Mike Score has spent decades rewriting the future. Back in the ’80s, he and A Flock of Seagulls turned alien heartbreak into pop gold, all gleaming synths and gravity-defying hair. Now he’s looking backward — or maybe upward — with String Theory, the band’s second orchestral reimagining of their catalog.
“August Day came to us after the success of Ascension and said, ‘Let’s do another one,’” Score recalls. “It’s a whole new avenue for us. Orchestral. Emotional. A different kind of feel.”
That “feel” gives fresh life to overlooked gems like “Say You Love Me,” a song from their underheard 1995 album that now glides with cinematic sweep. “If I’d written that in ’83, it would have been a number one,” Score says, half-joking but not wrong. The ’80s, after all, have come roaring back as a cultural comfort zone — even for those who missed it the first time.
“Back then, new things were happening, the 80s kind of died off,” he admits. “But people miss it now — they go back and realize they missed a bunch of great songs.” So A Flock of Seagulls went back too, layering strings over synths, nostalgia over melody.
One of the record’s most affecting tracks is “Remember David,” originally from The Story of a Young Heart. “It was for a friend who committed suicide,” Score shares quietly. “I was trying to give him an extra life in my eyes by writing this song about him. The whole album was about how he felt.” In 2021, when conversations about mental health have finally entered the mainstream, the song feels eerily modern — maybe even prescient. “Maybe it was just ahead of its time,” he muses.
Despite the orchestral grandeur, Score’s approach remains disarmingly simple. “I’m not a real keyboard player,” he says. “I just play what I think fits. I keep it simple — and simple resonates.”
That humility hasn’t slowed his output. Score’s currently working on two records — his long-rumored solo album Space Boy (“about halfway through”) and, more shockingly, the first new A Flock of Seagulls studio album in over 25 years. “We’ve got the songs, we’re recording, and yeah — it’s coming,” he teases.
If String Theory gives the past a lush new coat of paint, the next chapter might just prove that the flock can still soar. As Score puts it, “You just have to accept it, work with it, and try to make it better.”
Listen to the interview above and then check out the video below.
