Evening Standard
Date unknown

While Britain's top pop groups try in vain to break through in America, a London band whose only record was a complete flop at home is now riding high in the US with the same song.

Peach sold less than 7,000 copies of their single On My Own and failed to get into the British charts the summer of last year.

Today, under the new name Peach Union, it is one of the fastest-rising songs in the American charts, with sales hitting the 250,000 barrier.

After crashing in as the highest new entry at No. 50 they are not at No. 35 - and still rising. They have already reached No. 1 in Israel, No. 2 in Canada and entered the charts in Japan and Scandinavia.

Their success is in sharp contrast the the efforts of big British bands like Simply Red, Wet Wet Wet and Pulp who have all struggled to translate huge record sales at home into American stardom. Even Cliff Richard has never made it in America.

The story of Peach - singer Lisa Lamb and keyboard men Paul Statham and Pascal Gabriel - mirrors that of several British bands who bucked the trend by first finding success on the other side of the Atlantic.

In the Eighties the export drive was led by Def Leppard and A Flock of Seagulls and more recently Radiohead.

"I was very disappointed when the single didn't do well in Britain", admitted Lisa, back in London after a hectic promotional schedule in America. "It was a dream come true when the record took off in America." Peach are re-releasing On My Own next month. Their debut album AudioPeach will be released in America next week - but will not be released here until next year.

TIM COOPER