m_rickwrightzeeidentityboxset630_012819

Gonzo Multimedia

Gonzo MultimediaIn 1984, Pink Floyd keyboardist Rick Wright teamed up with Dave Harris, former singer/guitarist for the British electro-funk group Fashion, to release a collaborative album called Identity under the moniker Zee. Now, Zee’s sole record will be reissued as a deluxe, expanded box set on May 24.

The collection features two CDs, posters and a publicity photo of Zee. The first disc features a remastered version of the original album, plus four bonus tracks — two edits and two remixes of the songs “Confusion” and “Eyes of a Gypsy.” The second CD boasts early mixes or demos of five songs from Identity.

Wright was introduced to Harris in 1981 by saxophonist Raphael Ravenscroft, who played on Gerry Rafferty‘s 1978 hit “Baker Street.” Wright had started a side project with Ravenscroft, who brought in Harris, but no one was coming up with any material.

Rick and Dave discovered that they wrote well together, and decided to move forward as a duo. Identity was recorded in 1982 and ’83 at Wright’s home studio and Utopia Studios in London. Both musicians used the Fairlight digital synthesizer to create sounds for the album.

Wright, who died of cancer in 2008, said of the collaboration at the time, “For me it is exciting working with Dave because there were things that he was doing that I had not done before and vice versa. I think that Zee has given us musical opportunities that quite frankly neither of us were able to explore in our previous groups.”

Harris added, “There will probably be a lot of Pink Floyd fans interested in what Rick had been doing, and equally I’m sure that a lot of Fashion’s followers will want to know what I’ve been up to.”

Here’s the track list for the deluxe Identity reissue:

CD 1
“Confusion”
“Voices”
“Private Person”
“Strange Rhythm”
“Cuts Like a Diamond”
“By Touching”
“How Do You Do It”
“Seems We Were Dreaming”

Bonus Tracks
“Confusion” (seven-inch edit)
“Eyes of a Gypsy” (seven-inch)
“Confusion” (12-inch remix)
“Eyes of a Gypsy” (12-inch remix)

CD 2
“Cuts Like a Diamond” (early mix/demo)
“Private Person” (early mix/demo)
“Strange Rhythm” (early mix/demo)
“Voices” (early mix/demo)
“Confusion” (early mix/demo)

Copyright © 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.