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Rob Dean | |
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| Also known as | Robert Dean |
| Born | 23 April 1955 |
| Origin | Clapton, Hackney, England |
| Genres | Glam rock, art rock, new wave, synthpop |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, ornithologist |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 1975–present |
Rob Dean (born 23 April 1955) is a British musician turned professional illustrator, who rose to prominence playing lead guitar as a member of the British new wave band Japan from 1975 to 1981. [1]
He is from the Clapton district of Hackney, northeast London, England. [2]
Dean joined Japan in 1975 at the age of 20. The band began as an alternative glam rock-style band and became a popular new wave sensation in the early 1980s. Dean left the band in May 1981 following their 'Art of Parties' tour, as his guitar work had become increasingly marginalised as they developed a more electronic sound.
He had previously played on their albums Adolescent Sex (1978), Obscure Alternatives (1978) and Quiet Life (1979). [3] His last studio contributions were on the Gentlemen Take Polaroids album, released in November 1980. Dean left the band just prior to them achieving mainstream success, which lasted until they finally disbanded in December 1982.
After leaving Japan he worked on some initial ideas for a solo album with keyboardist and composer Roger Mason (keyboard player for Gary Numan amongst others). He also played on Gary Numan's Dance album in 1981. He played on Sinéad O'Connor's first album The Lion and the Cobra in 1987 (on which he co-wrote one of the songs). Dean continued to work on projects with Steve Jansen, Richard Barbieri and Mick Karn such as a 1995 compilation album and a number of other works on their Medium Productions label.
Vivabeat (supported by Peter Gabriel) combined the influences of 70s British art-rock with the kind of lush technopop performed by David Bowie, Roxy Music and Sparks. The band was the first American band signed to Charisma Records. [4] The band had a worldwide hit with the track "Man From China" from their debut album Party in the War Zone. Dean played on the follow-up single, "The House is Burning (But There's No One Home)", which was featured on the band's self-titled EP. [4] The "House is Burning" song and video (also featuring Dean) appeared in Brian DePalma's movie Body Double . In 2001 a 'best of' Vivabeat album titled The Good Life was released, with Dean's work on several tracks. [4]
Dean formed Illustrated Man (1984) with Hugo Burnham (ex-Gang of Four), Roger Mason (Numan and others) and Australian singer/bassist Philip Foxman but their commercial success was limited. [3]
Rob Dean contributed to this Australian band (1990)
Beginning to Melt This 1993 album features Rob Dean and ex-members of Japan.
Little has been heard of Rob Dean as a musician since. The occasional demo tapes from the eighties have surfaced for a range of projects (known as 'The Lost Tapes') where Dean experimented with electronica (with Roger Mason), his trademark guitar sounds and even acoustic tracks with vocals.
Dean's principal activity now is as a professional ornithology writer and artist on the birds of Central America. He lives in Monteverde, Costa Rica, and, now known as Robert Dean, has established a reputation as an expert on the region's birdlife. In 2007 Dean collaborated as illustrator on a field guide (along with author Richard Garrigues), entitled The Birds of Costa Rica: A Field Guide, [3] [5] and in 2010 (with author George Angehr) on The Birds of Panama: A Field Guide. [6] He has been reported as occasionally playing guitar with local bands including Monteverde's rock band Chanchos de Monte, fronted by Alan Masters.
More recently Robert has formed a group named 'Light of Day' with Isaac Moraga and their debut album Dimensions was completed in 2019 with UK/Europe/Latin America release expected in 2020. In addition, a Spanish language e.p. featuring alternate versions of several album tracks is also being prepared for release in Costa Rica in 2020.
Dance is the third solo studio album by English new wave musician Gary Numan, released on 4 September 1981 by Beggars Banquet Records. It was the first studio album Numan released after his "Farewell Concerts" staged at Wembley Arena.
The pearl kite is a very small raptor found in open savanna habitat adjacent to deciduous woodland. It is the only member of the genus Gampsonyx. The scientific name commemorates the English naturalist William Swainson.
The scintillant hummingbird is a hummingbird endemic to Costa Rica and Panama. This species is replaced at higher elevations by its relative, the volcano hummingbird, S. flammula.
Illustrated Man were a new wave band formed in London featuring two Britons, Hugo Burnham on drums and percussion, Rob Dean (Japan) on guitar and two Australians, singer and bass guitarist Philip Foxman (Supernaut) and Roger Mason on keyboards and synthesisers.
The sooty-capped bush tanager or sooty-capped chlorospingus is a small passerine bird traditionally placed in the family Thraupidae, but now viewed closer to Arremonops in the Passerellidae. This bird is an endemic resident breeder in the highlands of Costa Rica and western Panama.
The black guan is a species of bird in the chachalaca, guan, and curassow family Cracidae. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama.
The Chiriqui quail-dove or rufous-breasted quail-dove is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama.
The orange-billed nightingale-thrush is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical moist montane forest, and heavily degraded former forest.
The slaty-backed nightingale-thrush is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.
The golden-browed chlorophonia is a species of bird in the family Fringillidae. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama. It is uncommon in subtropical or tropical moist montane forest above 750 m (2,460 ft) elevation.
The red-faced spinetail is a species of bird in the family Furnariidae. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Panama. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forest.
The black-chested jay is a species of bird in the family Corvidae.
The spotted antbird is a species of bird in the family Thamnophilidae. In southern Central America, it is found in Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama; also Colombia and Ecuador of northwestern South America. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
The eye-ringed flatbill is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae. It is found in Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama, with a slight incursion into Colombia at the south end of its range. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
The white-throated thrush is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. It is found in Mexico and Central America, ranging south to central Panama. This species has been referred to in some literature as "white-throated robin." However, that name is now more usually applied to the Old World species Irania gutturalis.
The orange-bellied trogon is a subspecies of the collared trogon in the family Trogonidae. It is now usually considered as a morph of the collared trogon, but was previously sometimes treated as a separate species. It is found in the Talamancan montane forests of Costa Rica and Panama.
Richard Garrigues is a naturalist, writer and videographer, originally from suburban New Jersey, who has lived in Costa Rica since 1981, where he leads birding and natural history tours. Since April 2000, he has been posting the Gone Birding Newsletter online. In June 2005 he also began to study the birds of northwestern Ecuador.
Roger Ashley Mason is an Australian keyboardist who has been a member of new wave groups Models, Absent Friends and Icehouse. He was a session and backing musician for United Kingdom's Gary Numan and for various Australian artists. From the early 1990s he has composed music for television and feature films.
Vivabeat was a Los Angeles-based techno-pop band founded in 1978 and active into the mid-1980s. It is best known for being discovered by and signed to its first record deal at the request of Peter Gabriel. It became the first American band on Tony Stratton-Smith’s British label, Charisma Records. The band released one album for Charisma Records, Party in the War Zone. The album included one of the band's most successful songs, "Man from China." The song became a Top 20 charted dance club hit in the United States, Europe, and Asia. "Man from China" also appears on the Charisma Label/Various Masterpieces album – The Sounds Album Volume 6, released in 1980.
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