They’re back again, Here they come…

Occasional Albums Thing 070 - Rialto “Neon & Ghost Signs”

In late August of 1992 The Wonder Stuff played three shows in Scotland (Aberdeen, Livingston and Irvine) as warm ups for their headlining set at the Reading Festival on the 28th August. I’d got Married the day before the Aberdeen show and my new wife was somewhat perturbed to discover she would be being picked up from the reception by a tour bus and we’d be driving overnight from Birmingham to the North East of Scotland ! In their defence the band did pay for a hotel room for us for the whole weekend of the Reading Festival.

The support bands for those 3 shows were Kinky Machine and Wishplants (more on them later). I’d have to admit I’d never heard of either at the time but at that first show in Aberdeen, Kinky Machine blew me away and thus began my ongoing fascination with the music of Louis Eliot.

Kinky Machine were as close as you’ll get to an Indie/Glam Rock amalgam. Twin guitars, great tunes, chorus after singalong chorus after chorus, Glam descends all over the place (check out “Monday’s Child” the descends are what's happening in the chorus) and all fronted by this guy that looked vaguely like Elvis (Presley not Costello). I thought they were gonna be huge and typically for bands I think that about, they weren’t. They made 2 fantastic albums and were gone.

A couple of years later Louis emerged with a new band, he and Kinky Machine guitarist Johnny Bull put together Rialto. In 1997 they had a massive “turntable hit” (radio DJ’s played it to death, nobody bought it !) with “Monday Morning 5:19” (it  sounded vaguely like an Indie John Barry soundtrack to a night out in Swinging London). They made 2.5 albums (“Girl On A Train” was more of a mini album) and disappeared.

Louis went solo, made an album of gorgeous acoustic pop, “The Long Way Round” (2004) and again shuffled off the radar. Until one day, I’m gonna guess around 2008 or 9, me and Deb were on holiday and wandering around Polperro in Cornwall. As we were walking past the Crumplehorn Inn at the top of town I spied a poster advertising live music, it was that night, and the artist ? One Louis Eliot ! I couldn’t believe it…we came back into town that evening to see Louis, who had recently broken his leg (I myself was recovering from a broken ankle), perched atop a barstool, leg in plaster, play a fantastic acoustic set all by himself…and that was it for another couple of years.

In 2010 appeared an album titled “Kittow’s Moor” by Louis Eliot & The Embers. This time we got a kinda Celtic Folk album, acoustic guitars, fiddle and accordion (supplied by former Wonder Stuff-er “Fiddley” Bell). Of course the songs were great and if more than me and 17 other people bought a copy I’d be surprised. Louis then went off and made a career out of playing in Grace Jones backing band for the next few years, until…

In 2023 Rialto reformed ! They played gigs in London and at the Shiiine On festival and in April 2025 released this, their third and a half album. I have to thank my friend David for jogging my memory on this after posting his top ten albums of 2025 online in January 2026, as its release had completely passed me by. 

Things get going with the splendidly titled “No One Leaves This Discotheque Alive”, a bizarre hybrid of “Murder On The Dancefloor” and Kylie’s “Can’t Get You Out Of My Head” while track 2, “I Want You”, comes at you like the rebirth of the Glitter Band…what is going on here ?

“Taking The Edge Off Me” would have been a huge hit in about 1975 recorded by Our Kid or The Rubettes or somesuch, it also has a dash of Donna Summer about it ! The thump of the Glitter Band makes a return on Side 2 opener “Car That Never Comes” and later on “Cherry” is a close (too close in places “Beep, beep” !) relative of Bowie’s “Fashion” right down to the Fripp style guitar squalls.

Some reviews I’ve read have described this as a Disco album. I can see why they might think that but it’s way too simplistic a description. Another mate described it as disappointing. They’re both wide of the mark. All the classic Louis/Rialto melodic and lyrical twists are here, just in a somewhat more synthetic musical setting than previously heard. Louis’ voice doesn’t soar like it has on previous albums, it’s matured with age, dare I say it’s sultry, which for a man who bears that resemblance to Elvis could be a dangerous combination. The twangy, John Barry guitars are still there just this time not by Johnny Bull. The overall atmosphere of 60’s night-time swinging London and the nods to Scott Walker are still in evidence but there’s a sprinkle of mid-70’s “glam” pop too. 

In the end it’s a Rialto album and I think it’s a bloody good one.

No One Leaves This Discotheque Alive - https://youtu.be/6KejdccSxBU?si=AzbG913OfWWl8_2d