Red Flag

Red Flag is a synthpop act founded in 1984 in San Diego by brothers Chris and Mark Reynolds. After the death of Mark in 2003, Chris has continued as a solo act since 2007 under the name Red Flag. History Hailing from Liverpool, England, and after growing up there, the brothers moved to locations such as Montreal and Seattle, following their father's itinerant job. In 1979, the family settled in California, arriving first in Los Angeles. The brothers first started playing electronic music in 1982, when Mark Reynolds bought a Roland Juno-60 synthesizer over a guitar on a trip to a music store. The first song they recorded, "Distant Memories", under the name Shades of May, was discovered and selected for a compilation album by San Diego radio station 91X in 1984, prompting them to move to San Diego. Shades of May subsequently received offers to play live, and the brothers began to study music and computer technology seriously in turn. In this interim, the band also changed its name to Red Flag. Later, the name would frequently be associated with the red flag iconography of the Soviet Union, though the band insisted that it was taken from a warning signal used in surfing. Later in March 1988, they performed at a party for Resource Record Pool, a record pool based in Southern California, at the Mannikin club in Pacific Beach. There, the band was noticed by Synthicide Records (a subsidiary of Enigma Records) head and producer Jon St. James. After their demo tapes were reviewed the following day, the band recorded their first single, "Broken Heart" (as well as its B-side, "Control") at St. James's recording studio, Formula One, a week later. St. James, best known for his work with singer Stacey Q, co-produced the record with her; she also provided backing vocals and coached Mark on his singing. "Broken Heart" was released in July 1988; the single was printed on 12" clear red vinyl, and received airplay on both 91X and the influential KROQ-FM. That month also saw the band play at larger venues, such as Videopolis at Disneyland. Their first album, Naïve Art, was released in 1989 under label Enigma. Released at the time of seminal new wave/synthpop group Depeche Mode's greatest success, it drew comparisons as being stylistically similar to that group's recordings, featuring extensive use of synthesizers and dance beats, and vocals that were generally deep and gloomy in mood.