Future Reference” an album by the early 1980s synthpop band Dramatis. (Rocket Record Company: Train 18). I stuck it on and found myself flashing back to a much younger version of myself, pure nostalgia, sitting here in the Sky Bunker on a hill in Bristol… recalling a teenager in Newcastle with daydreams of being an author.
The treat came when I realised that I had almost no recollection of the B-side. It was like finding some lost treasure. One of the newly discovered tracks is this one, Ex Luna Scientia.
It’s got hallmarks of early E.L.O and Queen but still carries a flavour of Numan.
Dramatis are Cedric Sharpley (drums), Chris Payne (vocals, keyboards), Russell Bell (guitars, keyboards) and Denis Haines (keyboards) who were all originally members of the backing band for Gary Numan prior to 1981; Sharpley and Payne were also members of Tubeway Army – the punk rock and new wave band that helped propel Numan into the electro stratosphere with the incredible Replicas album in 1979.
Here’s some artwork from the front and back covers of the Dramatis album:
Front
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Back
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- You can buy the album under the re-release title of “The Dramatis Project” but be warned, this is not Tubeway Army. It’s an entirely different sound.
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David J Rodger ¦ Science Fiction & Dark Fantasy 