The second Eyeless in Gaza album, Caught in Flux was released in September 1981 to some highly positive reviews in the British music press.[19] The original pressing included a bonus five track EP (The Eyes Of Beautiful Losers).
Eyeless in Gaza would release two further EPs in 1981, Invisibility and Others. By the end of the year, they had completed their third album, Pale Hands I Loved So Well, which was released by the Norwegian label Uniton in 1982: in contrast to previous works it was (as described by Dave Henderson in Sounds) an album of "short but effective soundtracks; not for films but for everyday life." it received less pośitive reviews by other critics. Despite this productivity on record, during this period the duo would also perform numerous songs in live concerts which were never released on records.[22] In 1982, Bates would release his first full-release solo album on 10 inch vinyl, Letters Written.
1982's Drumming the Beating Heart (released, like the first two albums, on Cherry Red) saw Eyeless in Gaza refining their sound and attracting broader coverage. In a mixed critical response, one critic compared the band to "a more harrowing version of OMD". A single from the album - the electro-soul influenced "Veil Like Calm" was issued in October 1982. In the same year the band recorded The Home Produce/Country Bizarre, a split album with Lol Coxhill released on limited edition cassette via the Tago Mago label.
1983-1987: shift towards pop
By the time of the "New Risen" single (released in May 1983) and its parent album Rust Red September (July 1983), Eyeless in Gaza had become concerned that their initial uncompromising stance had "alienated a lot of people" and had begun to make concessions towards a more pop-oriented direction. Bates would begin to adopt a gentler singing style as part of this, and physical aspects of his earlier singing style was another reason for this. More of this new approach was evident on the 1984 EP Sun Bursts In, which brought comparisons to contemporary pop optimist Howard Jones (as well as an unlikely Single of the Week accolade from Joe Leeway of Thompson Twins).[citation needed]
For their 1985 single "Welcome Now" the band employed Aztec Camera's drummer Dave Ruffy: this song would in turn appear on the final album of the band's early years, 1986's Back from the Rains, for which former Sinatras/In Embrace drummer Joby Palmer was recruited, as was Bates' longtime girlfriend Elizabeth S. (who served as backing singer). In the same year, the band acquired a manager for the first time and toured with Depeche Mode., but in spite of this opportunity and the band's embracing of the option of a pop career, no major label deal emerged.
Released August 26, 2022
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