Graduate (band)

Graduate were an English new wave and mod revival musical group formed in 1978 in Bath, England. The band released a single entitled "Elvis Should Play Ska" and an album entitled Acting My Age. The band were unsuccessful and broke up in 1981. Future Tears for Fears members Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith were members of Graduate.

Graduate
Origin	Bath, Somerset, England
Genres	New wave mod revival ska
Years active	1978–1981
Spinoffs	Tears for Fears
Past members	Roland Orzabal Curt Smith John Baker Steve Buck Andy Marsden

Band history

The band formed in 1978 in Bath.^[1] They were a new wave and mod revival band.^[2] Band members included Roland Orzabal, Curt Smith, John Baker, Steve Buck, and Andy Marsden.^{[citation needed]}

In 1979, Graduate signed a publishing deal with Tony Hatch who subsequently offered the group to Pye Records. Graduate recorded their debut album Acting My Age at Crescent Studios Bath in January 1980. Their first single, "Elvis Should Play Ska", reached number 82 in the UK Singles Chart in April 1980 and reached the Top 10 in Spain.^{[citation needed]}

The band broke up in 1981^[1] after undertaking a gruelling tour.^[3]

After Graduate

In 1981, Orzabal and Smith went on to form the new wave band Tears for Fears.^[1][4]

Personnel

• Roland Orzabal – vocals, lead guitar
• Curt Smith – bass guitar, vocals
• John Baker – rhythm guitar, vocals
• Steve Buck – keyboards
• Andy Marsden – drums

Albums

Title	Album details
Acting My Age	Released: 1980 Debut studio album. Remastered with extra tracks in 2001.[citation needed]
Ambitions	Cancelled before completion. All tracks can be found on the 2001 expanded remaster of Acting My Age.[citation needed]
Graduate	Released: 1991 German-only release featuring many of the tracks from Acting My Age but with two different versions of the song "Shut Up" and the song "I See Through You" from the unfinished Ambitions album.[citation needed]