Blancmange biography
Blancmange are a British synthpop band who came to prominence with a string of hits in the early to mid 1980s.
Biography
Blancmange was formed in Harrow, Middlesex in 1979 by singer Neil Arthur (born 15 June 1958, Darwen, Lancashire) and instrumentalists Stephen Luscombe (born 29 October 1954, Hillingdon, Middlesex) and Laurence Stevens. Stevens left shortly after the band were formed and Arthur and Luscombe continued as a duo. The duo released their first EP "Irene and Mavis" the following year, but had their first real exposure via a track on the seminal
Some Bizzare Album, alongside fellow acts Soft Cell and Depeche Mode. This led to them signing a recording contract with London Records.
Blancmange supported Nash the Slash on a London club tour in October and November 1980. Nash introduced the band to the Virgin subsidiary record label DinDisc, but they were ultimately signed by London Records, in 1982.
The duo found minor success with their 1982 double A-sided single, "God's Kitchen"/"I've Seen The Word" which peaked at no.65 in the UK. This was followed by "Feel Me" which peaked at no.46. Later that year, they broke through with "Living on the Ceiling", which reached no.7 in the UK Singles Chart. Their debut album, Happy Families (which featured a sleeve painting in the style of Louis Wain) also reached the top 30.
Further hits followed with "Waves" (no.19), "Blind Vision" (no.10), "That's Love That It Is" (no.33) and "Don't Tell Me" (no.8), while their second album Mange Tout also reached no.8 in the UK album chart. In 1984, Blancmange covered ABBA's single "The Day Before You Came", which reached no.22 in the UK (slightly higher than Abba's original less than two years earlier). But after this, the band's fortunes declined. Their 1985 single "What's Your Problem" only reached no.40, and the subsequent album Believe You Me spent only two weeks in the UK Albums Chart, peaking at no.54. Blancmange formally split up in 1987.
Luscombe released an album of Indian influenced music New Demons with Pandit Dinesh, Peter Culshaw, Priya Khajuria and Asha Bhosle under the name West India Company, in 1989. Meanwhile, Arthur released a solo album, Suitcase, in 1994.
Following a gap of a quarter of a century, Blancmange released their fourth studio album Blanc Burn in March 2011.
Discography
Studio albums
- Happy Families (1982) UK #30
- Mange Tout (1984) UK #8
- Believe You Me (1985) UK #54
- Blanc Burn (2011) UK #163
Compilations
- Second Helpings (1990)
- Heaven Knows (1992)
- The Third Course (1994)
- Best of Blancmange (1996)
- The Platinum Collection (2006)
EPs
- Irene & Mavis (1980) 33 RPM 7", Blaah Records, only 500 copies ever printed
- 21st Century Blanc Remixes Part 1 (2011)
Singles (with chart position)
- "God's Kitchen"/"I've Seen the Word" (1982) UK #65
- "Feel Me" (1982) UK #46
- "Living on the Ceiling" (1982) UK #7 US Hot Dance Club Songs #52
- "Waves" (1983) UK #19
- "Blind Vision" (1983) UK #10 US Hot Dance Club Songs #3
- "That's Love That It Is" (1983) UK #33 US Hot Dance Club Songs #16
- "Don't Tell Me" (1984) UK #8 US Hot Dance Club Songs #44
- "The Day Before You Came" (1984) UK #22
- "What's Your Problem?" (1985) UK #40
- "Lose Your Love" (1985) UK #77 Hot Dance Club Songs #2
- "I Can See It" (1986) UK #71
- "Drive Me" (2011) UK Download only
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