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All Music Guide:
Like the better-known Teardrop Explodes and Echo & the Bunnymen, the post-punk band Modern Eon was based in Liverpool, England. Fitting somewhere between the odd rhythms and textured turmoil of the Comsat Angels and the aggressive side of Sad Lovers and Giants, the band released only one studio LP, 1981's excellent Fiction Tales. Alix Plain (Alex Johnson) and Danny Hampson started the group in the late '70s, initially calling their band Luglo Slugs. After two more name changes, they became Modern Eon and made their recorded debut in 1978 on Street to Street: A Liverpool Album. A handful of singles for labels like Inevitable, DinDisc, and their own Eon predated Fiction Tales, which quickly -- and disappointingly -- didn't so much register on the commercial radar as it went down the drain with little notice. Prior to the recording of the album, the band's lineup changed significantly; guitarist/saxophonist Tim Lever, keyboardist/percussionist Bob Wakelin, and drummer Cliff Hewitt came in at various points to replace Ged Allen and Joey McKechnie. Aside from the overlooked status of Fiction Tales, another factor that threw a wrench into the band's progress was the injuring of drummer Hewitt's wrist. Hewitt, who resembled the Comsat Angels' Mik Glaisher with his off-kilter, toms-heavy playing, proved impossible to replace. The group went on with the tour, using tapes of Hewitt's playing to accompany them. After the tour, demos for a second album weren't completed and the band dissolved. Sans Plain, the group continued briefly as This Time Next Year, who released one record in 1982. Lever played a number of years with Dead or Alive and eventually went into producing; Hewitt became a member of Apollo 440; Wakelin worked as an artist in the video game industry and then did work for Marvel comics for well over a decade; Plain worked briefly as a solo artist under the name Che.
Wikipedia:
Modern Eon was a British post-punk/New Wave band, formed in Liverpool, England in 1978. They released one album on the independent UK label Dindisc in 1981.
History
The band was formed by founding members Alix Plain (real name Alex Johnson) (guitars/vocals) and Danny Hampson (bass/backing vocals), originally called Luglo Slugs. After two more name changes, the band decided on the name Modern Eon and released their first record in late 1978 on the compilation album Street to Street: A Liverpool Album, along with Ged Allen (guitars/backing vocals), and Joey McKechnie (drums). After one self-released single, "Pieces" on Eon Records in 1979, they recorded the single "Euthenics" for Inevitable Records in 1980. Prior to the recording of their debut album, Allen and McKechnie left the band in 1980, and was replaced by Bob Wakelin (strings/vocals/percussion) and Tim Lever (guitars/saxophone), with Cliff Hewitt (drums) joining shortly thereafter. In early 1981 a re-recorded version of "Euthenics" was released on Dindisc followed by two more singles "Child's Play" and "Mechanic", and to much critical acclaim, their debut album Fiction Tales was released in mid 1981. After a tour was arranged that year, drummer Hewitt critically injured his wrist, leading them to go on tour using Hewitt's drum playing on a tape machine. By the end of 1981, while the band were working on demos for a second album, Modern Eon dissolved, never to release the follow-up album.
