Like so many memorable bands of the post-punk era,
Dalek I Love You emerged from Liverpool, England, rising out of the Eric's Club scene which also launched
Echo and the Bunnymen and the
Teardrop Explodes. Formed from the ashes of the group
Radio Blank,
Dalek I Love You was founded in November 1977 by guitarist
Alan Gill and bassist
David Balfe; while Balfe wished to call the band the Daleks,
Gill preferred Darling I Love You. Upon reaching a compromise, the duo recruited keyboardist Dave Hughes, synth player Chris "Teepee" Shaw and a drum machine, completing the first of many fluid line-ups.
After issuing a handful of singles experimenting with electronic pop sounds, Balfe exited to join Big in Japan (later settling in the Teardrop Explodes), and by the release of their 1980 debut Compass Kum'pass, Dalek I Love You was already splintering: Hughes soon departed to join Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, and before long Gill reunited with Balfe in the Teardrop Explodes. However, in 1983 a line-up of Dalek I Love You comprising none of the original members issued a self-titled LP on the Korova label; as simply Dalek I, they also released the cassette-only Naive in 1985 before finally calling it a day.
–
Jason Ankeny, Rovi