| Sigue Sigue Sputnik | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London |
| Genres | New Wave, post-punk, glam punk |
| Years active | 1982–1989, 1995, 1998, 2001–2004 |
| Labels | Parlophone, Sputnikworld Ltd |
| Past members | |
| Tony James Martin Degville Neal X Ray Mayhew Chris Kavanagh Yana YaYa |
|
Sigue Sigue Sputnik were a British new wave band created in 1982 by the former Generation X bassist Tony James. The band had three UK Top 40 hit singles, including the song "Love Missile F1-11".
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Tony James decided to form a "fantasy band" after leaving Generation X and playing in Lords of the New Church.[1][2] He recruited Neal X (Whitmore) via an advert in Melody Maker, and then set about recruiting a singer.[1] After considering approaching Andrew Eldritch and Annie Lennox, he recruited Martin Degville after meeting him in the YaYa clothes shop in Kensington Market where he was working.[1] Degville was a clothes designer and supplied the band's wardrobe, and YaYa became the band's base.[1] Early names considered for the band included Sperm Festival and Nazi Occult Bureau, and they had not decided on a name by the time they played their first concert, supporting Johnny Thunders in Paris.[1] James' former Gen X colleague and then drummer for Thunders, Mark Laff, played that first gig with the band.[1]
On their return to London, they recruited drummers Ray Mayhew and Chris Kavanagh, both of whom acquired drum kits from former drummers for the Clash, Topper Headon and Terry Chimes respectively.[1] There was a further Clash link, with Mick Jones working with the band as live sound engineer.[1] At the suggestion of Fatchner O'Kelly, manager of The Boomtown Rats who had provided much of the band's equipment, the band adopted the name Sigue Sigue Sputnik - a reference to a Russian street gang (which was said to translate as "burn, burn satellite", though the word "sigue" does not exist in Russian).[1][2] They also recruited Degville's YaYa co-worker Yana (real name Jane Farrimond) to play keyboards.[1]
The band's sound was, according to James, arrived at by accident, when he inadvertently mixed elements of film soundtracks with their demo track "Love Missile F1-11" while putting together a video compilation from his favourite films.[1]
Interest in the band increased sharply in 1984 after James was interviewed by the NME, with several record companies sending representatives to their next performance at the Electric Cinema in London, and they were invited to perform on The Tube.[1] The band were signed by EMI, with the contract reported to be worth anywhere between 1.5 million US dollars and 4 million pounds.[1][2][3][4] The band's first single, the Giorgio Moroder-produced "Love Missile F1-11", was released in February 1986, and reached number 3 in the UK Singles Chart, and was a major hit in several countries in Europe and Asia.[1][5] Its popularity was boosted by its inclusion in the John Hughes film Ferris Bueller's Day Off. The samples used in the single had not received copyright clearance, and were replaced in the US version.[1] The follow-up, "21st Century Boy" reached number 20 in the UK and, despite largely negative reviews, the album that followed, Flaunt It, again with Moroder at the controls, went top ten in the UK, and also reached number 96 in the US.[1] The album included paid commercials between tracks,[6] James stated prior to its release that they would sell 20-30 second advertising slots for between $2,500 and $7,000.[7] He explained this by saying "commercialism is rampant in society. Maybe we're a little more honest than some groups I could mention," and "our records sounded like adverts anyway".[8][9] Advertisements that did sell (including spots for i-D Magazine and Studio Line from L'Oréal) were complemented by ironic spoof ads including one for the Sputnik corporation itself claiming that "Pleasure is our Business".[5] A subsequent tour was characterised by poor ticket sales and crowd violence.[10]
It was two years before the band followed this up, and subsequent releases fared less well. The Pete Waterman-produced "Success" peaked at number 31 in late 1988 and the singles that followed peaked outside the top 40.[1] Second album Dress for Excess peaked at number 53 in the UK but sold well in Brazil.[1] The band split up in July 1989, with James joining The Sisters of Mercy later that year.[1] Chris Kavanagh went on to Big Audio Dynamite II joining Mick Jones.[5] Mayhew formed Mayhem Deranged. Degville claimed to have spent the next few years travelling and making a couple of "specialist" porn films.[9]
A collection of early demo recordings from 1984 and 1985, along with three tracks from 1990, First Generation, was released in 1991.[11]
In 1995, James and X formed a new version of the band with singer Christopher Novak, John Green (keyboards), and former Gen-X guitarist Derwood.[1] Their song "Cyberspace Party" was a major hit in Japan, and an album, Sputnik: The Next Generation, was released there, selling 50,000 copies.[1] The band split up again but reformed in 1998, this time with Degville back on vocals and with Claudia Cujo on drums, as Sputnik 2.0.[1] They reformed again in 2001 with Degville and Neal X, which resulted in the release of Piratespace.[9][12] In 2004, Degville left the band to pursue a solo career, and has performed as Sputnik2, Sputnik2 The Future, and Sigue Sigue Sputnik Electronic (SSSE). Neal X has been playing with Marc Almond.[5] James later formed the group Carbon/Silicon with Mick Jones.
James claimed that he had chosen his bandmates for their looks, and the band's slogan was "Fleece the World".[8] James billed the band as "Hi-tech sex, designer violence, and the fifth generation of rock 'n' roll".[2]
The themes and imagery in the band's songs were often influenced by futuristic, dystopian or post-apocalyptic films such as A Clockwork Orange, The Terminator, Blade Runner and the Mad Max trilogy.[2][5] Visually, their image included fishnet masks and brightly-coloured wigs.
The band's music and image and inspiration also mashed together a range of other pop culture influences, including the electronica influences of Suicide, and the New York Dolls.
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