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Monsoon led by singer Sheila Chandra (best known for her role in the BBC’S Grange Hill) along with record producer Steve Coe and bass guitarist Martin Smith was a brave and pioneering pop trio that blended traditional music from the Indian sub-continent with 80s British pop. Additionally, they drew on the best musicians they could find from both East and West.
The band originated in 1980 when keyboard player and producer Steve Coe developed an interest in Indian music. Hoping to form a band to pursue this direction, he discovered Sheila via some demo tapes which she had recorded for Hansa Records when she was 14. Sheila joined Monsoon in March 1981, three months before she left school. Monsoon’s first EP ‘Ever So Lonely’/’Sunset Over The Ganges/Mirror of Your Mind/Shout till You’re Heard’ had been distributed by Rough Trade. Their fresh Asian Fusion sound attracted the attention of label owner David Claridge, and Phonogram A&R man Dave Bates who signed the outfit to the Mobile Suit Corporation (Phonogram).
In December 1981, the band re-arranged and re-recorded ‘Ever So Lonely’ at Rockfield Studios with co-producer Hugh Jones, released by Mobile Suit Corporation (Phonogram) in 1982 and, though surrounded by synth-pop singles, and predating the term ‘World Music’ by a full five years, was a smash hit around the world, reaching No.12 in the UK singles chart.
Two further singles followed; ‘Shakti (The Meaning Of Within)’ and a cover of The Beatles’ ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ along with the debut album ‘Third Eye’ but due to differences with their label, Phonogram, Monsoon dissolved later in 1982.
With the full involvement and co-operation of lead singer Sheila Chandra, Cherry Red are delighted to re-issue this expanded deluxe 2CD edition of the Third Eye album by the band that opened up the UK’s cultural consciousness to new possibilities – and changed it forever.
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