Sigue Sigue Sputnik

Early years

The band was formed by Tony James, who had just left the band Gen X, and Neal X (Whitmore), who recruited "post-punk drag queen" Martin Degville. Degville was a clothes designer and supplied the band's wardrobe, and YaYa, the store where he worked, became the band's base. Their first gig was in Paris, supporting Johnny Thunders, with James' former Gen X colleague and then drummer for Thunders, Mark Laff, on drums.

Mick Jones, formerly of The Clash, worked with the band as live sound engineer, helped manipulate their sound, and appeared with them when they opened for New Model Army. Fachna O'Kelly, manager of The Boomtown Rats who had provided much of the band's equipment, provided the band with the name Sigue Sigue Sputnik, as a supposed reference to a Russian street gang and supposedly meaning "burn, burn satellite". 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.

Commercial success (1984–1989)

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. The band were signed by EMI, with the band themselves claiming in the press that they had signed for one million pounds, though in actual fact revealed to be £350,000. 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, number 2 in South Africa and was a major hit in several countries in Europe and Asia. 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. 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. The album included paid commercials between tracks, James stated prior to its release that they would sell 20-30 second advertising slots for between $2,500 and $7,000. 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". 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". A subsequent tour was characterised by poor ticket sales and crowd violence.

It was two years before the band followed this up, and subsequent releases fared less well. The Stock Aitken Waterman produced "Success" peaked at number 31 in late 1988 and the singles that followed peaked outside the top 40. Second album Dress for Excess peaked at number 53 in the UK but sold well in Brazil. The band split up in July 1989, with James joining The Sisters of Mercy later that year. Chris Kavanagh went on to Big Audio Dynamite II joining Mick Jones. Mayhew formed Mayhem Deranged. Degville claimed to have spent the next few years travelling and making a couple of "specialist" porn films.

A collection of early demo recordings from 1984 and 1985, along with three tracks from 1990, First Generation, was released in 1991.

Reunions

In 1995, James, X, and Kavanagh formed a new version of the band with Christopher Novak (vocals), John Green (keyboards), and former Gen-X guitarist Bob "Derwood" Andrews. Their song "Cyberspace Party" was a major hit in Japan, and an album, Sputnik: The Next Generation, was released there, selling 50,000 copies. The band split up again but was reformed by James again in 1998, this time with Degville back on vocals and with Claudia Cujo on drums, as Sputnik 2.0. The band was reformed again in 2001 by Degville, James, and X; which resulted in the release of Piratespace. 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. James later formed the group Carbon/Silicon with Mick Jones.

Image

James claimed that he had chosen his bandmates for their looks, and the band's slogan was "Fleece the World". James billed the band as "Hi-tech sex, designer violence, and the fifth generation of rock 'n' roll".

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. Visually, their image included fishnet masks and brightly coloured wigs.

The band's music, image and inspiration also mashed together a range of other pop culture influences, including former Tronics member Zarjaz and electronica influences of Suicide and the New York Dolls.

Members

Albums

Singles

Other album appearances

Videography