Brian Molko
Brian Molko (born December 10, 1972 in Brussels , Belgium ) is a singer , keyboardist , guitarist and lyricist . He was best known as the front man of the band Placebo .
biography
Brian Molko was born into a strictly religious family. In addition to his father, a US banker of French - Italian descent, and his mother, a devout Christian from Great Britain of Scottish descent, his brother Barry, ten years older than him, was part of the family. The family moved frequently because of his father's job. As a child, Molko lived in countries such as Austria , Bulgaria , Lebanon , Liberia , Scotland , Belgium , Lithuania , Switzerland , Germany , France and most recently in Luxembourg .
Artistic things were rejected by his parents; his father had also planned a career as a banker for him, and his mother wanted him to be a pastor. Molko rebelled against this by adopting an androgynous appearance and habitually wearing nail polish , lipstick, and eyeliner . In his later teens he came out as a bisexual .
Molko and the later Placebo member Stefan Olsdal both enrolled at the American International School of Luxembourg (now known as the International School of Luxembourg ), but had little contact there. When Molko moved to London in 1990 to study drama and theater at Goldsmiths College , he met Olsdal at South Kensington tube station and invited him to perform. He was so enthusiastic about Molko's voice that the two founded the band Ashtray Heart , which later became Placebo. Together with drummer Robert Schultzberg, a friend of Olsdal, they performed until 1996. However, they soon replaced him with Steve Hewitt. Molko successfully completed his acting studies.
In 2005, Molko's partner Helena Berg gave birth to a son, Cody Molko.
Miscellaneous
Molko taught himself to play the guitar. When he was 16, his parents gave him a guitar. In addition to the guitar, he plays bass , harmonica , keyboard , saxophone , drums and turntables . Occasionally he works as a disc jockey in clubs.
He and his bandmates made a small appearance in the 1998 film Velvet Goldmine , for which Placebo re-recorded the T. Rex song 20th Century Boy . Molko plays Malcolm, the singer of the fictional glam rock band The Flaming Creatures .
Molko counted David Bowie among his circle of friends. With him he sang the placebo song Without You I'm Nothing and the cover song 20th Century Boy live at the 1999 Brit Awards . He is also friends with Marilyn Manson and Nicola Sirkis of Indochine . He sang as a guest singer on songs by Timo Maas ( Pictures , Like Siamese and First Day ), the Alpinestars ( Carbon Kid ) and Trash Palace ( The Metric System ). He also sang the duet Je t'aime, moi non plus with Asia Argento and with Jane Birkin Smile . He also wrote the English lyrics for Pink Water Version 3, a song by Indochine . He also composed the song Hypnotized by Jane for the German glam rock band Cinema Bizarre . On July 3, 2010 he sang Across the Universe by the Beatles and Ne me quitte pas by Jacques Brel in front of the European Parliament in Brussels .
In addition to English, Molko speaks fluent French.
Filmography
- 1998: Velvet Goldmine (as Malcolm, singer of "Flaming Creatures")
- 2001: Sue's Last Ride (executive producer)
Web links
- Interview with Brian Molko on August 11, 2011 in Stuttgart (video, accessed on September 6, 2011)
- Don't say anything now, Brian Molko. An interview without words. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , issue 47/2013.
Individual evidence
- ^ Brian Molko on July 3, 2010 in Brussels (video, accessed on September 6, 2011)
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original dated December 24, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Molko, Brian |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 10, 1972 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Brussels , Belgium |