British synth-pop duo 50/50 have shared “Just Can’t Win,” a previously recorded track from 1981 that will appear on their first-ever studio album, Memories Linger, arriving December 4 via archival label Light in the Attic
Recently featured in FX’s The Shards, the song pairs David Cowles’ vocals with Richard Haines’ synthesizers and bass, capturing the melodic electronic pop emerging from Britain in the early 1980s.
Formed in Surrey during the late 1970s, 50/50 combined classic British songwriting with emerging synthesizer technology, recording more than 150 songs between 1979 and 1985. Despite securing a publishing deal and releasing several singles, the duo never achieved widespread recognition.
Memories Linger collects 12 recordings, including nine previously unreleased tracks, newly mastered by John Baldwin. The release follows renewed interest sparked by a 2024 Record Collector feature and includes archival photographs and liner notes by Charles Donovan.
Now reunited in the studio after decades apart, Cowles and Haines are finally seeing their early recordings reach a wider audience.
