Sigue Sigue Sputnik
These UK punk/glam revivalists engineered themselves a briefly prosperous niche in the mid-80s. The creation of Tony James (ex- Chelsea, Generation X), Sigue Sigue Sputnik artlessly copied the shock tactics of Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren. Instead of taking on board the Pistols’ nihilism, James poached from cyberpunk novels and films (particularly BLADE RUNNER) for their image. This consisted of dyed hair piled high, bright colours and an abundance of eye-liner. James had recruited clothes designer Martin Degville, Neal X, Ray Mayhew and Chris Cavanagh., taking pride in their apparent lack of musical experience. Taking their name from a Moscow street gang, they set about a publicity campaign which resulted in EMI, understandably keen not to let the next Pistols slip through their hands again, signing them for a reported £4 million pounds. The figure was deliberately exaggerated in order to provoke publicity. Their first single was Love Missile F1-11 which soared to number 3 in the UK charts in February 1986. However, though Twenty-First Century Boy also made the Top 20, and a debut album sold advertising space between tracks, James’ money-making ruse soon ended. Despite an avalanche of intentionally lurid press, the band split, and Tony James subsequently, albeit briefly, joined the Sisters Of Mercy in 1991.