Blancmange

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Blancmange (2011)

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 DE CH CH UK UK
1982 Happy Families
London 8552
- - UK30th
gold
gold

(38 weeks)UK
First published: September 24, 1982
Producer: Mike Howlett
1984 Mange Tout
London 8554
DE28 (18 weeks)
DE
- UK8th
gold
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 DE CH CH UK UK Dance 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
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
-
First published: July 9, 1984
Authors: Benny Andersson , Björn Ulvaeus
Original: ABBA , 1982
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

swell

  1. a b Official homepage .
  2. Neil Arthur is now Blancmange. Retrieved March 23, 2018 .
  3. a b Chart sources: DE CH UK
  4. a b UK gold / platinum database
  5. ^ Joel Whitburn : Hot Dance / Disco 1974-2003, ISBN 978-0-89820-156-7