Slapp Happy

Slapp Happy was an English, American and German avant-pop group founded in Hamburg in 1972.
The band originated when Anthony Moore, then signed to Polydor as a solo artist, was asked to deliver a more commercial album after his experimental recordings failed to sell. As a playful response, Moore and friend Peter Blegvad wrote and recorded a pop song, “Just A Conversation”, with Dagmar Krause (then Moore's girlfriend) providing the vocals. To their surprise, Polydor embraced the recording, released it as a single (opens in a new tab), and commissioned a full album. This became Sort Of, the first Slapp Happy LP.
Still based in Germany, the trio recorded a second album with the support of Faust, but Polydor declined to release it. After moving to England in 1974, they signed with Virgin Records, which issued a re-recorded version of the album as Slapp Happy. Through Virgin, the group became associated with the experimental rock band Henry Cow, leading to a short-lived merger in 1975. The collaboration soon ended, Krause remained with Henry Cow, and Slapp Happy disbanded.
The trio reunited several times over the following decades for recordings and spot performances, including the album Ça Va (1997), while maintaining a lasting influence on avant-pop and progressive music.