The Passions - Sanctuary (1982)

The Passions were a British post-punk band, based in Shepherds Bush, west London formed in 1978 and disbanded in 1983. Their music was grounded mainly in Barbara Gogan's voice and Clive Timperley's delicate echoplex guitar work. Before forming in 1978, most of the group's members had played in other groups. Timperley was formerly with the 101ers, while drummer Richard Williams and singer/guitarist Barbara Gogan were in the punk rock outfit The Derelicts.
They attempted one last stab at the independent market which had, so far, eluded them with their swan song third album release, “Sanctuary”. Keeping the focus on the smooth guitar and mood melodies they'd adopted in place of the annoying jangle-quirk that drove their earliest material, the band rebounded with an album that may have been commercially and critically overlooked, but actually allowed the band to shine. "The Letter" utilizes effective indie guitar licks, repeated again on the closer, "Cars Driven Fast." Elsewhere, synthesizers propel the action on both the wonderfully atmospheric "Into the Night" and the overdone "White Lies." Barbara Gogan had also found her vocal style, scaling down her delivery an octave or two and only occasionally ripping out with the indie-girl-scale bounding so beloved by the likes of Lene Lovich, Danielle Dax, and Terri Nunn. Both the title track and "Jump for Joy" were pulled off the LP for single releases; unfortunately, neither did anything and by the fall of 1982 the band had split.


01.  Jump For Joy  - 3:49 
02.  The Letter  - 3:22 
03.  Into Night  - 4:44 
04.  Small Talk  - 4:00 
05.  White Lies  - 3:13 
06.  Cars Driven Fast  - 4:45 
07.  Love Is Essential  - 3:23 
08.  Your Friend   - 3:30 
09.  Hold On Don't Go  - 2:59 
10.  Sanctuary  - 5:44 

Credits
Vocals, Guitar – Barbara Gogan
Bass, Vocals – David Agar
Drums – Richard Williams 
Synthesizer – Jeff Smith
Guitar, Vocals – Kevin Armstrong
Producer, Engineer – Mick Glossop
Written-By – The Passions and Kevin Armstrong
Engineer [Assistant] – Colin Leggett, Corinne Simcock

Notes
Artwork By – Pyramid Graphics
This album was originally called ‘Cars Driven Fast’
Recorded at The Garden Studio London E1 ((owned by John Foxx of the original Ultravox)
Mixed at Maison Rouge London SW6
Genre: New Wave
© 1985 Polydor Records