Zero Option – Zero Option

Zero Option
Zero Option
1985 Ears & Eyes Productions
Leeds, England, United Kingdom

Ralph Ward – Vocals, keyboards, drum programming
Jon McLoughlin – Electric guitar
Brian Viner – Backing vocals

All songs written by Ralph Ward, except “Chase the Clouds Away” – Music by Dave Bainbridge, lyrics bu Ralph Ward

Side 1:

1. Happy to be Here
2. The Lost and Lonely Child
3. Catch the Night
4. Chase the Clouds Away

Side 2:

1. Take the Risk
2. The Battle’s Won
3. No Time for Compromise

I believe that Zero Option is just the name of the tape and band here, but the tape makes it sound like Ralph Ward is performing under his own name. Some sources refer to this as a Zero Option tape by the name of 7trax (which is on the cover). However, 7trax is the name of a series of tapes from Ears & Eyes Productions that included several different artists. From what I can find online, Ward called his act Zero Option before this tape was released. Anyways, this album is very 80s – keyboards and synthesized drums with some guitars buried in the mix. Some say it is an early techno or hi-tek album. Dave Bainbridge of Iona fame wrote the music to “Chase the Clouds Away” – that’s a pretty cool connection. The follow-up to this album came in 1988 with Absolute Zero.