Terence Trent D'Arby
b. 15 March 1962, New York, USA. A former soldier, he first became involved with the music business while posted in Germany. He joined a local funk band, Touch, in 1983. Following his move to London he set about recording a high quality demo tape which was impressive enough for CBS Records to sign him. Their judgement was perceptively accurate, as his first single If You Let Me Stay leapt into the UK Top 10. D'Arby possessed a superbly natural soulful voice and this was executed brilliantly by producer Martyn Ware of Heaven 17. INTRODUCING THE HARDLINE ACCORDING TO TERENCE TRENT D'ARBY was one of the most successful debut albums of recent years and in addition to reaching number 1, it spent over a year in the top half of the UK charts as well as selling several million copies worldwide. D'Arby's self-publicity was less well-received, and in attempting to be controversial he alienated the media. His openly clumsy criticism of his homeland and his notorious publicity stunt of posing naked on a cross, backfired on him. Anticipating similar success for the eagerly awaited follow-up, CBS reputedly pressed millions of copies. The result was an astonishing flop by the first album's standard. The record spent barely a month in the UK charts, and D'Arby became a media star again, this time for the wrong reasons. Such an anti-climatic release severely undermined his career, which has yet to fully recover, although SYMPHONY OR DAMN did much to redress this.