Long-Awaited ‘Eureka’ Film Finally Set for Release

in any way but also didn’t just get buried in the mix. The idea was to have a kind of Foreigner or Journey approach to the overall sound, and that was true of ‘Set Me Free.’ It’s a great song.”

To understand the roots of Eureka, rewind to Los Angeles, California, 1980. Following a run of acclaimed but fleeting bands, the two session aces— Marty Walsh and Derek Bergmann—joined up with fellow guitarist and writing partner, Dennis O’Donnell, all set to leave their mark.

“Dennis and I had seen Richard ‘Moon’ Calhoun singing with his band The Strand, at a club in the San Fernando Valley,” recalls Walsh. “Moon was incredibly impressive, so Dennis, Derek and I had a conversation about bringing him in.” Meanwhile, Walsh tapped Thin Lizzy’s Scott Gorham: an old friend with whom he was then working at Supertramp drummer Bob Siebenberg’s Unstable Studio.

“I remember the Lizzy tour ending in LA,” picks up Gorham, “my old friend Marty came over. I hadn’t seen him for years, so I was excited about all of it.”

The chemistry was an instant fit. The band would spend the next two years writing and recording the Eureka material. “This was such a great group of guys that egos were left at the door,” remembers Bergmann.

Tracked between ’83 and ’84, the track listing nods to its era but still sounds vital today. Anthemic openers “The Law Of The Jungle” and “Set Me Free” are powered by the call-and-response of Walsh and Gorham’s guitars. Bergmann takes centre-stage with the shimmering synth melody of “1000 Nights,” while the instant hook of “Just Go” is a masterclass of light and shade. Bergmann was also behind the soaring chorus of “If I’m The One” and the hard-driving “Rain,” with Gorham’s riff propelling “Chain Of Light” alongside Moon’s shout-it-back vocal. The light-footed groove of “Danger” belies a double-edged lyric, before the Bergmann-initiated “Heartland” fuses its dystopian themes with a pitch-bending synth that “amplifies that sense of loneliness”.

In a fair world, The Western Front’s debut would have arrived in the mid-’80s, right after Atlantic Records promised a major-label deal—only to have label upheaval sweep Eureka off the schedule. “It was disheartening,” reflects Walsh. “I felt so bad that we just couldn’t get it. Scott went back to England and started 21 Guns. The whole Western Front thing was over. That was the last shot.”

Fast-forward to 2023, when a Stockholm record man heard a couple of Western Front tracks online and reached out to ask why their record never saw the light of day. The renewed interest drew the attention of other record labels. At the recommendation of friend and Toto guitar legend Steve Lukather, Walsh was able to strike a deal with the Mascot Label Group.

Gorham says, “If it had not been for the dedication and inventiveness to the mixes of this 40-year-old album by Marty Walsh and Derek Bergman, it would never have seen the light of day. From the very first mix I was completely blown away with the result.” The album stands as both a time capsule and a timeless record, reminding today’s rock scene of the possibilities within the genre.

“We wrote and recorded all these great songs, and it just got left on hold,” reflects Moon. “But here we are, 40 years later, and The Western Front’s Eureka lives – and I love it. I think it’s the best thing I’ve ever done as a singer.”

“Finally, people will hear this album that we worked so hard on,” enthuses Walsh.

The Western Front’s Eureka is a moment of long-overdue triumph, introducing a ‘new’ band to the world. “Eureka was a labour of love,” admits guitarist Marty Walsh. Four decades down the line, the history of early-’80s rock is cast in stone, shining brightly for everyone to see.