1988 Onwards

After a considerable period the Blow Monkeys returned with one of their best singles This is Your Life. It showed a considerably different energy compared to other songs on the chart at the time. The B side was effectively Robert's response to the 1987 election result and is one of their most interesting and amusing non album tracks. The video featured the band in the gardens of a stately house in an array of different coloured suits, ties and waistcoats. The single was released in a number of formats including a lovely long version which allows a long instrumental introduction and an extra intense instrumental break in the middle. Acid house was very popular at the time and a special Gatefold 12" was produced This Is Your House featuring a acid remix of the single. Unfortunately the single failed to make the charts. The single released was It Pays To Belong. The lyrics seem to be a comment of the way market forces work and the fact its never the dealers who lose out : "there's no sense of shame only money gained when it all goes wrong". However the video (and various packaging for the singles including a coin CD case) suggest the single is more concerned about Europe. It Pays To Belong also featured a number of house/dance remixes.

Robert took a brief break from the Blow Monkeys and explored the latest music technology in America eventually writing the house track Wait. It was the first track Robert produced himself and says he finished it in two days. He laid down his vocals before sending it off to Kym Mazelle to lay down her vocals. The couple met to do the promotional video and various interviews and they also did an impressive Top of the Pops performance with Robert at the piano in white suit. The track was released under the name of Robert Howard and Kym Mazelle and despite not particularly extensive promotion the track reached the Top 5. Various mixes also did well in the dance/club charts. Even reviewers normally hostile to Robert admitted it was a great track (although predictably they claimed it was due totally to Kym's vocals).

Building on Robert's success with Wait, a new version of This Is Your Life was released with stickers saying "Featuring Robert Howard". The single featured two different lyric versions of the song. The Chicago group Ten City worked on the B side and numerous mixes.

Despite the success of Wait and the minor success of This Is Your Life the album they both featured on Whoops! There goes the Neighbourhood failed to do the same. Both of the singles released had a very strong dance sound while the many of the rest of the tracks on the album features a number of extended tracks with long, rather down-beat, instrumental breaks. This was quite a sharp contrast to the succinct pop numbers on She Was Only A Grocer's Daughter. In an interview Robert said "Basically we're a pop group - we're not a rock group and we're not a dance group. I still consider pop music quite important, and something worth trying to improve upon".

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