There are plenty of forgotten bands from the 1980s that make you wonder how they ever disappeared. Then there are bands like The Icicle Works, where the question becomes even more frustrating:
How did a band this good have only one song that everybody remembers?
If you were listening to alternative radio in the early 1980s, you probably remember “Whisper to a Scream (Birds Fly).” It was catchy, energetic and just strange enough to stand apart from the endless parade of synth-heavy new wave that was filling radio stations.
The song was a legitimate hit.
The band wasn’t.
And that’s a shame, because The Icicle Works had a much more interesting story than their one familiar song suggests.
They came from Liverpool, England, created a sound that mixed post-punk, new wave, progressive rock and straight-up pop, and produced several albums that deserve far more attention than they receive today.
They were never quite weird enough to be completely underground and never quite commercial enough to become superstars.
That awkward middle ground is where a lot of forgotten bands ended up.
From Liverpool to the World
The Icicle Works were formed in Liverpool in the early 1980s by singer, guitarist and songwriter Ian McNabb.
McNabb was the creative force behind the band, and his songwriting immediately separated The Icicle Works from many of their contemporaries.
The band wasn’t interested in simply copying the synth-pop formula.
There were keyboards and electronic textures, but there were also jangly guitars, driving rhythms and surprisingly ambitious arrangements.
The music could sound bright and upbeat while still having a slightly melancholy edge.
That combination fit perfectly into the early-1980s British alternative scene.
Liverpool already had a remarkable musical history, and The Icicle Works became part of another generation of musicians trying to figure out what came after punk.
The answer, for them, was to take the energy of punk and combine it with ambitious pop songwriting.
“Whisper to a Scream”
The song that changed everything was “Whisper to a Scream (Birds Fly).”
The title alone sounded like something you’d find printed on an early-’80s import single.
The song itself was even better.
It started with a distinctive rhythmic pulse before opening into jangling guitars and McNabb’s urgent vocals.
It was catchy without sounding disposable.
The song eventually became a significant hit in the United States, reaching the Top 40, and suddenly The Icicle Works had an opportunity to become much bigger.
For a brief moment, they looked like they might be one of the British bands capable of breaking through in America.
That didn’t quite happen.
Which is a shame, because they had the songs.
The Self-Titled Album
The band’s 1984 debut album, The Icicle Works, is where anyone rediscovering the group should start.
It’s much more than a vehicle for “Whisper to a Scream.”
The album demonstrates just how adventurous McNabb could be as a songwriter.
There are atmospheric passages, energetic guitar-driven songs, electronic touches and big melodic choruses.
The band could shift from moody to explosive without losing its identity.
It’s very much an early-’80s record, but it doesn’t feel trapped in the decade.
That’s an important distinction.
A lot of new wave records now sound like museum pieces.
The Icicle Works still sounds like a band.
They Were More Than New Wave
Calling The Icicle Works a new wave band isn’t necessarily wrong, but it’s incomplete.
They had too many different influences.
There was post-punk.
There was power pop.
There were progressive-rock ideas.
There was folk and psychedelic influence.
There were enormous pop melodies.
McNabb wasn’t afraid to experiment with song structures either.
That made the band difficult to categorize.
And once again, that’s probably part of the reason they never became huge.
The 1980s music industry loved easy descriptions.
Synth-pop.
New wave.
College rock.
Alternative.
The Icicle Works could fit into several of those categories without completely belonging to any of them.
The Follow-Up Albums
The band continued with albums including Hollow Horse and If You Want to Defeat Your Enemy Sing His Song.
The latter title alone should tell you something about McNabb.
He wasn’t exactly thinking in terms of three-minute radio formulas.
The albums continued to demonstrate that the band had plenty of ideas beyond their biggest American hit.
There were moments of experimentation alongside straightforward pop-rock.
Unfortunately, the commercial momentum wasn’t enough to turn The Icicle Works into a household name.
They became one of those bands that had a recognizable song without becoming a recognizable band.
That’s a particularly strange form of musical fame.
The MTV Factor
The Icicle Works benefited from MTV during the era when British bands were flooding American television.
The visual presentation of “Whisper to a Scream” helped the song stand out.
But MTV also created an interesting problem.
It could make a song famous much faster than it could make an entire catalog famous.
A viewer might see the video, remember the chorus, and move on to the next band.
That’s essentially what happened.
The Icicle Works became associated with one song.
The rest of the catalog disappeared behind it.
Ian McNabb Never Really Stopped
One of the biggest misconceptions about forgotten bands is that they disappeared because they had nothing left to say.
That wasn’t the case with Ian McNabb.
After The Icicle Works’ original run, McNabb continued recording and performing, including solo work and later incarnations of the band.
He remained an active musician while The Icicle Works became increasingly associated with nostalgia for the 1980s.
That’s another reason the group is worth rediscovering.
They’re not simply a historical curiosity.
There is a substantial body of music behind the one song most people remember.
Why Did We Forget Them?
The Icicle Works suffered from terrible timing.
They arrived during an extraordinary period in British music.
There were so many great bands that even genuinely talented groups could get lost.
You had The Cure, New Order, The Smiths, Echo & the Bunnymen, Simple Minds, U2, Tears for Fears, The Psychedelic Furs, The English Beat, The Church and dozens of others competing for attention.
That’s a ridiculous amount of competition.
A band could have a hit and still disappear from the larger cultural memory.
The Icicle Works did exactly that.
They became a footnote in a decade packed with musical stories.
The Great Thing About Rediscovering Them
The Icicle Works are one of those bands where the rediscovery process is genuinely rewarding.
You start with “Whisper to a Scream.”
You think, “Oh yeah, I remember this.”
Then you listen to the first album.
Suddenly you realize:
Wait a minute. These guys were actually really good.
Then you dig deeper.
And there are more songs.
More albums.
More ambitious arrangements.
More of Ian McNabb’s excellent songwriting.
That’s the fun of forgotten bands.
You’re not discovering some obscure group that nobody liked.
You’re discovering a band that was good enough to have been much bigger but got lost in the shuffle.
They Deserve More Than One Song
The Icicle Works aren’t completely forgotten.
Their biggest song still turns up on ’80s playlists, radio retrospectives and new wave compilations.
But the band behind that song deserves to be remembered.
They weren’t a one-hit novelty.
They weren’t simply another synth-pop act.
They were a talented Liverpool band with a distinctive sound, a gifted songwriter and a willingness to experiment.
“Whisper to a Scream” may have been their ticket into the mainstream, but it shouldn’t be the end of the journey.
If that’s the only Icicle Works song you know, you’ve heard the introduction.
Now listen to the albums.
Because once you do, you’ll probably have the same reaction that happens with so many forgotten bands:
“How the hell did I forget these guys?”
And that might be the best reason of all to bring The Icicle Works back into the conversation.
They don’t need nostalgia.
They just need somebody to press play.