RECORD TURNOVER 80s HITS #202
Near Paris was a little-known duo from Columbus, Ohio, who released a single 12” on their own label Imperial Records. This self-titled EP dates back to 1985. At the time the band consisted of Gerald F. Nelson and Dana Riashi, who had previously played together in Post Industrial Noise (yes, that’s a band name…).
These 4 tracks were reissued in 2013 by Seattle label Medical Records, along with 7 previously unreleased tracks. They were, according to Medical: “quite popular in the Columbus music scene and had opened for such bands as Section 25. They made a name for themselves as Columbus’ only synth-driven pop duo and even won several local awards.”
It’s a shame their music didn’t reach beyond Ohio back in the day. And these days when everything is available at your finger tips a reissue like this isn’t given the attention it deserves. The photos shows their last performance with Brian Helm at Staches in 1985.
