With summer concerts accompanied by The Leeds College of Music Orchestra and Choir plus the recent release of his career spanning 10 CD box set ‘Trials Of Eyeliner: Anthology 1979-2016’, the last thing anyone expected from Marc Almond to close the year was an electronic pop album.
But this is exactly what has happened with ‘Silver City Ride’, a collection of ten songs recorded in collaboration with STARCLUSTER featuring Almond’s most synth laden body of work since SOFT CELL.
Flashback to 1981; following their appearance on the ‘Some Bizzare Album’ and a surprise No1 in a cover of the Northern Soul favourite ‘Tainted Love’, SOFT CELL were generally considered to have more artistic potential than DEPECHE MODE. But despite the success of the debut long player ‘Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret’, the duo imploded with Almond eventually going solo while musical partner Dave Ball formed THE GRID.
But while SOFT CELL ended after just three albums, they made an impact in the pop landscape. Their template was borrowed by PET SHOP BOYS, who softened it and made it less threatening to achieve great international success. So the notion that SOFT CELL could have been huge is not far-fetched. While electronic pop was how Marc Almond made his name, his solo career has been more traditional instrumentally with only the occasional foray into technological enhancement, most notably with his cover of ‘Jacky’ produced by Trevor Horn in 1991.
But in 2008, Almond recorded ‘Smoke & Mirrors’ with STARCLUSTER, an Anglo German production duo comprising of Roland Faber and Kai Ludeling. The song itself was an octave shifting dance anthem in the vein of Giorgio Moroder with a sweeping Vangelis rooted synth solo thrown in too; a beefed up remix of the track is included on ‘Silver City Ride’ and actually improves on the original.
The album begins with the joyous triplet driven experience of the title track. The wonderful ‘Pixelated’ is more mysterious and could even be seen as Almond’s tribute to John Foxx. The ivory shaped ‘Avatar’ takes on an introspective mood while the spritely drum machine jaunt of ‘The City Cries’ squelches marvellously, punctuated by sparking synth vibrato and Almond’s passionate energetics.
Haunting Almond yet again, it’s a great cover version that takes the limelight on ‘Silver City Ride’. ‘To Have & Have Not’ was written by Peter Godwin and his ‘Criminal World’ was famously covered by David Bowie in 1983. Originally recorded by androgynous New Romantic fashion icon Ronny, it retains the stern manner of the former Parisian model, while giving this slice of modern Weimar Cabaret a boost in profile, something that it has always deserved.
‘The Shallows’ is a sub-PET SHOP BOYS excursion, before the ‘Chase’ rendering atmospheres of ‘I Don’t Kiss’ take the pace down. But a reinterpretation of the contemporary choir boy ballad ‘Always With You’ takes Almond into Enya territory and is a curio likely to polarise listeners. Whatever, Faber and Ludeling do an excellent job in its construction.
The final track ‘Get Closer’ is another cover, this time of the cult Italo disco tune recorded by Valerie Dore. The pulsing backing track is pristine and while Almond’s voice is layered in treatments that may upset purists, it ultimately shows his willingness to experiment with a modern electronica aesthetic.
Dressed in its Metropolis inspired artwork designed by Emil Schult, while ‘Silver City Ride’ is a synthpop record with classic Eurocentric leanings, it is most certainly not a ‘Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret’ tribute. The album is far too clean and smooth to be that and some might even say it lacks the grit and glitter of SOFT CELL.
But to hear Marc Almond’s voice again alongside vintage synthesizers is pure joy. And for that reason alone, ‘Silver City Ride’ is a welcome addition to the Almond catalogue that will delight fans of his more electronic based work.
‘Silver City Ride’ uses the following equipment: Minimoog, Moog MG1, Moog Voyager, Roland Jupiter 4, Roland Jupiter 8, Roland SH2, Roland System 100M, Roland SH101, Roland Juno 60, Roland JD800, Roland TR808, Roland CR78, Roland CR8000, Oberheim Matrix 1000, MFB Synth II, Roland MKS 30/50/70/80, Ensoniq ESQ1, ARP Odyssey, ARP Avatar, ARP Solina, Sequential Prophet 5, Sequential Pro-One, Korg Mono/Poly, Korg Poly 61, Korg Rhythm 55, Korg MS20, Linn Drum II, Eurorack Modular
‘Eddie The Eagle’ is a biopic by ‘X-Men: First Class’ director Matthew Vaughn about Eddie Edwards, who represented Team GB in ski-jumping at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. It was the same Olympics which inspired the Disney film ‘Cool Runnings’ about Jamaica’s first bobsleigh team entry!
Based on true events, the film stars Taron Egerton as Eddie Edwards and Hugh Jackman as Edwards’ fictional trainer. Whereas ‘Cool Runnings’ had artists performing cover versions for the soundtrack, ‘Fly – Songs Inspired by the film Eddie The Eagle’ differs in having a collection of original songs curated by Gary Barlow, each recorded by British artists who are now usually seen frequenting retrospective events such as Rewind, Here & Now and Let’s Rock.
So, a concept album based around the legend of a bespectacled plasterer, featuring contributions from members of FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD, SOFT CELL, SPANDAU BALLET, ULTRAVOX, ERASURE and OMD, in collaboration with a member of TAKE THAT? On paper, this is a terrible idea!
But Gary Barlow has long been an admirer of ULTRAVOX in particular; his 2010 interpolation of ‘Vienna’ for the track ‘Eight Letters’ on TAKE THAT’s Stuart Price produced album ‘Progress’ resulted in the rather unusual writing credit of Barlow / Donald / Orange / Owen / Williams / Ure / Cross / Cann / Currie. The TAKE THAT track ‘Love Love’ for the film ‘X-Men: First Class’ also indicated Barlow’s interest in electro forms.
The era in which ‘Eddie The Eagle’ reigned has been symbolised by both aspiration and fighting against the odds, and that comes across in the song titles. As a side note, it is interesting how with the political climate that existed during this time, this project has gathered musicians whose politics cover the whole colour spectrum, from the Jeremy Corbyn supporting Martyn Ware to the self-confessed Tory boy Tony Hadley. While some say politics should be kept separate from music, many would argue music is an artistic reflection of the incumbent environment. So what of the music?
Holly Johnson’s ‘Ascension’ is typically epic, recalling a steadily building uptempo reboot of ‘The Power Of Love’, while ‘Out Of The Sky’ sees Marc Almond tackling his most overtly electro number for many years. Having previously shared a stage with Gary Barlow and earned some extra royalties too, Midge Ure’s ‘Touching Hearts & Skies’ stands quite ably within the concept as a tune reminiscent of ULTRAVOX’s classic synth rock.
Having found success outside of OMD with the first incarnation of ATOMIC KITTEN including a No1 in ‘Whole Again’, Andy McCluskey has a proven pedigree in mainstream pop spheres. He does a good job in co-writing with Barlow on ‘Thrill Me’, which is sung by the film’s two stars. Taron Egerton won ‘The Stephen Sondheim Society Student Performer of the Year’ while at RADA and Hugh Jackman of course appeared in the musical epic ‘Les Misérables’; so their combined capabilities in the vocal department stop the song from becoming an ironic novelty. According to McCluskey, Egerton and Jackman’s vocals were recorded without his knowledge! Unsurprisingly ‘Thrill Me’ does sound like ‘Sugar Tax’ era OMD, crossed with imperial ‘Everything Changes’ phase TAKE THAT. Who’d have thunk it eh?
Nik Kershaw is another with a songwriting career outside of his own, penning ‘The One & Only’ for Chesney Hawkes back in 1991; ‘The Sky’s The Limit’ is an archetypical MTV friendly ballad that could have been made back then, with hints of A-HA and SAVAGE GARDEN. One of the songs not part of the original ‘Fly’ concept is HEAVEN 17’s ‘Pray’; previously released by Messrs Ware and Gregory in 2014, it’s a terrific hybrid of the early avant phase of THE HUMAN LEAGUE and ‘Young Americans’ era Bowie. This slice of prime electronic soul is a stand-out on the collection and proof that the Sheffield masters still have it.
But members of the HEAVEN 17 crew do contribute to the energetically synthy engine room of Kim Wilde’s ‘Without Your Love’. It’s an enjoyable homage to her earlier sound, co-written by Glenn Gregory and live H17 keyboardist Berenice Scott in collaboration with Barlow. Tony Hadley does his overblown Foghorn party piece on ‘Moment’ and Spandau fans will be more than happy with the end result, others perhaps not so.
The often under rated Howard Jones delivers the enjoyable modern schaffel stomp of ‘Eagle Will Fly Again’, while the blue-eyed soul offerings from ABC and GO WEST will satisfy their existing fans. However, Paul Young appears to have lost his voice on the vintage widescreen AOR of ‘People Like You’. Meanwhile on the autotuned ‘Fly’, Andy Bell actually starts to sound more like Tony Hadley than Alison Moyet!
Like with the music from back in the day, some of it is brilliant, some of it is likeable and some of it you’d rather not hear again. But that in an essence, is why music derived from this period still resonates today… it was about songs and melodies, not tuneless dance excursions or ultra-fast talking supposedly passing for vocals.
‘Fly – Songs Inspired By The Film Eddie The Eagle’ is an interesting curio as a “Where Are They Now?” snapshot. Whatever your tastes, there is a good reason why all of the artists featured on this album still have a career performing.
Dave Ball is best known as the musical genius of SOFT CELL.
Together with Marc Almond, they recorded ‘Tainted Love’, a marvellous hybrid of Northern Soul and KRAFTWERK that was possibly Synth Britannia’s first true crossover song. It started a run of hit singles that ensured SOFT CELL would be Top 40 chart fixtures for the next three years. Their self-released ‘Mutant Moments’ EP in 1980 came to the attention of DJ Stevo Pearce, who had been compiling “futurist” charts for the music papers Record Mirror and Sounds.
Stevo gathered a number of fledgling acts like DEPECHE MODE, BLANCMANGE, B-MOVIE and THE THE who appeared alongside SOFT CELL on the independently produced ‘Some Bizzare Album’ compilation in 1981.
This eventually led to SOFT CELL signing to Phonogram Records. After ‘Tainted Love’, a cover of a Northern Soul favourite by Gloria Jones, became a UK No1 in September 1981, Ball and Almond became unlikely pin-ups with poster spreads in ‘Smash Hits’. The follow-up single ‘Bedsitter’ reached No 4 and proved SOFT CELL could have hit singles with their own material.
Meanwhile, a further three Top 3 hits came with ‘Say Hello Wave Goodbye’, ‘Torch’ and ‘What’ during what could be now considered as SOFT CELL’s imperial phase, a period which undoubtedly broke down barriers and paved the way for many of the acts who followed, like PET SHOP BOYS, ERASURE, BRONSKI BEAT and FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD.
However, as former art students who had met at Leeds Polytechnic, commercial success and pop stardom did not sit well with Ball and Almond; inevitably, the pair began to implode. SOFT CELL disbanded in 1984 but while Almond went solo, Ball eventually found solace in the burgeoning house scene.
With his new musical partner Richard Norris, he found success as THE GRID. Their debut album ‘Electric Head’ proved to be quite influential, with Canadian DJ Tiga probably one of the artists who owe a debt to its timeless musical template. Around this time, Ball began collaborating with Marc Almond again. The results ended up on ‘Tenement Symphony’, possibly the most mainstream recording of Almond’s career. This eventually led to a full SOFT CELL reunion in 2001 and the album ‘Cruelty Without Beauty’ in 2002.
Following an impromptu meeting at a recent Wolfgang Flür gig Under The Bridge in Chelsea, Dave Ball kindly agreed to a chat with ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about his career with SOFT CELL, THE GRID and more.
What inspired you to adopt synthesizers as your tools of expression, rather than guitars?
I first started out as a guitar player but I wasn’t good enough and after hearing ‘Autobahn’ by KRAFTWERK, I decided I was more interested in the possibilities of synthesizers, so I part-exchanged my Fender Telecaster for a second hand synth.
Which were your first couple of synth and drum machine purchases?
My first synth was a Mini Korg 800DV, followed by a Korg Synthe-Bass SB-100 and I had Rhythm Master drum machine that played presets like Bossa Nova, then I got a Boss Dr Rhythm which was programmable.
One of the key instruments in the SOFT CELL sound was the Korg Synthe-Bass SB-100, a little two octave synth which no-one else appeared to use.
The SB-100 was great because it was specifically a bass instrument, although the twangy topline on ‘Bedsitter’ is made on that instrument using the two pitchbend buttons. The B52s are the only other group I know of that also used that keyboard.
I’ve always been interested in how you connected your love of Northern Soul with your rhythm structures for SOFT CELL, particularly once you’d acquired the Roland TR808?
I would say the only similarity was to do with the tempo of Northern Soul and our faster numbers. On ‘Tainted Love’ I used a Roland Compurhythm CR78 drum machine, I first used a TR808 on ‘Bedsitter’, the follow-up single. I think that was possibly the first record in the UK Top 10 to use an 808.
SOFT CELL self-released ‘Mutant Moments’ which brought you to the attention of Some Bizzare and the inclusion of ‘The Girl With The Patent Leather Face’ on the subsequent era defining compilation. Do you have any key amusing memories of that period and those ‘Some Bizzare Evenings’ playing live alongside DEPECHE MODE, BLANCMANGE, THE THE and B-MOVIE etc?
They weren’t amusing at the time I assure you although I can laugh about them now. When we played with DEPECHE MODE, it was at a club called Crocs in Rayleigh and they were the house band so they were our support act, believe it or not. They were really tight and played really well and I was very nervous about going on after them as various members of ULTRAVOX, VISAGE, SPANDAU BALLET had come down from London to check us out. We played maybe the worst gig of our careers, the crowd were chucking pennies at us and laughing at us. That was when we realised we had to get our shit together or think about getting day jobs.
‘Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret’ is still much talked about and certainly was a better debut than say, DEPECHE MODE’s ‘Speak & Spell’. How do you yourself look back on it today in the pantheon of classic synthpop?
I think it was the result of working on loads of songs together for two years solid and we seemed to catch the zeitgeist – it was very of its time and I think the S&M references helped. It was quite dangerous imagery for a pop band. It took DEPECHE MODE a few years before they got into the black leather and druggy stuff that we were into from day one.
By ‘The Art Of Falling Apart’, you had expanded the instrumental palette to include guitar and bass plus early samplers and digital drum machines.
I think we were trying to sound heavier and slightly rockier. In retrospect I actually prefer the TR808 drum machine on the previous album, as opposed to the Oberheim DMX and Linn Drum MkII on ‘The Art Of Falling Apart’. The sampler we used was a Synclavier MkII that belonged to our producer, Mike Thorne. I only used the sampler for the bass guitar on the track ‘Martin’ on the bonus 12” single.
You recorded a solo album ‘In Strict Tempo’ and produced VICIOUS PINK PHENOMENA. What did you find creatively by doing these that perhaps you hadn’t done with SOFT CELL?
My solo album was really just me wanting to work with some different people and experiment with the studio. It was more like a sketchbook than a fully realised album. VICIOUS PINK were good friends and were on the first SOFT CELL album and I desperately wanted to become a producer, as I was never really into the live performance thing.
After SOFT CELL disbanded, you took an interest in acid house and met Richard Norris to form THE GRID. How did that and then the subsequent availability of the Akai samplers and other equipment become a game changer for you?
I first met him a mutual friend, Genesis P. Orridge of THROBBING GRISTLE / PSYCHIC TV fame when we were working on an album called ‘Jack The Tab’. What was really crazy about the tech at that time was the affordability. When I first used a Synclavier, they cost £120,000. Then I used a Fairlight III, they cost £60,000! Suddenly you could buy an Atari computer and an Akai sampler and still have change out of £2,000. It made the whole thing available to many more people and people started sampling records and creating a whole new kind of loop based music. It was a totally new thing and I found it incredibly exciting.
THE GRID’s debut album ‘Electric Head’ stills stand up and a track like ‘One Giant Step’ hasn’t dated at all. Why do you think that might be?
To be quite honest, there’s a lot of electronic music out there that hasn’t dated because a lot of it is timeless; also because we often tried to sound futuristic.
The single versions of ‘A Beat Called Love’ and ‘Floatation’ featured recognisable musical elements that could be linked back to SOFT CELL. Had that been a conscious thing or was it proof that the rave scene was a natural progression from the ecstasy fuelled recording sessions for ‘Non-Stop Cabaret’?
Regarding ‘A Beat Called Love’ and ‘Floatation’ – we were under pressure to have hit singles, so in that respect you could make a link to SOFT CELL, albeit slightly tenuously. There was a link in terms of the ecstasy / dance music progression I guess.
What inspired the move to the now infamous “cow-punk techno” sound of ‘Swamp Thing’ and ‘Texas Cowboys’?
I’ve never heard it called “cow-punk techno” before. “Swamp Thing” was inspired by a guy I saw playing sort of Bluegrass with an Irish band in a pub in Marylebone and it occurred to me that the tempo and feel would work with a 4/4 dance beat. Unfortunately it became a bit of a novelty record. We sold a million copies worldwide and it got synched on a John Waters movie, ‘Pecker’ and on Robert Altman’s film ‘Pret A Porter’ – so it’s not all bad. ‘Texas Cowboys’ was inspired by the Andy Warhol / Paul Morrisey film, ‘Lonesome Cowboys’.
THE GRID became in-demand remixers / producers for people like Billie Ray Martin, SPARKS, ERASURE, PET SHOP BOYS, David Sylvian and Robert Fripp. Do you have a particular favourite remix that you did?
I like our mix of ‘Am I Right’ by ERASURE, I was pleased they included it on their recent anthology that got to number 9 in the UK charts. I like the mixes we did for HAPPY MONDAYS, ‘Bob’s Yer Uncle’ and ‘Loose Fix’.
How did you come to be writing again with Marc again for ‘Tenement Symphony’?
I think it was after we’d done a mix of his track ‘Waifs & Strays’. We hadn’t spoken for some time and that got us working together again on a few tracks.
What was the process in composing and recording ‘Meet Me In My Dream’, a song which many regard as a SOFT CELL song in all but name?
I think anything I’ve ever done with Marc sounds like SOFT CELL really. It’s hard not to. My process is always I’ll work out a few chords and sketch out a topline then pass it to him.
This eventually led to a full SOFT CELL reunion and the ‘Cruelty Without Beauty’ album in 2002. Had SOFT CELL been unfinished business for you?
Well, as the saying goes “Never say never again”. We were originally trying to write songs for other people, there was no plan to reform SOFT CELL, but when we did the demos in my studio it just sounded like SOFT CELL… so we just said, “OK, it’s SOFT CELL”.
Did you and Marc achieve all you had hoped for artistically in getting back together?
I’m glad we did one more album, I can’t say I had any hopes or expectations but I like the album.
You were one of the last people to work in the studio with the late Martin Rushent with your NITEWRECKAGE project?
Yes, Martin was a lovely man and a total genius in the studio. I wish I’d worked with him earlier in both our careers. He is sadly missed.
Which five tracks from all aspects of your career have you felt the most satisfaction from?
‘Baby Doll’ – SOFT CELL off ‘The Art of Falling Apart’ – it reminds me of a very special time in New York.
‘Floatation’ – THE GRID – I was pleased when it was recognised as an Ibiza chill out classic.
‘Your Loving Arms’ – Billie Ray Martin – it was our first GRID production to get in the UK Top 10 and in the Billboard 100 in the US.
‘My Hand Over My Heart’ – Marc Almond off ‘Tenement Symphony’- I love Trevor Horn’s epic production and Anne Dudley’s arrangement.
‘Say Hello, Wave Goodbye’ – SOFT CELL – I think it’s become an anthem.
Are there any projects you are working on at the moment?
Yes, I’m producing an album for Gavin Friday and another one for Anni Hogan with my production partner, Riccardo Mulhall.
What floats your boat musically these days?
Messing about with modular synths.
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its grateful thanks to Dave Ball
Trevor Horn is a producer who can be said to have shaped modern pop music.
He began his professional music career as a session bassist, most notably for UK disco starlet Tina Charles and her producer Biddu. Another member of her backing band was keyboard player Geoff Downes; together they would go on to form BUGGLES and score a No1 in 1979 with ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’.
But Horn’s pop stardom was to be short-lived. Despite their musical virtuosity, BUGGLES were an unusual looking pair… so with his best interests at heart, his wife and business partner Jill Sinclair advised that while he wasn’t going to be the greatest frontman in the world, there was a chance he could make it as a top record producer.
In 1981, Horn started a run of producing and co-writing four singles for pop duo DOLLAR including ‘Mirror Mirror’ and ‘Videotheque’; this attracted the attention of NME journalist Paul Morley and they would later establish the ZTT label through Island Records.
Also listening were Sheffield band ABC who asked him to produce their debut album ‘The Lexicon Of Love’. It was during these 1982 sessions that Horn brought together his classic studio team of arranger Anne Dudley, engineer Gary Langan and Fairlight specialist JJ Jeczalik for the first time; the three would later become THE ART OF NOISE.
During this early phase of his production career, Horn favoured the Fairlight CMI as his tool of choice; it had been demonstrated to him electronic music pioneer and Simmons SDS-V co-designer Richard James Burgess, who had worked with him on the first BUGGLES album ‘The Age Of Plastic’.
The Fairlight also allowed for many arrangement possibilities and not just one, but two, three or four different remixes of a single track, a promotional tactic that was employed heavily at ZTT with FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD, THE ART OF NOISE, PROPAGANDA and ACT.
Horn had first become interested in more mechanised musical templates after hearing ‘Warm Leatherette’ by THE NORMAL in 1978. So when the Linn Drum Computer came along, it was like manna from heaven for the forward thinking Horn. He told The Guardian in 2004: “You could tell the Linn what to do, which was unbelievable because before then you had to tell the drummer what to do and he was generally a pain in the a*se”. However, Horn did use accomplished session musicians when needed to compliment his carefully controlled direction.
Horn would go on to win BRIT Awards for ‘Best British Producer’ in 1983, 1985 and 1992. In 2010, he received an Ivor Novello Award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to British Music’. His production portfolio is vast, taking in Paul McCartney, Tom Jones, Cher, Rod Stewart, Malcolm McLaren, Robbie Williams, Leann Rimes, Lisa Stansfield and Charlotte Church among many, plus lesser known acts such as INTERPLAY and THE MINT JULEPS.
Not necessarily collecting his best known or mainstream work, but certainly listing some of his more interesting adventures in modern recording, here are eighteen works from Trevor Horn that fit closest to the electro ethos of ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK, presented in chronological order…
ABC Poison Arrow (1982)
ABC’s first single ‘Tears Are Not Enough’ produced by Steve Brown was loose, scratchy funk that fitted in with the times, but the Sheffield combo wanted to be a far more polished and approached Horn to hone their sound. The first fruit of labours was ‘Poison Arrow’ was held together with a drum machine backbone and augmented by some dramatic piano passages from Anne Dudley in her first session with Horn. The chemistry of all involved led to a musical masterpiece of the era, ‘The Lexicon Of Love’.
Available on the ABC album ‘The Lexicon Of Love’ via Mercury Records
Horn reworked Richard James Burgess’ production of ‘Instinction’ and threw in reworked synths from Anne Dudley and extra bombastic percussion; it saved SPANDAU BALLET’s career. However, further sessions were abandoned when, according to songwriter Gary Kemp in his autobiography ‘I Know This Much: From Soho to Spandau’, Horn wanted drummer John Keeble replaced with a drum machine. Kemp stuck by his bandmate and went with IMAGINATION producers Swain and Jolley for the ‘True’ album.
Available on the SPANDAU BALLET album ‘Gold : The Best Of’ via EMI Records
In 1981, Horn had partly abandoned work on the second BUGGLES album to join Geoff Downes in YES; the press dubbed the new line-up YUGGLES! But Horn amicably left a few months later to finish what became ‘Adventures In Modern Recording’ and kickstart his production career. With Gary Langan and JJ Jeczalik on board, ‘Owner Of A Lonely Heart’, could be considered as the birth of THE ART OF NOISE; the stabbing samples of a jazz orchestra and tight programmed drums provided a distinctive counterpoint.
Available on the YES album ‘90125’ via Atlantic Records
THE ART OF NOISE “happened because of a happy accident” said Gary Langan. But Trevor Horn was not their producer – “Well, he wasn’t the producer!!” Langan clarified,“we were the producers! If I’m being really honest, we were a little naive. Anne, JJ and myself really had no intention of forming a band… so when we signed to ZTT, we needed somebody to do all the artwork and how it was going to portrayed which was really down to Paul and Trevor”. It was an indicator of how powerful Horn’s name had become.
Available on THE ART OF NOISE album ‘Who’s Afraid Of…?’ via Union Square / Salvo
Düsseldorf’s PROPAGANDA were the proto-LADYTRON or ABBA in Hell, depending on your point of view! They boasted within their ranks Ralf Dörper and Michael Mertens, plus two mini-Marlenes in Claudia Brücken and Susanne Freytag. The magnificent Fritz Lang film noir of ‘Dr Mabuse’ was their opening salvo. Produced by Horn, the success of FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD however meant the producer’s helm was handed over to his engineer Stephen J Lipson, although Horn was later involved in the final mix.
Available on the PROPAGANDA album ‘A Secret Wish’ via Union Square / Salvo
FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD The Power Of Love (1984)
A key signing to ZTT, regardless of who was actually playing and what the band would have achieved without Trevor Horn, in their short life FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD were a thrilling adventure that wouldn’t have worked without the songs, which were largely written by Holly Johnson, Peter Gill and Mark O’Toole. ‘Relax’ and ‘Two Tribes’ got the ball rolling, but the classical grandeur of ‘The Power Of Love’ was an outstanding piece of work in anyone’s book.
Available on the album ‘Bang!: The Greatest Hits’ via Warner Music
After they left 10CC, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme’s appetite for experimentation with tracks like ‘Babies’ led them to be called “the older generation’s Depeche Mode” by Smash Hits. They also branched out into directing promo videos for VISAGE and DURAN DURAN. It was while doing videos for FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD that they ended up working with Trevor Horn. Almost sparse by Horn’s standards with a metronomic tension alongside minimal guitar, ‘Cry’ was a terrific pop statement.
Available on the album ‘Cry: The Very Best Of’ via Polydor / Universal Music
Trevor Horn took his multiple remix approach to its zenith with Grace Jones’ seventh album; rather than actually do a collection of songs, why not do an album that was effectively multiple remixes and interpretations of one song? While the familiar single version of ‘Slave To The Rhythm’ was wonderful, sun-kissed funky pop, the album’s fifth track take was far more aggressive, with a punchy synth brass riff taking centre stage to make the most out of Miss Jones’ enigmatically frightening demeanour.
Available on the album ‘Slave To The Rhythm’ via Culture Factory
Following her departure from PROPAGANDA, Claudia Brücken teamed up with early electro trailblazer Thomas Leer in ACT. The Trevor Horn produced ‘Chance’ was released as their third single, but withdrawn due to the 12″ mix containing an unauthorised varispeeded sample of ABBA’s ‘Take A Chance On Me’. Far more theatrical and spielerisch than PROPAGANDA, ACT were however, less well received with the eventual Stephen J Lipson produced ‘Laughter, Tears & Rage’ not making quite the impact that was hoped for.
Available on the album ‘Love & Hate’ via Union Square / Salvo
“Che Guevara and Debussy to a disco beat” was a concept coined by Horn while he was working in the studio with Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe. Taking in the then ubiquitous form of acid house, ‘Left To My Own Devices’ incorporated a dramatic string arrangement by Richard Niles and the opera stylings of soprano Sally Bradshaw. One of PET SHOP BOYS’ most striking recordings it had been intended to programme the synthesizers and record the orchestra in one day… six months later, the song was finished.
Available on the album ‘Introspective’ via EMI Records
The bombastic tendencies of the now stadium friendly SIMPLE MINDS were well-suited to the Trevor Horn treatment, although paradoxically by the time they got into the studio together in 1988, the Glaswegians were favouring a more restrained follow-up to the rock monster that was ‘Once Upon A Time’. Time has not been kind to ‘Street Fighting Years’ album, which now comes across as self-indulgent and over-politicised. But one track with a vibrant energy despite the soapbox was the more classic sounding ‘Wall Of Love’.
Available on the boxed set ‘Street Fighting Years’ via Virgin Records
SEAL found fame as the voice of ADAMSKI’s ‘Killer’ which reached No1 in 1990. Possessing a soulful voice that suited both dance and rock, Horn couldn’t believe his luck when he discovered he was a free agent. A deal with ZTT was sealed and their first single together was the mighty techno rock of ‘Crazy’. It was the perfect platform for SEAL’s crossover potential and the Paddington-born singer found fame in America with ‘Kiss From A Rose’, which was also produced by Horn and netted a 1995 Grammy Award.
If it wasn’t for Marc Almond, then the path for FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD and PET SHOP BOYS might not have been so smooth. Signing with Warners, this cover of Jacques Brel’s ‘Les Chanson De Jacky’, made famous in an English version by Scott Walker, was a compromise reached by Almond to regain both his pop and artistic high ground. While basically a technologically enhanced remake of Walker’s cover, Horn’s production was mighty and cute, in a stupid arse way 😉
Available on the album ‘Tenement Symphony’ via Warner Music
Virgin Records had always been pushing Mike Oldfiels for a ‘Tubular Bells II’ since the original in 1973. But ironically, when Oldfield departed the label for Warners, he did just that. Horn was a natural choice as producer for this long awaited follow-up. The first ‘Tubular Bells’ featured no synthesizers at all; with the titled inspired by an Arthur C. Clarke short story, not only did ‘Sentinel’ exploit the use of modern studio technology, but beautiful female vocals were also part of this more obviously melodic reprise.
Available on the album ‘Tubular Bells II’ via Warner Music
Written by Arthur Baker, Taylor Dayne and Fred Zarr, ‘Whatever You Want’ for Tina Turner was an archetypical production from Horn. Using the most up-to-date technology yet retaining a vital musicality, there was always space for the lead vocalist to perform to their maximum. However, it always was a time consuming process. Legend has it that when ROBBIE WILLIAMS handed over his demos for the 2009 album ‘Reality Killed The Video Star’, he apparently said to Horn “I’ll see you in six months!”
Available on the album ‘Wildest Dreams’ via EMI Music
Faux lesbian duo Julia Volkova and Lena Katina caused a stir with the Horn produced No1 single ‘All The Things She Said’ and its accompanying video that broke many broadcast taboos. Much more interesting musically though was another Horn produced track ‘Not Gonna Get Us’. Sounding like THE PRODIGY fronted by fleas on helium, ‘Нас Не Догонят’ (as it was originally titled in Russian) was heavier than usual Europop, with a rebellious teenage angst message.
Available on the album ‘200 km/h In The Wrong Lane’ via Interscope Records
In 2003, Horn worked with Glaswegians BELLE & SEBASTIAN for the first time. And after the hangover of Britpop, indie bands were starting to embrace synths again. Southampton band DELAYS almost went the full hog with the brilliant ‘Valentine’, a Horn-assisted disco number. The pulsing sequences and syncopated rhythm section were pure DURAN DURAN, although Greg Gilbert’s raspy falsetto in the soaring chorus and some choppy guitar ensured the band weren’t totally detached from their roots.
Available on the album ‘You See Colours’ via Rough Trade
PET SHOP BOYS reunited with Trevor Horn, ‘I’m With Stupid’ was a perfect politically charged jape at the special relationship between George W Bush and Tony Blair. The satirical lyrical content was enhanced further with an amusing promo video featuring ‘Little Britain’ stars Matt Lucas and David Walliams. However, other than the brilliantly hypnotic opener ‘Psychological’, the remainder of the ‘Fundamental’ album was lacklustre.
Available on the album ‘Fundamental’ via EMI Music
The user manual for the Roland System 100 semi-modular synthesizer profoundly stated “there are no illegal connections…”
And in modern electronic music, that is still the case with the accomplished artists of today very much connected to the synth pioneers of yesteryear like KRAFTWERK, OMD, ULTRAVOX, JAPAN, DEPECHE MODE and THE HUMAN LEAGUE.
Belgian duo METROLAND would not exist without the tradition established at Klingklang, while EAST INDIA YOUTH’s interest in Brian Eno and Motorik beats curated a sound that has enabled parallels to be drawn with the artful template of the similarly influenced Paul Humphreys and Andy McCluskey. And although Susanne Sundfør was already an established singer / songwriter in her homeland of Norway, attention was not fully drawn on her new synth based direction until she performed a sympathetic cover of ‘Ice Machine’ with RÖYKSOPP in late 2012.
Even the exquisite lo-fi Welsh language electronica of Gwenno can be traced to Sheffield, thanks to the songstress’ previous pop excursions which involved working on an album with the late Martin Rushent. As Jean-Michel Jarre said: “Electronic music has a family, a legacy and a future…” so to deny the glorious heritage of electronic music when assessing new acts would be futile. Indeed, acknowledging history is very much part of ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK’s style and it appears to have been appreciated, especially in regard to the feature ‘30 Favourite Albums 2010 – 2014’, one of a quintet of special articles to celebrate the site’s fifth birthday in March…
“Huge thanks to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK” said avid reader Hugh David, “A victory for well-written, artfully conveyed content curation once again… you knew exactly what to say to sell me on one artist or another. That rare ability of a reviewer to pinpoint the precise comparisons that enable me to decide to seek something out based on my own tastes is something lacking in so many other outlets; love that you’ve got that in spades”
Another reader David Sims added: “ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK is a great way of discovering artists you might not otherwise be aware of. A bit like when a friend used to come round your house clutching an LP or C90 saying ‘I really love this, have a listen’, introducing you to new music that makes your neck hairs stand up in ovation”
2014 was a comparatively lean 12 months, but this year found many veterans returning to the fold. NEW ORDER released ‘Music Complete’, a much discussed comeback that was not only the Mancunians’ first album for Mute, but also without estranged bassist Peter Hook.
Marc Almond released ‘The Velvet Trail’, his first pop album for many years while ANDY BELL embarked on further solo adventures in support of ‘Torsten The Bareback Saint’.
SPARKS joined forces with FRANZ FERDINAND as FFS while telling everyone to ‘P*ss Off’ and proved that collaborations do work. Electronic music legend Jean-Michel Jarre also went the collaborative root. His first album for several years ‘Electronica 1 – The Time Machine’ featured the likes of LITTLE BOOTS, TANGERINE DREAM, AIR, GESAFFELSTEIN and MASSIVE ATTACK along with ArminVan Buuren, John Carpenter and Vince Clarke.
Another legend Giorgio Moroder made his statement of intent with ‘74 Is The New 24’ and released ‘Déjà Vu’, a disco pop record featuring the likes of Sia, Britney Spears, Foxes and Kylie Minogue. Meanwhile, his artier counterpart Zeus B Held gave us some ‘Logic of Coincidence’ and Wolfgang Flur made his solo debut with ‘Eloquence’, his first length album project since 1997.
Liverpool duo CHINA CRISIS delivered ‘Autumn In The Neighbourhood’, their first original material since 1994’s ‘Warped By Success’ while Howard Jones showed he could still innovate at 60 years of age when he launched ‘Engage’, “a highly interactive live experience designed to immerse audiences in an audio / visual feast”. A-HA came back after disbanding in 2010 with ‘Cast In Steel’ and DURAN DURAN recruited an all-star cast that included Nile Rodgers, John Frusciante, Kiesza and Lindsay Lohan for the rather disappointing EDM blow-out ‘Paper Gods’.
BLANCMANGE’s ‘Semi Detached’ was Neil Arthur’s first without long-time partner Stephen Luscombe and he even found time to release a wonderful instrumental collection entitled ‘Nil By Mouth’. Indeed, there were quite a few instrumental opuses in 2015, with GHOST HARMONIC’s wonderful ‘Codex’ featuring John Foxx and the electronic pioneer’s own glorious ‘London Overgrown’.
DEPECHE MODE’s Martin Gore released the tutorial for his new Eurorack modular system as the simply titled ‘MG’. 2015 saw the 25th anniversary of DEPECHE MODE’s ‘Violator’ and to ignore its significance, as some DM fan related platforms did, would have been incredibly short sighted. However, there was none of that from premier DM tribute band SPEAK & SPELL who played their biggest UK gig yet with a splendid boutique showcase of that landmark album at London’s Islington Academy.
CAMOUFLAGE, a band who started off very much under the influence of the Basildon boys, issued the mature statement of ‘Greyscale’ while continuing the DEPECHE MODE album theme, Athens based synth maidens MARSHEAUX gave a worthy of re-assessment of ‘A Broken Frame’ and procured a number of interesting arrangements for some under rated songs. DIE KRUPPS got more metal than machine on their fifth opus ‘V – Metal Machine Music’.
Fellow Germans BEBORN BETON made up for a ten year absence with ‘A Worthy Compensation’ while SOLAR FAKE and SYNTHDECADE also got in on the action too.
CHVRCHES continued their quest for world domination with something that LITTLE BOOTS, LA ROUX, LADYHAWKE and HURTS never managed… a decent second album. But PURITY RING, the Canadian act whose template CHVRCHES borrowed, must have looked over with a touch of envy at the Glaswegian’s success so responded with ‘Another Eternity’.
HANNAH PEEL released an interim mini-album ‘Rebox 2’ which blended centuries of music technology while VILE ELECTRODES came up with the gorgeous ‘Captive In Symmetry’, possibly one of the songs of 2015. EURASIANEYES heeded all the guidance available to them to produce their most accomplished song yet in ‘Call Your God’ and ANALOG ANGEL went on a well-received tour supporting Swedish veterans COVENANT with a message to listeners of ‘Don’t Forget To Love’.
Elsewhere in the British Isles, CIRCUIT3, RODNEY CROMWELL and SUDDEN CREATION made their first excursions into the long player format just as KID KASIO and KOVAK each delivered album number two while Berlin based Brit EMIKA helpfully titled her third opus ‘Drei’.
“So, what’s so special about Sweden then?” someone once rather cluelessly asked TEC. Well, it is the modern hub of inventive, electronic pop. KARIN PARK offered her profanity laden fifth album ‘Apocalypse Pop’.
Still in Sweden, DAYBEHAVIOR went all female PET SHOP BOYS with the Italo flavoured ‘Cambiare’ and MACHINISTA followed up their debut ‘Xenoglossy’ with ‘Garmonbozia’. while there was also the unexpected return of alternative synthpopsters ASHBURY HEIGHTS.
But best of all were the mighty KITE; their ‘VI’ EP was a masterclass in epic, majestic electronic pop. In the rest of Europe, there was an influx of darker female fronted acts such as Hungary’s BLACK NAIL CABARET, Italy’s ELECTROGENIC, Greece’s SARAH P. and Germany’s NINA; the latter’s ‘My Mistake’ even ended up on a Mercedes TV advert. The male contingent did their bit too with Slovenia’s TORUL unleashing their second offering ‘The Measure’ while the prolific Finnish duo SIN COS TAN took things a little bit easier in their fourth year with just an EP ‘Smile, Tomorrow Will Be Worse’, having already released three albums since 2012.
Oslo based studio legend John Fryer returned with two new projects, SILVER GHOST SHIMMER and MURICIDAE featuring vocalists Pinky Turzo and Louise Fraser respectively. Both reminded listeners of his work with COCTEAU TWINS and THIS MORTAL COIL, but with an Americanised twist. The Icelandic domiciled Denver singer / songwriter JOHN GRANT added some funkier vibes to his continuing electronic direction while IAMX moved from Berlin to Los Angeles, and did no harm to his art with the brooding ‘Metanoia’ album.
On the brighter side of North America, PRIEST’s self-titled debut long player became reality following their dreamy ‘Samurai’ EP, while HYPERBUBBLE made available their wacky award winning soundtrack to the short film ‘Dee Dee Rocks The Galaxy’ and joyous 2014 London show. And GRIMES caught the music biz on the hop when she released a new album ‘Art Angels’, having scrapped an album’s worth of material in 2014.
But despite North America itself being one of the territories flying the flag for the synth with acts like NIGHT CLUB, BATTLE TAPES, AESTHETIC PERFECTION and RARE FACTURE all figuring, the worst single of 2015 actually came from the USA! Literally decades of synth heritage were eminently obliterated in five soul destroying minutes… was this really what the Electronic Revolution was fought for? This is cultural history and it needs to be protected.
Although the year had flashes of brilliance, it was generally less impressive overall for fledgling electronic artists, with a number forgetting that all important factor of a good tune! Eddie Bengtsson of SISTA MANNEN PÅ JORDEN remarked last year that synthpop was becoming a dying art.
And in 2015, synthpop’s credibility was further tarnished with lazy use of the term by the mainstream press for acts like YEARS & YEARS; one could argue that Taylor Swift and her ‘1989’ opus is possibly more synthpop than YEARS & YEARS have ever been! In a market where EDM appears to be king and clubbers are happy to witness DJs miming their two hour sets, there is clearly something wrong. Things were not helped by certain media outlets insisting that dance music was the only way; it was as if electronic music had somehow managed to jump from KRAFTWERK to Detroit techno with nothing happening in between.
And then, there were those who had never particularly enjoyed music from that key Synth Britannia period, who were trying to dictate how modern electronic music was being presented and pretending it had popped out of thin air! Some bands were not doing themselves any favours either, showing little empathetic connection to the history of electronic music in their deluded optimism that they were crafting something completely new! As Jean-Michel Jarre amusingly quipped to Sound-On-Sound magazine: “Lots of people in America think that electronic music started with AVICII and it’s not exactly the truth…”
The lack of accuracy in a number of publications over the last 18 months was also shocking, particularly within magazines and online media that continued to employ writers with a history of not knowing their tape recorders from their drum machines. This simply proved the old adage that just because someone is employed as a professional writer, it doesn’t actually mean they are a good writer!
The domestic live scene had its challenges too with slow ticket sales and a number of events cancelled. But even when some true legends in electronic music were booked, ticket sales could not be guaranteed and efficient promotion was needed to maximise potential.
Some observers were bemoaning a lack of support for the scene, but if line-ups are not particularly appealing, then audiences cannot be expected to invest time and money to attend. A number of organisational infrastructures also lacked credibility; if a promoter doesn’t have at least some idea if they’re going to sell fifty tickets or five thousand, then they really shouldn’t be in the business!
The question that has to be asked then is, has anybody actually learnt from the Alt-Fest debacle of 2014? It really would appear not! While ‘A Secret Wish’ and SOS#2 were a couple of the year’s better UK events, Europe showed once again how things should be done. Electronic Summer in Gothenburg and the Electri_City_Conference in Düsseldorf were two of the most notable electronic music events of 2015.
The inherent knowledge and sense of understanding in both differed immensely to some British promoters. This perhaps could explain why electronic pop has generally flourished more in territories across the North Sea. Electronic pop needs to continue to develop, but quality control must be maintained to ensure the genre is not publically misrepresented. SOFT CELL once sang about ‘Monoculture’ while KID MOXIE declared how everyone was just content with ‘Medium Pleasure’.
If all that’s heard is the best of a bad bunch, then younger listeners (and therefore potential future synth oriented musicians) will not be inspired. That is why it is important that CHVRCHES and EAST INDIA YOUTH consolidate their positions as modern electronic pop’s representatives in the mainstream.
It is not good practice to support mediocre music just because it happens to be electronic. The finest examples need to be set so as to show what can be achieved; now if that means possibly referencing back to the golden age of synthpop, then so be it. Only then will the synth baton be able to taken up by a new generation who can then truly reinvigorate it.
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK Contributor Listings 2015
PAUL BODDY
Best Album: EAST INDIA YOUTH Culture Of Volume
Best Song: NEW ORDER Restless
Best Gig: EAST INDIA YOUTH + HANNAH PEEL at London Village Underground
Best Video: BATTLE TAPES Valkyrie
Most Promising New Act: BATTLE TAPES
IAN FERGUSON
Best Album: EAST INDIA YOUTH Culture Of Volume
Best Song: KITE Count The Days
Best Gig: ASSEMBLAGE 23 at SOS#2 Festival
Best Video: VILE ELECTRODES Captive In Symmetry
Most Promising New Act: RODNEY CROMWELL
MONIKA IZABELA GOSS
Best Album: SILVER GHOST SHIMMER Soft Landing
Best Song: IAMX Happiness
Best Gig: IAMX at London Koko
Best Video: TORUL The Balance
Most Promising New Act: SYNTHDECADE
SIMON HELM
Best Album: LAU NAU Hem Någonstans
Best Song: ME THE TIGER As We Really Are
Best Gig: SISTA MANNEN PÅ JORDEN at A Secret Wish
Best Video: JUNO Same To Me
Most Promising New Act: REIN
CHI MING LAI
Best Album: SUSANNE SUNDFØR Ten Love Songs
Best Song: KITE Up For Life
Best Gig: FFS at The Troxy
Best Video: VILE ELECTRODES Captive In Symmetry
Most Promising New Act: RODNEY CROMWELL
RICHARD PRICE
Best Album: EAST INDIA YOUTH Culture Of Volume
Best Song: NEW ORDER Plastic
Best Gig: EAST INDIA YOUTH + HANNAH PEEL at London Village Underground
Best Video: VILE ELECTRODES Captive In Symmetry
Most Promising New Act: KITE
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differs in having a collection of original songs curated by Gary Barlow, each recorded by British artists who are now usually seen frequenting retrospective events such as Rewind, Here & Now and Let’s Rock.
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