Classix Nouveaux

Classix Nouveaux were an English new wave band. Though experiencing only minor success in their native UK, most notably with their 1982 Top 20 hit "Is It a Dream", the band had number one hits in Poland, Portugal, Yugoslavia, Israel, Iceland, and other countries.

Classix Nouveaux
Sal Solo, onstage with Classix Nouveaux at The Lyceum Theatre in London, supporting XTC (1980).
Background information
OriginLondon, England
GenresNew wave
Years active1979–1985
LabelsEMI
Cherry Red Records
ESP Records
Liberty Records
Parlophone Records
Associated actsThe News, X-Ray Spex, Neo
Past membersSal Solo
Mik Sweeney
Jak Airport
B. P. Hurding
Gary Steadman
Jimi Sumen
Rick Driscoll
Andy Qunta[1]
Paul Turley
Pandit Dinesh
S Paul Wilson

Formation

The break-up of X-Ray Spex triggered an advertisement placed in Melody Maker, searching for a new lead singer.[2] Sal Solo (formerly with The News) answered the advertisement. Jak Airport and B.P. Hurding left X-Ray Spex to form Classix Nouveaux with Mik Sweeney and Sal Solo. Their first gig was on 25 August 1979 at London's Music Machine (which would later become the Camden Palace and is now called KOKO). With publicity growing for the band, their dramatic and heavily made-up image led to the music press associating them with the burgeoning New Romantic movement.[2] Jak Airport was replaced by Gary Steadman during the same year.

In 1980, the band recorded a four track session for Capital Radio and one track, "Robot's Dance", was played regularly by DJ Nicky Horne. This got the interest of the United Artists record company (then part of the EMI group), but as negotiations dragged on, the band decided to release the track as their debut single on their own ESP label.[2] They also performed for the first time on television on Thames TV in London. "Robot's Dance" spent eleven weeks on the UK Indie Chart, reaching #22, and became a popular alternative dance floor track. The group's second single, "Nasty Little Green Men", followed on 10 November 1980.

Career

In 1981, the first Classix Nouveaux album Night People was released along with two moderately successful singles "Guilty" and "Tokyo". Both singles reached the UK Top 75, and "Guilty" reached the Top 20 in Sweden and #25 in Australia.[3] The album itself peaked at #66 in the UK. In September 1981, Classix Nouveaux hired Finnish guitarist Jimi Sumen to replace Gary Steadman. Sumen had been a member of the support act at their Helsinki gig.

The second Classix Nouveaux album brought the band its biggest hits. La Verité was released in 1982 and the single release "Is It A Dream" brought the group its only British Top 20 hit, peaking at #11.[4] Their next single, "Because You're Young", peaked at #43 in the UK, while the album itself peaked at #44.

The third and final Classix Nouveaux album, Secret, was released in 1983, produced by Alex Sadkin. The album, and its singles, were unsuccessful in the UK, but the band had number one hit singles in Poland with "Never Never Comes" and "Heart from the Start". The band toured and played to 25,000 people in Helsinki, but by now Solo was the only original member remaining after Jimi Sumen was replaced by Rick Driscoll and BP Hurding was replaced by Paul Turley.

Break-up

Classix Nouveaux broke up in 1985, by which time Sal Solo had already begun a solo career. He had a UK Top 20 hit with "San Damiano" which reached #15 in early 1985.[5] He released an album, Heart and Soul, the same year, and further singles, "Music and You" (#52) and "Forever Be", but none of these were particularly successful. He went on to record and perform with the French/Italian space-rock and electronic band Rockets, before becoming heavily involved in Catholicism and releasing several Christian-oriented albums.

Mik Sweeney moved to Los Angeles where he built fretless bass guitars and did studio session work; he currently lives in Ireland. Gary Steadman went on to join A Flock of Seagulls for their 1986 Dream Come True tour. Jimi Sumen became a record producer in Finland and released a number of solo works there.

The first Classix Nouveaux compilation album was released in 1997 via EMI Records and was reissued with a slightly different track listing in 2003. Beginning that same year, the band's original albums saw reissue on CD by Cherry Red Records. In 2005 River Records released The River Sessions, a live album recorded at Strathclyde University in 1982 and, in January 2010, all the band's singles and associated B-sides saw release as The Liberty Singles Collection, again via Cherry Red Records.

Discography

Albums

UK Release Album UK[6] Aus[7]
May 1981 Night People 66 85
April 1982 La Verité 44 -
November 1983 Secret - -
1997 The Very Best of Classix Nouveaux - -
2006 The River Sessions - -
January 2010 The Liberty Singles Collection - -

Singles

UK Release Song UK[6] Aus[7]
August 1980 "The Robots Dance" - -
November 1980 "Nasty Little Green Men" - -
February 1981 "Guilty" 43 25
April 1981 "Tokyo" 67 -
July 1981 "Inside Outside" 45 -
October 1981 "Never Again (The Days Time Erased)" 44 -
March 1982 "Is It a Dream" 11 -
May 1982 "Because You're Young" 43 -
October 1982 "The End ... or the Beginning" 60 -
1983 "Forever and a Day" - -
1983 "Never Never Comes" - -

See also

References

  1. Andy Qunta Biography AndyQunta.com. Retrieved 5 March 2015]
  2. Sal Solo history – Classix Nouveaux Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine SalSolo.com. Retrieved 14 September 2013]
  3. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). Sydney: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  4. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 110. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  5. "Sal Solo". Official Charts. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  6. "Classix Nouveaux | Full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Official Charts. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  7. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 65. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
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