The Dream Academy were a British band featuring singer/guitarist and songwriter Nick Laird-Clowes, multi-instrumentalist Kate St. John, and keyboardist/songwriter Gilbert Gabriel.
In I985 the group achieved worldwide success following the release of their first single ‘Life In A Northern Town’ which saw their subsequent debut album going into the American Top 20.
Their atmospheric music was the result of an unusual musical line-up of oboe and cor anglais, string synthesiser and acoustic guitar, while their three albums for Warner/Reprise brought them a large and devoted following.
Their close musical association with David Gilmour saw him co-producing two of their three albums. Other co-productions included both Lyndsey Buckingham and Hugh Padgham.
The cinematic nature of their recordings saw the band being asked to contribute music to films by both John Hughes (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Trains, Planes and Automobiles) and Diane Keaton (Heaven).
The group disbanded in 1990 and the intervening years have seen extensive sampling and cover versions of their debut single, (most notably by Dario G’s ‘Sunchyme’ and Sugarland And Little Big Town’s reworking of ‘Life In A Northern Town’) resulting in further international chart success and a Grammy nomination.
All three members remain active in the music business with Nick Laird-Clowes’s subsequent career as a film composer, Kate St John in demand as both musical director and string arranger while Gilbert Gabriel’s doctorate sees his continued involvement with both film music and multi-media exploration.
Nick Laird-Clowes has searched the Warner Bros archives to find rarities and unreleased tracks and has been closely involved with remastering, creating all new artwork, and choosing photographic material as well as writing comprehensive liner notes for the set.
• Seven CD box set of the complete recordings of The Dream Academy.
• Featuring their three official albums and including all official B-sides and remixes.
Release date: February 23, 2024.
Pre-order now!
