The Assembly

The Assembly were a British synth-pop project formed in 1983 in Basildon, England, by Vince Clarke and Eric Radcliffe. Vince Clarke, known for his work with Depeche Mode and Yazoo, teamed up with Eric Radcliffe, a sound engineer who had significantly influenced Vince Clarke's previous bands, including Depeche Mode. After completing the album You and Me Both with Yazoo, Vince Clarke founded The Assembly with the intention of featuring different guest vocalists on each track. However, the project yielded only one single release, "Never Never", which featured Feargal Sharkey, the former frontman of The Undertones, on lead vocals. "Never Never" reached number four in the UK and achieved Silver certification from BPI. The B-side, "Stop/Start", was an instrumental featuring Vince Clarke's signature syncopated songwriting style. Despite the commercial success of "Never Never", The Assembly disbanded by the end of 1984. In May 2011, Feargal Sharkey reunited with Vince Clarke for a one-off performance of "Never Never" at the Mute Records' Short Circuit music festival.