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Information about Blancmange (band)

Blancmange is a British synthpop band that is best known for their hits in the early to mid 1980s.

Biography

According to a Smash Hits interview done by Chris Heath, Neil Arthur attended the University of Birmingham at the same time as Duran Duran lead singer Simon Le Bon. Years later, when the two met up backstage at a Top Of The Pops taping, Le Bon recognized Arthur from university days and the two met up for a drink and some friendly chat.

Before forming Blancmange, Luscombe was a member of the West Middlesex group, 'Miru Music Club'. Luscombe also recorded with the 'Spontaneous Music Orchestra' and the 'Portsmouth Sinfonia'.

Blancmange was formed in Harrow, London in 1979 by vocalist Neil Arthur (born 15 June 1958, Darwen, Lancashire) and instrumentalist Stephen Luscombe (born 29 October 1954, Hillingdon, Middlesex). The duo released their first EP "Irene and Mavis" the following year, but had their first real exposure via a track on the seminal Some Bizarre compilation album, alongside fellow acts Soft Cell and Depeche Mode. This led to them signing a recording contract with London Records.

Blancmange supported Nash the Slash on a London club tour in October and November 1980. Nash introduced the band to the Virgin subsidiary record label Dindisc, but they were subsequently signed by London Records, in 1982.

Their first success was the 1982 minor hit single, "Feel Me". Later that year they broke through with "Living on the Ceiling" (below), which made Number 7 in the UK Singles Chart. The sleeve of their first album Happy Families is a painting in the style of Louis Wain.

In 1984 Blancmange covered ABBA's single "The Day Before You Came," which reached No 22 in the UK. Eventually, as synthpop became less fashionable, the band's fortunes declined; the 1985 single "What's Your Problem" only reached No. 40, and the same year's album Believe You Me spent only two weeks in the UK Albums Chart. The video for their song "Lose Your Love" was briefly shown during a scene in the 1986 Disney film, Flight of the Navigator.

Blancmange split up in 1986.

Luscombe released an album of Indian influenced music, New Demons, with Pandit Dinesh, under the name 'The West India Company', in 1989. Arthur meanwhile released his solo album Suitcase, in 1994.

As stated on the band's official MySpace page, Blancmange have recently reformed and are writing material for a new album.

Discography

EP

  • "Irene & Mavis" (1980)
33rpm 7" vinyl released on Blaah Records

Singles (with chart position)

  • "God's Kitchen / I've Seen The Word" (1982) UK #65
  • "Feel Me" (1982) UK #46
  • "Living On The Ceiling" (1982) UK #7
  • "Waves" (1983) UK #19
  • "Blind Vision" (1983) UK #10
  • "That's Love That It Is" (1983) UK #33
  • "Don't Tell Me" (1984) UK #8
  • "The Day Before You Came" (1984) UK #22
  • "What's Your Problem?" (1985) UK #40
  • "Lose Your Love" (1985) UK #77
  • "I Can See It" (1986) UK #71
[1]

Studio albums (with chart position)

[1]

Compilation albums

Session tracks

  • "I Would"
  • "Living on the Ceiling"
  • "Waves"
  • "Running Thin"
Recorded for the BBC Radio 1 John Peel show and transmitted in February 1982.[3]

References

1. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums, 19th, London: Guinness World Records Limited, p. 62. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 
2. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums, 19th, London: Guinness World Records Limited, p. 62. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 
3. ^ BBC John Peel Sessions - Blancmange. Retrieved 29 August 2006.

External links

  •  • [ e] Blancmange
Stephen Luscombe
Lawrence Stevens
Discography
Studio albums: Happy Families (1982) | Mange Tout (1984) | Believe You Me (1985)
Compilation albums: Second Helpings (1990) | Heaven Knows (1992) | The Third Course (1994) | Best of Blancmange (1996) | The Platinum Collection (2006)
EP & Singles: Irene & Mavis (1980) | God's Kitchen / I've Seen The Word (1982) | Feel Me (1982) | Living On The Ceiling (1982) | Waves (1983) | Blind Vision (1983) | That's Love That It Is (1983) | Don't Tell Me (1984) | The Day Before You Came (1984) | What's Your Problem? (1985) | Lose Your Love (1985) | I Can See It (1986)
Videography
Videos: The Video Singles (1986) | Live at the Haienda (2005) | Hello Good Evening (2006)
Motto
"Dieu et mon droit" [2]   (French)
"God and my right"
Anthem
"God Save the Queen" [3]
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Synthpop is a subgenre of New Wave in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It is most closely associated with the era between the late 1970s and early to middle 1980s, although it has continued to exist and develop ever since.
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A musical ensemble is a group of two or more musicians who perform instrumental or vocal music. In each musical style or genre, different norms have developed for the sizes and composition of different ensembles, and for the repertoire of songs or musical works that these ensembles
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In popular music, a chart-topper is an extremely popular recording, identified by its inclusion in a ranked list—a chart—of top selling or otherwise judged most popular releases. Chart-topper and related terms like No.
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