Page "The Tourists" Paragraph 2

By 1977, they had recruited bass guitarist Eddie Chin and drummer Jim Toomey, and rechristened themselves The Tourists.

This saw the beginning of a productive two years for the band and they recorded three albums: The Tourists, Reality Effect, and Luminous Basement, as well as half a dozen singles, including " Blind Among the Flower " ( 1979 ), " The Loneliest Man in the World " ( 1979 ), " Don't Say I Told You So " ( 1980 ), and two major hits, the Dusty Springfield cover " I Only Want to Be with You " ( 1979 ) and " So Good to Be Back Home Again " ( 1980 ), both of which reached the top 10 in the UK.

" I Only Want to Be With You " was also a top 10 hit in Australia, and made the US Billboard Hot 100 at no. 83.

Coombes was the band's main songwriter, although later releases saw the first compositions by Lennox and Stewart.

The band's music expanded using their folk roots, demonstrating some punk energy, reggae and 1960s pop influences.

A key development was their decision to record later material with German avant-garde producer Conny Plank, and a transfer to RCA Records in 1980.

The band toured extensively in the UK and abroad, including a support role on the Roxy Music Manifesto Tour, but despite modest chart success, they were critically savaged by the punk-championing UK music press.

This, combined with legal wranglings and some personal tensions, led to the group disbanding in 1980.