Blancmange
Blancmange is a British pop duo consisting of singer Neil Arthur (born June 15, 1958 in Darwen ) and keyboardist Stephen Luscombe (born October 29, 1954 in Hillingdon ). They were in the 1980s and have been active again since 2010.
Band history
Founded in 1979 in Leeds and named after a dessert , the two art students initially published the EP Irene & Mavis on their own . The instrumental piece Sad Day was followed in 1980 by a contribution to the compilation Some Bizzare Album - which also featured other newcomer bands from the New Wave scene such as Depeche Mode and Soft Cell - which ultimately led to a recording contract with London Records .
The first single God's Kitchen / I've Seen the Word and the debut album Happy Families were released in 1982. With two other albums and single hits such as Feel Me , Living on the Ceiling , Blind Vision , Waves , Don't Tell Me or the ABBA cover The Day Before You Came , the band had various chart successes before they broke up in 1986.
Characteristic for Blancmange was - in addition to the voice of Neil Arthur - the sound shaped by the synthesizer in connection with a clearly audible affinity for Indian music . Indian musicians played a part both on the albums and in live performances, and oriental rhythms, percussion and sitar sounds were woven into the synth sound. Arthur and Luscombe often wore a bindi (tika) on their foreheads at concerts .
After the separation, Stephen Luscombe released an album with the Indian musician Pandit Dinesh under the band name "West India Company". Singer Neil Arthur released his solo album Suitcase in 1994 . He then worked as a television and film composer, including for the BBC .
In 2011 the duo got back together and have since released several albums. With the release of a new album in May 2018, the duo announced that Neil Arthur would continue the band alone.
Discography
Studio albums
year | Title music label |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, music label , placements, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
DE | CH | UK | |||
1982 | Happy Families London 8552 |
- | - |
UK30th
gold
(38 weeks)UK |
First published: September 24, 1982
Producer: Mike Howlett |
1984 | Mange Tout London 8554 |
DE28 (18 weeks) DE |
- |
UK8th
gold
(17 weeks)UK |
First published: May 14, 1984
Producers: John Luongo, Peter Collins , Blancmange, John Owen Williams |
1985 | Believe You Me London 820 301 |
- | - |
UK54 (2 weeks) UK |
First published: October 14, 1985
Producers: Stewart Levine, Stephen Luscombe, John Williams, Neil Arthur |
gray hatching : no chart data available for this year
More studio albums
- 2011: Blanc Burn (Proper 075; Release: March 7th)
- 2014: Happy Families Too ... (Blanc Check 002; release: April 29th)
- 2015: Nil by Mouth (Blanc Check 003; release: March 18th)
- 2015: Semi Detached ( Cherry Red 650; release: March 23rd)
- 2016: Commuter 23 (Blanc Check 004; release: March 11th)
- 2017: Unfurnished Rooms (2017) (Blanc Check 010; Release: September 22nd)
- 2018: Wanderlust (Blanc Check Records, October 19, 2018)
Compilations
- 1990: Second Helpings: The Best of Blancmange (London 828 043)
- 1992: Blancmange Collection: Heaven Knows (London 828 043)
- 1994: The Third Course (London 550 194)
- 1996: Best of Blancmange (Connoisseur Collection 226)
- 2006: Platinum Collection ( Rhino 5101)
- 2012: The Very Best of Blancmange (2 CDs; Music Club Deluxe / Rhino 539)
- 2017: The Blanc Tapes (box with 9 CDs; Edel Box 01; release: August 4th)
EPs
- 1980: Irene & Mavis (limited to 1000 copies; Lyntone 7978)
- 2011: 21st Century Blanc Remixes Part 1… To Be Continued (Proper 006; Release: April 16)
- 2013: Irene & Mavis ( Reissue ; limited to 999 copies; Minimal Wave 050; release: November 5th)
- 2016: Red Shift EP (Blanc Check 007; release: October 7th)
Singles
year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | [↑]: treated together with the previous entry; [←]: placed in both charts |
|||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DE | CH | UK | Dance | ||||
1982 | God's Kitchen Happy Families |
- | - |
UK65 (2 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: April 5, 1982
Authors: Neil Arthur , Stephen Luscombe |
|
Feel Me Happy Families |
- | - |
UK46 (5 weeks) UK |
Dance52 (9 weeks) Dance |
First published: July 19, 1982
Authors: Neil Arthur, Stephen Luscombe |
||
Living on the Ceiling Happy Families |
- | - |
UK7th
silver
(14 weeks)UK[Dance: ↑] |
First published: October 18, 1982
Authors: Neil Arthur, Stephen Luscombe |
|||
1983 | Waves Happy Families |
DE29 (12 weeks) DE |
- |
UK19 (9 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: February 7, 1983
Authors: Neil Arthur, Stephen Luscombe |
|
Blind Vision Mange Tout |
DE44 (11 weeks) DE |
- |
UK10 (8 weeks) UK |
Dance3 (15 weeks) Dance |
First published: April 25, 1983
Authors: Neil Arthur, Stephen Luscombe |
||
That's Love, That It Is Mange Tout |
- | - |
UK33 (8 weeks) UK |
Dance56 (7 weeks) Dance |
First published: November 14, 1983
Authors: Neil Arthur, Stephen Luscombe |
||
1984 | Don't Tell Me Mange Tout |
DE34 (13 weeks) DE |
CH27 (5 weeks) CH |
UK8 (10 weeks) UK |
Dance63 (3 weeks) Dance |
First published: April 2, 1984
Authors: Neil Arthur, Stephen Luscombe |
|
The Day Before You Came Mange Tout |
DE52 (5 weeks) DE |
- |
UK22 (8 weeks) UK |
- | |||
Don't Tell Me (Remix) | - | - | - |
Dance44 (7 weeks) Dance |
First published: October 1984
|
||
That's Love, That It Is (Remix) | - | - | - |
Dance16 (12 weeks) Dance |
First published: December 1984
12inch US Maxi; Edit: Joseph Watt |
||
Game Above My Head (Remix) | - | - | -[Dance: ↑] |
B-side of That's Love, That It Is (Remix)
12inch US maxi; Edit: Joseph Watt |
|||
1985 | What's your problem? Believe you me |
- | - |
UK40 (5 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: August 25, 1985
Authors: Neil Arthur, Stephen Luscombe |
|
Lose Your Love Believe You Me |
- | - |
UK77 (2 weeks) UK |
Dance2 (14 weeks) Dance |
First published: October 28, 1985
Authors: Neil Arthur, Stephen Luscombe |
||
1986 | I can see it believe you me |
- | - |
UK71 (3 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: May 21, 1986
Title on the album: Why Don't They Leave Things Alone? Authors: Neil Arthur, Stephen Luscombe |
More singles
- 2011: Drive Me (release: March 14th)
- 2015: I Want More (release: April 18th)
- 2015: Paddington
- 2015: Useless
Web links
- Official website
- Blancmange at Allmusic (English)
- Blancmange at Discogs (English)
swell
- ↑ a b Official homepage .
- ↑ Neil Arthur is now Blancmange. Retrieved March 23, 2018 .
- ↑ a b Chart sources: DE CH UK
- ↑ a b UK gold / platinum database
- ^ Joel Whitburn : Hot Dance / Disco 1974-2003, ISBN 978-0-89820-156-7