Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Raising the Red Flag

Eighties electronic duo Red Flag performed for the first time in San Diego since 2002 on April 22 at the House of Blues. Originally a project of siblings Chris and Mark Reynolds, the show marked the first local date since the latter’s suicide on April 7, 2003.

The Reynolds family relocated to the U.S. in the mid-’60s from Liverpool, arriving in San Diego in 1970. Chris Reynolds admits there was culture shock. “I remember being picked on at school because of my accent,” he laughed. It was Mark Reynolds’s purchase of a synthesizer in 1982 that got the ball rolling for the pair. Originally named Shades of May, in 1984 the two contributed their track “Distant Memories” to a 91X-sponsored compilation album, Local Heroes.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The brothers changed their name to Red Flag and signed to Enigma Records in 1989. Their debut album, Naïve Art, scored them two dance hits on the Billboard charts with “Russian Radio” (#11) and “If I Ever” (#12). The band appeared on ABC’s American Bandstand and MTV’s 120 Minutes, but following the release of a remix album, Naïve Dance, internal label strife brought their connection with Enigma to an end. The brothers moved to IRS Records in 1992 for the release of Machines. They founded their own label, Plan B Records, in 1996, releasing 11 albums and two box sets to date.

Mark’s death brought operations to a halt until 2007, when Chris released Born Again. Since then, he has played a handful of shows and is now looking to return to music full time.

For Reynolds the decision to use the Red Flag name wasn’t taken lightly. “It’s something I still think about; it was a hard choice. But, I was Red Flag too, and in the long run, I think it would be a disservice to the music and all that we’d built up to use something else.”

A change in the current edition of Red Flag is the use of live musicians. “It’s an electronic band, so using computers I could do it all alone, but I get lonely by myself up there,” he joked. “Besides, there’s no way that a bass player, for example, could play what’s on the records without computers involved, as some tracks have three simultaneous lines interlinked. But having live musicians adds something that’s both visually appealing and makes the sound more epic.”

Plans include a new album later this year (Nemesis), a package tour next summer with ’80s-era artists, and a move toward producing and remixing other performers. “In starting over, I’m being very selective about the shows I’ll play. I have a family, and touring is grueling.”

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Can three-on-three basketball challenge the NBA?

Union-Tribune owner finds bull rider crowds booing, wearing cowboy hats backwards.
Next Article

Reader writer fends off attacks on Encinitas cliff story

Says each letter writer takes on only part of the article

Eighties electronic duo Red Flag performed for the first time in San Diego since 2002 on April 22 at the House of Blues. Originally a project of siblings Chris and Mark Reynolds, the show marked the first local date since the latter’s suicide on April 7, 2003.

The Reynolds family relocated to the U.S. in the mid-’60s from Liverpool, arriving in San Diego in 1970. Chris Reynolds admits there was culture shock. “I remember being picked on at school because of my accent,” he laughed. It was Mark Reynolds’s purchase of a synthesizer in 1982 that got the ball rolling for the pair. Originally named Shades of May, in 1984 the two contributed their track “Distant Memories” to a 91X-sponsored compilation album, Local Heroes.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The brothers changed their name to Red Flag and signed to Enigma Records in 1989. Their debut album, Naïve Art, scored them two dance hits on the Billboard charts with “Russian Radio” (#11) and “If I Ever” (#12). The band appeared on ABC’s American Bandstand and MTV’s 120 Minutes, but following the release of a remix album, Naïve Dance, internal label strife brought their connection with Enigma to an end. The brothers moved to IRS Records in 1992 for the release of Machines. They founded their own label, Plan B Records, in 1996, releasing 11 albums and two box sets to date.

Mark’s death brought operations to a halt until 2007, when Chris released Born Again. Since then, he has played a handful of shows and is now looking to return to music full time.

For Reynolds the decision to use the Red Flag name wasn’t taken lightly. “It’s something I still think about; it was a hard choice. But, I was Red Flag too, and in the long run, I think it would be a disservice to the music and all that we’d built up to use something else.”

A change in the current edition of Red Flag is the use of live musicians. “It’s an electronic band, so using computers I could do it all alone, but I get lonely by myself up there,” he joked. “Besides, there’s no way that a bass player, for example, could play what’s on the records without computers involved, as some tracks have three simultaneous lines interlinked. But having live musicians adds something that’s both visually appealing and makes the sound more epic.”

Plans include a new album later this year (Nemesis), a package tour next summer with ’80s-era artists, and a move toward producing and remixing other performers. “In starting over, I’m being very selective about the shows I’ll play. I have a family, and touring is grueling.”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Reader writer fends off attacks on Encinitas cliff story

Says each letter writer takes on only part of the article
Next Article

National City to junk permissive land-use code

Airbnb regs would be like Chula Vista's
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader