[1] Their music has been described as "abstract pop songs with sparse instrumentation, many of which were bleak and filled with some form of heartache".
[3] The Comsat Angels toured heavily in the UK and western Europe, especially in the Netherlands; the band's two concerts in August 1982 in Iceland had a strong influence on the music scene in Reykjavík.
Named after the J. G. Ballard short story "The Comsat Angels",[2] the foursome's original lineup (lasting from 1978 to 1992) consisted of Stephen Fellows (vocals, guitar), Mik Glaisher (drums), Kevin Bacon (bass) and Andy Peake – (keyboards).
[6] These three albums – Waiting for a Miracle (1980), which included the single "Independence Day", probably their best known song, Trouser Press reported in a review that "Waiting For a Miracle" was hailed in one UK paper as the greatest debut LP of all time, it remains a stunning masterwork,[7]Sleep No More (1981) and Fiction (1982) – are regarded by some as their best, but only sold modestly.
[8] In their early years, the group shared live stages with bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Depeche Mode, U2 (an 18-date tour in 1981), Captain Beefheart, the Sound, Wall of Voodoo and Gang of Four.
[9] In 1982, a US-based company Communications Satellite Corporation wrote a series of letters to the band's management saying that "the word Comsat was a registered trade mark in America and that the group had no authority to use the name.
The band found a fan and supporter in Robert Palmer (a fellow Yorkshireman), who was at the height of his popularity at this point in the 1980s.
Palmer facilitated the Comsat Angels' signing to Island Records, and he served as executive producer for their next album, Chasing Shadows (1986) and even sang on one song, "You'll Never Know".
The music press praised the album, citing several current shoegaze-type bands (e.g., Curve, Catherine Wheel) who were influenced by the Comsats' sound.
[8] Melody Maker's review stated: "My Mind's Eye could easily have been recorded by ghosts, such is the dexterity of The Comsats' approach and the haunted nature of their anguished restraint... Every snapping bassline and icebound guitar fragment has a place, a purity and a passion that chills... At the heart of their hurtling hailstorm lies Steve Fellows' punishing baritone.
The man sounds like he's singing from a carriage on the soul train to hell, all sweat and worry as the songs rage around him like they've come for a debt".
[8]RPM also issued a Dutch radio sessions collection, Unravelled, prior to the release of the band's final studio album, The Glamour, in 1995.
The Glamour was the first studio album to feature new members Simon Anderson and Terry Todd (who appeared on Unravelled),[8] after the departure of Bacon.
The band completed a UK tour of three cities (Glasgow, Manchester and London) during October 2009,[1] followed by a special hometown show at Plug in Sheffield on 11 December 2010.
[34] In May 2008, Kermode interviewed British poet Simon Armitage on BBC Two's The Culture Show and the two discussed their love of the band.