External links
| International | |
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| Artists | |
The Passions | |
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| Also known as | The Youngsters [1] The Rivers of Passion [2] Barbara Gogan and The Passions [3] |
| Origin | Shepherd's Bush, London, England |
| Genres | Post-punk, new wave |
| Years active | 1978–1983 |
| Labels | Soho, Fiction, Polydor |
| Past members | Barbara Gogan Claire Bidwell Richard Williams Dack Dyde Mitch Barker Clive Timperley David Agar Kevin Armstrong Jeff Smith Penny Tobin (keyboards) Stephen Wright (guitar) |
| Website | thepassions.co.uk (archived) |
The Passions were a British-Irish [4] post-punk/new wave band which formed in 1978 [5] and disbanded in 1983. [6] The Passions' music was grounded mainly in Barbara Gogan's voice and Clive Timperley's delicate Echoplex guitar work. They were considered a one-hit wonder due to their early 1981 single "I'm in Love with a German Film Star". [7]
Based in Shepherd's Bush in west London, The Passions formed in early 1978 as the Youngsters with a line-up of Gogan (guitar, vocals), Claire Bidwell (bass guitar), Richard Williams (drums), Dack Dyde (guitar) and Mitch Barker (vocals). [8] Williams and Gogan were previously in the punk rock outfit the Derelicts. [5] After a name change to Rivers of Passion, soon shortened to The Passions, Dyde was replaced by Timperley (formerly of The 101ers). [8]
The Passions' first single, issued in March 1979 on the Soho label, was the double A-side "Needles and Pills" (written by Dyde) and "Body and Soul", which assisted in gaining the band a recording contract with Fiction Records. [5] By the time the band recorded the first of their three Peel sessions in November 1979, Barker had departed and Gogan took over as lead vocalist. [9]
Michael & Miranda , the band's debut album, was released on 18 April 1980, [10] preceded by their second single, "Hunted". [5] The album was produced by Fiction head Chris Parry and engineered by Mike Hedges. [8] In May 1980, The Passions embarked on a UK and European tour supporting labelmates The Cure. [8] Bidwell left after the tour (joining The Wall) and was replaced in July 1980 by David Agar, [11] and the band were dropped by Fiction. [8]
A meeting with Peter Wilson, the in-house producer for Polydor Records, led to the band signing to that label, which released their third single, "The Swimmer", on 1 October 1980. [8] [10]
Their major chart hit, "I'm in Love with a German Film Star", was released as the band's fourth single on 23 January 1981. [5] [8] [10] The lyrics were written by Gogan about Steve Connelly, a one-time roadie for The Clash and Sex Pistols who had minor roles in several German films. [12] It was produced by Peter Wilson. [12] According to Wilson, "It was a song that almost seemed to write itself". The music weeklies declared the song "Single of the Week", and it was named "Peoples Choice" on Capital Radio. [12] This led to a Top of the Pops appearance on 5 February 1981, which was repeated on 26 February 1981. [13]
The next single, "Skin Deep", produced by Nigel Gray, was issued on 2 July 1981. [8] "Skin Deep" and the previous two A-sides ("The Swimmer" and "I'm in Love with a German Film Star") were included, along with several brand new recordings, on the band's second album, Thirty Thousand Feet Over China , released on 18 September 1981. [5] [10]
Timperley left the band in Verona, Italy, in December 1981, during the Italian leg of their prophetically named "Tour Till We Crack" tour, as a result of "serious political differences".[ citation needed ]
The next single, "Africa Mine", released on 8 January 1982, [10] was recorded by the remaining members [8] prior to a line-up change. The guitar part was played by their producer, Peter Wilson. [14] Gogan explained the situation: "It's the same old story. Some bands play together for 10 years and it's all very wonderful and imaginative. More often, though, you reach a point where you've done all you can do and you want to change. Whenever we've reached that point someone has always left and brought us a step further on. Any band playing their own songs to the public has a duty to change and keep being imaginative all the time". [7] The Canadian band Go Four 3 released a cover of the song on their 1987 album, Six Friends. [15]
Kevin Armstrong, previously with Local Heroes SW9 and a contributor to Thomas Dolby's debut album, joined The Passions in 1982. The group also added a keyboard player, Jeff Smith, best known for his past work with Lene Lovich. [5] Armstrong and Smith took part in the recording of the band's third album, Sanctuary , produced by Mick Glossop. The first single from that album was "Jump for Joy", which was released on 5 May 1982, followed by the album and the "Sanctuary" single on 18 September 1982. [10]
Stephen Wright, previously in the band Bim, then replaced Armstrong. [16] The band toured Europe and the US, and appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test on BBC 2 and on Whatever You Want on Channel 4, from which two live songs can be seen on YouTube.[ citation needed ]
The Passions dissolved for good in the middle of 1983, after playing their last show at London's Marquee Club that August.[ citation needed ]
A compilation album, Passion Plays, was issued by Polydor on vinyl in 1985 and CD in 1995. [17] "I'm in Love with a German Film Star" was re-released as a download in December 2006, and Thirty Thousand Feet Over China was reissued on CD with five bonus tracks on Cherry Red Records on 21 July 2008. [18] [19]
Michael & Miranda was reissued on CD with three bonus tracks on Cherry Red Records in November 2015. [20]
Sanctuary was reissued on CD with nine bonus tracks on Rubellan Remasters in November 2019. [21]
Gogan resurfaced in 1997, when she issued Made on Earth, an album she recorded with the French experimentalist Hector Zazou. [5]
Armstrong served as a guitarist and songwriter for numerous artists including David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Morrissey, Steve Nieve and Sinéad O'Connor, and was a member of Tin Machine.[ citation needed ]
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK [22] | IRE | ||
| 1979 | "Needles and Pills" / "Body and Soul" | - | - |
| "Hunted" | - | - | |
| 1980 | "The Swimmer" | - | - |
| 1981 | "I'm in Love with a German Film Star" | 25 | 30 |
| "Skin Deep" | - | - | |
| "The Swimmer" (reissue) | - | - | |
| 1982 | "Africa Mine" | - | - |
| "Jump for Joy" | - | - | |
| "Sanctuary" | - | - | |
| "Love is Essential" (French promo only) | - | - | |
| 2006 | "I'm in Love with a German Film Star" (download only) [18] | - | - |
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