The first recording was a live show 'Live at the Albany Empire' on the group's own label, which sold so well that they soon came to the attention of Virgin Records, who signed the group in 1983. In 1989 the group were commissioned to write a musical theatre production for the Theatre Royal Stratford in London, a whole show based on songs about the working life, which they performed for a successful 4-week season. Around the same time, the group also performed the musical score on the BBC TV series Porterhouse Blue. The Pickets have an excellent ear for pop classics and translate them impeccably in the a cappella style, imparting their own unique spin. The group has a particular knack for writing interesting countermelodies, that diverge and then resolve in unexpected ways.
Few groups handle contemporary material as well.
Listen to Girl, You'll Be A Women Soon . The Flying Pickets are an English male quintet who raised some dust on the English charts in the 1990 s. Pickets' stalwarts since the mid 80s. Joining them are Alex Lewis, Nick Godfrey, and Ricky Payne. We find a very wide variety of styles present, in fact there are no two tunes quite alike, making for a great listen.