Never Say Never
	Produced by Ric Ocasek and Ian Taylor
	Released on 1981
	US CHART POSITION #147
	Find it at GEMM
415A-0007 cover [high resolution scan]

R ock lobster. I know what boys like. Marianne Faithfull and Deborah Harry and girls using the “F” word. Whatever was right with the ‘80s could be found right inside of “Never Say Never.” Maybe this happens with every new musical form, but the new wave scene around the turn of the decade produced a slew of strong singles which became calling cards for their authors: Never say never, Only a lad, Turning japanese, et cetera. I know it happened with metal in the ‘80s, alternative rock in the ‘90s, and so passing ships like Warrant and The Cranberries enter the lexicon of popular music by the galley entrance. Anyway, back to Romeo Void. The opening “Never Say Never” is the best thing about this EP, sounding like a Gang of Four Waitresses and including an unblinking look at oedipal love (though I’m not sure that hostility toward the mother is implicit in the act of love with the father) that makes Marianne Faithfull look like a froo-froo girlie (ok, not really). The rest of the EP attempts to find a place for Benjamin Bossi’s saxophone and Iyall’s verse within the context of new wave. Sometimes it sounds like Echo & The Bunnymen, sometimes like Modern English, but they never strike upon as startling or fresh a sound as they do on “Never Say Never.” Beyond Roxy Music, the saxophone never found a suitable home in alternative rock; the Furs were smart to lose it early on. However, the real failure of Romeo Void lies in the limited number of female rock bands in the world, and the perplexing coincidence that all of the women in those bands were also marketed as sex symbols. You know, if I were a woman, I would have punched a lot more people in the face by now.

415A-0007 back cover

TRACK LISTING

1. NEVER SAY NEVER    6:05
2. IN THE DARK    4:24
3. PRESENT TENSE    5:47
4. NOT SAFE    3:52
   
   All songs written by Romeo Void
   
   UK/JPN 7-inch single
   
1. NEVER SAY NEVER
2. FLASHFLOOD
   
   US 1982 7-inch single
   
1. NEVER SAY NEVER
2. GUARDS

CREDITS

BENJAMIN BOSSI -- saxophone
LARRY CARTER -- drums
DEBORA IYALL -- vocals
PETER WOODS -- guitar
FRANK ZINCAVAGE -- bass, cover design
Ian Taylor -- engineer
Peter Soe, Jr. -- cover design

return to ROMEO VOID discography

I LIKE 2 WATCH

You can see the video for "Never Say Never" on YouTube. It features a black-and-white spy theme that doesn't have a single thing to do with the song, but trenchcoats were cool back then.

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