Tag: Blancmange (Page 14 of 16)

HEAVEN 17 + BLANCMANGE Live at Bedford Corn Exchange

15 November 2014 /

Following the success of their joint gig at Manchester Academy earlier this year, two of Synth Britannia’s best loved combos HEAVEN 17 and BLANCMANGE have been doing the rounds on ‘The Tour Of Synthetic Delights’.

In 1984, former HEAVEN 17 member Ian Craig Marsh declared to Smash Hits that BLANCMANGE were his favourite band while a link was first forged back in 1981 when Martyn Ware produced the demos that eventually got BLANCMANGE signed to London Records.

BLANCMANGE arrived on stage in their current live trio incarnation all clothed in lab coats with front man Neil Arthur staring at the crowd like an eccentric but cool university professor. Opening with ‘Game Above My Head’, he waved a telescopic inspection mirror like a golf club as if to substantiate the impression! The set comprised predominately of crowd pleasers such as ‘Blind Vision’ and ‘Don’t Tell Me’ while ‘Living On The Ceiling’ appeared midway through and was effectively turned into a terrace chant as the audience sang the main theme.

But best of all was an emotive ‘Waves’, now reworked and sounding even more like early OMD than ever before. A nod to BLANCMANGE’s most recent album ‘Blanc Burn’ came with the groovy ‘WDYF’. Meanwhile a charismatic Ian Curtis meets David Byrne intensity made its presence felt on blistering ‘Happy Families Too…’ versions of ‘I Can’t Explain’ and ‘Feel Me’. In all, it was a synthetic delight from the lean and mean Mr Arthur to warm up the evening’s proceedings.

HEAVEN 17 began their part of the bargain with ‘Circus Of Death’, an old HUMAN LEAGUE song from Martyn Ware’s days in the band. Always known for varying their setlists regularly with assorted League numbers and cover versions, one of the attractions of this particular H17 jaunt was the promise of new material, the first since 2005’s ‘Before After’.

On a likely direction, Martyn Ware said in May 2013: “it’s still in the birthing stage but I think we want to make it very electronic and stripped down… we always start off with this intention but it always ends up epic!!” In Spring 2014, Glenn Gregory added: “At the moment, it’s fairly loose… I’m doing that deliberately, the drum tracks are very basic and I’d say as guide, the tracks are more like the electronic side of ‘Penthouse & Pavement’ than ‘The Luxury Gap’ or ‘How Men Are’” – the first of the new tunes aired was ‘Illumination’.

An electro funk groove in the vein of ‘Penthouse And Pavement’ developed into a FULL FORCE / LISA LISA / CULT JAM romp. And with a fabulous Stylophone styled solo to boot, it was as if THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s ‘Crash’ album had gone right! The second new song ‘Pray’ began like early HUMAN LEAGUE, its metronomic avant first half transforming with slap bass runs and rhythm guitar via ’Young Americans’ era Bowie into that synth soul hybrid which HEAVEN 17 have been known and loved for.

Of course, the hits were present too like the still sadly relevant ‘(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang’, ‘Let Me Go’ and ‘Come Live With Me’ plus a pleasant surprise in the newly revived 1984 ode to nuclear apocalypse ‘Sunset Now’. And the glamourous soul sistas Billie Godfrey and Rachel Mosleh gave their all to a wonderfully extended and exuberant ‘Temptation’… yes DEPECHE MODE, this is how to breathe new life into your best known song and it doesn’t involve tedious drum solos!

To finish, there was a cover of Bowie’s ‘Boys Keep Swinging’ with Ware adding some mad Eno-esque squelches via his Roland V-Synth. Meanwhile during ‘Being Boiled’, live keyboardist Berenice Scott maintained her position as “possibly the sexiest lady ever to have got behind a synthesizer” when she left her stand to almost come to the front of the stage with her Roland AX keytar and demonstrate the beauty of the synthesizer.

The Bedford leg of ‘The Tour Of Synthetic Delights’ was a fantastically entertaining evening that proved heritage events with key acts from the Synth Britannia era can be both nostalgic and credible if the line-up is right. Promoters take note… it doesn’t have to be a cheese fest like ‘Here & Now’!

HEAVEN 17 ‘Illumination’ b/w ‘Pray’ is available as a limited edition 12” vinyl single from www.heaven17.com

https://www.facebook.com/heaven17official

BLANCMANGE ‘Happy Families Too…’ and ‘Blanc Burn’ are available on CD from www.blancmange.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/BlancmangeMusic

Text and Photos by Chi Ming Lai
15th November 2014

25 SONGS THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN SINGLES

19 February 2014 /

The concept of the single in the past has been to present an artist’s most immediate work for mass consumption and appreciation, often as a trailer for an album or compilation.
Like it or not, many acts’ best songs have been released as singles. They often reach an audience who would not normally be interested in the tribulations of a much longer journey.

Looking back throughout pop history, many pinnacles of a group’s career have been exclusively single releases; THE WALKER BROTHERS ‘The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore’, THE BEATLES ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’, IAN DURY & THE BLOCKHEADS ‘Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick’ and THE JAM ‘Going Underground’ are a number of examples.

Today’s culture of individual track downloading now makes virtually every song in existence a single. However, a fair number of recordings which have become standards within live sets and have become a key part of a band’s history have never been accorded a single release. Such were some bands’ standings in their heyday that many were potential hits.

So here are 25 synth friendly songs which ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK felt should have been given singular status. Listing tracks not released as 45s or CD singles in the UK with a limit of one song per artist moniker, they are arranged in chronological and then alphabetical order.

GARY NUMAN Metal (1979)

With Minimoog riffage in abundance, ‘Metal’ would have made a perfect follow-up to ‘Cars’ and in hindsight, been less of a public anti-climax than the brave, but misguided release of ‘Complex’, as great a song as it is. Full of dystopian resignation with references to “liquid engineers” and chilling vox humana courtesy of the Polymoog, ‘Metal’ was Sci-Fi musicality at its best. Even NINE INCH NAILS covered it and nearly 35 years later, it is still part of the Gary Numan live set.

Available on the GARY NUMAN album ‘The Pleasure Principle’ via Beggars Banquet Records

http://www.numan.co.uk/

JOHN FOXX A New Kind Of Man (1980)

“I want to be a machine” cried JOHN FOXX as far back as 1977 on the first ‘Ultravox!’ album. Starting off side two of ‘Metamatic’, the former Dennis Leigh realised his mechanised JG Ballard inspired electro theories and went up to the next level with ‘A New Kind of Man’. Is it about genetically modified humans or homo superiors? Who knows? But the chilling Elka string machine and frightening detuned synthetics made it a distinctly new kind of song in a brave new world.

Available on the JOHN FOXX album ‘Metamatic’ via Edsel Records

http://www.metamatic.com/

JAPAN Swing (1980)

JAPAN found a refuge at Virgin Records who released their fourth album ‘Gentlemen Take Polaroids’. One of its best numbers was ‘Swing’ which combined David Sylvian’s muzak travelogue with Richard Barbieri’s Oriental synth textures. It was probably one of the last times JAPAN were fully as one. Guitarist Rob Dean made a full contribution before being forced out while the rhythm section of the late Mick Karn and Steve Jansen were amazingly fluid over the drum machine bossa nova.

Available on the JAPAN album ‘Gentlemen Take Polaroids’ via Virgin Records

http://www.nightporter.co.uk/

JOY DIVISION Isolation (1980)

OK, so JOY DIVISION never took singles from their albums but what if they had? This would have been a contender. Featuring an ARP Omni and an early version of the Simmons drum synthesizer, ‘Isolation’ was the most electronic track JOY DIVISION ever recorded although Hooky’s bass ensured there was a gritty punk rock edge. When NEW ORDER reformed for the first time in 1998, a drum ‘n’ bass flavoured rework of ‘Isolation’ was part of the live set.

Available on the JOY DIVISION album ‘Closer’ via WEA Records

http://joydivisionofficial.com/

THE HUMAN LEAGUE The Things That Dreams Are Made Of (1981)

Optimistic and aspirational, ‘The Things That Dreams Are Made Of’ is the key song from ‘Dare’ and was a metaphor for THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s then pop ambitions. Gloriously spacious and delightfully catchy, each synthesizer voicing has its place while Phil Oakey gives full justice to Adrian Wright’s shopping list of life’s pleasures to a perfect Linn Drum clap track. It certainly deserves to be played live more often… “New York – ice cream – TV – travel – good times”

Available on THE HUMAN LEAGUE album ‘Dare’ via Virgin Records

http://www.thehumanleague.co.uk/

KRAFTWERK Computer World (1981)

Hooky, catchy and futuristic, ‘Computer World’ with its Speak & Spell voices and infectious four note theme was an ideal KRAFTWERK single if ever there was one. However, the perky and novelty laden ‘Pocket Calculator’ was chosen to trail the parent album. It is unlikely ‘Computer World’ could have hit the top of the charts like ‘The Model’ did, but such was the song’s popularity, the native variant got released as a limited run remixed maxi-single in Germany.

Available on the KRAFTWERK album ‘Computer World’ via Mute Records

http://www.kraftwerk.com/

OMD She’s Leaving (1981)

It was a tricky call between ‘She’s Leaving’ and ‘Radio Waves’, but the North-by-North West melancholy of the former won over the upfront Germany Calling salvo of the latter. A wonderful synthetic cross between JOY DIVISION and Paul McCartney, ‘She’s Leaving’ was pencilled in as the fourth single from OMD’s huge selling ‘Architecture & Morality’ but was vetoed by the band.  However, when ‘She’s Leaving’ did come out as a single in the Benelux region, it flopped.

Available on the OMD album ‘Architecture & Morality’ via Virgin Records

http://www.omd-messages.co.uk/

SOFT CELL Secret Life (1981)

As proven by their covers of ‘Tainted Love’, ‘What?’ and later on during their 21st Century comeback ‘The Night’, SOFT CELL always had a love of the UK’s Northern Soul scene. Its influence would seep into their own compositions like ‘Secret Life’. Marc Almond’s narrative on a philanderer’s hypocrisy was an apt reflection of suburban life while Dave Ball’s solid use of keyboards provided a suitably accessible but gritty sub-Tamla soundtrack.

Available on the SOFT CELL album ‘Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret’ via Universal Music

https://www.softcell.co.uk/

DURAN DURAN New Religion (1982)

The perfect balance between art and pop, ‘New Religion’ was a key highlight from DURAN DURAN’s ‘Rio’ album. “A dialogue between the ego and the alter-ego”, Simon Le Bon’s conflicting schizophrenic voices added tension in the bridges before a classic Duran chorus. With an ambient intro that JAPAN would be proud of, it then moved at breakneck speed through the quintet’s other influences like Bowie, Roxy, Moroder and Chic with speed being the operative word.

Available on the DURAN DURAN album ‘Rio’ via EMI Records

http://www.duranduran.com/

SIMPLE MINDS New Gold Dream (1982)

A huge song with two drummers drumming as well as lashings of Jupiter 8 and a marvellous bass engine, ‘New Gold Dream’ and its parent album highlighted an ambitious streak in SIMPLE MINDS akin to their Virgin label mates THE HUMAN LEAGUE when they released ‘Dare’ the year before. Already six minutes in length, an extended mix was released as a 12 inch single in Italy while as a sample on URSURA’s ‘Open Your Mind’, ‘New Gold Dream’ became a club hit in 1993.

Available on the SIMPLE MINDS album ‘New Gold Dream’ via Virgin Records

http://www.simpleminds.com/

VISAGE The Anvil (1982)

With its heavy metronomic beat sans hi-hats, ‘The Anvil’ was Steve Strange’s tale of a night out in New York’s notorious club of the same name. But that wasn’t all, Billy Currie’s screaming ARP Odyssey and Dave Formula’s brassy synth riff completed the excursion. Rusty Egan said: “For me, ‘The Anvil’ was the lead track, ‘The Anvil’ in German (‘Der Amboss’), the 12-inch remixes, all that which I did with John Luongo was for me, the single. But the record company didn’t support that!”

Available on the VISAGE album ‘The Anvil’ via Cherry Pop

http://www.visage.cc/

YAZOO Midnight (1982)

Showcasong one of the best Alison Moyet vocals, Vince Clarke’s minimal programmed backing gave her plenty of space to let rip with raw emotion on ‘Midnight’ . Back in those days, Mute Records usually only took two singles from an album so with ‘Only You’ and ‘Don’t Go’ already accorded singular status from ‘Upstairs at Eric’s’, a 45 was never likely. But it sort of belatedly became a single when it was sampled and manipulated by REX THE DOG for ‘Bubblicious’ in 2008.

Available on the YAZOO album ‘Upstairs At Eric’s’ via Mute Records

http://www.yazooinfo.com/

BLANCMANGE Game Above My Head (1983)

Originally the B-side to ‘Waves’, ‘Game Above My Head’ signalled the more disco based direction Neil Arthur and Stephen Luscombe later trod on ‘Blind Vision’ and ‘That’s Love, That It Is’ with American producer John Luongo. Merging the busy Linn Drum patterns that characterised BLANCMANGE’s debut ‘Happy Families’ with a funkier outlook, ‘Game Above My Head’ was included on their second LP ‘Mange Tout’. Today, the song remains a constant in the live set.

Available on the BLANCMANGE album ‘Mange Tout’ via Edsel Records

http://www.blancmange.co.uk/

HEAVEN 17 Five Minutes To Midnight (1984)

HEAVEN 17’s most underrated track and referencing The Doomsday Clock, ‘Five Minutes To Midnight’ followed on from ‘Let’s All Make A Bomb’ to highlight the absurdity of Mutually Assured Destruction. Using and abusing the Fairlight CMI, the ‘Protect and Survive’ styled civil defence announcements, deathly whoops and a doomy orchestral crescendo bring a frightening finality as the song suddenly stops… “Hot as a furnace – wing to wing contact! AARGH!”

Available on the HEAVEN 17 album ‘How Men Are’ via Virgin Records

http://www.heaven17.com/

HOWARD JONES Equality (1984)

‘Equality’ exploited new MIDI technology like the Prophet T8 and Yamaha DX7, combining it with a Jupiter 8 and Pro-One; “it was one of those ones that really suited my live rig” said Howard Jones With its poignant human rights message, whether ‘Equality’ would have made a better single than ‘Pearl in the Shell’ is a moot point, but the song was released as a single in South Africa as a commentary about Apartheid.

Available on the HOWARD JONES album ‘Human’s Lib’ via Cherry Red Records

http://www.howardjones.com/

ULTRAVOX White China (1984)

Despite their use of synthesizers, it was rare that ULTRAVOX went the whole sequencer route. They did so with this song about the impending 1997 handover of the British Colony of Hong Kong to Red China. The lyrics captured a sense of pessimism over a bouncy electro disco soundtrack influenced by ‘Blue Monday’. Slated for release as a single in the UK, ‘White China’ had a special extended mix prepared but Chrysalis Records preferred the more obvious ‘Dancing With Tears In My Eyes’.

Available on the ULTRAVOX album ‘Lament’ via EMI Records

http://www.ultravox.org.uk/

A-HA Scoundrel Days (1986)

A-HA were perceived as a teenybop group in their heyday, but their Nordic melancholic depth was apparent even on their only UK No1 ‘The Sun Always Shines On TV’. “Cut my wrist on a bad thought” is a superb piece of second language expression that no native speaker could have come up with. Morten Harket veers from a semi-spoken growl to a full voice salvo for the terrific chorus while Pål Waaktaar’s twanginess adds some edge to Magne Furuholmen’s glacial synthetic atmospheres.

Available on the A-HA album ‘Scoundrel Days’ via WEA Records

http://a-ha.com/

PET SHOP BOYS Tonight Is Forever (1986)

Mistakenly announced as a new single on ‘The Tube’, ‘Tonight Is Forever’ is one of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe’s best early compositions. From its blipping intro with an odd starting snare drum to the magnificently euphoric chorus, it captured the excitement of a fleeting romance on a night out in clubland. With its sombre synth brass riff and a wonderful middle eight, it was later covered by Liza Minelli in an orchestral arrangement for her PET SHOP BOYS produced album ‘Results’.

Available on the PET SHOP BOYS album ‘Please’ via EMI Records

http://www.petshopboys.co.uk/

NEW ORDER Mr Disco (1989)

‘Your Silent Face’ may be one of NEW ORDER’s best songs, but it was unlikely to have got radio play as a single with its “why don’t you p*ss off?” quip! Meanwhile, ‘Mr Disco’ was the club friendly Mancunians in their Italo prime, complete with holiday romance lyrics and tongue-in-cheek syndrums. Some fans were dismayed by its resemblance to PET SHOP BOYS, but Bernard Sumner went and founded ELECTRONIC, aided and abetted by Messrs Tennant and Lowe!

Available on the NEW ORDER album ‘Technique’ via WEA Records

http://www.neworder.com/

DEPECHE MODE Halo (1990)

One of DEPECHE MODE’s greatest moments, Alan Wilder said: “From memory, the drums were sampled from LED ZEPPELIN’s ‘When the Levee Breaks’ (but secondhand from a rap record)… For the end choruses, there are some string samples which I think were derived from Elgar. One of my techniques is to find sections of classical strings and transpose / stretch these, then add my own samples, in order to formulate new and unusual arrangements”.

Available on the DEPECHE MODE album ‘Violator’ via Mute Records

http://www.depechemode.com/

ELEKTRIC MUSIC Kissing The Machine (1993)

Undoubtedly, ‘Kissing The Machine’ is Andy McCluskey’s finest song without Paul Humphreys as an OMD band mate. It also featured one of Karl Bartos’ greatest melodies. Recorded for his first project after leaving KRAFTWERK, Karl Bartos said “He suggested we do something together and I was up for it… We picked some cassettes and finally I found the opening notes of ‘Kissing The Machine’. A month later he sent me a demo…He wrote the whole song and the lyric and the robo voice” 

Available on the ELEKTRIC MUSIC album ‘Esperanto’ via SPV Records

http://www.karlbartos.com/

ERASURE Because You’re So Sweet (1994)

The closing track on the ‘I Say I Say I Say’ album produced by HEAVEN 17 and BEF’s Martyn Ware, ‘Because You’re So Sweet’ was a pretty ballad representative of the maturer approach taken by Andy Bell and Vince Clarke for their seventh long player. Featuring ERASURE’s trademark sequences, there was also the self-imposed restriction of no drum machines being used, so that all the album’s percussive templates were created using synths and driven by sequencers.

Available on the ERASURE album ‘I Say I Say I Say’ via Mute Records

http://www.erasureinfo.com/

MOBY First Cool Hive (1997)

There were eight singles from 1999’s ‘Play’ but for 1995’s ‘Everything Is Wrong’, Mute Records were more restrained with just five! Surprisingly, this vivid instrumental missed out on singular distribution. One of the highlights from the genre hopping MOBY long player, the looping bass sample of ‘First Cool Hive’ was like an update of ‘Empires & Dance’ era SIMPLE MINDS while female voice samples and beautiful synth strings gave it a mysterious ENIGMA-tic touch.

Available on the MOBY album ‘Everything Is Wrong’ via Mute Records

http://www.moby.com/

LADYTRON Discotraxx (2001)

‘Mu-tron’ may have opened the LADYTRON  debut album ‘604’ but the pulsating salvo at the start of ‘Discotraxx’ signalled the album’s intent… the return of the synthesizer as an instrument of value and integrity, not as a novelty to mock the past. From the moment Mira Aroyo deadpans in Bulgarian and Helen Marnie’s sweet but resigned voice kicks in about “the boy I know”, a new dawn is heralding for electronic pop.

Available on the LADYTRON album ‘604’ via Nettwerk Records

http://www.ladytron.com/

GOLDFRAPP Lovely 2 C U (2005)

The surreal concept was Kate Bush does THE HUMAN LEAGUE on this buzzy percussive extravaganza, one of the more under rated songs in Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory’s canon. The sub-TOM TOM CLUB meets PRINCE electrofunk is aided by Charlie Jones’ treated bass runs over the zooming synth hooks and chunky riffs. Interestingly despite its immediacy or maybe because of it, ‘Lovely 2 C U’ has rarely made it into the GOLDFRAPP live set.

Available on the GOLDFRAPP album ‘Supernature’ via Mute Records

http://goldfrapp.com/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
28th February 2014

BLANCMANGE Happy Families Too Live in London

16 November 2013 /

The concept of an album being revisited and restyled for a live setting is now a regular staple of the professional circuit but can be controversial.

In 2008, GARY NUMAN gave an industrialised makeover to his classic ‘Replicas’ which delighted some but alienated many others, so much so that when Mr Numan undertook his 30th Anniversary tour of ‘The Pleasure Principle’ a year later, it was note-to-note faithful, right down to the absence of guitar as on the original.

Since their return in 2011, BLANCMANGE have been very much about looking forward with frontman Neil Arthur focussing on material from the comeback album ‘Blanc Burn’ during live shows and even daring to omit their much loved ABBA cover ‘The Day Before You Came’. But this year has seen a slight change of heart with Arthur now comfortable with BLANCMANGE’s legacy as shown by a willingness to play at the ‘Rewind Festival’ in Henley.

Tonight, BLANCMANGE journeyed back to their recorded beginnings by airing their highly regarded debut album ‘Happy Families’. But rather than go through the practice of recording the show via the Live Here Now process and issuing it on the night, warts ‘n’ all, Neil Arthur has gone through the unusual process of re-recording the album as a memento for fans attending the shows. Not surprisingly, it’s been retitled ‘Happy Families Too’

Much loved by people unless their name was Julian Cope, the original ‘Happy Families’ album was produced by Mike Howlett and featured then new kit such as the Linn Drum Computer and Roland Jupiter 8.

The Linn in particular was a star of the album with busy digital claps and congas manifesting themselves in a way that a trained percussionist would never have dreamed of attempting. But while ‘Happy Families’ is as a result, an album very much of its time, it also gives it a unique and sparkling charm.

Thus Neil Arthur’s concept for ‘Happy Families Too’ was to realise the starker vision that Arthur and his BLANCMANGE partner Stephen Luscombe had envisaged when writing the songs with more basic approaches. After all, the version of ‘Sad Day’ for the now iconic ‘Some Bizzare Album’, which also launched DEPECHE MODE, SOFT CELL, THE THE and B-MOVIE, was just a Minipops rhythm unit, a borrowed Wasp synth, a battered string machine and Arthur’s countrified guitar.

While Arthur has used VSTs for the sounds to keep it very much in the present, it’s the more minimal approach that has been the key.

Bearded and in a floral shirt, Neil Arthur was as down-to-earth as ever but giving it his all. First up, there was ‘Lose Your Love’, the lost second single from 1985’s ‘Believe You Me’ album. On a mission to ensure the show was not just about nostalgia, highlights from BLANCMANGE’s comeback album ‘Blanc Burn’ formed the initial part of the set. Several of the audience were actually heckling for the more recent material such as ‘The Western’ and ‘Drive Me’, both of which are certainly on a par with the best of anything Neil Arthur and the sadly absent Stephen Luscombe have recorded.

But as well as the newer songs like ‘By The Bus Stop @ Woolies’ (accompanied by archive news reel of Arthur’s hometown of Darwen in Lancashire) and ‘Ultraviolent’, there were also the ‘Happy Families’ era B-sides ‘Game Above My Head’ and ‘Running Thin’. It was particularly nice to hear the latter, a number that has only ever been recorded as a John Peel Session but now to be properly recorded and included on the deluxe edition of ‘Happy Families Too’ slated for 2014.

Focussing on ‘Happy Families Too’ in tracklist order for the second half of the show, ‘I Can’t Explain’ was as enthrallingly ferocious as ever but with the added tension and bite of live guitar. Swapping positions as Neil Arthur’s on-stage straight man with regular percussionist Pandit Dinesh (who only actually played on one ‘Happy Families’ song), it was David Rhodes who was on virtually all of ‘Happy Families’ that returned to the BLANCMANGE fold.

A regular sideman of PETER GABRIEL and JAPAN’s live guitarist on their ‘Tin Drum’ tour, his virtuoso expertise varied from the E-bowed strings on ‘Waves’ to the Spiders/Ronson power chords replacing the Hawaiian zing of ‘Wasted’. Arthur himself took to lead six string for ‘Sad Day’ in a rework that almost returned to the ‘Some Bizzare album’ take, referencing ENO and his ‘Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)’ long player, in particular ‘The Fat Lady Of Limbourg’ and the beautiful title track.

‘Living On The Ceiling’ required no introduction and even featured an audience chant-along of its main Middle Eastern motif at the song’s conclusion as Arthur held the mic on its stand out into the crowd. ‘Feel Me’, ‘I’ve Seen The Word’ and ‘God’s Kitchen’ are already enjoyable regulars in the usual BLANCMANGE live set, so positive reaction to those was not to be unexpected.

But the premiere of ‘Kind’ as part of 21st Century BLANCMANGE was highly welcomed, its sub-JOY DIVISION tension and percussive ferocity providing a fitting companion to ‘I Can’t Explain’ played earlier. Returning to encore with the vocoder layered ‘Radio Therapy’ and a stomping ‘Blind Vision’, it was a wonderful evening of post-modern artistry and entertainment that celebrated history rather than pandered to nostalgia.

And as if to make that point further, ‘Don’t Tell Me’ and ‘The Day Before You Came’ were bravely left out of the evening’s proceedings. No-one seemed to mind though as the throng around the merchandise stall to purchase CDs of ‘Happy Families Too’ and meet the big man at the end of the night proved. Yes, it was one big happy family 🙂

‘Happy Families Too’ is released on Blanc Check Records. A deluxe edition will be issued in 2014 featuring a new version of ‘Running Thin’, Vince Clarke’s remix of ‘Living On The Ceiling’ and much more.

http://www.blancmange.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/BlancmangeMusic/

Text and Photos by Chi Ming Lai
16th November 2013

Having A Coffee with BLANCMANGE’s Neil Arthur

5 October 2013 /

Native Lancashire lad Neil Arthur and Hillingdon domiciled Stephen Luscombe first met at Harrow College of Art and began experimenting in various bands.

Eventually forming a duo, after a close call with the name A PINT OF CURRY, they opted for BLANCMANGE in 1978. 1980 saw the release of their debut EP ‘Irene & Mavis’ with the pair adopting the aliases of Mavis Secostas and Irene ‘Disco’ Sinden.

They then went on to play as support for NASH THE SLASH which lead to their first composition ‘Sad Day’ being given a slot on the iconic ‘Some Bizzare Album’ which also featured the then unknown combos DEPECHE MODE and SOFT CELL.

In late 1981, a support spot for Grace Jones attracted the attention of The Blitz crowd, thus thrusting them into a new sphere. Further support tours with DEPECHE MODE and JAPAN led to London Records offering BLANCMANGE a record deal in 1982. The singles ‘God’s Kitchen’, ‘Feel Me’ and ‘Living On The Ceiling’ followed, with the latter being their biggest hit reaching No7 in the charts while the parent album ‘Happy Families’ got to No30. After two further albums ‘Mange Tout’ and ‘Believe You Me’, BLANCMANGE split in 1987 but 2011 saw BLANCMANGE reform and back to form with a new album ‘Blanc Burn’.

BLANCMANGE commence touring again in November by revisiting their debut album ‘Happy Families’. They have also recorded a new limited edition version for the occasion entitled ‘Happy Families Too…’ which will only be available on the tour. In addition, there will be a 10” vinyl reissue of their debut EP ‘Irene & Mavis’ 33 years after its conception and at a later date, a deluxe special remixes edition complete with extra tracks including one old favourite that has never made it onto vinyl.

In the plush offices of Ditto in London, Neil Arthur kindly chatted to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about re-recordings, reissues and remixes…

How did ‘Happy Families Too…’ become a reality?

I’ve been asked quite a few times to go out and play ‘Happy Families’ but I’ve always said no… in fact my words were “I won’t go out repeating myself over and over unless we can find a way to offer something new”. This is a bit like starting again in a way. I’ll probably repeat myself in this interview (*loud laugh*) but in terms of music and creativity, I’ve no interest in it; I’m really only interested in the future. However, I’m aware that we have what some people call a Legacy, which I take as a compliment, that people do want to hear it again…

But I thought, let’s move on and re-record it. I want to do an interpretation of the songs of how they were written. So I imagined that ‘Happy Families’ had never been recorded. I’m very proud of how it was of course, but we went into the studio using the technology of 2013 thinking Stephen and I had just written the tracks. I wanted a pared down version of what we did, it’s quite raw the way I’ve gone about recording.

I didn’t want any extraneous stuff in the production, 80s values were terrific but the pared down route suited me and the way I wanted to approach these songs. There are also economics to consider, technology allows you to work a certain way and I had all the synth sounds I needed and I knew David would perform brilliantly.

So you are working with David Rhodes again?

When we decided that we were going to record ‘Happy Families Too…’ – most of the original tracks had guitar on and my guitar playing is as good as my singing… so a bit dodgy *loud laugh*

So for the main guitar I said “let’s get David in”. We had a fantastic time, we recorded all his guitar parts in two days, he worked bloody hard and is coming on tour with us, which is fantastic as we’ll have a good laugh.

So you’ve kept in touch with him all this time?

Yes, after touring with DEPECHE MODE in 1981, Stephen and I were still working full time but we then got offered a tour with JAPAN. I think it had a lot to do with the fact we were a two piece, economical and not much gear etc. We were playing in St Austell, the Coliseum I think, a great big cavernous place, when this bloke comes up to us and says “Here… do you want some beers?”. Then he brought some beers through from JAPAN’s rider! And, I thought, I like him! David and I got on very well from that moment. After seeing him play with JAPAN, we invited him to come and play with us. He happened to live near me so we would meet up for a lot for gigs, the pub etc and I liked his own music that he was doing so asked him to come and play on the original album.

How different was the recording experience this time around?

I listened to the demos and parts of the original tracks but I didn’t study the album as it was. I’ve got the memory of ‘Happy Families’. The interesting part was recreating it using Linn Drum, 808s and some VSTs on there and bizarre things happen when you start listening to parts of songs that you wrote 30 odd years ago…

I looked at tempos, and Adam Fuest, who does our live sound said they were interesting. For example, ‘I’ve Seen The Word’ is 129.73/74! Normally 129 is enough for most people but I wanted it specific, it didn’t feel right any slower or faster. The arrangements are pretty true; when I was analysing a drum part, I would zoom in like an audio microscope using today’s technology. One time I ended up right in the thick of a bass drum and it triggered a memory for me. I remembered Stephen and I programming in the studio and I’d never thought of that moment before then, I suddenly realised I was listening to a memory and it was really moving.

Years ago if you had a buzzing synthesizer and someone suddenly turned a light on, you’d get a terrible noise when you were trying to record. That noise isn’t an issue anymore, there’s things you can put in the computer, programmes that isolate that frequency and take it out. David came in and starting playing and there was this “bbrrr” sound; he said don’t worry about that, just record a bit of that noise at the end of the track. Then Adam, who is mixing the album too, puts one of his VST plug-ins on it that analyses the sound, sets a threshold and it’s gone. Years ago that used to take days to sort out. Don’t turn a light switch on. Someone’s using a Hoover next door. Oh that’d be Stephen! *laughs*

In which formats will ‘Happy Families Too…’ be available?

‘Happy Families Too…’ is in two stages. There’s an exclusive very limited edition version that will only be available in CD and maybe vinyl on the tour dates. Sadly we can’t afford to give it away but we wanted to reward people for making the effort to come and see us. I could have just called the record company and said can you give us some copies of the original, but no. Ten songs have been reprogrammed like ‘Living On The Ceiling’, ‘God’s Kitchen‘, ‘Feel Me‘ and ‘I Can’t Explain‘. I have used a lot of the old stuff as well but brought it into the present day. Nobody in their right mind would record an album for a tour, it’s usually the other way round. It is exclusive and I’m bonkers for doing it *roars of laughter*

There is also going to be a booklet printed with memorabilia etc. We want people to come along to the tour… very unlikely to do it again.

It is part of the live gig experience now isn’t it? People expect to see and buy new merchandise and hopefully get albums signed and of course, one of your strengths is the Meet and Greet…

I absolutely love it. I find it quite humbling as I didn’t get the chance to do it for years. In the 80s, we were just pushed from pillar to post, “where is your next single? Is it as good as the last one?”. Now I get a real buzz from hearing all the stories. I get ideas for lyrics, it’s fantastic! I think I’m in a really lucky position.

So what is the second stage?

A deluxe version that will have extra tracks and remixes… we’re in discussions with a record company at the moment. For example, take ‘Running Thin‘, that track wasn’t on the original album, it was only ever played on a John Peel session and I wanted to document a proper version of that.

Photo by Deb Danahay

So the remix of ‘Living On The Ceiling’ that Vince Clarke is working on and tweeting about is featured on the deluxe edition? He has said it’s his “kinda song” as it only has two chords!

Yes, that’s true, ‘Living On The Ceiling’ does only have two chords, it goes up and down a few times then heads out to sea, my kinda song as well *loud laugh*

That’s fantastic; that’s so nice of him to do it and he sent me a message saying he is having a “splendid” time putting it together.

Would be “Splendid”; that was Vince and Eric Radcliffe’s studio name in the past. What other artistes have you involved, and did they choose the tracks themselves?

The choice was theirs and we have the wonderful Greg Wilson who did such brilliant things at the Hacienda, absolutely amazing… can’t believe he’s doing it, he is going to remix ‘Feel Me‘. We also have my son Joe, who is doing very well for himself under his stage name of APPLEBOTTOM. He was on Radio One recently.

Joe is on my list of questions and I checked this morning, he has nearly 10,000 followers on Facebook now!

He has had over a million plays on one of his tracks. Come on Joe, give me a plug lad… Son of BLANCMANGE! *laughs*

There is a rumour… well, actually he is, going to do a couple of slots on the tour.

He’s your support act?

Think I’ll be supporting him! He’s studying hard and doing his music, I’m really proud of my daughter too, both my kids.

‘Living On The Ceiling’ was written for Helen, your long time partner?

Yes, quite a few songs were written for the lovely Helen, like ‘Sad Day’. I wrote it on a day we had had a bust up and I was bit mopey. I wrote the ‘Living On The Ceiling’ lyrics at college and Stephen came up with an interesting groove so he came over to a squat I was living in at the time in Wood Green.

Stephen played a keyboard and I made a mistake in the melody line, but the mistake was better than the intention. That missing half tone gave the track that Middle Eastern, Arabic flavour. So the lesson is, if you make a mistake, record it, and many mistakes were made in public after that and I will continue to that in November Deb *laughs*

Photo by Deb Danahay

It is really sad to hear that Stephen is still not well enough to go on tour, wondering if Pandit is going to be joining you again?

Not this time. There will be David Rhodes and Oogoo who did the visuals on the last tour, he’s an electronic whizz kid playing the keyboards. So there’s three of us on stage plus Adam. He doesn’t simply mix the sound, he does a lot of treatments live. It’s exciting as I didn’t want it to be the same performance every night. It’ll be ‘squeaky bum’ time every night! *laughs*

I want it to be like that. For example, ‘I Can’t Explain’ is an ad lib each time I do it live. It’s exciting for me as I know I can take it lyrically, and delivery wise, but it can go to a different place. It’s a similar thing with ‘Feel Me’ and I love that idea. It’s great looking at the audience. They are singing the original lyrics and I’m up there giving it a ton, locked in, I go into a zone. I think if you do that, the audience will go with you and believe it; if you’re only half in there, you are duping your audience but I’m completely committed and manic at times.

I remember when you performed ‘I Can’t Explain’ live last year, thought you were going to have a heart attack on stage! Are there other tracks not included on ‘Happy Families Too…’ that will be performed on the tour?

There will be a new track, from the new album which is already started. Maybe the ABBA one, but mainly BLANCMANGE songs… not about to do BEATLES songs! Maybe a Johnny Cash track, I’m a big fan of Johnny Cash as you know! *loud laugh*

Along with the other memorabilia, I have brought along a copy of ‘Irene and Mavis’; were they pet names for you and Stephen?

Yes, we could have had alter egos. Me and Stephen know who is who *loud laugh*

We had this idea that two old dears are in the launderette and instead of reading ‘People’s Friend’, they read ‘Practical Electronics’, and they make an electronic record. It’s coming out again. There’s a scoop! On Minimal Wave Records, there’s a limited edition 10” vinyl to coincide with the tour. I’m so excited about it, they have done a wonderful job remastering it; it’s the best I’ve heard it and it’s the first time it’s been available for 33 years. Minimal Wave are a brilliant record label and I’d advise anyone to check out their stuff.

The DAVE CLARK FIVE track ‘Concentration Baby’ was posted on Facebook today funnily enough. What memories does that conjure?

Stephen played violin and used to do a version with his previous band MIRU. I played guitar and bass, and Lawrence played drums. It was recorded on a four track, all the other tracks were just on a cassette tape. A friend called Dave got a £200 tax rebate so he paid for 1000 copies and became Executive Producer. Porky Prime Cuts cut it, and then we sat in Stephen’s back garden and put the single in the gatefold sleeve. I designed the front, Stephen the back and then we threw Stephen’s cat in for oomph. We couldn’t afford to get it type set, so we wrote it on Stephen’s wall in his flat. *laughs*

There are so many bands from the Synth Britannia era that are still touring and, more importantly, writing new material just like BLANCMANGE…

I still have an intense desire to express myself, irrespective of my age, whether it’s as Neil Arthur or BLANCMANGE. I’m driven to perform music, whether I perform live all the time is another matter. I won’t retire, I will just decompose! *roars of laughter*

Everybody is different. I like to take elements from the past, not just stay there and repeat endlessly like ‘Groundhog Day’. But I realise we are in a world where a lot of people are afraid of the future and nostalgia plays a big role for a lot of people… but I’m really excited about the future. There are also lots of bands referencing that era and loads of new bands reinventing it, absolutely brilliant bands around at the moment.

So what artists are you are listening to at the moment?

I tend to listen to a lot of electronic music still like KRAFTWERK. I love CAN and NEU! Really brilliant! I will always come back and listen to Eno who got me through final course work at College. Especially ‘Music for Airports‘, everybody in the house puts that on, it’s stood the test of time.

Then there’s Matthew Dear, I love what he does; Luke Abbott, DARKSTAR, LCD SOUNDSYSTEM, CASIOTONE FOR THE PAINFULLY ALONE, PANTHA DU PRINCE to name a few and Nicholas Yaar; his album ‘Space is Only Noise‘ is beautiful.

What about my socks Deb? Same colour as my watch (orange)…

…and your teeth Neil *loud laugh*

Would you like to come down to the studio and hear a few of the tracks from the ‘Happy Families Too…’ album?

Yes please! Be rude not to…

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Neil Arthur

Special Thanks to Mike Wilson, Founder and Creative Director of Ditto

Additional thanks to Duncan Clark at 9PR

BLANCMANGE’s ‘Happy Families Too…’ tour includes:

Clitheroe The Grand (3 November), Darwen Library (4 November), Darwen Library (5 November), Manchester Soundcontrol (6 November), Glasgow Braodcast (7 November), Newcastle Think Tank (8 November), Southampton The Brook (9 November), Brighton Concorde 2 (10 November), Wolverhampton Robin (11 November), Nottingham Rescue Rooms (12 November), Liverpool Erics (13 November),Wakefield The Hop (14 November), London The Garage (15 November), Cardiff, Ifor Bach (16 November), Dublin The Button Factory (21 November)

Tickets available at www.blancmange.co.uk

The ‘Irene & Mavis’ EP is reissued as a 10 inch vinyl by Minimal Wave Records in a limited edition of 999 on 5th November 2013. Please visit www.minimalwave.com for more details

https://www.facebook.com/BlancmangeMusic

https://twitter.com/_blancmange_

Text and Interview by Deb Danahay
5th October 2013

25 SYNTH INSTRUMENTALS OF THE CLASSIC ERA

13 August 2013 /

1972’s ‘Popcorn’ could arguably be seen as Europe’s first electronic pop hit.

Made famous by HOT BUTTER, they were actually a combo of session players led by Stan Free who had been a member of FIRST MOOG QUARTET with ‘Popcorn’ composer Gershon Kingsley. It was largely considered a novelty record but it inspired many cover versions throughout the world including France where it was a No1.

There, one came courtesy of a young musician named Jean-Michel Jarre who recorded ‘Popcorn’ under the moniker of THE POPCORN ORCHESTRA. While working on his first proper full length electronic album in 1976, Jarre adapted a melodic phrase from ‘Popcorn’ as the main theme of what was to become the project’s lead single. That composition was ‘Oxygène IV’ and the rest is history.

After ‘Oxygène IV’ became a Top 5 hit in the Autumn of 1977, the synth instrumental became a popular medium, even spawning budget covers albums such as ‘Synthesizer Hits’ and ‘Synthesizer Gold’.

But coinciding with accessibility of affordable synthesizers, instrumentals were seen by some as a cop out for a B-side or album filler. A bridge between pop and experimentation, these tracks were actually an artform of their own and many would become cult favourites among enthusiasts who understood that music did not necessarily need words to convey an emotive atmosphere or make people dance.

However today, it does appear to be a dying art with some musicians not understanding that formless noodling, club racketfests or tracks in which the vocalist appears to have forgotten to sing don’t quite cut it. So here are twenty five other instrumentals from the classic era when the synth went mainstream and discerning listeners looked forward to an imaginative wordless wonder.

This chronological by year, then alphabetical list however has a restriction of one track per artist and features no tracks that use a repeated vocal phrase as a topline, thus excluding most recordings by KRAFTWERK! And if you’re wondering where GIORGIO MORODER is, his work was covered recently in his own Beginner’s Guide to him…

NEU! Isi (1975)

By 1975, NEU! had broken into two artistic factions with Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger unable to agree a direction for their new album. So they divided its space with the manic Dinger piloting his rambling proto-punk of side two and the more sedate and thoughtful Rother directing the less jarring first side. ‘Isi’ was a wonderful synthesizer and piano instrumental that was still driven by a motorik beat but less dominantly Apache.

Available on the album ‘Neu! 75’ via Gronland Records

http://www.neu2010.com/

KRAFTWERK Franz Schubert (1977)

TEE-7inchEffectively the closing track on KRAFTWERK’s iconic ‘Trans Europe Express’ album, this neo-classical piece was eerily emotive with its combination of Vako Orchestron string ensemble over some gentle Synthanorma Sequenzer pulsing. The haunting elegance of ‘Franz Schubert’ was like Ralf Hütter had been possessed by the ghost of the great German composer, reflecting the art of his melodic and harmonic intuition.

Available on the album ‘Trans Europe Express’ on EMI Records

http://www.kraftwerk.com/

SPACE Magic Fly (1977)

SPACE was the brainchild of Didier Marouani who went under the pseudonym Ecama and formed the collective with Roland Romanelli, and Jannick Top. With compatriot Jean-Michel Jarre and a certain Giorgio Moroder also in the charts, the space disco of the iconic ‘Magic Fly’ heralded the start of a new European electronic sound within the mainstream. With its catchy melody and lush, accessible futurism, ‘Magic Fly’ sold millions all over the world.

Available on the album ‘Magic Fly’ via Virgin France

http://fr.space.tm.fr/

JAPAN The Tenant (1978)

Inspired by the grim Roman Polanski film, ‘The Tenant’ signalled the Lewisham combo’s move away from funk rock into artier climes. A merging of the second side of David Bowie’s ‘Low’ with classical composer Erik Satie, it saw Richard Barbieri play more with synthesizer and piano textures to create atmosphere while Mick Karn dressed the piece with his fretless bass rather than driving it. Karn’s burst of self-taught sax at the conclusion is also quite unsettling.

Available on the album ‘Obscure Alternatives’ via Sony BMG Records

http://www.nightporter.co.uk/

GARY NUMAN Airlane (1979)

For anyone who first became a fan of electronic pop during the Synth Britannia era, ‘Airlane’ was a key moment. As the opening track of ‘The Pleasure Principle’ and its subsequent concert tour, it was the calling card that literally announced “GARY NUMAN IS IN THE BUILDING”! Yes, Numan had done instrumentals before, but with its sparkling Polymoog riffs, ‘Airlane’ provoked excitement and anticipation.

Available on the album ‘The Pleasure Principle’ via Beggars Banquet

http://www.numan.co.uk/

YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA Rydeen (1979)

With their eponymous debut under their belt, YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA fully found their technopop sound on ‘Solid State Survivor’. Written by drummer Yukihiro Takahashi, ‘Rydeen’ was a percussively colourful pentatonic tune filled with optimism and flair. This was the trio at their best as the later ‘Technodelic’ was a quite doomy, while their swansong ‘Naughty Boys’ was overtly mainstream.

Available on the album ‘Solid State Survivor’ via Sony Music

http://www.ymo.org/

JOHN FOXX Mr No (1980)

Armed with an ARP Odyssey, Elka string machine and Roland Compurhythm, John Foxx’s ‘Mr No’ was like a futuristic Bond theme or a signature tune for some space gangster. The mechanical giro was menacingly snake-like while the swirling chill invaded the speakers to prompt some almost funky robot dancing. The ‘Metamatic’ era track originally surfaced on the ‘No-One Driving’ double single pack with aother instrumental, the more sedate ‘Gilmmer’.

Available on the album ‘Metamatic’ via Edsel Records

http://www.metamatic.com/

THE HUMAN LEAGUE Gordon’s Gin (1980)

Written by Jeff Wayne for a cinema advert, THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s cover of ‘Gordon’s Gin’ kicks in like an commercial for Moloko Plus being sold at the Korova Milk Bar. Glorious and euphoric with futuristic sounds that weighed more than Saturn, Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh left the band shortly after to form a project named after an imaginary group from a scene in ‘A Clockwork Orange’ discussed by anti-hero Alex with a couple of devotchkas at the disc-bootick!

Available on the album ‘Travelogue’ via Virgin/EMI Records

http://martynwareblog.blogspot.co.uk/

ULTRAVOX Astradyne (1980)

Of ‘Astradyne’, Billy Currie said: “Midge started with that strong melody, Chris’ bass was also a very strong feature. I played a piano counter melody behind. The track was so strong that we felt at ease to lengthen it with a long textural piano bit that is sort of bell-like with the metronomic bass drum beats and the violin tremolo solo… Midge came up with that final section lift taking it out of the long ARP solo. I double it! It is a very good strong keyboard part. It is very celebratory at the end…”

Available on the album ‘Vienna’ via Chrysalis/EMI Records

http://www.ultravox.org.uk/

DEPECHE MODE Big Muff (1981)

One of two Martin Gore compositions on the Vince Clarke dominated DEPECHE MODE debut ‘Speak & Spell’, ‘Big Muff’ was a fabulous highlight on the album’s more superior second side. Highly danceable and enjoyably riff laden, this futuristic romp was named after an effects pedal made by Electro-Harmonix who later branched into portable synths. It allowed many a synth obsessed teenager to declare “I like big muff” without embarrassment!

Available on the album ‘Speak & Spell’ via Mute Records

http://www.depechemode.com/

SIMPLE MINDS Theme For Great Cities (1981)

Even with the advent of the free download era, ‘Theme for Great Cities’ is one of the greatest freebies of all time having initially been part of ‘Sister Feelings Call’, a 7-track EP given gratis to early purchasers of SIMPLE MINDS’ fourth album ‘Sons & Fascination’. Starting with some haunting vox humana before a combination of CAN and TANGERINE DREAM takes hold, the rhythm section covered in dub echo drives what is possibly one of the greatest instrumental signatures ever!

Available on the album ‘Sons & Fascination/Sister Feelings Call’ via Virgin/EMI Records

http://www.simpleminds.com

VISAGE Frequency 7 – Dance Mix (1981)

Not actually written as an instrumental, the original was the B-side of VISAGE’s first single ‘Tar’ and much faster paced, featuring Steve Strange rambling about not very much. For its dance mix, ‘Frequency 7’ was slowed down and Strange’s vocal removed. The result was a masterclass in Barry Adamson’s bass counterpointing with Billy Currie’s ARP Odyssey bursts of screaming aggression and Rusty Egan’s metronomic electronic beats for a creepy robotic aesthetic.

Available on the album ‘The Anvil’ via Cherry Red

http://www.visage.cc/

BLANCMANGE Sad Day (1982)

There are two versions of this cult classic; a mutant countrified ambient piece based around the bassline of Brian Eno’s ‘The Fat Lady Of Limbourg’ from the ‘Some Bizzare Album’ and the lively Mike Oldfield inspired album version from ‘Happy Families’. Each has its merits but the percussively jaunty re-recording just wins over with its synthesized wallows, chiming guitars and crashing Simmons drums.

Available on the album ‘Happy Families’ via Edsel Records

http://www.blancmange.co.uk/

DRAMATIS Pomp & Stompandstamp (1982)

The hypnotic B-side to ‘Face on The Wall’ showcased the fusion of the classical, rock and prog elements that were the core talents of Chris Payne, RRussell Bell and CedSharpley who had been the mainstay of the first GARY NUMAN backing band. Not a cover of Edward Elgar’s near-namesake composition ‘Pomp & Circumstance’ , DRAMATIS‘ rousing number would however make a perfect closer for the Last Night Of The Proms in the 22nd Century!

Available on the album ‘For Future Reference’ via Cherry Red Records

http://www.numanme.co.uk/numanme/Dramatis.htm

A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS DNA (1982)

Technically, ‘DNA’ is not a really synth instrumental with the hook line being far too guitar oriented. However, it had a key role breaking down barriers for music with a more futuristic bent in synthobic America and snatched a 1983 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. And for that, ‘DNA’ deserves kudos! A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS‘ cultural impact can be measured by leader Mike Score’s iconic hair style being lampooned in ‘The Wedding Singer’ and ‘Friends’.

Available on the album ‘A Flock Of Seagulls’ via Cherry Pop

https://www.facebook.com/MikeScoreOfficial/

SOFT CELL ….So (1982)

A solo Dave Ball composition that was on the B-side of ‘What?’, the tall, pensive synthesist created an electronic disco number while Marc Almond was off doing the first MARC & THE MAMBAS’ album that would have done GIORGIO MORODER proud. Reminiscent of the Italian producer’s ‘Chase’, ‘….So’ featured wonderful percolating synths over a fabulously danceable groove and a solid metronomic beat that required no additional vocal histrionics or energetics.

Available on the album ‘Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret’ via Mercury Records

http://www.marcalmond.co.uk/

CARE On A White Cloud (1983)

CARE was a short lived project comprising of soon-to-be main man of THE LIGHTNING SEEDS Ian Broudie and THE WILD SWANS’ vocalist Paul Simpson. Combining acoustic strums with synthesizer melodies, CARE had promise but imploded due to musical differences. ‘On A With Cloud’ was an epic instrumental with thundering percussion, castenets, ringing guitar and heavenly synthetic layers that appeared the 12 inch B-side of the duo’s best 45 ‘Flaming Sword’.

Originally released on the 12 inch single ‘Flaming Sword’ via Arista Records, currently unavailable

http://stevomusicman.wordpress.com/2011/11/10/care/

CHINA CRISIS Dockland (1983)

CHINA CRISIS recorded a variety of instrumental sketches and the results were often superb. But as the duo of Gary Daly and Eddie Lundon only had a couple of hits, most of this material was little heard having been tucked away on B-sides. ‘Dockland’ is a prime example having been the flip of the flop single ‘Working With Fire & Steel’. The sublime nautical transience inspired by Liverpool’s once vibrant docks lying wasted in a period of high unemployment was captivating.

Available on the album ‘Collection: The Very Best of China Crisis’ 2CD edition via Virgin Records

https://www.facebook.com/pages/China-Crisis/295592467251068

DURAN DURAN Tiger Tiger (1983)

‘Tiger Tiger’ is the best JAPAN instrumental that Sylvian and Co never recorded plus some would consider any DURAN DURAN track without a Simon Le Bon vocal to be a bonus. That aside, John Taylor and Nick Rhodes had more artier aspirations so indulged on this musical tribute to the William Blake poem. Taylor does a superb Mick Karn impersonation on fretless bass while Rhodes adds a great synth melody to proceedings.

Available on the album ‘Seven & The Ragged Tiger’ via EMI Records

http://www.duranduran.com/

THE ASSEMBLY Stop/Start (1984)

Strangely enough, Vince Clarke is not really known for his instrumentals. Co-composed with  Eric Radcliffe, ‘Stop/Start’ was effectively Clarke’s first instrumental as DEPECHE MODE’s ‘Any Second Now’ had a ‘(Voices)’ variant while YAZOO’s ‘Chinese Detectives’ was only played live. A Casiotone infused ditty with Linn drums and a cute melody, ‘Stop/Start’ was the B-side to THE ASSEMBLY’s only single ‘Never Never’.

Available on the boxed set ‘Mute: Audio Documents’ via Mute Records

http://www.vinceclarkemusic.com/

HOWARD JONES Tao Te Ching (1984)

Throwing off his mental chains, Mr Jones took inspiration from his own Buddhist spirituality and the overtures of Vangelis’ 1979 album ‘China’ for this rather beautiful piece which used to open his early shows. Using pentatonic melodies and sweeping chords on ‘Tao Te Ching’ in the style of Tomita and Kitaro, it’s a shame that this aspect of Jones’ quite obvious musical capabilities has never really been explored.

Available on the album ‘The Very Best Of Howard Jones’ via Warner Music

http://www.howardjones.com/

OMD Junk Culture (1984)

Inspired by a ‘Blade Runner’ sample, ‘Junk Culture’ was a reggae-ish number set to a bizarre time signature and signalled OMD’s move away from Germanic electronica. Still experimenting, only this time with more World Music forms thanks to the advent of sampling technology, the detuned Tijuana brass, deep dub bass and schizo voice snippets recalled the work of Jah Wobble, Holger Czukay and Jaki Liebezeit.

Available on the album ‘Junk Culture’ via Virgin Records

http://www.omd.uk.com

TEARS FOR FEARS Pharaohs (1985)

‘The Marauders’ and ‘Empire Building’ showed TEARS FOR FEARS were adept at instrumentals and their best was ‘Pharaohs’, the B-side of ‘Everybody Wants To Rule The World’. Launched with a crunchy 6/8 heartbeat, the sedate piano motif and drifting synths gave a distinctly nautical feel, enhanced by sound bites from the BBC shipping forecast. But out of nowhere, the middle eight Emulator voice theme from the A-side introduces its partnering chordial guitar solo!

Available on the album ‘Songs From The Big Chair’ 2CD deluxe edition

http://tearsforfears.com/

NEW ORDER Best & Marsh (1989)

This theme was composed in 1988 for the eight part Granada TV series hosted by Factory Records’ supremo Tony Wilson and featured two of Manchester’s most iconic club footballers, George Best and Rodney Marsh. With a great string synth melody, Hooky bass, clubby beats and Italo piano stabs, this prompted the FA to commision NEW ORDER to write ‘World In Motion’ for the 1990 World Cup, while the series allowed ‘Best & Marsh’ to embark on a popular speaking tour.

Available on the album ‘Technique’ 2CD Deluxe edition via London Records

http://www.neworder.com/

VANGELIS End Titles From Blade Runner (1989)

Dramatic, tense and melodic, Vangelis’ closing theme to the acclaimed 1982 Ridley Scott directed Sci-Fi movie ‘Blade Runner’ succeeded in orchestrating a score using just synths and samples to maintain the futuristic unsettlement of the story. However, the glorious track was not actually released until 1989 on the ‘Themes’ compilation, while an actual soundtrack album didn’t actually see the light of day until 1994.

Available on the album ‘Blade Runner’ via Warner Music

http://www.vangelisworld.com/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
13th August 2013, updated 29th December 2022

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