NEW DRAMA – Fantasized ’84 [Norske Albumklassikere 80-tallet remastered] *HQ*

As part of the ‘Norske Albumklassikere 80-tallet’ series from the excellent Norwegian reissue label Norske Albumklassikere – which seems to have access to almost every Norwegian release from the 70s and 80s – comes this remastered reissue of NEW DRAMA 1984’s album ”Fantasized”, for the first time on CD.
Norway’s first “boy band” DRAMA was formed in the early 80s achieving several radio & TV hits in Europe. When Drama split after two albums in 1984, four of the band members formed New Drama. They released an EP and two albums until Drama reunited in 1987. ”’Fantasized”’ is the first of the ‘New Drama’ period.
NEW DRAMA debut is pure rock&pop FM radio style (second LP featured here yesterday ‘The Wild World’ is much more synth-pop) with stronger songs in our opinion, very well arranged and produced. Call us nuts but some bring to mind Alan Parsons pop tunes from the same era.

The four guys in New Drama debuted with a four-track EP on cassette and 12″ vinyl in May 1984, and thus became the first new music after the successful group Drama split earlier in the winter. ‘Dynamite’ was released as single with massive radio airplay. The EP was in first place for a full four weeks in the summer of ’84.
Together with the EP ballad “You Are The One”, “Dynamite was included on the band’s debut album ”Fantasized”, released in September of the same year via Snowflake Records, run by Leif Hemmingsen (known from The Vanguards), who gave the Larvik quartet a record deal.

Producer Sverre E. Henriksen came to visit the rehearsal room in the barn house at Rimstad farm in Kvelde, Larvik, to check out the band’s material. The actual recording was done throughout the Summer in the Scanax studio in Oslo.
Henriksen also offered the band his own song, ”Mrs. Junipher”, for which he had received text help from American songwriter David Chocron.
Chocron, originally from New York and living in Oslo, had for a number of years contributing to Norwegian cultural life as a composer. He also helped with fine-tuning of several of the other lyrics on the record to sound ‘more American’.

The cover of the debut album was designed by local artist Mariann Hennie Hafseng. Rather than a standard album cover focusing on the band members, the new portraits of them were drawn in a futuristic red desert landscape, with, among other things, flying pyramids, a donkey with wings, and a satellite marked *NEW* which on the back lightens up from the Drama name.
”Fantasized” achieved 20th place in Norwegian rock&pop chart. New Drama spent the year playing and touring the country.

NEW DRAMA first album “Fantasized” is a cool mid-80s sounding pop-rock record produced with the well known pristine Scandinavian sound.
Highly Recommended

01 – Tropical Eyes
02 – The Stranger
03 – Silly Little Willy
04 – Annie
05 – You Are The One
06 – Fantasy Girl
07 – Mrs. Junipher
08 – Stay The Night
09 – Tell Me
10 – Dynamite
11 – Time To Say Goodbye

Thomas Siqveland – Bass, Synthesizer, Lead Vocals
Per Arne Strandbakken – Keyboards, Electric Piano
Gunnar Refsdal – Drums, Percussion, Lead Vocals
Ole Jan Rimstad – Synthesizer, Piano, Vocals

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