The Railway Children

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Consisting of vocalist Gary Newby, Brian Bateman, Guy Keegan, and Stephen Hull, the Railway Children gained a small cult following in their native England in the late '80s. When the members were still teenagers, the group began releasing singles on Factory Records. Recalling the intricate guitar pop of the Smiths, their singles evoked the ringing hooks of '60s British pop and the post-punk pop attitude of the '80s. The band released their debut album, Reunion Wilderness, in 1987; the album led to a contract with Virgin Records. Railway Children's second album, Recurrence (1988), smoothed out the rougher edges of their early independent records, leading to several minor hit singles. Released in 1990, Native Place captured the band in a transitional phase, as they were incorporating dance elements into their sound. In 1992, while working on their fourth album, Dream Arcade, EMI took over their label, Virgin Records. The band left the label and by 1994, Bateman and Hull quit, leaving the band in limbo. Newby continued on, finally completing Dream Arcade in the spring of 1999 with a new lineup .