So you think New Jersey, US is an unlikely launch pad for a music star? How about Bromley, UK, then?
William Michael Albert Broad, a.k.a. Billy Idol, was born 1955 in Stanmore, England, deriving his stage name Idol from a schoolteacher's description of him as 'idle'.
Billy went on to join the Bromley Contingent of Sex Pistols fans. He first joined the punk rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees (before the band had decided on that name) in 1976, but soon quit and joined Chelsea in 1977 as a guitarist. But him and bandmate Tony James soon quit and co-founded Generation X, with Billy switching from guitarist to lead singer. Generation X signed to Chrysalis Records, released three albums and performed in the 1980 film, D.O.A., before disbanding.
The year after Billy moved to New York to start his solo career, which began with the EP titled Don't Stop. This included the Generation X song 'Dancing with Myself', originally recorded for their last album Kiss Me Deadly, and a cover of Tommy James & The Shondells' song 'Mony Mony'. In 1982 Idol instantly became an MTV staple with 'White Wedding'. In an effort to introduce himself to American audiences not yet as familiar with him as those in England, Billy's label re-released 'Dancing with Myself' in the US in conjunction with a music video (directed by Tobe Hooper, produced by Jeffrey Abelson, and conceptualised by Keith Williams) that played in heavy rotation on MTV for six months. That video sparked a new era of feature film directors trying their hand at music videos, which helped make Idol a household name.
My favourite Billy Idol tracks are 'Eyes Without A Face' and 'Flesh For Fantasy'.
Billy Idol - Dancing With Myself (1981 & 1983)
1981 - UK#62, US#102
1983 - NZ#9, AUS#42
Born 26 June 1956 in Stockton, California,Chris Isaak's music reflects the flavour of music at the time of his birth. He signed a record deal in 1984 for his album Silvertone. If not in 1987, with his international debut Blue Hotel, it was surely three years later, in 1990, when millions of hearts melted: Chris Isaak released his track 'Wicked Game', the video for which largely contributed to his popularity: his record company hired Helena Christensen, supermodel at the time. The 'love story' that unfolded on screen would become somewhat of a legend: apparently Chris fell in love with Helena, only to be re-buffed by her for lack of food and the chilling winds as the recording was made.
Chris Isaak - Blue Hotel (1987)
FR#28, NL#42, UK#100
Lyrics:
Blue Hotel, on a lonely highway,
Blue Hotel, life don't work out my way.
Blue Hotel, on a lonely highway,
Blue Hotel, life don't work out my way.
I wait alone each lonely night.
Blue Hotel... Blue Hotel...
Blue Hotel, every room is lonely,
Blue Hotel, I was waiting only.
The night is like her lonely dream.
Blue Hotel... Blue Hotel...
Blue Hotel, on a lonely highway,
Blue Hotel, life don't work out my way.
I wait alone each lonely night.
Blue Hotel... Blue Hotel...
Chris Isaak - Wicked Game (1990)
SWE#3, NL#5, US#6, NZ#7, DE#9, UK#10, IRL#10, AUS#15, FR#42
Lyrics:
The world was on fire
No one could save me but you
Strange what desire will make foolish people do
I never dreamed that I'd meet somebody like you
And I never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you
No, I don't want to fall in love
This love is only gonna break your heart
No, I don't want to fall in love
This love is only gonna break your heart
With you, With you
What a wicked game you play
To make me feel this way
What a wicked thing to do
To let me dream of you
What a wicked thing to say
You never felt this way
What a wicked thing to do
To make me dream of you
And I don't wanna fall in love
This love is only gonna break your heart
And I don't want to fall in love
This love is only gonna break your heart
World was on fire
No one could save me but you
Strange what desire will make foolish people do
I never dreamed that I'd love somebody like you
I never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you
No I don't wanna fall in love
This love is only gonna break your heart
No I don't wanna fall in love
This love is only gonna break your heart
With you, With you
Just after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, the East German economy collapsed, widely expected as it happens, but hindsight can be a beautiful - as well as ugly - thing, eh?!!
Searching for a job was the equivalent to searching for the proverbial needle in a haystack.
Left with few options, I looked further than the immideate (i.e. 200 miles) surroundings of my home town Rostock and outside the box (i.e. what else can I do?) and found - wahey! - a job as an apprentice in a hotel in the deepest Bavaria - the PLB, officially known as the Prinz Luitpold Bad in Hindelang, near Oberstorf, the most southern community in Germany. I left my parent's home on 9 August 1990 and cut right across my Fatherland.
Life was hard on an apprentice's wage, but better than sitting around at home on the dole.
My school-English was enormously beneficial - I could hold conversations about the Communist Party, the Anti-Nuclear-Movement - and various other enthralling topics...
To cut a long story short, I soon befriended these foreign workers, mostly English-speaking students on their 'Year Out' between A-Level and University. We had lots of parties in the staff building called 'Freiheit'(Freedom) just behind.
That was the time I learned my real English. Two, three months and the language was there - but Boy! - wasn't learning the sense of humour difficult! (it poses a challenge to this very day, LOL).
Anyway, the parties we had were fantastic; this is when I first learned about 'Indie' and 'Madchester'. These tracks will stay in my memory forever...
Annie Lennox (born 1954 in Aberdeen, Scotland) and Dave Stewart (born 1952 in Sunderland, Northern England), a.k.a. Eurythmics, met in a London restaurant in 1975. Annie was working there at the time and both went on to form and the play together with Peet Coombes in their group The Catch. They released one single, 1977's 'Borderline/Black Blood'. The single was released in the UK, NL, ES and POR. The Catch soon became known as The Tourists, who had some chart success in 1979-80 though disbanded soon after due to legal issues with management, publishers and their record label at the time, Logo Records.
Also having a personal relationship by then, Annie and Dave decided to go it alone and became Eurythmics (named after a style of Greek dance that Annie had did as a child), signed to RCA Records. Their breakthrough came with their second album, Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), released early 1983. The title track featured a dark and powerful sequenced synth bass line and a dramatic video with Annie sporting an orange crew haircut, rapidly making her the new pop icon.
After strenuous years of touring and recording (Eurythmics had released eight studio albums in eight years), a rift had developed between the duo and Eurythmics disbanded, although no official notice was given. Dave began writing film soundtracks and had a big international hit in 1990 with the instrumental track 'Lily Was Here', featuring saxophonist Candy Dulfer, while in 1992, Annie released her first solo album, Diva. The album was a critical and popular success .
So you think New Jersey, US is an unlikely launch pad for a music star? How about Bromley, UK, then?
William Michael Albert Broad, a.k.a. Billy Idol, was born 1955 in Stanmore, England, deriving his stage name Idol from a schoolteacher's description of him as 'idle'.
Billy went on to join the Bromley Contingent of Sex Pistols fans. He first joined the punk rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees (before the band had decided on that name) in 1976, but soon quit and joined Chelsea in 1977 as a guitarist. But him and bandmate Tony James soon quit and co-founded Generation X, with Billy switching from guitarist to lead singer. Generation X signed to Chrysalis Records, released three albums and performed in the 1980 film, D.O.A., before disbanding.
The year after Billy moved to New York to start his solo career, which began with the EP titled Don't Stop. This included the Generation X song 'Dancing with Myself', originally recorded for their last album Kiss Me Deadly, and a cover of Tommy James & The Shondells' song 'Mony Mony'. In 1982 Idol instantly became an MTV staple with 'White Wedding'. In an effort to introduce himself to American audiences not yet as familiar with him as those in England, Billy's label re-released 'Dancing with Myself' in the US in conjunction with a music video (directed by Tobe Hooper, produced by Jeffrey Abelson, and conceptualised by Keith Williams) that played in heavy rotation on MTV for six months. That video sparked a new era of feature film directors trying their hand at music videos, which helped make Idol a household name.
My favourite Billy Idol tracks are 'Eyes Without A Face' and 'Flesh For Fantasy'.
Billy Idol - Dancing With Myself (1981 & 1983)
1981 - UK#62, US#102
1983 - NZ#9, AUS#42
This one was a strange one... but I loved both: Kevin Saunderson and Shanna Jackson (a.k.a. Paris Grey) were Inner City and Jazzie B. and Caron Wheeler were Soul II Soul. The former hailed from Illinois, US, the latter from London, UK. Although both chartwise scored according to their country of origin, their musical style was vice versa. At the time, end 80s/early 90s, I saw them as rivals, when really they were complimenting each other.
Both are two of my favourite formations. Ever.
Inner City - Big Fun (1988)
NL#3, CH#4, DE#5, UK#8, AT#15, FR#48
Inner City - Good Life (1988)
DE#2, UK#4, CH#5, NL#6, NZ#8, SWE#9, NOR#10, AT#12, US#73
Depeche Mode formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex, England - although their origins date back to 1977, when schoolmates Vince Clarke and Andrew Fletcher formed a band called No Romance in China, with Vince on vocals and guitar and Andrew on bass.
Vince then played guitar in 'Ultravox rip-off band' The Plan in 1979 with friends Robert Marlow and Paul Langwith, while Martin Gore played guitar in acoustic duo Norman & The Worms with school friend Philip Burdett on vocals. Marlow, Gore, and Paul Redmond formed a band called The French Look.
In March 1980, Vince, Martin and Andrew formed a band called Composition of Sound. Soon after the formation of Composition of Sound, Vince and Andrew switched to synthesizers. Dave Gahan joined the band in 1980 after Vince heard him perform at a local scout hut jam session, singing to a rendition of David Bowie's 'Heroes' - and Depeche Mode were born.
When explaining the choice for the new name, taken from a French fashion magazine, Dépêche Mode, Martin Gore said: 'It means hurried fashion or fashion dispatch. I like the sound of that.'
Martin recollects that the first time the band played as Depeche Mode was a school gig in May 1980. The band made their recording debut in 1980 on the Some Bizzare Album with the song 'Photographic', which was later re-recorded for their debut album Speak & Spell.
While playing a live gig at the Bridge House in Canning Town, London, Depeche Mode were approached by Daniel Miller, founder of Mute Records, who was interested in them recording a single for his label. The result of this verbal contract was their first single, recorded in December 1980 and released in February 1981:
Dreaming of Me (1981) - US#47, UK#57 - non album single release (no video)
Encouraged by this, the band recorded their second single:
New Life (1981) - UK#11, IRL#22, US#29 - Speak & Spell
The next single was a relentlessly upbeat piece of synthpop, which became the band's first UK Top10 hit and it remains one of their best known songs. It was also the first Depeche Mode song to get a music video and is the only one of the band's videos to feature Vince Clarke. Depeche Mode's debut album, Speak & Spell, was released in November 1981 and peaked at number ten on the UK album charts:
Depeche Mode - Just Can't Get Enough (1981) - Speak & Spell
AUS#4, UK#8, SWE#14, IRL#16, US#26
During the touring and promotion for Speak & Spell, Vince began to voice his discomfort at the direction Depeche Mode were taking and, in November 1981, he was leaving the band. He joined up with blues singer Alison Moyet to form Yazoo and, later, the duo Erasure with Andy Bell. Initial talk of continuing to write material for Depeche Mode amounted to nothing. Vince offered them the track 'Only You, but they declined. It went on to become a UK Top3 hit for Yazoo.
In late 1981, they placed an anonymous advertisement in British music mag Melody Maker looking for another musician. Alan Wilder from Hammersmith, West London was hired in early 1982 initially on a trial basis as a touring member. In January 1982, the band released:
Depeche Mode - See You (1982) - A Broken Frame
UK#6, IRL#9, DE#44
The tour that followed the release of the single saw the band playing their first shows in North America. Two more singles were released ahead of the band's second studio album:
Depeche Mode - The Meaning of Love (1982) -A Broken Frame
UK#12, IRL#17, SWE#16, DE#64
Depeche Mode - Leave in Silence (1982) - A Broken Frame
IRL#13, SWE#17, UK#18, DE58
Depeche Mode began work on their second album in July 1982. Daniel Miller informed Alan that he was not needed for the recording of the album, as the band wanted to prove that they could succeed without Vince Clarke.
A Broken Frame was released that September and the following month the band set off on their second tour of 1982. A non-album single was released in January 1983, and was the first Depeche Mode track to be recorded with Alan:
Depeche Mode - Get the Balance Right! (1983) - non album single release
UK#13, IRL#16, US#31, DE#38
For their third album, Construction Time Again, Depeche Mode worked with producer Gareth Jones, at John Foxx's Garden Studios and at Hansa Studios in West Berlin. The album saw a dramatic shift in the group's sound: by sampling the noises of everyday objects, the band created an industrial sound.
Along with the music, Martin's songwriting was also rapidly evolving, focusing increasingly on political and social issues. An example of the new sound was on the first single, a commentary on the perceived greed of multinational corporations:
Depeche Mode Everything Counts (1983) - Construction Time Again
UK#6, CH#8, IRL#15, SWE#18, DE#23, AT#26, IT#32
In September 1983, to promote Construction Time Again the band launched a concert tour all over Europe.
Depeche Mode - Love in Itself (1983) - Construction Time Again
UK#21, IRL#27, DE#28
In their early years, Depeche Mode had only really attained success in Europe and Australia, however this changed in March 1984 when they released:
Depeche Mode- People are People (1984) - Some Great Reward
DE#1, IRL#2, UK#4, CH#4, US#13, SWE#15, IT#20, AUS#25
The song was used as the theme to West German TV's coverage of the 1984 Olympics and also charted in the US charts in mid-1985. The song had then become an anthem for the LGBT community. In September 1984, Some Great Reward was released.
In contrast to the political and environmental subjects addressed on the previous album, the songs on Some Great Reward were mostly concerned with more personal themes such as sexual politics...
Depeche Mode - Master and Servant (1984) - Some Great Reward
DE#2, SWE#7, CH#8, UK#9, IT#27, FR#34, US#49, AUS#89
... adulterous relationships...
Depeche Mode - Lie To Me (1984)
...and arbitrary divine justice...
Depeche Mode - Blasphemous Rumours (1984) - Some Great Reward
IRL#8, UK#16, CH#19, DE#22, AUS#87
Depeche Mode - Blasphemous Rumours (1984)
********** RARE 8 min version! *********
Also included was the first Martin Gore ballad. 'Somebody' was released as a double a-side with 'Blasphemous Rumours' and was the first single with Martin on lead vocals:
Depeche Mode - Somebody (1984) - Some Great Reward
was the flip-side of Blasphemous Rumours
In October 1985, Mute Records released a compilation, The Singles 81>85, which included the two non-album singles 'Shake the Disease' (one of my personal favourites of Depeche Mode) and 'It's Called a Heart'.
Depeche Mode - Shake the Disease (1985) - Singles 81->85
DE#4, SWE#5, CH#6, IRL#9, FR#13, UK#18, IT#29
Depeche Mode's musical style shifted again in 1986 with the release of 'Stripped', and its accompanying album Black Celebration. Retaining their sampling and the industrial sound, the band introduced an ominous, highly atmospheric and textured sound. Martin's lyrics also took on darker tone and became more pessimistic. 'New Dress' would mark the last time he attempted the kind of overt social commentary.
Depeche Mode - Stripped (1986) - Black Celebration
DE#4, CH#8, CH#9, IT#14, UK#15
The music video for 'A Question of Time' was the first to be directed by Anton Corbijn, beginning a working relationship that continues to the present day. He has directed a further 19 videos (the latest being 2006's 'Suffer Well') and has also filmed some of their live performances and designed stage sets and album and single covers.
Depeche Mode - A Question of Time (1986)
Music for the Masses saw further alterations in the band's sound. David Bascombe was called to assist with the recording sessions. In making the album the band largely eschewed sampling in favour of more synth experimentation. While the chart performance of the singles the next three singles 'Strangelove', 'Never Let Me Down Again' and 'Behind the Wheel' were somewhat disappointing in the UK, they scored high in Canada, Brazil, Germany, South Africa, Sweden and Switzerland. The album also achieved the long awaited breakthrough in the US, which would be eternally manifested by the final concert of the their promotional tour at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena - see my previous post - a concert I would do or give anything for to attend again in time travel. The '101' live album and documenary was the result. I could watch it over - and over - and over - and over, again. Orgasmic!
Depeche Mode - Strangelove (1987)
Depeche Mode - Never Let Me Down Again (1987)
Depeche Mode - Behind The Wheel (1987)
Depeche Mode - Pimpf (1987)
Depeche Mode - Little 15 (1988)
In mid-1989, the band began recording in Milan with producer Flood and engineer François Kevorkian. The initial result of this session was the single:
Depeche Mode - Personal Jesus (1989)
Released in January 1990, 'Enjoy the Silence' became one of Depeche Mode's most successful singles to date, reaching number six in the UK. A few months later it became Depeche Mode's biggest hit in the US, reaching number eight and earning the band a second gold single. It won 'Best British single' at the 1991 Brit Awards.
Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence (1990)
To promote their album Violator, the band held an in-store autograph signing at Wherehouse Entertainment in Los Angeles. The event attracted approximately 20,000 fans and turned into a near riot.
Some of those who attended were injured by being pressed against the store's glass by the crowd. As an apology to the fans who were injured, the band released a limited edition cassette tape to fans living in Los Angeles.
Now, how is this for internationalism...
Kurtis el Khaleel (Arabic: خليل), a.k.a. Kurtis Mantronik, was born 1965 in Jamaica to a Syrian father and a Jamaican mother, emigrated to Canada with his family at age 7, before eventually settling in NYC in 1980.
The same decade saw him leading the group Mantronix. The 7" vinyl of 'Got to Have Your Love'? graces my record shelves that to this very day. It reached UK#4.
Mantronix feat. Wondress - Gotta Have Your Love (1990)
Kurtis now lives in the UK and DJs, remixes and produces tracks generally attributed to the genres hip-hop, electro funk, house & techno. He has worked with recording artists such as Kylie Minogue, The Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim and Michael Gray.
In 2002 he remixed 'Gotta Have You Love' for and with Liberty X, whom participated in - but did not win - the 2001 run of ITV's 'Popstars'. The version shot straight to UK#2, AUS#4 & FRA#10 in it's first week.
Liberty X - Gotta Have Your Love (2002)
He also released several singles in his own name. 'How Did You Know?' went on to become my Tune of the Year 2003, coming with vocals courtesy Mim. Way ahead of its commercial release the track made its flying rounds on the club scene, known as '77 Strings' without the vocals, which had been added later.
Kurtis Mantronik feat. Chamonix - How Did You Know? (2003)
