The Colourfield (initially The Colour Field, spelt in one word from 1987 onwards) were an English band formed in 1984 in Manchester, England when former Specials and Fun Boy Three frontman Terry Hall joined up with Karl Shale and ex-Swinging Cats member Toby Lyons.
Their third single was "Thinking of You", released in January 1985, which reached number 12 in the UK chart,[2] and featured Katrina Phillips accompanying Hall on vocals.
It failed to gain a large audience due to difficulty in marketing an album with such a diverse sound—it mixes 1960s and early 1970s pop music with more acoustic-based melodies and string arrangements.
as the direct musical predecessor to the later work of other northern bands the Beautiful South and the Lightning Seeds in the 1990s; Hall later collaborated with the latter in a songwriting role and provided occasional vocals.
Around the same time, the band's U.S. label compiled a six track EP titled The Colour Field (sic) containing the new UK single and B-side "Things Could Be Beautiful" / "Frosty Morning" produced by Ian Broudie; two live tracks recorded at the Hammersmith Palais, "Pushing Up the Daisies" and "Yours Sincerely"; and two older tunes produced by Hugh Jones, "Armchair Theatre" and "Faint Hearts".
[citation needed] Hall has voiced his displeasure with the recording of Deception because he did not feel he had sufficient control of the session musicians and producers to be able to preserve the Colourfield's sound.
The first two singles released from Deception were both covers: "Running Away", originally by Sly & the Family Stone,[1] and "She", a song composed by the songwriting duo of Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart.
Additional personnel featured included Gregg Mangiafico (keyboards); Sammy Merendino (drum programming); Roland Orzabal (Tears for Fears) (guitar on "Running Away" and "Confession"); Dolette McDonald; Deborah Malone and Janice Pendarvis (background vocals on "Digging It Deep").