The Dream Academy

The Dream Academy was an English folk rock band comprising of singer/guitarist Nick Laird-Clowes, multi-instrumentalist Kate St John and keyboardist Gilbert Gabriel. They are most noted for their hit single, "Life in a Northern Town".

Laird-Clowes and Gabriel met each other in the late 1970s whilst the former was in a band called The Act. Their idea was to create a songscape different from the power pop groups popular at the time in the UK, by mixing instruments and sounds that had not been done prominently before, such as strings, woodwinds, percussion and synthesizers. They met Kate St John at a party, and asked her to join. The trio settled on the name The Dream Academy and shopped their demos for nearly two years.

Their first single, "Life in a Northern Town" was a worldwide success and sizeable hit in the U.S., charting at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 15 in the UK Singles Chart. It was their only major chart success.

The band launched a worldwide promotional tour based on the chart success of "Life in a Northern Town" and appeared on several television programs. The Dream Academy's eponymous debut album also reached a wide audience in the U.S. Their two subsequent albums did not match the initial success.

They toured in 1991, but Gabriel and St John decided to leave the group to pursue solo musical interests and projects. All three members of the band remain active recording musicians, each with his or her own career.

Music Videos

 * Angel of Mercy
 * Indian Summer
 * Lesson of Love
 * Life in a Northern Town
 * Love
 * Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want
 * The Love Parade
 * This World