Modern English is probably best remembered (if it is remembered at all) for its great radio single "I'll Melt with You," which stands with Human League's "Don't You Want Me Baby," New Order's "Love Vigilantes," and Duran Duran's early hits ("Girls on Film," "Rio," "Hungry Like the Wolf," etc.) as one of the most enduring songs of the early '80s English synth-pop movement. In fact, the band was much more than a one-hit wonder, releasing a series of great albums throughout the '80s, and though it never achieved the stature of Duran Duran, Modern English was one of the seminal outfits of the English new wave. The band's genesis came in the historic English town of Colchester, where three friends -- vocalist Robbie Grey, guitarist Gary McDowell, and drummer Richard Brown -- were inspired by the Sex Pistols to start their own band, which they dubbed the Lepers. Within a year, keyboardist Steve Walker and bassist Mick Conroy had joined and the band became known as Modern English and moved to London to seek its fortune. It was rough going at first, as Modern English was unable to garner any interest among the big English record labels. But then the fledgling 4AD took notice and signed the band, leading eventually to the release of Modern English's 1981 debut, Mesh & Lace.