MANILA -- Having performed in the country in at least two occasions, Peter Coyle of the British duo, The Lotus Eaters, will once again co-headline the upcoming retro concert, “Back to the 80s: New Wave Festival” along with members of Real Life and When In Rome.

Originally a five-piece band that was formed in Liverpool, England in 1982, The Lotus Eaters found mainstream success with the album, “No Sense of Sin” and its single, “The First Picture of You,” a three-minute plus pop classic that became a huge hit not only in the UK but other parts of Europe, Japan and the Philippines where it got extensive airplay from the now defunct new radio station, WXB 102.

Watch more in iWantv or TFC.tv

Driven by the song’s popularity and their subsequent hits, “German Girl,” “Love Still Flows,” “Stay Free” and “It Hurts,” The Lotus Eaters appeared on BBC TV’s “Top of the Pops” and landed on the cover of the British music magazine, Melody Maker.

However, it would take them almost two decades before performing for their Manila fans. Having disbanded in 1985, Coyle and Jeremy “Jem” Kelly would reform as a duo in 2001 and release an album of new material in Japan called “Silentspace.”

Watch more in iWantv or TFC.tv

The following year, Coyle and Kelly finally arrived in Manila to headline a full house concert at the Rockwell Tent with no less than Pinoy pop-rockers Rivermaya opening and backing them up. Fans were so thrilled to see them that they had to perform “The First Picture of You” and “It Hurts” twice that night.

Coyle would later come back in Manila in 2017 to co-headline a concert with China Crisis at the Kia Theater.

Watch more in iWantv or TFC.tv

In a recent interview with this writer, Coyle recalls how much he enjoyed performing for Filipino fans.

“The warmth and sincerity of the people, I liked that a lot. There is a deep love of music and also it is clear that in spite of the difficulties and struggles that the people face, they manage to try and see the positive and look forward which is something I have always tried to do,” he observed.

Asked why he has been performing as a solo act without Lotus Eaters guitarist Jem Kelly, Coyle points to an unreleased album of new material that both of them recorded in 2009.

“The Lotus Eaters recorded, mixed and finished an album in 2009 and that is one of the reasons Jem and I don’t work together as I have been waiting all these years to release the album and it basically never happened so I said enough is enough,” he revealed.

Just the same, Coyle is saddened that he could not share the same stage again with his longtime collaborator.

“To be brutally honest it does make me sad that I am not coming over with Jem to play these songs with him as we did create them together,” he admitted. “But unfortunately that is not happening so I need to be positive and embrace the new day and remember what is important — and that is making music for the right reasons and in the right way — you only get one life so try and make the best choices possible.”

With regards to the popularity of '80s new wave concerts in recent years, Coyle points to the music more than the rather fashion and lifestyle that accompanied that colorful decade.

“Music was the central component of our lives in the '80s. It meant something to us [so although] music is less central now, the revival is in part to remember how crucial music is to who we are,” he pointed out.

“Music has saved my life enriched my life, given me hope, taken my mind off things, given me something to hold on to in the darkest moments. Music has helped me to dance and move and feel the rhythms all around us.”

As to “The First Picture of You,” the signature song of The Lotus Eaters which to this day remains very popular with Filipino fans, Coyle said he is “eternally grateful" that the song "has touched the hearts and souls of so many people.”

“It is a beautiful song because it is deep and real and romantic and people see and feel that. It was written in the depths of winter when it was very cold and I had no heating [system]. It was a way of creating the beauty and love even though things were dark and difficult,” he further shared.

Presented by DMC Entertainment, in cooperation with Okada Manila and Cove Manila, “Back to the 80s: New Wave Festival” featuring Farrington/Mann of When In Rome UK, David Sterry of Real Life and Peter Coyle of the Lotus Eaters is happening on June 29 at Cove Manila indoor beach and night club. The concert also features local bands The Dawn, Nursery Rhymes and Paranoid City.