Ghosts

Hey Zoo Freaks, it's your whispering-wind Zoo Crew gliding in from the lantern-lit hollows of THE ZOO, where the harvest moon's weaving silver threads through the bare branches and the air hums with half-remembered echoes. We're conjuring It Bites' "Ghosts" from the ethereal swells of The Tall Ships, and oh, does this one tug at the heartstrings like a specter at the window pane. Frontman Francis Dunnery poured his soul into those lyrics back in '89, crooning about tearing ivy from old doorways and spotting phantoms in the places we left behind—"Whenever I go back there, I see ghosts, however close I get, you are the thing I love the most"—a raw ache for lost loves and the quiet stairs where secrets used to hide. In a candid reflection years later, Francis mused it was born from his own tangled goodbyes, those rainy Mondays pushing through the downpour without daring to turn back, all layered over John Beck's shimmering keys and Dick Nolan's bass pulse like a heartbeat from the other side. Fans on the old forums still share how it snuck onto the airwaves as a B-side whisper to "Still Too Young to Remember," but live, it'd bloom into a seven-minute odyssey with Francis' guitar weeping like wind through the eaves, leaving crowds hushed as if they'd all glimpsed their own apparitions. And get this: during the Tall Ships sessions in that foggy Surrey studio, Bob Dalton swore the tape machine glitched on the outro, looping the fade like it didn't want the ghosts to go—coincidence or cosmic nod? One X post from a die-hard last All Hallows' called it "the prog ballad that haunts your headphones," paired with a grainy '90 clip of the band summoning it on a dim-lit stage, spotlights cutting through the smoke like searching beams. It's melancholy wrapped in melody, Zoo Freaks—a gentle shiver down the spine of autumn's farewell.

Now let's drift back to the misty fells of Cumbria where four lads first strummed their dreams into the salt-tanged air, 'cause It Bites didn't burst from the London haze like some polished pop phantom—they sprouted wild from the schoolyard soil of Egremont in '82, a rugged market town where the Irish Sea crashes close and the gigs glow like beacons in the gloom. Drummer Bob Dalton, bassist Dick Nolan, and guitarist-singer Francis Dunnery—thick as thieves from the local haunts—were already hashing out hooks in damp garages, chasing that blend of bite and beauty, when keyboard wizard John Beck rolled in from Whitehaven, his ivory runs adding the sparkle to their raw edge. Started as a covers crew aping Haircut One Hundred's funk and Level 42's groove in smoky nightclubs, but Francis' wild-wire energy—part poet, part prankster—pushed 'em toward originals that twisted pop's bright ribbons with prog's winding paths, all while sax man Howard "H" Smith blew in for a spell like a gust off the coast. Relocated to a South East London bolthole by '85, they hawked demos till Virgin bit, unleashing The Big Lad in the Windmill with its cheeky art-rock romps, but it was '86's "Calling All the Heroes" that hurled 'em to No. 6 on the charts, a synth-soaked siren that had the mods and the minstrels alike raising their pints. From Cumbrian cellars to world-stage whirlwinds, they chased that elusive spark—bluesy bends, orchestral swells, and choruses that could crack the clouds—proving a handful of mates from the moors could bite deep into the big leagues.

If the shades are stirring your strings, Zoo Freaks, wander over to the official It Bites Facebook page for relic reels, reunion whispers, and fan-forged fire that keeps the flame flickering. No grand website haunts the ether these days, nor fresh Instagram scrolls or X thunder, but kindred spirits gather on Progarchives' It Bites nook, a vault of reviews and reveries since the '80s heyday. Rally in the It Bites Tall Ships Facebook group, a cozy coven swapping bootlegs and ballad lore, or join the wider It Bites Fans United for gig ghosts and guitar geekery. Dip into the Wikipedia winds for the full saga, or haunt AllMusic's archive for disc dives that'll hook your heart. Light the taper, pluck the phantom chord, and let's chase those ghosts till the first frost falls, my twilight troubadours.