Hello, music news of the day was undoubtedly the death of the charismatic and hyperactive frontman of the Prodigy, Keith Flint who topped himself age 49. He was the lightning rod for Liam Howlett's project the Prodigy, he burnt brightly but then at 50 , somehow it didn't make sense anymore and he left this realm. Seriously before Flint found time to indulge other enthusiasms too. He kept fit by boxing or practicing jiu-jitsu and was an enthusiastic motorcyclist with his own successful motorcycle team, Team Traction Control. He lived in a lovingly restored (by him) Tudor manor house with 10 acres of land that he had bought near Felsted. That said, his wife Japanese DJ Mayumi Kai had left him, but the band was still going strong, 2019 tour planned, it's hard to fathom from here why his life became too much, rest me to say, rest in piece Keith..
Today's artists originated in the punk underground, namely from the ashes of the controversial X-Ray Spex. After banshee wailer Poly Styrene departed from X-Ray Spex, the remaining members held auditions for a replacement singer. Solo won the approval of a few of Styrene's former bandmates, and they debuted at the Music Machine on August 1979. Though experiencing only minor success in their native UK, most notably with their 1982 Top 20 hit "Is It a Dream", the band had number one hits in Poland, Portugal, Yugoslavia, Israel, Iceland, and other countries. ......N-Joy
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Classix Nouveaux was one of the first new romantic acts in England. Although Classix Nouveaux's more guitar-heavy sound separated them from the mostly synthetic rhythms of Japan and Ultravox, the group's appetite for stylish fashion and danceable keyboards had them quickly associated with the new romantic movement.
The break-up of X-Ray Spex triggered an advertisement placed in Melody Maker, searching for a new lead singer. Sal Solo (formerly with The News) answered the advertisement. Jak Airport and B.P. Hurding left X-Ray Spex to form Classix Nouveaux with Mik Sweeney and Sal Solo. Their first gig was on 25 August 1979 at London's Music Machine nightclub (which would later become the Camden Palace & now called Koko). With publicity growing for the band, their dramatic and heavily made-up image led to the music press associating them with the burgeoning New Romantic movement. Jak Airport was replaced by Gary Steadman during the same year.
In 1980, the band recorded a four track session for Capital Radio and one track, "Robot's Dance", was played regularly by DJ Nicky Horne. This got the interest of the United Artists record company (then part of the EMI group), but as negotiations dragged on, the band decided to release the track as their debut single on their own ESP label. They also performed for the first time on television on Thames TV in London. "Robot's Dance" spent eleven weeks on the UK Indie Chart, reaching No. 22, and became a popular alternative dance floor track. The group's second single, "Nasty Little Green Men", followed on 10 November 1980.
In 1981, the first Classix Nouveaux album Night People was released along with two moderately successful singles "Guilty" and "Tokyo". Both singles reached the UK Top 75, and "Guilty" reached the Top 20 in Sweden and No. 25 in Australia. The album itself peaked at No. 66 in the UK. In September 1981, Classix Nouveaux hired Finnish guitarist Jimi Sumen to replace Gary Steadman. Sumen had been a member of the support act at their Helsinki gig. The second Classix Nouveaux album brought the band its biggest hits. La vérité was released in 1982 and the single release "Is It A Dream" brought the group its only British Top 20 hit, peaking at No. 11. Their next single, "Because You're Young", peaked at No. 43 in the UK, while the album itself peaked at No. 44.
The third and final Classix Nouveaux album, Secret, was released in 1983, produced by Alex Sadkin. The album, and its singles, were unsuccessful in the UK, but the band had number one hit singles in Poland with "Never Never Comes" and "Heart from the Start". The band toured and played to 25,000 people in Helsinki, but by now Solo was the only original member remaining after Jimi Sumen was replaced by Rick Driscoll and BP Hurding was replaced by Paul Turley.
Classix Nouveaux broke up in 1985, by which time Sal Solo had already begun a solo career. He had a UK Top 20 hit with "San Damiano" which reached No. 15 in early 1985. He released an album, Heart and Soul, the same year, and further singles, "Music and You" and "Forever Be", but none of these was successful. He went on to record and perform with the French/Italian space-rock and electronic band Rockets, before becoming heavily involved in Catholicism and releasing several Christian-oriented albums.
Mik Sweeney moved to Los Angeles where he built fretless bass guitars and did studio session work; he currently lives in Ireland. Gary Steadman went on to join A Flock of Seagulls. Jimi Sumen became a record producer in Finland and released a number of solo works there.
The first Classix Nouveaux compilation album was released in 1997 via EMI Records and was reissued with a slightly different track listing in 2003. Beginning that same year, the band's original albums saw reissue on CD by Cherry Red Records. In 2005 River Records released The River Sessions, a live album recorded at Strathclyde University in 1982 and, in January 2010, all the band's singles and associated B-sides saw release as The Liberty Singles Collection, again via Cherry Red Records.
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
When Classix Nouveaux came up the band merged the modish style of New Romantic with the dark sound of The Sisters Of Mercy into classical disco rhythms. It could have worked pretty well if ...Han Solo was a great singer and songwriter but he isn't. If there is a theme that is "Guilty", epic, synthesizers but also colorful and rhythmic guitars plus a very danceable beat, This is the creative peak of Classix Nouveaux, its best contribution to history, with which they can already feel proud, even when their albums are not masterpieces, like this "Night People", average exercise of new romantic, with good times, the introduction "Foreward", cold primitive synthpop, hermetic and robotic, the same for "623" and little less for "Inside Outside".
It might be influenced by their image, but Classix Nouveaux sounds like a more cavernous Duran Duran, they do not have happy themes, the voice of Sal Solo seems to tell us that they take things more seriously, here it's not about going to be nice to bring women closer. In this way, the sound of Classix, although unmistakably new romantic, is closer to Gothic lands for example, for example "Every Home Should Have One", one of the substantial themes of the album, could be camouflaged by a Sisters of Mercy theme a little past the compass. "Tokyo" is also remarkable, a track that pays the high price of accompanying "Guilty" on the same album, otherwise it would be the star. Well well. Here mixed and extended with most of their eponomous debut album.
Classix Nouveaux - Night People ( 401mb)
01 Foreward 3:22
02 Guilty 4:39
03 Run Away 2:39
04 No Sympathy, No Violins 4:04
05 Inside Outside 4:18
06 623 2:27
07 Every Home Should Have One 3:54
08 Tokyo 2:38
09 Or A Movie 4:28
10 Soldier 3:43
11 The Protector Of Night 5:20
Bonus
12 The Robot's Dance 3:53
13 Nasty Little Green Men 3:13
14 Test Tube Babies 2:44
15 Night People 3:51
16 Old World For Sale 2:34
17 627 2:28
18 We Don't Bite 3:23
Classix Nouveaux - Night People (ogg 149mb)
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Classix Nouveaux's second album was spearheaded by their biggest British hit single, "Is It a Dream," as well as the smaller hits "Because You're Young" and "Never Again" (though, oddly, the album only just made it inside the U.K. Top 50). "Is It a Dream" was catchy, lightweight, soul-tinged, and pretentiously vocalized, very much in the stream of the new romantic pop that was peaking around the time of this release. With its synth-heavy production, the album's sound is as firmly dated as a Doris Day record, but actually it's not among the most offensive items in this genre. Sal Solo's high vocals sound not far from Brian Wilson's in texture on "To Believe," believe it or not, and "Because You're Young" has a peppy, uplifting tone that's a little dampened by the ostentatious singing. It's music of a hand-wringing, grandiose chic glamour on its more ethereal cuts, and of unabashed, bouncy synth pop on more dance-oriented outings like "Never Again" and "1999." The 2002 CD reissue on Cherry Red adds two bonus tracks, "It's Not Too Late" and "Where to Go" (the B-sides of "Because You're Young" and "Is It a Dream," respectively).
Classix Nouveaux - La Verite ( 293mb)
01 Foreward 1:08
02 Is It A Dream 4:16
03 To Believe 3:46
04 Because You're Young 3:47
05 Six To Eight 1:58
06 La Verité 5:12
07 Never Again 4:06
08 It's All Over 3:55
09 1999 3:45
10 I Will Return 5:43
11 Finale 2:34
Bonus
12 It's Not Too Late 3:23
13 Where To Go 3:14
Classix Nouveaux - La Verite (ogg 113mb)
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
While their first two albums may have cemented their fate as goth new romantics, there was always more to Classix Nouveaux than fashion and their short-lived "flavor of the week" status. In frontman Sal Solo, they had a vocalist with an exceptional range and a knack for writing catchy songs that would oftentimes get buried beneath the quirky arrangements and production that didn't seem to fully comprehend the depth of Solo's songs. On Secret, released in 1983, it all finally came together. Under the guidance of producer Alex Sadkin, most of the white funk elements of their sound had been chucked and replaced by a far more commercial synth-based sound, which helped to compliment Sal's vocals and push the melodies of the songs to the fore. Fans of the first two albums didn't have to worry, though, because there were moments here that could fit easily on the first pair of albums (namely, "The Fire Inside" and "The Unloved"). But those looking for something more than retreads of their past glories were pleased with the more direct sound of Secret. Some of the band's finest songs can be found on this platter, including "Never Never Comes," "Forever and a Day," "All Around the World," and "Heart from the Start." Sal's vocals were more passionate and his lyrics more personal. In the past, it often seemed too flashy when he'd slip into his trademark falsetto, but here he uses it sparingly and only to accent the songs. This was a new, mature Classix Nouveaux. Even Edward Bell's cover art moved the band to a new level of acceptability, adding a colorful flair to their older, darker image. Unfortunately, as Classix Nouveaux moved forward, their audience stayed behind and the album was not as successful as it should have been. Meanwhile, Sal had a deeply moving religious experience and began moving in a different musical direction. The band recorded another single with Sal but the writing was on the wall, and Solo took flight and went...er....solo.
Classix Nouveaux - Secret ( 281mb)
01 All Around The World 4:20
02 Manitou 3:54
03 Heart From The Start 3:32
04 The Fire Inside 3:48
05 Forever And A Day 3:38
06 Never Never Comes 2:58
07 The Unloved 5:17
08 When They All Have Gone 6:00
09 No Other Way 4:52
Classix Nouveaux - Secret (ogg 90mb)
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Today's artists originated in the punk underground, namely from the ashes of the controversial X-Ray Spex. After banshee wailer Poly Styrene departed from X-Ray Spex, the remaining members held auditions for a replacement singer. Solo won the approval of a few of Styrene's former bandmates, and they debuted at the Music Machine on August 1979. Though experiencing only minor success in their native UK, most notably with their 1982 Top 20 hit "Is It a Dream", the band had number one hits in Poland, Portugal, Yugoslavia, Israel, Iceland, and other countries. ......N-Joy
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Classix Nouveaux was one of the first new romantic acts in England. Although Classix Nouveaux's more guitar-heavy sound separated them from the mostly synthetic rhythms of Japan and Ultravox, the group's appetite for stylish fashion and danceable keyboards had them quickly associated with the new romantic movement.
The break-up of X-Ray Spex triggered an advertisement placed in Melody Maker, searching for a new lead singer. Sal Solo (formerly with The News) answered the advertisement. Jak Airport and B.P. Hurding left X-Ray Spex to form Classix Nouveaux with Mik Sweeney and Sal Solo. Their first gig was on 25 August 1979 at London's Music Machine nightclub (which would later become the Camden Palace & now called Koko). With publicity growing for the band, their dramatic and heavily made-up image led to the music press associating them with the burgeoning New Romantic movement. Jak Airport was replaced by Gary Steadman during the same year.
In 1980, the band recorded a four track session for Capital Radio and one track, "Robot's Dance", was played regularly by DJ Nicky Horne. This got the interest of the United Artists record company (then part of the EMI group), but as negotiations dragged on, the band decided to release the track as their debut single on their own ESP label. They also performed for the first time on television on Thames TV in London. "Robot's Dance" spent eleven weeks on the UK Indie Chart, reaching No. 22, and became a popular alternative dance floor track. The group's second single, "Nasty Little Green Men", followed on 10 November 1980.
In 1981, the first Classix Nouveaux album Night People was released along with two moderately successful singles "Guilty" and "Tokyo". Both singles reached the UK Top 75, and "Guilty" reached the Top 20 in Sweden and No. 25 in Australia. The album itself peaked at No. 66 in the UK. In September 1981, Classix Nouveaux hired Finnish guitarist Jimi Sumen to replace Gary Steadman. Sumen had been a member of the support act at their Helsinki gig. The second Classix Nouveaux album brought the band its biggest hits. La vérité was released in 1982 and the single release "Is It A Dream" brought the group its only British Top 20 hit, peaking at No. 11. Their next single, "Because You're Young", peaked at No. 43 in the UK, while the album itself peaked at No. 44.
The third and final Classix Nouveaux album, Secret, was released in 1983, produced by Alex Sadkin. The album, and its singles, were unsuccessful in the UK, but the band had number one hit singles in Poland with "Never Never Comes" and "Heart from the Start". The band toured and played to 25,000 people in Helsinki, but by now Solo was the only original member remaining after Jimi Sumen was replaced by Rick Driscoll and BP Hurding was replaced by Paul Turley.
Classix Nouveaux broke up in 1985, by which time Sal Solo had already begun a solo career. He had a UK Top 20 hit with "San Damiano" which reached No. 15 in early 1985. He released an album, Heart and Soul, the same year, and further singles, "Music and You" and "Forever Be", but none of these was successful. He went on to record and perform with the French/Italian space-rock and electronic band Rockets, before becoming heavily involved in Catholicism and releasing several Christian-oriented albums.
Mik Sweeney moved to Los Angeles where he built fretless bass guitars and did studio session work; he currently lives in Ireland. Gary Steadman went on to join A Flock of Seagulls. Jimi Sumen became a record producer in Finland and released a number of solo works there.
The first Classix Nouveaux compilation album was released in 1997 via EMI Records and was reissued with a slightly different track listing in 2003. Beginning that same year, the band's original albums saw reissue on CD by Cherry Red Records. In 2005 River Records released The River Sessions, a live album recorded at Strathclyde University in 1982 and, in January 2010, all the band's singles and associated B-sides saw release as The Liberty Singles Collection, again via Cherry Red Records.
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
When Classix Nouveaux came up the band merged the modish style of New Romantic with the dark sound of The Sisters Of Mercy into classical disco rhythms. It could have worked pretty well if ...Han Solo was a great singer and songwriter but he isn't. If there is a theme that is "Guilty", epic, synthesizers but also colorful and rhythmic guitars plus a very danceable beat, This is the creative peak of Classix Nouveaux, its best contribution to history, with which they can already feel proud, even when their albums are not masterpieces, like this "Night People", average exercise of new romantic, with good times, the introduction "Foreward", cold primitive synthpop, hermetic and robotic, the same for "623" and little less for "Inside Outside".
It might be influenced by their image, but Classix Nouveaux sounds like a more cavernous Duran Duran, they do not have happy themes, the voice of Sal Solo seems to tell us that they take things more seriously, here it's not about going to be nice to bring women closer. In this way, the sound of Classix, although unmistakably new romantic, is closer to Gothic lands for example, for example "Every Home Should Have One", one of the substantial themes of the album, could be camouflaged by a Sisters of Mercy theme a little past the compass. "Tokyo" is also remarkable, a track that pays the high price of accompanying "Guilty" on the same album, otherwise it would be the star. Well well. Here mixed and extended with most of their eponomous debut album.
Classix Nouveaux - Night People ( 401mb)
01 Foreward 3:22
02 Guilty 4:39
03 Run Away 2:39
04 No Sympathy, No Violins 4:04
05 Inside Outside 4:18
06 623 2:27
07 Every Home Should Have One 3:54
08 Tokyo 2:38
09 Or A Movie 4:28
10 Soldier 3:43
11 The Protector Of Night 5:20
Bonus
12 The Robot's Dance 3:53
13 Nasty Little Green Men 3:13
14 Test Tube Babies 2:44
15 Night People 3:51
16 Old World For Sale 2:34
17 627 2:28
18 We Don't Bite 3:23
Classix Nouveaux - Night People (ogg 149mb)
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Classix Nouveaux's second album was spearheaded by their biggest British hit single, "Is It a Dream," as well as the smaller hits "Because You're Young" and "Never Again" (though, oddly, the album only just made it inside the U.K. Top 50). "Is It a Dream" was catchy, lightweight, soul-tinged, and pretentiously vocalized, very much in the stream of the new romantic pop that was peaking around the time of this release. With its synth-heavy production, the album's sound is as firmly dated as a Doris Day record, but actually it's not among the most offensive items in this genre. Sal Solo's high vocals sound not far from Brian Wilson's in texture on "To Believe," believe it or not, and "Because You're Young" has a peppy, uplifting tone that's a little dampened by the ostentatious singing. It's music of a hand-wringing, grandiose chic glamour on its more ethereal cuts, and of unabashed, bouncy synth pop on more dance-oriented outings like "Never Again" and "1999." The 2002 CD reissue on Cherry Red adds two bonus tracks, "It's Not Too Late" and "Where to Go" (the B-sides of "Because You're Young" and "Is It a Dream," respectively).
Classix Nouveaux - La Verite ( 293mb)
01 Foreward 1:08
02 Is It A Dream 4:16
03 To Believe 3:46
04 Because You're Young 3:47
05 Six To Eight 1:58
06 La Verité 5:12
07 Never Again 4:06
08 It's All Over 3:55
09 1999 3:45
10 I Will Return 5:43
11 Finale 2:34
Bonus
12 It's Not Too Late 3:23
13 Where To Go 3:14
Classix Nouveaux - La Verite (ogg 113mb)
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
While their first two albums may have cemented their fate as goth new romantics, there was always more to Classix Nouveaux than fashion and their short-lived "flavor of the week" status. In frontman Sal Solo, they had a vocalist with an exceptional range and a knack for writing catchy songs that would oftentimes get buried beneath the quirky arrangements and production that didn't seem to fully comprehend the depth of Solo's songs. On Secret, released in 1983, it all finally came together. Under the guidance of producer Alex Sadkin, most of the white funk elements of their sound had been chucked and replaced by a far more commercial synth-based sound, which helped to compliment Sal's vocals and push the melodies of the songs to the fore. Fans of the first two albums didn't have to worry, though, because there were moments here that could fit easily on the first pair of albums (namely, "The Fire Inside" and "The Unloved"). But those looking for something more than retreads of their past glories were pleased with the more direct sound of Secret. Some of the band's finest songs can be found on this platter, including "Never Never Comes," "Forever and a Day," "All Around the World," and "Heart from the Start." Sal's vocals were more passionate and his lyrics more personal. In the past, it often seemed too flashy when he'd slip into his trademark falsetto, but here he uses it sparingly and only to accent the songs. This was a new, mature Classix Nouveaux. Even Edward Bell's cover art moved the band to a new level of acceptability, adding a colorful flair to their older, darker image. Unfortunately, as Classix Nouveaux moved forward, their audience stayed behind and the album was not as successful as it should have been. Meanwhile, Sal had a deeply moving religious experience and began moving in a different musical direction. The band recorded another single with Sal but the writing was on the wall, and Solo took flight and went...er....solo.
Classix Nouveaux - Secret ( 281mb)
01 All Around The World 4:20
02 Manitou 3:54
03 Heart From The Start 3:32
04 The Fire Inside 3:48
05 Forever And A Day 3:38
06 Never Never Comes 2:58
07 The Unloved 5:17
08 When They All Have Gone 6:00
09 No Other Way 4:52
Classix Nouveaux - Secret (ogg 90mb)
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
2 comments:
Pssst - Liam Howlett, not Mike. Your prog and early 80s roots are showing. ;p
Agree its hard for outsiders to understand why someone who appears to have a successful career and likely want for little financially would take their own life, however mental illness can take people to very dark places where none of those things have any importance. RIP Kieth.
Post a Comment