In 1979, when The Vapors burst on to the scene, the band and their worldwide network of fans embarked on a lifetime journey. In the UK, the US and as far away as Australia we lapped up the quality, mystery and gloriousness of “New Clear Days” and “Magnets”. We revelled in our youth as we took in the excitement of the band’s shows, and we told anyone who cared to listen that it wasn’t all just about “Turning Japanese”.
When the band split in 1981 we thought that would be it, though that wouldn’t stop us spending the rest of our lives telling anyone else who cared to listen about the band and how different they’d been to anything else. And then, wonder of wonders, 2016 came round and there they were again!
The reunion was a triumph. It has continued to be so for four times the original lifespan of the band. And in 2020, 39 years after Magnets, “Together” appeared. We all approached it tentatively. How would this sound? Would it still have that Vapors mix of mystery, musical mastery, subtlety and downright good tunes? We needn’t have worried, the response to the album was overwhelming, and since Covid restrictions lifted the band have relished bringing those songs to live audiences.
In Steve’s words “People’s response to the album, especially in terms of comparing it so favourably alongside the earlier ones, has been incredible, and just fuelled our drive to carry on writing”. Steve goes on to say that the band all firmly believe that all of the new songs they’ve written are stronger than even the ones on “Together”.
So the band would love it if you are able to help get those songs out there! The plan is to whittle the current 20 or so candidate songs down to the best 12, to be recorded in the United States in September. Once mastered, vinyl and CDs will be pressed, a distribution deal is lined up to fill the shops and cover the digital platforms, and the album will of course be made available at gigs and via vaporsmerch.co.uk.
It's no exaggeration to state that the costs of undertaking something like this for a band like The Vapors, without a record deal or any other commercial support, are astronomical. The band want to market the album properly so that as many people get to hear it as possible, and the more that can be raised the more that becomes a possibility. The support received for this idea so far has been overwhelming so please, if you can chip in and help, no matter how much or how little, it will all go straight to making album number 4 a reality in March 2025.
Check out the rewards and incentives on offer which start at £20 and span up to some pretty special exclusive packages – contribute what you want, and thanks for everything. All contributions above £5 will receive a note of thanks on The Vapors UK Facebook page and www.thevapors.co.uk. (Please ensure that you donate with a valid email address so that we can verify your permission to include your name).
We’ll be introducing a number of limited time special rewards, offers, and exclusives throughout the whole duration of the Crowdfunding project, providing interactive opportunities for fans along the way and we hope that the whole process will be enormous fun, leading to that eventual goal – getting Album Number 4 into the shops next spring! Details of pre-order opportunities will be available in due course.
We will of course keep you all updated as we go along, on here and on our socials, so keep checking back both here and at https://www.facebook.com/TheVaporsOfficial/ and www.thevapors.co.uk.
Love and thanks from The Vapors x