Off The Beaten Track Interviews:

The Pere Ubu story is long and convoluted. Certainly longer than space here allows. In a nutshell, the only constant from the late 1970s through 2025 has been Dave Thomas. He was prone to take on projects, side projects, solo projects, crazy instrumentation projects...well, you get the idea. Pere Ubu came, and went, came back, and went, and came back...

Dave is a Cleveland Ohio boy, spent some time living in London, never found an instrument or sound he didn't like. Tried them all. Dave Thomas has an innovative vocal style, given to yelping on occasion if it felt and sounded good. There were few boundaries. Pere Ubu invented the phrase Avant Garage and influenced a whole bunch of people. Just ask Joy Division, or R.E.M., or Husker Du, or The Pixies, or Thomas Dolby, or Henry Rollins, or Sisters of Mercy, or Julian Cope, or Mission of Burma...the list of bands and artists that cite Pere Ubu as an influence is nothing short of incredible. Artistic freedom and pushing the envelope was central to the influence of Pere Ubu. Thomas taught fellow musicians “Oh! You Can Do That!”

Off The Beaten Track caught up with Dave Thomas at New York's New Music Seminar in the summer of 1988. Hundreds of bands, hundreds of press people, hundreds of label and publicity executives gaming the crowd for maximum exposure. Three days to get it done! The Tenement Year had just been released and Enigma was anxious for Dave to do as much press as possible. The LP was, after all, the first Pere Ubu album since getting back together. Pere Ubu had broken up in 1982. Dave Thomas had moved to London, was involved in as many projects as ever, but Pere Ubu had been silent for six long years...an eternity in popular music.

Michael Thurston's conversation with Dave Thomas mimicked the no holds barred approach of Pere Ubu's music. Nothing was off the table, resulting in a fun conversation.

Imagine music that sounds like it could fly apart at any moment. Imagine musicians doing what they love and Dave Thomas holding it all together...just barely. Not quite rock, not quite jazz, not quite world, not quite like anything else you've ever heard or likely to hear again. Avant Garage.

Dave Thomas left us on April 23, 2025. His is a most colorful and imaginative legacy. Of all the Off The Beaten Track interviews, and there are hundreds, this one was one of the most  challenging. Dave Thomas had a thought process like no other. One would expect no less from the chief architect of Pere Ubu.

Paddy McAloon teamed up with his brother Martin and multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Wendy Smith with Michael Salmon on drums to form Prefab Sprout, a lush, pop, innovative band in 1978...Wendy Smith did not join until 1982, Neil Conti replaced Michael Salmon in 1983. They released several critically acclaimed albums during the 1980s, including Swoon, Two Wheels Good (also known as Steve McQueen in all countries other than North America), From Langley Park To Memphis and Jordan: The Comeback among them. From Langley Park To Memphis yielded Prefab Sprout their biggest hit, The King of Rock 'n' Roll. 

Razor sharp production, an affinity for melody,  unusual song structure and a refreshing sense of humor were the hallmarks of Prefab Sprout. They were fans of all things musical, had a gift for arrangement, and were fans whose tastes ran the gamut from Elvis to Doo-Wop, The Beatles to T. Rex and beyond. 

Paddy McAloon sat down with Michael Thurston in 1988 for an Off The Beaten Track interview that coincided with the release of From Langley Park To Memphis. Almost immediately, the two hit a groove, realizing they shared a very common affinity for popular music. At the time of the interview, Michael was 34, from a very small rural town in Vermont, Paddy was 31, from a very small rural town in England, and they discovered their shared life soundtracks were very similar. Take a listen as the two share their enthusiasm for contemporary popular music and personalities and explore the formative forces that helped shape the fabric of Prefab Sprout.

This profile will be updated with additional information. Recorded at Epic Records offices in New York City.