Taxi was released as a single in 1977, its a mini pop operetta told in three and a half minutes, about a man in search of his girlfriend who he's upset, she's run off and he's searching all over town in a taxi for her. This video from a live appearance on Granada TV from 1977 gives you a bit of a flavour of them as a live outfit.
Deaf School, formed in Liverpool Art School, were almost the definition of the archetypal art school band. The carefully contrived adopted personas, the quirky music style and visuals. They were a truly great band to see live, extremely tight musically, on stage they were in their element. Their debut album 2nd Honeymoon, was a pop masterpiece, mixing rock, Hollywood vamp, vaudville, glam and storytelling to great effect. Lots of suddenly shifting time signatures, arrangements and knowing pop references.
Unfortunately Deaf School emerged in the year of punk in 1976. It was as if they appeared on stage and the rug was immediately pulled out from beneath them. Fresh and clever they may have been, but the preferred music sound and style suddenly became much rougher, simpler, quite political and far less polished. So despite three albums they never made it big. Though that is a real shame, they never achieving their much warranted fame, they did go on to inspire many younger bands such as Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Madness.
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