former member of Melbourne group the Romantics. This new line-up released a third single, "After the News". It marked a transition in The Reels' music – the group minimised guitars instead utilising synthesisers as its main instruments. The Reels were one of the first groups to use headsets instead of traditional microphones. During late July, the group undertook the innovative Reels By Rail Tour, using rail transport to destinations in the eastern states. At the end of the year, returning to its covers band origins, The Reels released a five-track Christmas EP, Five Great Gift Ideas from The Reels, produced by Bruce Brown and Russell Dunlop, which included Jim Reeves' "According to My Heart" and Freda Payne's "Band of Gold". "According to My Heart" was accompanied by a folksy music video filmed at a farm in New Zealand. The EP included one original, "The Bombs Dropped on Xmas", co-written by band members Mason, Newham and Ansel with Pamela Shalvey. 1981: Quasimodo's Dream In May 1981, The Reels released the single "Shout and Deliver" as a precursor to the album considered by many to be its best work, Quasimodo's Dream. Here The Reels displayed an impressive maturity in song writing, backed with strong performances, inventive arrangements and top-class production. It peaked at No. 27 in June. The album's title track was released as a single but, although widely considered to be one of the best Australian singles of that period, it failed to chart. The band undertook the Kitchen Man Tour, which saw the stage dressed as a fully equipped Australian kitchen. The Reels' lack of top 10 mainstream commercial success was at odds with their strong live following, but it was due in part to the restrictive programming on commercial radio at that time, which gave little exposure to local "new wave" acts. The group's deteriorating relationship with Mercury was also a factor, as evidenced by the album's track listing: it included the earlier hit "According to My Heart", but a disclaimer printed on the sleeve noted that it had been included at the insistence of the record company (i.e. against the band's wishes). Internal tensions were also a factor in the group's career vicissitudes. Bliss left just after the recording of the album, to be replaced by Stephan Fidock (who had played with Ansel in the Romantics). The new five-piece lineup promoted the album with the Kitchen Man Tour,