Paul Oxley, Singer/songwriter/musician/recording artist..
Paul's debut album, Living In The Western World (1981), sold platinum and held the number one spot on the Finnish charts for 17 weeks! The follow-up albums Both Sides Of The Equator (1982) and After The Party (1983) as well as achieving gold status, set new standards in the Finnish music world, and influenced many other bands of the times. 'The Magic' was released in 1996 and the band has had three greatest hits albums. Covers of Paul Oxley songs appear regularly in the Finnish top ten. Paul's latest single Lazy Dayzzz' has already spent 5 weeks in the Radio Suomi playlist chart and, humorously, become one of Finlands top 3 mobile phone ringtones - even before it's official release date in August! Pauls skill as a songwriter has been compared to that of Sting, Paul Mcartney, Elvis Costello, Paul Simon and others and when he is not working on his own material, he is actively collaborating with writers and producers throughout Europe and the UK." Many thanks for this review from www.rateyourmusic.com (I agree with the comments about Cathy's story!) The Nuggets II box book mentions a 'Danish' group called The Red Squares, being actually a group of Brits emigrated to Denmark. Such bands were here and there in the 1960s. Finland had one too - The Renegades, whose brief success was almost hysterical. Beside the likes of those bands, some lone musicians emigrated too. Jim Pembroke came to Finland, co-forming Blues Section and Wigwam - both among the most influential bands in the history of Finnish rock. Another guy, Frank Robson, was a significant vocalist/musician in various compositions. In the 1960s there were numerous examples of the phenomenon throughout Europe. Speaking about the early 1980s, it was a different thing of course. During the heyday of new wave pop the spirit among young musicians may have been reminiscent of that in the mid-'60s but breaking through was certainly much more difficult. Each (Western European, say) country had its own basement punks and new romantics as well as teenyboppers and pop/rock establishment. If a young British musician/songwriter emigrated to another country, aiming to raise a band and make it big, he might as well be let down like a fiasco. In Finland the trick was successful. The year was 1981. The band: Paul Oxley's Unit. The group was originally called Paul Oxley's Radio (with a slightly different composition) but while the nearest group called Radio operated in Sweden, the band became Paul Oxley's Unit. The single "Another Heartbreak" (still by PO Radio) was released in late 1980 and interested the Finnish pop field. The song was actually quite catchy, and it contained a then-contemporary new-wave guitar pop feel. After becoming PO Unit, the group recorded a lot more stuff in the MTV (not Music Television but the Finnish Commercial TV, kids) studio in Helsinki during 1981. The single that came out first was called "Living in the Western World." I have heard (or, to be more accurate, read) that many Finns almost dropped their ears off their heads after hearing it. 'This a Finnish group? This sound recorded in a Finnish studio?' Yes it was: a speedy upbeat pop'n'roller, full of post-punk alienated melancholy but in a strangely approachable way. The single wasn't a hyper-instant smash (though it soon became sort of) but the first estimates were about how likely it was to break internationally. The breakthrough never happened abroad. But what happened in Finland was a different story. After a couple of months of hesitating, the album Living in the Western World topped the Finnish charts for several months. It sold bunches more than ABBA. 'Oxleymania' was a household term. The third single "Spanish Bars" was a hit like its predecessor and though the band had now become teen idols, even the 'serious' media praised it. The radio was very fond of "Terry's Inside" which offered a delicious combination of naivist (naïve?) synth pop and McCartney-esque sense of melody. In fact, the album is excellent. "Spanish Bars" kicks it going and "Terry's Inside" - a small classic - follows gently. The catchy "Nowhere" contains the disco beat that was almost compulsory on a 1981 album - on one song if not more (and absolutely not many more!). "She's a Model", then, is so full of new wave it makes the pop/rock historians reconsider their genre definitions. After the first two single tracks ("Another Heartbreak" re-made for the album), "Teacher" once again contains that very uptempo beat which is so essential to the Paul Oxley's Unit sound. "The Right Kind of Love" is different: the brilliant, beautiful, melodic verses remind the listener of some really wonderful '60s pop, like Sagittarius. The bridge, however, is more reminiscent of something like the Korgis' 1980 classic "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime." The lyrics are brilliant, too. In my opinion, "The Right Kind of Love" is the best track of Living in the Western World, and of Paul Oxley's Unit. What especially delights me now is that the feel of the album is still very fresh. It sounds dated - yes. But it contains a fresh-and-young vibe that never gets outdated. It is like those '60s Nuggets performances which aren't any crap, but now in an '81 new-wave pop (and slightly '60s retro) context. "Terry's Inside" may sound naive, but Paul and the guys don't feel embarrassed while the song is so innocently well composed. "She's a Model" may be like hundreds of its likes around 1980-1 but feels like none of them had influenced it - they have all just shared a vibe! "The Right Kind of Love" might contain un-trendy soft pop and MOR influences, oh but isn't that gorgeous? "City of Dreams", the closing track, may be a '50s-referring disco schlager in a teen rock song's disguise but who cares as it marches on so proudly up-key? But wait! Something unfortunate was already going on. "Cathy's Song (Passion)" contains a feel which was to destroy what was essential on the album. It is clearly slip-, slip-, slipping into the morass of professional, hollow, uninteresting 1980s AOR! As a track on Living in the Western World it works quite fine, but one can't miss the warning sign if they've heard the next Paul Oxley's Unit album, Both Sides of the Equator. That something which made LWW a success story was dramatically deceasing. BSE (sic, heh!), recorded in Wales, was a master's specimen of professionalism and studio work. Gone was the freshness. The catchiness declined. Maybe this summarises what was so annoying about the 1980s: almost each and every burgeoning grassroot pop/rock act was misguided to make itself an imposing star on the pop screen. With insipid results, say. Paul Oxley's Unit - History (courtesy of Sony Music) Paul Oxley's Unit was one of the most popular bands in Finland in the early 80's. The band's lead singer was Paul Oxley from Manchester. Paul also wrote all the songs. On keyboards was Paul's fellow Englishman Brian Hammond, on guitar Ulf Enberg, on bass Kjel Ekholm and on the drums Janne Romberg. The band's first single, "Another Heartbreak", reached No. 1 in 1980. This hit was followed by several successful singles such as "The Judge And The Jury", "Living In The Western World", "Spanish Bars", "Terry's Inside", "The Beat Of Your Heart", "Tears Among The Flowers", "Camera Camera" and "After The Party". Their melodic and energetic pop music took the Finnish audience by storm. Paul Oxley's Unit - Live in the Western World Tour 1982 After the third album the band broke up, and Paul moved back to his native England. There, he concentrated more on songwriting and experimental music, having some local success in Devon with the band New World Orchestra. They released two singles and played at various festivals. Brian also returned back home. In 1995, Paul came back alone to Finland for a holiday, and the band got together for one spontaneous gig. The reaction among the audience was fantastic and the guys decided to give the band a second try. In the summer of 1996, at Gotland, Sweden, they started recording a new album called The Magic (Columbia 486716 2), with producer Micke Lyander and new drummer Niklas Björkqvist. In - demand session musician Johan Lyander was brought in to play keyboards. Paul's great melodies were mixed with the sound of today and the band played better than ever. The result is a fantastic collection of songs as varied as any Beatles album, with songs changing from hard rockers to soft acoustic ballads, all with the highly original Paul Oxley's Unit stamp on them. The band played their last extensive tour in Finland in March 1997 but still play to packed audiences on their summer reunions and whenever the occasion arises. Today Paul is in demand as a songwriter but fans will be please to hear that a new, solo album is scheduled for 2008! |
Paul Oxley is an English singer/songwriter and recording artist, originally from Manchester, who has had five hit albums and several number one hit singles in Scandinavia. Paul has had extensive touring experience in Scandinavia and the United Kingdom and has been a familiar face on TV, newspapers and magazines, especially Finland where he now lives. His hits have been described as timeless and are played frequently on the radio and have been covered by many artists.