Go West’s story starts in 1982 in Twickenham. Although both Peter Cox and Richard Drummie were in different bands the fates conspired and their paths crossed creating a songwriting partnership that has spawned five albums and 21 singles in their 40 year relationship.
Theirs wasn’t an overnight success story though and it was February 1985 before their debut single their debut single We Close Our Eyes was released in and reached No. 5 on the UK chart and number 11 on the Irish charts. It also helped them break America hitting No 5 on the US Dance Club Play chart and No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The video has become almost as iconic as the song and was directed by none other than the legendary Godley and Creme. It’s hard to believe that this was both guys first ever time filming a video.
This was a rollercoaster period for the band. Their self titled debut album spawned four more hit singles including Call Me and Don’t Look Down and they were named Best British Breakthrough Band at the BRIT Awards.
Their second album Dancing On The Couch came out in 1987 and generated five singles.
It would be three years until their next release but it is one of their most iconic tracks. King Of Wishful Thinking became a global smash thanks to it’s inclusion on the Pretty Woman soundtrack and introduced them to a whole new audience.
Go West were back on top. The track reached number 23 in Ireland, number 18 in the UK, number three in Canada, number six in Australia and number eight in the US.
Another studio album Indian Summer, followed in 1992 and a Best Of… compilation in 1993 before they agreed to take a hiatus.
It would be 2000 before they would reform when touring offers started coming in. Since then, they’ve released another two albums and perform live extensively. They played Forever Young Winterfest in December 2019, and we are looking forward to welcoming them to the Forever Young Festival this year.
Go West play the ‘Forever Young’ festival in Palmerstown House Estate on Saturday July 15th, 2023. ‘Forever Young’ is a three-day celebration of the music of the 1980s featuring artists such as Andy Bell (Erasure), Bananarama, Billy Ocean, Tony Hadley, ABC and many more.
Full line-up and tickets are available here