Let me preface this by saying you all have heard this before.

I am about to tell you about the greatest band you may have never heard of. I am about to tell you about my favorite band. I am about to tell you the story of how I discovered The Blue Nile.

The story spans eighteen years. In that time, the band has released three albums. Three albums. Eighteen years. Still with me?

INT: PHIL BRODY'S WORLD, circa March 1983

I was standing in a record store. I was there because my brother, Jeff, had to buy a record that day. He had to buy an album called Madonna by a woman named Madonna. Please don't get me wrong...I'm not making fun of him for this. I admire him for this. He actually bought the album the week it came out, and about a year before even MTV discovered her. He was really into music back then and he 'discovered' many a band in his day.

We were standing in The Shoppe, a great music store in Cleveland, Ohio, far off the beaten path, that sold records for an unbeatable price of $4.99 and sometimes $5.99. It was 1983 and I was a freshman in High School. I was very impressionable. My musical tastes at the time were all over the place. I was a mess. A little KISS. A lot of Michael Jackson. A little Beatles. I had just stared to listen to Hip-Hop music. And in two years I'd be breakdancing under the guise of Crazy Legs. Like I said, I was a mess.

So there I was, standing in The Shoppe, holding a record in my hand. I

don't even know why I picked it up.

A Walk Across The Rooftops by The Blue Nile.

$4.99

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five to the right of me. The Magical Mystery Tour to the left of me. And there I was holding an album by a band I never heard of...a band no one has ever heard of, in my fifteen year old hands. I liked the album cover. I liked the album title. My brother told me to hurry up. I had to pee.

I gave the man at the register $5.33 and walked out of that record store clutching the single greatest purchase I have ever made in my life. Forget The Joshua Tree. Forget my Six-Million Dollar Man action figure with the bionic-action arm. Forget my Sega Genesis. Forget my college education. Forget-it-all.

The Blue Nile -- A Walk Across The Rooftops

My number one deserted island item. If I went on the show Survivor, I'd take this record with me as my luxury item. And yes, I do realize I also couldn't take a record player with me. And yes, I'd still take it...because just the sight of it makes me feel like everything is all right.

INT. PHIL BRODY'S WORLD, circa THE DAY SINCE HE BOUGHT A WALK ACROSS THE ROOFTOPS BY THE BLUE NILE IN THAT LITTLE RECORD SHOP OFF THE BEATEN PATH
FOR $5.33

I am in love...

Everything is all right...

I've found peace at last...

The Blue Nile quickly became a favorite band of mine. They were nothing like any other band I listened to at the time. And it amazes me that, at the age of fifteen, I reacted like I did to them. At a time in my life when pop music and mainstream influences were supposed to rule supreme, I stumbled upon something so very special...so very different...so very amazing. For $5.33 I walked across the rooftops with The Blue Nile again and again and again.

I walk across the rooftops
I follow a broken thread
Of white rags falling slowly down
Flags caught on the fences
I am in love...I am in love with you
I walk across the rooftops

The band never became popular and a long, long time passed without a follow-up release. I assumed I had obtained a single treasure...an only child from an amazing family. And I was content with that.

Seven years had passed. On a January morning in 1990 I walked into another record store off the beaten path -- this one in Oxford, Ohio. I was in college. And I was with my friend, Anthony Richards, who needed to stop in the record store in order to purchase an album by Frank Sinatra -- a favorite of his. Upon entering this little shop, located in the basement of a building, I was greeted by a familiar voice and a long lost sound. The Blue Nile had released their second album. It was called Hats.

$7.98

What was that I said about the single greatest purchase I have ever made in my life?

Those that know me, know the influence Hats has had on me through the years. Someone once commented that I have based my every romantic aspiration on that album. I thanked them for the compliment.

Hats is not just an album. Hats does not just contain music. Hats
should not be sold next to other normal records by other normal bands. Hats is a masterpiece. It is a work of art that fills the room when played...and fills a life as one gets acquainted with it.

That's my endorsement.

Close your eyes
Come with me
Only love is alive
Close your eyes
Can't you see
Only love will survive, yeah
Headlights on the parade
Light up the way
I love you

The band never became popular and a long, long time passed without another release. I assumed I had obtained a final treasure...a second child from an amazing family. And I was content with that.

Six years had passed. On June 11, 1996, you could have found me at yet another record store off the beaten path. This time, though, I was the one who needed to be at the record store. I arrived before the store opened, because I could hardly wait to get me hands on The Blue Nile's third release, Peace At Last.

Peace At Last is a little different. Acoustic guitars dominate the mix and a sense of maturity seems to carry the songs. It is a wonderfulalbum.

Angels walking in the starlight
People gather at the roadside
I am willing to be with you
Tell me nothing ever leaves you
Love come down
I watched it fall from the sky

It took thirteen years, but The Blue Nile's catalog was now three albums deep. Quality or quantity? Quality. Forget quantity. When it comes to The Blue Nile, I wouldn't have it any other way. I know that in thirteen years a normal band would have released seven...maybe eight records. But, you see, The Blue Nile is not a normal band. They have released, in my opinion, three perfect albums. Even though it may be frustrating at times, the band's productivity makes things interesting. It adds to their mystique. And it makes A Walk Across The Rooftops, Hats, and Peace At Last all the more special.

As I said, I wouldn't have it any other way.

My brother discovered Madonna on that infamous day, seventeen years ago. He abandoned her sometime before Like A Virgin came out. That's just how my brother is. He wants to remain on the edge of things...he wants to be there first when it comes to trends, but he doesn't want to be a part of any phenomenons.

By my count, Madonna went on to make 11 albums in the eighteen years since her debut. All power to her.

By my count, The Blue Nile have made three perfect albums and have kept me on the edge of my seat, in anticipation of what may come next. In eighteen years I have gone from a fifteen year-old mess to a little-more-in-control thirty-four year old. When I think back over those years, I remember so much...so many places...so many people...so many lovers...so many moments...and so many events.

And as I think back, The Blue Nile is there, supplying the soundtrack to my life.

Do I love you?
Yes I love you
Will we always be happy go lucky? Do I love you?
Yes I love you
But it's easy come, and it's easy go
All this talking is only bravado

And that's just it...I am in love with The Blue Nile. For you, all this
talk may be bravado...but, for me, it's true love. From the infatuation of A Walk Across The Rooftops to the love of Hats to the family life of Peace At Last, a relationship of inspiration and aspiration has grown strong. It has lasted through the years and the thoughts of moments to come set my head spinning and my heart racing. Now that's love.

I heard read a great quote once. It went like this: "Life is a struggle, but every now and then we stumble upon something magical...and it just makes everything all right." That quote comes from Paul Buchanan, lead singer of The Blue Nile, and I am going to utilize Paul's own words to describe the effect Paul's band has had on me.

I stumbled upon the Blue Nile eighteen years ago. They are magical. And since I stumbled, The Blue Nile, in many ways, has made everything all right. They have provided a soundtrack for my life. And, as I struggle in these trying times, I am so ready to stumble again.

If we fast forwarding to today, what do we find? Ironically enough, Michael Jackson is releasing a new album. KISS has never really gone away. The Beatles had a number one record earlier this year. And people are actually breakdancing again. In my opinion, things are a mess. But then I hear a bit of great news...

It seems a fellow fan ran into Paul Buchannan in a coffee shop the other day. Feeling bold, he tapped him on the shoulder and inquired, "So when might the new album be coming out?" As the story goes, Paul smiled and responded, "Spring. Definitely Spring 2002."

My heart races. I smile at the thought. Magic is in the air. And I start to count the days...

The unofficial Blue Nile page