Tag: Midge Ure (Page 9 of 10)

2014 END OF YEAR REVIEW

9 December 2014 /
With 2013 having been one of the strongest years in electronic pop since its post-punk heyday, 2014 was always going to struggle to compete,

This was despite it being the 50th Anniversary of the Moog synthesizer’s first prototype demonstration at the Audio Engineering Society convention in October 1964. While 2014 was nowhere near in terms of the high profile releases of 2013 or even 2011, it certainly surpassed the comparatively quiet year of 2012. But there were still a lot of live shows as momentum continued in support of the previous year’s releases with NINE INCH NAILS, DEPECHE MODE, CHVRCHES, FEATHERS, GOLDFRAPP, COVENANT, SOFT METALS and Gary Numan among those doing the rounds.

Electronic pioneer Karl Bartos began the year with his first concert tour since 2003 in Germany. His ‘Off the Record’ live presentation highlighted the best of his KRAFTWERK co-compositions alongside excellent new material. Coincidentally, on the same night Herr Bartos opened in Cologne, Ralf Hütter picked up a Lifetime Achievement Grammy on behalf of KRAFTWERK, thus finally validating electronic music in the traditionally synthphobic territory of the USA. And by the end of the year, there was even a belated nomination for The Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall Of Fame.

Staying in Germany, cult trio CAMOUFLAGE celebrated over 30 years in the business with a lavish package ‘The Box 1983-2013’ and a best of CD ‘The Singles’. Claudia Brücken though surprised everyone by strapping on an acoustic guitar for her third solo album ‘Where Else?’, but its mix of electronics and six string proved to be well received by her fans.

And on the subject of Germanic influences, Belgian duo METROLAND returned with their Kling Klang flavoured technopop courtesy of the multi-formatted single ‘Thalys’, a tie-in with the European high speed train operator and a rather original cover of ‘Close To Me’ for ‘A Strange Play – An Alfa Matrix Tribute To THE CURE’. Meanwhile, iEUROPEAN teamed up with Wolfgang Flür for some ‘Activity Of Sound’. Flür himself delighted KRAFTWERK fans by announcing he would be playing London gigs in the New Year.

MemeTune Studio in London’s trendy Shoreditch proved to be a hotbed of electronic activity throughout 2014. Already the location for the largest array of vintage synthesizers in the UK, from the complex emerged fabulous music from the likes of Hannah Peel, GAZELLE TWIN and WRANGLER featuring ex-CABARET VOLTAIRE frontman Stephen Mallinder. MemeTune even found time to curate its own live event ‘MUS_IIC.01’.

Well known for his connections with that stable, John Foxx came back from a break (by his recent prolific standards) with the audio / visual collaboration ‘Evidence Of Time Travel’ in partnership with Steve D’Agostino.

Other Synth Britannia stalwarts were in action too. OMD celebrated their ‘Dazzle Ships’ era with a pair of concerts at the Museum Of Liverpool and SIMPLE MINDS continued their grandiose demeanour with ‘Big Music’. Meanwhile, Midge Ure released a fine collection of songs entitled ‘Fragile’, his first of original solo material in 12 years; it also featured a great collaboration with Moby entitled ‘Dark Dark Night’. As well as that, he worked on a track with Dutch composer Stephen Emmer for an orchestral laden crooner album called ‘International Blue’ which additionally featured his pal Glenn Gregory.

Mr Gregory wasn’t idle either, recording ‘Pray’ b/w ‘Illumination’, HEAVEN 17’s first new material since 2005’s Before After’. He even found time to impersonate David Bowie for some special live shows performing ‘The Man Who Sold The World’ with Tony Visconti and Woody Woodmansey as HOLY HOLY. And to cap it all, HEAVEN 17 presented ‘The Tour Of Synthetic Delights’ with BLANCMANGE, proving that heritage events could be both nostalgic and credible if the line-up was right.

After last year’s seasonal offering ‘Snow Globe’, ERASURE made a full return in 2014 with ‘The Violet Flame’, the marriage of Andy Bell and Vince Clarke showcasing their best work since 2005’s ‘Nightbird’. Interestingly, ‘The Violet Flame’ was launched via the crowdfunding platform Pledge Music, although this appeared to be more as a promotional tool and fan networking opportunity. CHINA CRISIS went the Pledge Music route too, announcing their first album in 20 years entitled ‘Autumn In the Neighbourhood’ while also crowdfunded, YELLO’s Boris Blank delivered ‘Electrified’, a solo box set of unreleased material.

Not to be outdone, his YELLO bandmate Dieter Meier responded with his grouchy solo offering ‘Out Of Chaos’ which appeared to be a tribute to Tom Waits. And unexpectedly on the back of ‘Don’t You Want Me?’ becoming a terrace chant for Aberdeen FC’s Scottish League Cup victory, ex-HUMAN LEAGUE member Jo Callis launched a new project called FINGER HALO.

The enduring legacy of many of these veterans was celebrated in ‘Mad World: An Oral History of the New Wave Artists and Songs That Defined the 1980s’, possibly the best book of its kind about that musical era which the Americans like to refer to as New Wave. Featuring brand new interviews with key protagonists like OMD, NEW ORDER, DURAN DURAN, YAZOO, ULTRAVOX, A-HA and HEAVEN 17, it was a high quality publication that made up for some previously clumsy attempts by others at documenting the period. Also a good read was Bernard Sumner’s memoirs ‘Chapter and Verse’ which covered his career to date with JOY DIVISION and NEW ORDER.

Coincidentally, Mark Reeder, the man often credited with introducing electronic dance music to Sumner, had a career spanning compendium called ‘Collaborator’ issued containing his earlier work as a member SHARK VEGAS, right up to his more recent remixes of DURAN DURAN’s John Taylor and Sumner’s various projects with BLANK & JONES and WESTBAM.

It was a particularly active year for the industrial scene; AESTHETIC PERFECTION toured Europe with their more accessible but still aggressive ‘Til Death’ opus while ASSEMBLAGE 23 frontman Tom Shear continued developing his SURVEILLANCE side project with ‘Oceania Remixed’. Swedish trio LEGEND gained acclaim for their live performances in support of their debut album ‘Fearless’, Texan duo IRIS released a new album ‘Radiant’ and DIE KRUPPS blasted their way into the South East of England for their first UK dates since 2008.

In more contemporary circles, LA ROUX finally released a second album, appropriately named ‘Trouble In Paradise’. Singer Elly Jackson had split with silent partner Ben Langmaid due to good old fashioned musical differences and as expected, the songs were less synthpoppy than the self-titled debut. Reaching for more disco orientated leanings such as CHIC, GRACE JONES and TOM TOM CLUB, this was if nothing, a more superior offering to either what LITTLE BOOTS or LADYHAWKE managed with their sophomore albums. North of the border, Marnie did her bit for the Scottish Independence Campaign with the rousingly anthemic ‘Wolves’.

The delightfully eccentric Imogen Heap showcased her innovative collaborative developments in music technology via her new album ‘Sparks’ and even squeezed in a collaboration with pop princess Taylor Swift for the latter’s million selling album ‘1989’. ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK commented in 2012 about how CHVRCHES‘ ‘The Mother We Share’ sounded like “Taylor Swift gone electro”, so in a give some, take some back move, the young songstress came up with ‘Out Of The Woods’, a ditty quite obviously influenced by the Glaswegian trio and a synth laden tune entitled ‘New Romantics’ on the bonus edition. By coincidence with her slight passing resemblance to Miss Swift, QUEEN OF HEARTS launched her debut musical charter ‘Cocoon’ after several years in the making to confirm that pop was indeed not a dirty word.

imogen + taylor

In the leftfield electronica arena, Warp Records issued ‘High Life’, a collaboration by Karl Hyde and Brian Eno while there was also the long awaited new album from APHEX TWIN entitled ‘Syro’. And former MASSIVE ATTACK producer Davidge released an impressive debut collection of songs ‘Slo Light’ that featured Sandie Shaw, Cate Le Bon and Emi Green among its vocalists.

One act establishing themselves as major players in the modern electronic scene were Canada’s TR/ST. Led by the polarising “Eeyore gone goth” moodiness of Robert Alfons, the ironically titled ‘Joyland’ was an excellent second album that captured the sleazy nature of a 21st Century SOFT CELL and attached it to the grumpiness of Leonard Cohen.

Meanwhile, Brooklyn minimal duo XENO & OAKLANDER gave the world ‘Par Avion’, possibly their most accessible and colourful work yet. Also from the area came the shadowy huskiness of AZAR SWAN and the alternative mystique of Rexxy. Over in LA, NIGHT CLUB showed further promise with their best offering yet in their third EP ‘Black Leather Heart’ while in San Antonio, HYPERBUBBLE launched an ‘Attack Of The Titans’.

Baltimore’s FUTURE ISLANDS however divided opinion; their fans included Andy McCluskey, Vince Clarke, Martyn Ware, Rusty Egan and Jori Hulkkonen, but their unintentionally amusing live appearance on ‘The David Letterman Show’ performing ‘Seasons’ came over to some observers like a ‘Saturday Night Live’ skit on the 80s. However, with two sold out dates at London’s Roundhouse in March 2015, Samuel T. Herring and Co are the ones having the last laugh.

The Nordic region proved itself again to be the centre of electronic creativity. The dream partnership of Robyn and RÖYKSOPP reconvened after the success of 2010’s ‘The Girl & The Robot’ to ‘Do It Again’ while RÖYKSOPP themselves released what they announced to be their last album, appropriately titled ‘The Inevitable End’. Also featuring on that album was Nordic vocalist of the moment Susanne Sundfør who has her own new eagerly awaited long player ‘Ten Love Songs’ out in 2015.

Karin Park and Margaret Berger provided another united Scandinavian front when they performed together at Norway’s Melodi Grand Prix while Finnish duo SIN COS TAN delivered their third long player in as many years with a concept album called ‘Blown Away’. From Sweden came the welcome return of KLEERUP with ‘As If We Never Won’, the first of two new EPs before an album to follow-up the brilliant self-titled debut from 2008. Meanwhile, Emmon delivered her fourth album ‘Aon’ as well as a baby. There was more glacial oddness from IAMAMIWHOAMI with her second album ‘Blue’ while the brooding Nordic Noir pop of stunning identical twins SAY LOU LOU started to gain a foothold in readiness for their first long player ‘Lucid Dreaming’.

Nordic friendly music blog Cold War Night Life curated possibly the best electronic event of the year with ‘An Evening With The Swedish Synth’ at London’s 93 Feet East. In a bill supported by the promising TRAIN TO SPAIN and synth rock duo MACHINISTA who delivered a great debut album in ‘Xenoglossy’, the event was headlined by synthpop veterans PAGE. Incidentally, Eddie Bengtsson of PAGE’s solo project SISTA MANNEN PÅ JORDEN produced some interesting covers of OMD and DEVO, both reworked i Svenska.

And all this while ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK bore witness to a puzzled British musician who actually asked with a straight face “What’s so special about Sweden then?”!! ‘An Evening With The Swedish Synth’ was a fine example of what could be achieved when an electronic event was actually curated by electronic music enthusiasts, as this was not always the case in several instances during 2014.

Following a four year hiatus, CLIENT rebooted and released ‘Authority’ with new singer Client N doing a fine impersonation of Marnie on the single ‘Refuge’. After a long gestation period, Anglo-German collective TWINS NATALIA released their debut long player ‘The Destiny Room’ and pleasantly wallowed in the neu romance of classic synthpop, dressing it with the vocal styles of Grace Jones and ABBA.

TWINS NATALIA’s ‘The Destiny Room’ was released on Anna Logue Records who in 2015 will issue ‘Signs Of life’, the debut album from enigmatic South East Asian combo QUIETER THAN SPIDERS. Possibly the best new synthpop act to emerge in 2014, as befitting their name, they made their music, edited some videos and just discretely got on with it, thus proving the theory that those who shout loudest are not always necessarily the best…

kid moxie-twin peaks

MARSHEAUX celebrated ten years in the business with a compilation called ‘Odyssey’ on the prestigious Les Disques Du Crépuscule label. They also announced an unusual project for 2015, an album covering DEPECHE MODE’s ‘A Broken Frame’ in its entirety. Also on Undo, KID MOXIE released her second album ‘1888’ featuring a collaboration with acclaimed film score composer Angelo Badalamenti to compliment her new cinematic pop approach. Meanwhile, one-time Undo label mates LIEBE started getting traction on MTV Europe and MIKRO maintained their position as Greece’s premier power pop band with their seventh album ‘New’ despite the departure of singer Ria Mazini following its unveiling.

From Dublin came the filmic ambience of POLYDROID. There were several other promising female led talents ranging from the sugary pop of PAWWS and the quietly subversive electro of I AM SNOW ANGEL to the soulful moodiness of HUGH and the mysteriously smoky allure of Fifi Rong.

VILE ELECTRODES confirmed their position as the best independent electronic act in the UK currently when they snared not just one, but two Schallwelle Awards in Germany. To celebrate the first anniversary of their brilliant debut album ‘The future through a lens’, the sparkling duo of Anais Neon and Martin Swan played alongside DEPECHE MODE tribute act SPEAK & SPELL for a wonderful evening that also featured Sarah Blackwood.

Miss Blackwood gave spirited live vocal performances of several songs from her own career as part of a singing DJ set including ‘Justice’, her recent collaboration for the FOTONOVELA album ‘A Ton Of Love’. There was additionally the bonus of her duetting with SPEAK & SPELL on ‘A Question Of Time’ during their ‘101’ performance celebrating the film’s 25th anniversary.

Analog Angel-in-profile

Possibly the best independently released album of 2014 came from Glasgow’s ANALOG ANGEL who freed themselves of their industrial shackles to produce a collection of sophisticated synthpop entitled ‘Trinity’. Having been around since 2009 and with two albums already to their name, the Scottish trio put their money where their mouths were. Their decision to avoid crowdfunding and invest in their own music was an applaudable decision, especially when other bands, who were still yet to prove themselves, were out with the begging bowls.

Indeed, 2014 was a strange year in which ego appeared to overtake ability and none more so than on the live circuit, where that old adage about needing to learn to walk before running ran true. Wanabee promoters with no notable experience bit off more than they could chew by playing Fantasy Festival, as was proven by the Alt-Fest debacle.

Despite a much publicised crowdfunding exercise, the simple use of a pocket calculator would have shown that an event of such magnitude could not be underwritten by such a comparatively small amount of cash and anticipated ticket sales. When rumours abounded that Alt-Fest was to be cancelled due to a lack of funds, the organisers’ silence and lack of resolve caused much resentment. Risk is all part of the game, but live ventures require solid finance, spirited commitment and an attempt at least to get in the black.

Alt-Fest-cancelled

However, a few promoters appeared to want to make life difficult for themselves from the off. In its investigations, ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK found that with one poorly attended event back in 2013, there was no way the event could have balanced its books, even if it had sold out its ticket capacity!

Meanwhile, there was another gig in 2014 publicised so covertly with restricted social media and bizarre pricing structures, it was as if the promoters didn’t want anyone to attend! Of course, there was also that tactic of announcing an event almost a year in advance without confirming any of the acts for several months, as if the event was more important than any of the music!

As Whitby Goth Weekend’s Jo Hampshire pointed out: “Alt-Fest had put its tickets on sale while still booking acts including headliners, which is potentially disastrous”! Despite the general feeling that independently curated live initiatives should be anti-corporate, everything is about business at the end of the day. However, a number of promoters at this end of the market failed to realise this. Any artists performing must be paid their expenses and fees as per any agreement, regardless of the final ticket sales unless terms such as door percentages or ticket sale buy-ons have been arranged.

But as one-time TECHNIQUE singer Xan Tyler pointed out: “Musicians get ripped off at every turn, online stores take a huge cut, Spotify don’t remunerate artists properly, venues expect you to play for bugger all (and in some case they expect you to pay to play). If you want to make money from the music industry, don’t be a musician!”

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK is coming into its fifth anniversary and continues to maintain a readership of discerning music fans, despite protestations in some quarters to the contrary. The site’s manifesto has always been about celebrating the best in new and classic electronic pop music. It has never made claims about supporting unsigned acts or any music that happens use a synthesizer.

As Client A put it franklyin the Autumn: “in the electronica age, anyone can be a musician but that also makes it a free for all with every tom, dick or curly clogging up the internet with their crap music…” Meanwhile, NIGHT CLUB added: “People forget about things so quickly these days because the internet is so inundated with crap…”

So ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK considers what music it features very, very carefully. it may not manage to be first, like many so-called buzz blogs try to be, but it has always had longevity in mind, even if that is difficult to predict.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK Contributor Listings of 2014

PAUL BODDY

Best Album: TODD TERJE It’s Album Time
Best Song: RÖYKSOPP & ROBYN Do It Again
Best Gig: NINE INCH NAILS at Nottingham Arena
Best Video: MAPS You Will Find A Way
Most Promising New Act: TODD TERJE

IAN FERGUSON

Best Album: MIDGE URE Fragile
Best Song: MIDGE URE Dark, Dark Night
Best Gig: THE RADIOPHONIC WORKSHOP at Glasgow Quayside
Best Video: IMOGEN HEAP The Listening Chair
Most Promising New Act: WRANGLER

MONIKA IZABELA GOSS

Best Album: ERASURE The Violet Flame
Best Song: ANALOG ANGEL Drive
Best Gig: DEPECHE MODE at Strasbourg Zénith
Best Video: DIE KRUPPS Robo Sapien
Most Promising New Act: PAWWS

STEVE GRAY

Best Album: RÖYKSOPP The Inevitable End
Best Song: RÖYKSOPP featuring JAMIE IRREPRESSIBLE I Had This Thing
Best Gig: GARY NUMAN at Hammersmith Apollo
Best Video: KID MOXIE Lacuna
Most Promising New Act: TWINS NATALIA

CHI MING LAI

Best Album: MIDGE URE Fragile
Best Song: ANALOG ANGEL The Last Time
Best Gig: KARL BARTOS at Cologne Live Music Hall
Best Video: LIEBE I Believe In You
Most Promising New Act: QUIETER THAN SPIDERS

SOPHIE NILSSON

Best Album: ERASURE The Violet Flame
Best Song: SISTA MANNEN PÅ JORDEN Stadens Alla Ljus
Best Gig: ANDY BELL in ‘Torsten The Bareback Saint’ at London St James Theatre
Best Video: ANDY BELL I Don’t Like
Most Promising New Act: PULSE

RICHARD PRICE

Best Album: ERASURE The Violet Flame
Best Song: POLLY SCATTERGOOD Subsequently Lost
Best Gig: PET SHOP BOYS at Brighton Dome
Best Video: JOHN FOXX B-Movie
Most Promising New Act: PAWWS

Text by Chi Ming Lai
9th December 2014

MIDGE URE Fragile

12 July 2014 /

TEARS FOR FEARS’ Roland Orzabal once said that artists should make fewer albums when explaining the 4 year gestation time for ‘The Seeds Of Love’ album.

While that album was perhaps less than satisfactory, he had a point. Within that same period between 1985 to 1989, OMD issued two albums plus a greatest hits and then split up as a result of the burn out. If the best ten songs had been siphoned off ‘Crush’, ‘The Pacific Age’ and their corresponding non-album appendices, there probably would be a smaller but stronger body of work to represent OMD’s Hollywood phase…

Long periods between albums of original material are now common occurrences among veterans of the Synth Britannia era. HEAVEN 17 are currently recording their first album since 2005’s ‘Before After’ while Alison Moyet had a 10+ year gap before her triumphant artistic rebirth with ‘the minutes’ last year.

And now Midge Ure returns with ‘Fragile’, a solo album of new songs and his first since 2001’s ‘Move Me’ Of course, the diminutive Glaswegian has not been idle having released a collection of covers entitled ’10’ in 2009 and returned to ULTRAVOX with the ‘Brilliant’ album in 2012 being the end result. And all this without even mentioning his endless touring and collaborations with European artists such as SCHILLER, JAM & SPOON and X-PERIENCE.

Indeed, the success of the ULTRAVOX comeback appears to have been a big motivator in Ure getting his creative focus back. It can’t be easy as he has nothing to prove as one of British music’s esteemed elder statesmen. But despite being still highly regarded in Europe, the general public in the UK appear to be apathetic as to what he can still offer. Now, while Ure is highly unlikely to reach the heights of No1 singles like he achieved with ‘If I Was’, or headline Wembley Arena as he did in support of his 1985 debut long player ‘The Gift’, his new meisterwerk is an impressive musical diary of a man pondering and confronting his post-midlife.

Although not featuring on ‘Fragile’, his recent orchestral laden collaboration ‘Taking Back My Time’ with Stephen Emmer probably sums up the album’s manifesto. But the collection begins with another poignant title ‘I Survived’ which sensitively soars and sees Ure comfortable in his own skin, unafraid to question how his life has turned out. “Keep it and hold it while you can” he sings.

The eight songs and two instrumentals that comprise ‘Fragile’ sentimentally recall his work with VISAGE, ULTRAVOX and Mick Karn as well as his earlier solo work. But then, this is a Midge Ure album, and apart from a contribution by Moby and a sampled drum loop, ‘Fragile’ is all his own work. “In a way, it’s a much more grown up record than anything I’ve done before” he told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK

‘Are We Connected?’ could well be a thematic follow-up to ‘Contact’ from ‘Brilliant’, but is much harder rhythmically like DEPECHE MODE’s ‘In Your Room’ from ‘Songs Of Faith & Devotion’. Appropriately enough, there is much intense questioning before Ure then cries “All hail to this new religion, crossed wires in conversation”! The album eases into a more sedate pace on ‘Let It Rise’, a track recorded for SCHILLER’s ‘Atemlos’ album back in 2010.

A much more epic proposition in its original form, Ure goes back to basics for his version 2.0 but retains the track’s electronic eloquence with some shrilling synths and pretty melodic motifs. Now whereas ‘Brilliant’ and ‘Move Me’ both had Ure rocking out on his guitar, other than on ‘Star Crossed’, ‘Fragile’ is much more gentle and textural.

The beautiful progressive ambience of ‘Wire & Wood’ that starts Side 2 is a fine example of Ure’s sound painting. Free from the pressure of writing lyrics, he utilises various spiritual atmospheres including Spanish guitar, oboe samples and washes of synth before a Morricone styled pan pipe and vocal ad-lib combination in the final of the piece’s four movements. With a monochromatic Film Noir instrumental ‘Bridges’ also featuring in the second half, these two selections are a reminder of the wordless wonders that made up a fair chunk of ‘The Gift’.

But it is the songs that most listeners will be interested in and Ure certainly doesn’t disappoint in that department. ‘Become’ is unsurprisingly the album’s lead single and a romantic, less abrasive take on ‘After A Fashion’. With a danceable metronomic beat and all the hallmarks of classic VISAGE, as the album’s most uptempo number, it is inevitably the focal point of ‘Fragile’. But there are other songs that are easily its equal.

The most notable of these is ‘Dark, Dark Night’, a co-write with a certain Richard Melville Hall, otherwise better known as Moby. The song is quite obviously a descendant of ‘Rockets’ from his ‘Destroyed’ opus. Optimising the latter’s rich symphonic string sounds and chilled vibes, ‘Dark, Dark Night’ builds to an amazing climax with melodic screeches and a tremendous guitar solo from Ure.

Together, the follically challenged pairing are a partnership made in heaven and it has obviously had a prolonged effect as ‘For All You Know’ is another wonderful example that mirrors that template. Adding simulated fretless bass and symphonic choirs into the equation, although Mr Hall is not involved in this one, ‘For All You Know’ does rather sound like ULTRAVOX’s ‘Change’ slowed down and reimagined by Moby!

In fact, the sad modulated string synth pads reminiscent of OMD are all over ‘Fragile’ but they are certainly more interesting than the thinner Virtual String Machine generated tones that characterised the ‘Brilliant’ album. These sounds give the album a comparatively primitive but emotive feel, familiar in shape but fresh in feel. To close the album, there is the Floydian tones of the ‘Fragile’ title track. This solemn epic is such that it could be considered Ure’s own ‘Comfortably Numb’.

Overall, ‘Fragile’ sees Midge Ure reinvigorated by his musical past and enjoying using electronic sounds again on top of a much more mature outlook while evoking a true honesty in his voice. Clearly, the ULTRAVOX experience has been an important factor in Ure rekindling his muse… quite ironic as Matt Bellamy and Co have turned ULTRAVOX’s sound up to 11 and taken it round the world’s stadiums!

‘Fragile’ is available as a CD, vinyl LP and download via Hypertension Music

http://www.midgeure.co.uk/

http://www.midgeure.hypertension-music.de/

https://www.facebook.com/midge.ure/

https://twitter.com/midgeure1

Text by Chi Ming Lai
11th July 2014

A Short Conversation with MIDGE URE

23 June 2014 /

Midge Ure needs no introduction as one of the most highly regarded elder statesmen of the British music scene. Having become fascinated by KRAFTWERK when they hit the UK charts with ‘Autobahn’, he purchased his first synth, a Yamaha CS50 in 1977 and eventually became a prime mover in helping electronic music gain a mainstream acceptance in the UK.

Through his work as a member of VISAGE and ULTRAVOX, songs such as ‘Sleepwalk’, ‘Vienna’, ‘Fade To Grey’, ‘Mind Of A Toy’, ‘The Voice’, ‘The Anvil’, ‘Hymn’, ‘Dancing With Tears In My Eyes’ and ‘Love’s Great Adventure’ have since become recognised standards in Synth Britannia folklore. During this period, he also produced tracks for FATAL CHARM, RONNY and MESSENGERS.

Previously, he’d been a member of THE RICH KIDS and had worked with THIN LIZZY and THE SKIDS. And all this is without mentioning his three UK No1s with SLIK, BAND AID and as a solo artist, plus his charity work with the Band Aid Trust, the Prince’s Trust and Save The Children. The last few years have been particularly busy for Midge Ure.

A regular on the live circuit with his endearingly intimate acoustic gigs featuring career highlights in stripped back form, he also undertook a number of key collaborations in Europe with acts such as X-PERIENCE, SCHILLER and JAM & SPOON. There was of course his own covers album ’10’ in 2009 with Ure’s emotively respectful takes on Peter Green’s ‘Man Of The World’ and Freddie Mercury’s ‘Nevermore’.

But his most high profile project was the reformation of the classic ULTRAVOX line-up. His successful live reunion with Warren Cann, Chris Cross and Billy Currie in 2009 subsequently led to the recording of 2012’s ‘Brilliant’ album. An impressive collection of songs by any standard, the songs ranged from the motorik stomp of ‘Live’ and the ‘U-Vox’ gone right melodic rock of ‘Lie’, to the pulsing electronica of ‘Rise’ and the Odyssey laden ‘Change’. It was a highly apt return as ULTRAVOX’s biggest legacy has probably been the stadium pomp of MUSE… just listen to ‘Apocalypse Please’, ‘Starlight’ and ‘Guiding Light’ if any proof is needed.

2014 has seen Ure contribute to the orchestrated great adventure of ‘International Blue’, an album celebrating the art of the crooner. Assembled by Dutch composer Stephen Emmer, the album also features Ure’s old pal Glenn Gregory from HEAVEN 17. With the release of Ure’s song ‘Taking Back My Time’ as a single and his first solo album of original material in 12 years ‘Fragile’ about to be unleashed, Midge Ure kindly chatted to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK at the world famous Abbey Road Studios about both projects and what the future may hold for ULTRAVOX…

Photo by George Hurrell

How did it feel to be working with an orchestra again on ‘Taking Back My Time’, having done so previously on ‘All In One Day’ and at the ‘Night Of The Proms’ concerts in Germany?

This is slightly different. Stephen Emmer did all the arrangements for the ‘International Blue’ album so I was presented with a backing track that he’d fine honed and worked on.

He thought my voice and my style of melody and lyric writing would suit this project.

This is very grown up stuff, it’s really complicated, beautiful musical arrangements… so to sing a track like that, it was an absolute joy because I didn’t do it the same way I would normally approach one of my songs; it was a different key for me, I sing it much lower so it’s a different vocal range and you can hear that.

Were there any particular classic reference points you used for ‘Taking Back My Time’?

Not really… I mean the chord structure and arrangement that Stephen already had were so reminiscent of the Burt Bacharach school of songwriting, that whole Scott Walker thing, the melody instantly came into place so my process of writing for this took maybe two or three days so it wasn’t a huge amount of time to sit there and do it. My big worry was that I wasn’t going to do Stephen’s backing track justice. So I had to make sure I was singing something that was solid and informative plus had interesting plays on words and subject matter. But the melody itself had to embellish and compliment what he’d already put there.

You have a new solo album ‘Fragile’ coming out soon. How would you describe it?

I describe it as wearing my musical influences on my sleeve. There are elements of prog rock, a lot of electronics, a lot of electric guitar… it’s very difficult for me to say what it is but if one of the tracks came on right now, you would know it’s me… you’d know from the melodies, counter-melodies, structures and vocals of course. So it’s very definably me. In a way, it’s a much more grown up record than anything I’ve done before. It’s been worked on over a period of maybe twelve or thirteen years,

There’s a song ‘Let It Rise’ which you originally did with SCHILLER. How have you reworked it to suit your own style?

SCHILLER’s got his very own, very good and distinctive style which is much more of a laid back, trip-hop dance thing. And although when we wrote it, the track suited his style incredibly well, I thought I could take it back again and turn it into something that’s much more me which is precisely what I’ve done.

One of the highlights of ‘Fragile’ entitled ‘Become’ is another of the songs that’s been around?

It’s the first single… that’s kind of harking back to early VISAGE.

You had originally offered ‘Become’ for the VISAGE comeback album?

I decided not to get involved when originally Rusty Egan and Steve Strange looked like they were getting VISAGE back together again. But when Rusty wanted to start playing around with remixes using modern electronic computer recording techniques, he asked if I had anything so I gave him ‘Become’. He started playing around with it and changing it; but I kept saying to him “Rusty, I will finish that at some point, it’s just something for you to dabble with”! Then it was going to be a track with Steve singing on it, it was going to be a VISAGE track, it was going to be this, it was going to be that… eventually, I said “it’s mine, I’m gonna finish it!” – Rusty is more than welcome to take it down the route he was taking it, but it’s a very different track to the one I finished, although they were conceived from the same idea.

You also worked with Moby on this album?

Yes, the track is called ‘Dark Dark Night’ and it was originally going to be for Moby’s last album… but in true Midge Ure style, by the time I’d finished it, Moby’s album was out! So I converted it and turned it into my thing. I’ve never met Moby or spoke to him, but we’ve got an email / tweeting relationship, so he asked me to do a modern collaboration and that was one of the songs he sent over. I’ve run it past him, he absolutely loves it and more than happy that I’ve put it on ‘Fragile’. I’m touring in America during the summer and he’s coming to the show at The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, so I’ll finally meet up with him.

Photo by Chi Ming Lai

Is there a concept behind ‘Fragile’?

Yes, subject matter-wise, I always think of an album as a diary and about what affects you. The period, between this album and the last one ‘Move Me’, is such a long period that there have been many highs and many lows during it. So I just documented most things. Some of the songs were starting to be conceived way back then, but I never completed them until the last couple of months, so the whole thing still is coherent and works as a unit, as an album. I’ve started playing with instrumental music again, it’s fairly diverse and very distinctly me.

It’s been 12 years since ‘Move Me’ and you’ve mentioned that part of the delay has been the frustration of the modern music industry. What are your hopes and fears regarding the future… if there is one in the conventional sense?

I can’t predict how it is going to go but I can’t imagine it’s going to get any worse in the industry. We seem to have gone through a massive period of mediocrity while there’s still been some great music, writers and musicians out there. But they seem to be buried under this sea of apathy. I think that the more people understand that the industry as we knew it has completely and utterly gone, then they have to start to do what I’ve had to do for the last thirty years, which is learning how it all works.

So on the ‘Fragile’ album, not only have I played 99% of the instruments, I’ve engineered it, I’ve produced it, I’ve mixed it, shot a video and edited it… you have to be a kind of king of many things. You have to understand how it all works, because there aren’t people out there to do it all for you. There are no budgets out there to throw money at the wall and hoping it will stick! You have to get it right for you, first and foremost. I’m a firm believer that if you absolutely are convinced it’s right, other people will get it.

Photo by Chi Ming Lai

You did some dates with ULTRAVOX supporting SIMPLE MINDS in Autumn 2013… was that to test the water with the view to ULTRAVOX continuing in the future at some point, or just some fun?

I think the ULTRAVOX thing, as we said from day one when we got back together, was that we’ve opened doors now that were certainly closed before. And now ULTRAVOX can just sit on a shelf until we find something that interests us to do.

The idea of just going out every year and doing another tour / another tour / another tour kinda is self defeating because it’s a case of diminishing returns… the more often you go out, the less people will go and see you and it becomes a bit pathetic. And we never set out to make it anything pathetic. We want to keep it quality and keep it right. So it’s still sitting there, still breathing, we’re just waiting for a breath of life to spark it back into action again.

midge & bob

The 30th Anniversary of the original BAND AID recording is approaching. Are there any plans to officially commemorate it?

You know what? I honestly have absolutely no idea! There are no plans to do any celebratory 30th Anniversary things. We did Live8 ten years ago, we did BAND AID20 ten years ago… there was talk of a new version of the song, but I don’t think it’s going to happen. But watch this space, who knows?

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Midge Ure

Special thanks to Sacha Taylor-Cox at Impressive PR

‘Fragile’ is released by Hypertension Music on 7th July 2014. Further information can be found at http://www.midgeure.hypertension-music.de/

http://www.midgeure.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Midge-Ure/275159919205373

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
23rd June 2014

STEPHEN EMMER International Blue Album Launch at Abbey Road Studios

16 June 2014 /

Dutch composer Stephen Emmer’s new album ‘International Blue’ was launched at the world famous Abbey Road Studios with a special live revue featuring its four vocalists Glenn Gregory, Neil Crossley, Liam McKahey and Midge Ure.

The album is in Stephen Emmer’s words “a humble, but yet ambitious project”, bringing back “the lost art of crooning”. Produced by Tony Visconti whose credits have included David Bowie, Marc Bolan and Morrissey, he first picked up on Stephen Emmer’s music via MySpace.

Unable to be present at the event, via a video address, Visconti discussed how he first worked with the Dutchman on the 2008 spoken word album ‘Recitement’ which featured none other than Lou Reed and how he fell in love with Emmer’s cinematic style of composition. He described the songs on ‘International Blue’ as being “well written from a deep tradition of classic standard songwriting” that have “the signature of the crooner stamped all over it”. “The songs are off the beaten track” he added “and not straightforward love songs”, concurring with Emmer’s view that there has always been a spiritual connection between the vocalists of the Post-Punk era and the classic singers of the past such as Frank Sinatra and Scott Walker.

Proceedings in the legendary Studio 2 opened with Glenn Gregory’s tribute to the late Billy Mackenzie entitled ‘Untouchable’ which evoked the haunting drama that the man born William would have been proud of. It has been the calling card for a collection of great ballads that would stand up in any genre. Neil Crossley’s ‘Sleep For England’ interestingly took on more starker tones as one of the album’s more electronically assisted, but still lushly organic numbers. The stylishly quiffed Liam McKahey, formerly of COUSTEAU, rose to the occasion with an intriguing take on the crooner on ‘Blown Away’ in the manner of David Bowie covering Scott Walker. “I didn’t mean to…” the Irishman said later, “…but I’ll take that!”

A big cheer greeted Midge Ure as the diminutive Glaswegian jokingly manhandled a mic stand clearly set up for the considerably taller Glenn Gregory! His track ‘Taking Back My Time’ is clearly an emotive statement of intent on Ure’s part.

His adoption of a lower vocal register affirmed his love of Scott Walker which has been well documented via his 1982 cover of ‘No Regrets’ and ULTRAVOX’s own string laden ‘All In One Day’ in 1986. Coincidentally, his first solo album of new material in 12 years called ‘Fragile’ is out soon.

Liam McKahey returned with ‘Mama’s Mad’, another excellent Bowie / Walker hybrid complimented with a dash of MASSIVE ATTACK. With his own music leaning towards Americana, he clearly found crooning again a re-enlightening experience back to his COUSTEAU roots; he even revealed an interest in collaborating within the field of laid back electronica; “I really like ZERO 7… their music lends itself to good singing” he said afterwards.

The showcase concluded with Glenn Gregory giving a spirited rendition of ‘Let The Silence Hold You’, the second of four tracks featuring his dulcet tones on ‘International Blue’. Indeed, Gregory’s songs on the ‘International Blue’ album are perhaps the ones which the album hangs itself on. ‘A Break In The Weather’ for example reimagines ‘Wild Is The Wind’ as a John Barry era Bond theme, while ‘In The Mirror Reflected’ captures the spirited piano intro of Dusty Springfield’s version of ‘Going Back’ and references ‘To Sir With Love’ in the chorus.

Overall, it has been great to be hear Gregory perform all-new material again and this experience certainly bodes well for the new HEAVEN 17 album which is currently being recorded.

For Glenn Gregory himself, a possible career as a 21st Century crooner is beckoning if all else fails. Either that, or he will become a Bowie impersonator as his upcoming Autumn shows with Tony Visconti, Woody Woodmansey and Steve Norman performing ‘The Man Who Sold The World’ album will indicate 😉

Afterwards, all the protagonists mingled with press and punters alike; and it was here that ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK caught up with Stephen Emmer for a quick chat about how he got into composing orchestrated pop and how this all related to his intriguing musical past…

You were in the band MINNY POPS who supported JOY DIVISION in 1980 at that gig in Bury where the riot took place?

Yes, we were touring the UK and Europe as support to JOY DIVISION, but we weren’t aware at the time of the troubles internally with Ian Curtis’ health and all of that. What happened, was there was this sold out gig in Bury and we knew Ian wouldn’t be performing as he was ill. But the crowd obviously found out when he didn’t appear for the JOY DIVISION set. Back then, gigs were far more aggressive so if people didn’t like you, they would bottle you! We were not bottled and after we had done our slot, we went down to the dressing room. Then JOY DIVISON’s manager Rob Gretton, who sadly is no longer with us, suddenly shouted “BLOCK YER FOOKIN’ DOOR!” in his Mancunian accent, which for us Dutch was hard to understand and decipher! We were like “WHAT?!” *laughs*

Shortly after that, the audience got onto the stage and showed their dismay that Ian Curtis wasn’t going to perform by having some huge fights in the corridor by the dressing room! We could hear all of it but luckily, we had our door barricaded! When it was all over, we came out and that was that. We didn’t think much of it at the time, but it was only later that this whole anecdote has become of such cultural significance.

Really, it was just an evening with a bit of an incident that has become part of rock history! However, MINNY POPS are not included in that scene from the ‘Control’ film, but the director Anton Corbijn… he got to know JOY DIVISION through us!!

You have four great vocalists on ‘International Blue’, but would Ian Curtis have fitted in with this project had he been around today?

That’s a good question, I think so… the sonority of New Wave singing with electro bands has always intrigued me. I was a part-time journalist then back in Holland with a magazine called ‘Vinyl’, but nobody within journalism ever saw the relationship between these singers like Ian Curtis doing things like ‘She’s Lost Control’ with that low voice and Frank Sinatra… it’s like Sinatra but more dark! So it dawned on me that these singers, they should perform that kind of material and I could write for them. And that’s how ‘International Blue’ got started. It’s a bit more remote from New Wave but still a little electronic alongside the orchestral; it is very logical that these are the kind of singers who suit this genre best.

You started as a guitarist with MINNY POPS, so how did you branch into orchestrations? Are you classically trained?

No, I’m not… after all the electronic pop music I did with ASSOCIATES, THE LOTUS EATERS and ACT in the UK, I went back to Holland doing assignments for TV themes, documentaries, film and commercials. What I learnt there was you have to arrange in every genre. Tony Visconti gave me a great compliment and said “Stephen Emmer as an arranger and composer, knows the rules best through that experience in media music – so he also knows how to use, or not use a cliché in music”.

So I made a very thorough study of arranging with an orchestra, although my pedigree is in electronics. I had a solo record in 1982 called ‘Vogue Estate’ which featured Billy Mackenzie and Martha Ladly. It was produced by Michael Dempsey who was in THE CURE and ASSOCIATES with this young guy called Flood who is now a legend!

Is there any other New Wave vocalist you would like to have worked with on ‘International Blue’?

Yes, in fact I bumped into him last night as we were eating in the same restaurant… he was on my list but it didn’t come off! I’d never met him before but I decided to go up to him… it was Ian McCulloch of ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN. He has this Jim Morrison type of voice that I would like to work with… so we might do so in the future.

The album’s lead single ‘Untouchable’ is about Billy Mackenzie. What was it like working with him?

He was a very sweet guy and a true gypsy at heart. When we recorded together on the track ‘Wish On’ from ‘Vogue Estate’, we weren’t sure he was going to show up because he was very random in his behaviour. He arrived, but when it was his turn to sing, we saw he was underneath a table in the mixing room with a bottle of blackcurrant and rum fast asleep! He woke up and apologised, sung the song and left half drunk! *laughs*

Warner Brothers had invested a lot of money in him and thought he would become the next David Bowie, but he was more of an artist’s artist. He suffered from being pushed into the realm of bigger gigs and all of that.

It’s a shame, because out of most of the vocalists of that period, only he could take a TR808 and have a vocal battle with it… which vocalist would do that? He was great!

If Billy Mackenzie had been able to adopt a more conventional approach to being a pop star, do you think ASSOCIATES could have been as big as A-HA?

I think so… coincidentally, Morten Harket recently asked me to write a song for him.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to STEPHEN EMMER

Special thanks also to Sacha Taylor-Cox at Impressive PR

STEPHEN EMMER’s ‘International Blue’ is released on 7th July 2014 via Electric Fairytale Recordings

http://www.stephenemmer.com/

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by Chi Ming Lai
16th June 2014

Missing In Action: FATAL CHARM

30 January 2014 /


Nottinghamshire’s FATAL CHARM were, like several bands during the post-punk era, on the cusp of the big time on several occasions during their career but never quite broke through despite opening for ULTRAVOX and OMD.

Despite the nucleus of Sarah Simmonds and Paul Arnall having recorded a number of outstanding singles, they never got the recognition they deserved.

First making waves on their local scene in 1979 as an all male new wave band, they made contributions to a Dead Good Records LP sampler ‘East’ which also included those great white synth hopes B-MOVIE who later featured on the legendary ‘Some Bizzare Album’. However, it was only when Arnall recruited Simmonds as lead vocalist that FATAL CHARM began to make real progress.

The fresh female fronted outlook impressed and eventually led to tours supporting ULTRAVOX and OMD in 1980. The excellent first single with the new line-up ‘Paris’ was issued on Double D Records in 1981 and produced by Midge Ure. Indicative of their potential, ‘Paris’ had been given a low key independent release in 1979 voiced by the band’s main songwriter Arnall. But with the lyrics unchanged and now embroiled in Simmonds’ feisty passion, it gave a freshly charged sexual ambiguity to the long distance love story written in the days before the Channel Tunnel.

This new version reflected the synth flavoured sound of the period and obliquely connected FATAL CHARM with the New Romantic movement. Meanwhile, its more guitar driven flip ‘Christine’ showcased the band’s punkier roots that had more of an affinity with BLONDIE and X-RAY SPEX.

However, line-up changes and label issues stalled any momentum gained on the ULTRAVOX and OMD tours via flexi-disc giveaway ‘Western Laughter’ / ‘Dark Eyes’.

It wasn’t until 1984 when FATAL CHARM released probably their best known song ‘Summer Spies’ that things started moving again. Issued on the Carrere label, the single was championed on BBC Radio 1 by Janice Long and even edited into a jingle for Long’s show. Crossing the sweeps of OMD with the classical resonance of ULTRAVOX, ‘Summer Spies’ featured Simmonds’ dramatically melancholic voice alongside her own serene whispers. The single’s popularity subsequently led to an appearance on Channel 4’s prestigious music show ‘The Tube’ but unfortunately, a hit was not forthcoming.

The follow-up single ‘King Of Comedy’ kept up the standard while its amusing B-side ‘We’ll Just Wait For Your First Hit’ reflected on the frustrations of trying to secure a record deal.

Indeed, record label politics were to be FATAL CHARM’s Achilles Heel. And with Carrere Records distracted by their surprise No1 ‘Move Closer’ by Phyllis Nelson in Summer of 1985, the debut album ‘Endangered Species’ slipped out largely unnoticed.

But 1986 saw the band sign to Native Records and the release of another excellent single ‘Images Of Fire’ saw them secure airplay during the crucial daytime slot on Radio1 from early afternoon DJ “woo” Gary Davies.

It made the UK Independent Charts and FATAL CHARM appeared to be on the ascent again. However, the next single ‘Lucille’ was not afforded such treatment and repeating history, the parent album ‘This Strange Attraction’ did not emerge until 1989 due to record label issues. Released on their own Really Great Records, Simmonds and Arnall were tiring of the label upheavals that were stalling FATAL CHARM’s progress.

So coinciding with the post-Second Summer Of Love environment in the wake of Acid House, the duo changed their name to STATE OF GRACE and signed to 3rd Stone while FATAL CHARM was placed in hiatus. They released ‘Pacific Motion’ in 1994 which led to a deal with RCA in the US for their 1996 album ‘Jamboree’. STATE OF GRACE continued until 1998 while Arnall also ran a parallel solo project UNDERGROUND HOUSE ORCHESTRA.

In 2005, FATAL CHARM relaunched and issued the self-released ‘Pop’ via their website. More rock orientated than their previous work and featuring new versions of material such as ‘Paris’ and ‘Western laughter’ alongside new compositions, for the first time FATAL CHARM appeared to be in step with the contemporary music scene, thanks to the success of acts such as CURVE and GARBAGE. ‘Pop’ reinvigorated interest in FATAL CHARM, leading to the self-released compilation CD ‘Plastic’ featuring all their singles and B-sides from back in the day including the free flexi-disc from the ULTRAVOX and OMD tours.

Today, FATAL CHARM continue to play live in their home city of Nottingham and occasionally record. Paul Arnall and Sarah Simmonds kindly took time out to chat to look back at their career…


How did the FATAL CHARM sound come into being and who were your influences?

Paul: In the mid ’70s, I worked at a record shop called Select-A-Disc in Nottingham. As the concept of dividing artists by genre didn’t exist in those days, it was constantly a voyage of discovery; CAN sat next to CHIC, FUNKADELIC next to FREE etc… so my influences were many.

At the time of forming FATAL CHARM, I was probably listening to a lot of new wave stuff – WIRE, TELEVISION and TALKING HEADS along with CHIC and CAN.

When did you become interested in using synthesizers and what was your first synth?

Paul: In the early ’70s I played in a band with a very talented keyboard player, Paul Simons, he’s a bit of a boffin. Around ’73 he made his first synth, a couple of years later he reproduced his first Minimoog copy; you’d really have to look at it very closely to realise it wasn’t the real thing. It sounded amazing and even had the same tuning problems when it got hot. It was used on the first FATAL CHARM demos along with a Solina string machine, and the first keyboard I owned, a Hohner clavinet. Paul still dabbles making synths; the last time I saw him he was working on a Moog Modular 55 and still had some spare Minimoogs for sale, he can be contacted at [email protected]

How did Midge Ure become interested in producing you?

Paul: I’ve no idea; it was all handled by our then label Double D…

Sarah: Of course, we went on tour with ULTRAVOX before we recorded with him, but I think it was a package deal!

‘Paris’ in particular does have his stamp on it. What do you remember about recording it and how do you think it stands up now?

Paul: The version of ‘Paris’ produced by Midge is really no different an arrangement to the original, the major difference was we were able to use Midge’s Yamaha synth which gave it his sound. ‘Paris’ is a song of its time and not one of my favourites.

Sarah: Ha ha! Yes, it goes too fast for Paul these days! We have played it a couple of times in the last couple of years but Paul grumbles too much so we have to leave it out!

You toured with ULTRAVOX and OMD in 1980, how do you think FATAL CHARM went down with those audiences and what are your own favourite memories?

Paul: The response was fantastic, sadly we had no single to promote… not great planning from our record label. But very fond memories as it was the first time we’d played venues of that stature.

Sarah: I have a memory of wearing a leotard with a pale green and pink jacket over the top! Not one of my better fashion choices… I also remember playing at the Hammersmith Odeon in London and having to go onstage without a soundcheck. The audience were already coming in and we were frantically setting up, while roadies checked that everything worked. Seat of the pants stuff – character building!

‘Summer Spies’ is the song you are best remembered for. Can you remember its genesis and how the song’s expansive atmosphere developed in the studio?

Paul: Hmm, it was 30 years ago!!!! It was influenced bizarrely by HOT CHOCOLATE… I was having a post-gig pint and a HOT CHOCOLATE song was playing on the juke box. I noticed it had no fills in the drum track. It was something I’d always wanted to try so that was my starting point as I really liked the idea of a constant rhythm. I’d come up with this nice rhythm pattern and basically jammed around it with a Roland Jupiter 4.

Originally it was all Jupiter 4 and 606 drum box recorded at home on my old Akai 4000DS. We were able to get some studio time in Chappell Music 8 track studio, we replaced the 606 with the Linn Drum and added grand piano. My original intention was for it to have no guitar on it, but when I went down to do the 12″ version we needed to expand it. Our engineer suggested a guitar solo but I had no guitar with me. Eventually they searched around and found an old Yamaha guitar with no top E or B strings so the guitar solo was played just on the G string.


‘Summer Spies’ got a lot of radio play with Janice Long being a particular champion while you also appeared on the TV show ‘The Tube’. Do you have any thoughts in hindsight why it didn’t become a hit?

Paul: Our record label Carrere were a small label and to be honest, really didn’t understand us. I think ‘Summer Spies’ was released at the end of July, it picked up some nice airplay but had no tour to promote it. And in fact, it was Sarah that got us ‘The Tube’ appearance… by that time it was November. Even so, our chart position the next day after ‘The Tube’ was 97, I think it had dropped to around 130 by the time the chart was released as the shops had sold out.

Sadly there were no copies left in the warehouse to ship out to the shops. As it was coming up to Christmas, all the pressing plants were busy doing the Christmas runs. By the time they’d pressed more, it was mid-December and too late, c’est la vie…

Sarah: Carrere’s boss admitted later that the song should have been a hit, and apologised.

Your debut album ‘Endangered Species’ finally appeared in 1985. Why did it take so long for it to be completed and how did it affect the band’s momentum?

Paul: This was a quick release if you compare it to RCA who took over 2 years to release the STATE OF GRACE album. The album was recorded over 2 weeks, early ’85 I think. It took so long because as mentioned, Carrere didn’t understand us… on one occasion when listening to a batch of demos, the
A&R guy stopped the tape and asked us why the song was so slow! I looked at Sarah, she looked at me and we both knew we were doomed… ‘Hold On’ was later released on ‘This Strange Attraction’.

1986’s ‘Images of Fire’ was another great single of yours which appeared to cross Kate Bush with ULTRAVOX?

Paul: I loved Kate Bush and loved the first 3 ULTRAVOX albums; I can’t say either of them influenced ‘Images of Fire’.

Why did the parallel STATE OF GRACE and UNDERGROUND HOUSE ORCHESTRA projects emerge alongside FATAL CHARM?

Paul: STATE OF GRACE was a forced name change; our label 3rd Stone believed, and rightly so, that the FATAL CHARM name had been around for too long to be able to get interest from major record labels. They were proved right as we were signed to RCA New York in ’93.

UNDERGROUND HOUSE ORCHESTRA is just a platform for me to release my own recordings. I originally planned to do one off albums under different guises across different genres of music. My first recording was as Space Harriers in Transit (trash pop), followed by Projectile (trance) released on Native Records, Fantastic The Feedback (pop) and Bombshell (homage to CAN)… but even I got confused so I decided to cover the lot under tUHO.

FATAL CHARM returned in 2005 with the album ‘Pop’ and you seemed to be in synch with the scene at the time with acts like GARBAGE and CURVE?

Paul: As my main instrument is guitar, I just fancied re-recording some of the old songs with just guitars and minimal keyboards, as I can never leave anything alone. Some more keyboards were added when I remastered the CDs in 2010.

Despite all the upheavals, the core of FATAL CHARM remains Paul Arnall and Sarah Simmonds. What has enabled you both to still be able record and perform together after all these years?

Paul: Ever since 1981 when the original line-up split, it’s just been the two of us, whether as FATAL CHARM or STATE OF GRACE, what can be better than recording and performing with your best friend.

Sarah: Ah, thanks Arnie! And we always have a lovely cream cake or other tasty snack when we meet J.

FATAL CHARM still play live occasionally in the Nottinghamshire locality. Are there any future plans?

Paul: This spring or early summer we’ll be playing again as STATE OF GRACE (we fancied a change)… we’ll be playing songs from all decades.

Is there anything you would have liked to have done differently back in the day?

Paul: Get a decent manager!!!!

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to FATAL CHARM

Their singles including ‘Paris’, ‘Summer Spies’ and ‘Images Of Fire’ are all collected on a CD entitled ‘Plastic’ which is available from their website along with their debut album ‘Endangered Species’, 2005’s comeback ‘Pop’ and all the STATE OF GRACE material.

A selection of FATAL CHARM’s music is available via Amazon and iTunes including their most recent collection ‘April 13’ and a reworked 2010 version of ‘Summer Spies’

http://www.fatalcharm.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fatal-Charm/248572655153406

Text by Chi Ming Lai
30th January 2014

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2017 ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK | Email: [email protected]
Privacy Policy

Up ↑