Norman Iceberg

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Norman Iceberg (born Norman Joseph Bédard on July 30, 1962) is a Canadian singer and songwriter.

Norman Iceberg's 'Be My Human Tonight' - Album cover

Norman Iceberg - Circa 1988

A graphic artist turned performance artist, Norman Iceberg emerged from the Montreal underground music scene in the early-80’s. One of a handful of cross-gender new wave artists to come out following the success of artists like Duran Duran, Boy George, and Gary Numan, Iceberg was recruited by music producer Tony Green, responsible for France Joli’s 1979 disco hit Come To Me.

Norman Iceberg’s experimental, minimal electro sound was therefore remodeled to cater to the dance club scene as evident on his debut, Be My Human Tonight (RCA). Person(a), released in 1987, was a conceptual collection of synth pop songs reflecting a young man’s own vision of life, and featuring keyboardists such as Lenny Pinkas (Men Without Hats) and Mario Spezza (Rational Youth). The cover photograph of him posing nude - pre-dating Prince’s Lovesexy by several months - stirred up controversy. A few selections taken from Iceberg’s Person(a) were used for TVA’s Le Match de la Vie hosted by Quebec author and former politician Claude Charron.

On stage, careful attention was paid to set design and visual effects; Norman would then sometimes only be backed by a pre-recorded soundtrack and live vocalists such as Claudine Mercier and Louise Litsz, giving them entire freedom to use props and screens, a style made popular by American performance artist Laurie Anderson. 1988 saw the release of Gotta Move.

With its frenetic, energetic beat, 1989’s Kiss the Beauty was a favourite for months in night clubs. The title track's music video was directed by filmmaker Eric Canuel. A couple of years later, We Act got him a “Best Video” nomination at the Musique Plus (his native Quebec equivalent to MTV) Video Awards.

In the early-90’s, American music industry executives strongly advised him to change his name in order to avoid any confusion with new rap artists Ice-T, Ice Cube and Vanilla Ice. However, with a strong gay following, Norman decided to keep using his stage name, performing notably at the 1992 Los Angeles Gay Pride, the notorious Whisky A Go-Go, as well as Prince’s Glam Slam, backed by dancers Viktor Manoel (David Bowie’s Glass Spider tour), Luca Tommassini and Carrie Ann Inaba (Madonna’s Girlie Show tour). He also performed acoustic sets with American actor Robert Consoli on guitar.

Ending a series of concerts with a five-piece rock band at The Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles, Norman Iceberg’s actual last appearance was on the Syndicated TV Show Sheena Metal's Freakin' Rock Review in 1993. He also recorded as Norman Joseph in 1994 before deciding to come back to Norman Bédard, his birth last name.

Committed to his craft, and now on his own, Norman Bédard continued writing songs, working with collaborators such as Kevin Komoda (Rational Youth, Sarah McLachlan), and self-produced several albums revealing a more subdued side. Norman’s newer material - recorded in various studios including Men Without Hats’ home studio - offers the sound of a simple and mature man embracing life and savoring the chance to play another day. With his goal of easing our souls, he terms his music “zen pop”.

[edit] Trivia

Quebec’s famous drag queen Mado Lamotte portrayed a hyperactive boy dancing on a bar stool in the music video "Kiss The Beauty" while the bowiesque male vampire was actually director Eric Canuel in a cameo appearance.