Mute Records is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Einstürzende Neubauten, Fad Gadget, Goldfrapp, Grinderman, Inspiral Carpets, Moby, New Order, Laibach, Nitzer Ebb, Yann Tiersen, Wire, Yeasayer, Fever Ray, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Yazoo, and M83.
Half-Mute is the debut studio album by American post-punk band Tuxedomoon, released on March 15, 1980, by Ralph Records. It was their first long-form record, after two EPs, 1978's No Tears and 1979's Scream with a View. Half-Mute was reissued on CD in 1985 by Cramboy, bundled together with Scream with a View. The album's cover art is by Patrick Roques.
Francis John Tovey, known also by his stage name Fad Gadget, was a British avant-garde electronic musician and vocalist. He was a proponent of both new wave and early industrial music, fusing pop-structured songs with mechanised experimentation.
PragVEC was a post-punk band from London formed in 1978. The band name was a contraction of the two words "pragmatism" and "vector", chosen at random.
John Fryer is an English record producer. Best known for his production work, he has also performed as a musician, as one of the two constant members of This Mortal Coil, providing keyboards, strings and synthesizer sequencing for the band, and its offshoot, the Hope Blister.
John Cutliffe is an Irish musician from Buncrana, County Donegal. He was born on February 8, 1962. He is known as a musician, songwriter, and producer. He has worked in London, Nashville, and Ireland.
Under the Flag is the third studio album released on September 1 1982, by experimental electronic artist Fad Gadget. It was recorded at Blackwing Studios, All Hallows Church, London. The album produced by Fad Gadget and John Fryer.
Gag is the fourth and final studio album released by Fad Gadget on 1 February 1984 on Mute Records. The album was produced by Gareth Jones, who is known for working with acts such as Depeche Mode and Erasure, both being fellow Mute artists. It would also be the last album released under the name Fad Gadget, due to Frank Tovey wishing to release under his real name.
Fireside Favourites is the debut studio album by Fad Gadget. It was released on 7 November 1980, through record label Mute.
The Golden Age of Wireless is the debut album by English musician Thomas Dolby. Originally released in May 1982, the album was reissued in a number of different configurations, with later resequencings including the pop hit "She Blinded Me with Science".
The Best of Fad Gadget is a double compilation album of singles and 12" mixes released by Fad Gadget. The album is split between singles and B-sides on disc one, and 12" mixes and song reworkings on disc two. Mute Records released the album in December 2001, a few months before Frank Tovey's sudden death.
The Fad Gadget Singles is the 1986 collection of singles by British musician Fad Gadget. The album versions of these songs are not only of differing lengths, they were also often alternative mixes. The songs span the career of Fad Gadget from "Back to Nature" / "The Box" to "One Man's Meat", his final single before Fad Gadget reverted to his given name of Frank Tovey for the remainder of his recording career
Snakes and Ladders is the fifth studio album by Frank Tovey. The 1986 release was the first album credited under his own name as opposed to Fad Gadget, used for his first four albums.
The First Letter is the ninth studio album and the last album released by Wire before their second extended hiatus. It was released in October 1991 by Mute Records. It was one of only three releases credited to "Wir", the others being the "So and Slow It Grows" single, and a limited edition two-song EP entitled Vien. The band changed their name to "Wir" after drummer Robert Gotobed's departure; he quit the band because the musical direction increasingly relied on drum machines and loops. Other than an Erasure remix in 1995, the band would not reform until 1999, and not release any new material until 2002's Read & Burn 01 and Read & Burn 02 EPs and 2003's subsequent Send album. The First Letter produced the single "So and Slow It Grows."
"Ricky's Hand" is a song by Fad Gadget, released as a single in 1980. It was the second Fad Gadget single, following "Back to Nature" the previous year. The track was not included on any studio album, predating a debut LP by several months, but does appear on several compilations. Mute Records founder Daniel Miller collaborated on the writing, playing and production.
Document and Eyewitness is the first live album by the post-punk band Wire, released in July 1981 by Rough Trade Records. It marked the end of the first period of Wire's activity (1977–1980) and the end of their association with EMI. Recorded in February 1980 at the Electric Ballroom in London – at the final gig of Wire's first period – the original release came with a 45 rpm 12" EP that featured recordings from a July 1979 show at the Notre Dame Hall in London, along with one track from a March 1979 gig at Le Pavillon in Montreux, Switzerland.
Grand Union is the seventh studio album released by Frank Tovey, the third under his real name, and was released on 13 May 1991. It is the first album to feature Irish band The Pyros, which Frank would work with on the following album Worried Men in Second Hand Suits. The album was recorded at Sawmills Studio in Cornwall and at WW1, Harrow Road, London.
Blackwing Studios was an English recording studio, most notable for early Depeche Mode and Yazoo recordings in the early 1980s.
Fourth Wall is the second studio album by English rock band the Flying Lizards. It was released in 1981 by record label Virgin. The album features numerous collaborators, including Robert Fripp.
Not To is the third studio album by Colin Newman, lead singer of post-punk band Wire. It was released in 1982, through record labels Beggars Banquet and 4AD.
