fashion (band)
{{About|the British new wave band|the Danish indie rock band|The Fashion}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2012}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2008}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Fashion
| image =
| caption =
| background = group_or_band
| alias = Fashion Music
(stylised as "Fàshiön Music"; 1978–1980)
Fashion
(stylised as "Fashiøn"; 1980–1984, 2009)
| origin = Birmingham, England
| genre = *{{hlist|New wave|post-punk|synth-pop}}
| years_active = 1978–1984, 2009
| label = Fàshiön Music
I.R.S.
Cherry Red
| associated_acts = Troy Tate
Shake
The Teardrop Explodes
Nature's Pocket
| website =
| current_members =
| past_members = Dik Daviss
John Mulligan
Luke Sky
Tony Dial
Ian Moore
De Harriss
Martin Recchi
Al Darby
Troy Tate
}}
Fashion (stylised as Fashiøn) were a British new wave band, primarily active from 1978 to 1984, with a brief revival in 2009. They began as a post-punk band, before developing into a new wave/synth-pop ensemble that placed three singles on the lower reaches of the UK chart in 1982–84.
History
Fashion went through several line-up overhauls during its initial existence between 1978 and 1984. John Mulligan (synthesizer, bass) and Dik Davis (drums) were constants, but the band's frontman changed with each of the band's three albums.
=Post-punk years: Fàshiön Music=
Fashion was formed originally as Fàshiön Music, in Birmingham, England, in 1978, and consisted of John Mulligan (bass, synthesizer), Dik Davis (drums), and Al James (vocals, guitar). James became known as Luke Sky, or simply Luke or Lûke (short for "Luke Skyscraper" – a reference to the Star Wars character Luke Skywalker and the fact that James was tall and thin),{{cite web|url=http://www.annecarlini.com/ex_interviews.php?id=991 |title=Exclusive Magazine |publisher=Anne Carlini |accessdate=2014-05-19}} while John Mulligan was known simply as Mulligan and Dik Davis simply as Dïk (or "Dik Mamba" on their debut single). Fashion's live performances were known for their high energy and distinctive style, reflecting the band's evolving sound from post-punk to new wave and synth-pop. Here are some key aspects of their live shows. *Early Post-Punk Era*: During their early years, Fashion's live performances were characterized by a raw, edgy energy typical of the post-punk scene. With Luke James on vocals and guitar, the band would often play in small clubs and venues, showcasing their unique blend of punk's intensity and experimental sounds.
In 1978, they also founded their own Fàshiön Music label;David Vlado Moskowitz, Caribbean Popular Music: An Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall, p. 109, Greenwood Press, 2006. {{ISBN|0-313-33158-8}}, {{ISBN|978-0-313-33158-9}}; The Fashion Music Records label was formed by Luke James, John Mulligan, and Dick Davis in the late 1970s in Birmingham, England. from this point forward, the band was generally (though not completely consistently) identified as Fashion, as distinct from the name of their self-owned label.
Fashion released their first two singles ("Steady Eddie Steady" and "Citinite") as independent issues on the UK in November 1978 and June 1979 respectively.{{cite book|title=The Guinness Who's Who of Indie and New Wave Music|editor=Colin Larkin|publisher=Guinness Publishing|date=1992|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-579-4|page=108}} The group was quickly picked up by I.R.S., who put out a third single in the US in September 1979, "The Innocent".[http://www.irscorner.com/f/fashion.html] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050405011254/http://www.irscorner.com/f/fashion.html|date=5 April 2005}}{{cite web|url=http://www.discogs.com/label/F%C3%A0shi%C3%B6n+Music |title=Fàshiön Music – CDs and Vinyl at Discogs |publisher=Discogs|accessdate=2012-05-12}}
Their sound was varied, playing punk, post-punk and indie repertoire, although Mulligan at that time also had a synthesizer which later characterized the future synth-pop years of the band.
Still signed to I.R.S., in 1979 they recorded and released their first album, Product Perfect. All three members were credited as having written the songs collectively.
Between 1978 and 1980, Fashion played shows with performers such as Toyah Willcox, UB40, Hazel O'Connor and Billy Idol, who later became well known. A then-recently formed Duran Duran opened their shows; they toured the UK with U2, both the UK and US with The Police, and opened for The B-52's on their first British tour.{{cite web|author=UK |url=http://www.myspace.com/fashionlukesky |title=Fashion | Gratis muziek, tourneedata, foto's, video's |website=Myspace.com |accessdate=2012-05-12}}
In March 1980, no longer associated with I.R.S., Fashion released their "Silver Blades" single, again on their own Fàshiön Music label. Later in 1980 they also released one more song, "Let Go", on a Birmingham bands compilation called Bouncing in the Red (EMI).
In June 1980, after a last gig in London with U2, Luke James left the band, and later moved to the United States.{{cite web|url=http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=297921385 |title=Fashion | blog op Myspace |publisher=Blogs.myspace.com |access-date=2012-05-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090828094908/http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll |archive-date=28 August 2009}}
A revised line-up was assembled, containing Dik and Mulligan along with Tony Dial (former singer with the Neon Hearts) on vocals and guitar and Ian Moore on bass. This version of the group recorded sessions for BRMB, and played live gigs as a support act for The Human League, as well as at the Holy City Zoo club in Birmingham. However, Dial and Moore soon left, and the band regrouped once more.
=New Romantic years: Fashiøn=
By late 1981, Fashion—which had now been picked up by Arista Records—consisted of De Harriss (vocals, guitar), Martin Recchi (bass), Mulligan (synths) and Dik Daviss (as he now billed himself) on drums. This line-up issued the single "Move On" in November 1981, and though it did not chart, the single still garnered enough attention to allow the band to record the album Fabrique (1982), produced by Zeus B. Held. In addition to "Move On", Fabrique contained the singles "Streetplayer (Mechanik)" and "Love Shadow", both of which were minor UK hits. Harriss (born David Harris) was now the band's frontman and songwriter, writing every song on the album (two were co-writes with Held). Fabrique was later re-issued with additional material as The Height of Fashion (1990, 2001).
Harriss left Fashion before a proposed world tour of Fabrique. Following the loss of their lead singer and songwriter, once again Fashion was dropped by their label.
Harriss was replaced by vocalist Troy Tate and guitarist Al Darby. Although Troy Tate did not record any studio material with Fashion, he performed his own songs with the band live. Songs during Tate's period included "Love Is" and "What You Gonna Do Next." Tate subsequently departed, with Darby left to perform lead vocals. This iteration of the band was signed by Epic Records.
In 1984, Fashion released an album entitled Twilight of Idols, with Darby now acting as lead singer and primary songwriter, penning all but two tracks. Keyboardist Mulligan remained, as did bassist Recchi (who now billed himself as Marlon Recchi, rather than Martin) along with drummer "Dik"/"Dik Mamba"/"Dik Daviss", who now billed himself as Dik Davis. Zeus B. Held was once again the producer. "Eye Talk", released as a single, again put Fashion on the lower end of the UK Singles Chart. However, the band split up after playing live gigs to support the album.
Mulligan went on to record material with Nick Beggs of Kajagoogoo.
After leaving Fashion, De Harriss reverted to using the name "Dave Harris" and, in 1984, recorded an album with Richard Wright, keyboardist of Pink Floyd, as Zee. He later worked as an in-house songwriter and producer at Warner Chapell Music in New York City from 1990 to 2000. He then returned to the UK, where he now works under the name David Harris as a songwriter and producer in Lincoln.
=Reformation=
Thirty years after the first Fashion single was issued, original vocalist/guitarist Luke Sky (now based in California) reactivated the Fashion name to issue a new album. Released in February 2009, Stairway to Nowhere featured Luke Sky on vocals and all other instruments, with the exception of Vuk Pavlovic of Nature's Pocket providing drums for three of the tracks. This iteration of Fashion existed for a short time before once again becoming dormant.
Personnel
=Members=
- Dik Daviss – drums, percussion, vocals (1978–1984)
- John Mulligan – synthesiser, vocals (1978–1984), bass (1978–1980)
- Luke Sky – vocals, guitar (1978–1980, 2009), synthesiser, bass, drums (2009)
- Tony Dial – vocals, guitar (1980–1981)
- Ian Moore – bass (1980–1981)
- De Harriss – vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards (1981–1982)
- Martin Recchi – bass, vocals (1981–1984)
- Al Darby – guitar (1982–1984; died 2023), vocals (1983–1984)
- Troy Tate – vocals (1982–1983)
=Line-ups=
| class="toccolours" border=1 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0 style="float: width: 375px; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; border-collapse: collapse; border: 1px solid #E2E2E2;" width=99% |
| bgcolor="#E7EBEE" valign=top width=25% | 1978–1980
! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" valign=top width=25% | 1980–1981 ! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" valign=top width=25% | 1981–1982 ! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" valign=top width=25% | 1982–1983 |
|---|
valign=top |
| valign=top |
| valign=top |
| valign=top |
|
| bgcolor="#E7EBEE" valign=top width=25% | 1983–1984
! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" valign=top width=25% | 1984–2009 ! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" valign=top width=25% | 2009 | rowspan="2" | |
valign=top |
| valign=top | Disbanded | valign=top |
|
= Timeline =
{{#tag:timeline|
ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:24
PlotArea = left:90 bottom:100 top:10 right:10
Alignbars = justify
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period = from:01/01/1978 till:31/12/2009
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy
Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4
ScaleMajor = increment:3 start:1978
ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1979
Colors =
id:vocals value:red legend:Vocals
id:guitar value:green legend:Guitar
id:synth value:purple legend:Synthesizer
id:bass value:blue legend:Bass
id:drums value:orange legend:Drums,_percussion
id:studio value:black legend:Studio_album
id:single value:gray(0.75) legend:Singles
id:bars value:gray(0.93)
BackgroundColors = bars:bars
LineData =
color:studio
layer:back
at:01/07/1979
at:25/06/1982
at:01/06/1984
at:31/12/2009
color:single
at:01/01/1978
at:01/01/1979
at:01/01/1980
at:01/01/1981
at:01/01/1982
at:01/01/1984
BarData =
bar:Luke text:Luke Sky
bar:Tony text:Tony Dial
bar:De text:De Harriss
bar:Troy text:Troy Tate
bar:Al text:Al Darby
bar:John text:John Mulligan
bar:Ian text:Ian Moore
bar:Martin text:Martin Recchi
bar:Dik text:Dik Daviss
PlotData =
color:vocals width:13
bar:Luke from:01/01/1978 till:15/06/1980
bar:Tony from:16/06/1980 till:15/06/1981
bar:De from:16/06/1981 till:15/06/1982
bar:Troy from:16/06/1982 till:15/06/1983
bar:Al from:16/06/1983 till:31/12/1984
bar:Luke from:01/01/2009 till:31/12/2009
width:3
bar:John from:01/01/1978 till:31/12/1984
bar:Dik from:01/01/1978 till:31/12/1984
bar:Martin from:16/06/1981 till:31/12/1984
bar:Al from:16/06/1982 till:15/06/1983
color:guitar width:3
bar:Luke from:01/01/1978 till:15/06/1980
bar:Tony from:16/06/1980 till:15/06/1981
bar:De from:16/06/1981 till:15/06/1982 width:9
bar:Al from:16/06/1982 till:15/06/1983 width:13
bar:Al from:16/06/1983 till:31/12/1984
bar:Luke from:01/01/2009 till:31/12/2009 width:9
color:synth width:13
bar:John from:01/01/1978 till:15/06/1980 width:7
bar:John from:16/06/1980 till:31/12/1984
bar:De from:16/06/1981 till:15/06/1982 width:3
bar:Luke from:01/01/2009 till:31/12/2009 width:7
color:bass
bar:John from:01/01/1978 till:15/06/1980
bar:Ian from:16/06/1980 till:15/06/1981
bar:Martin from:16/06/1981 till:31/12/1984
bar:De from:16/06/1981 till:15/06/1982 width:7
bar:Luke from:01/01/2009 till:31/12/2009 width:5
color:Drums
bar:Dik from:01/01/1978 till:31/12/1984
bar:Luke from:01/01/2009 till:31/12/2009 width:3
}}
Discography
=Albums=
==Studio albums==
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
! rowspan="2" scope="col" style="width:15em;" | Title ! rowspan="2" scope="col" style="width:15em;" | Album details !Peak chart positions |
| scope="col" style="width:2em;font-size:90%;" | UK {{Cite web |title=FASHION {{!}} full Official Chart History {{!}} Official Charts Company |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/19505/fashion/ |access-date=2022-05-26 |website=www.officialcharts.com}} |
|---|
| scope="row" |Product Perfect (as Fàshiön Music) |
|— |
| scope="row" |Fabrique
| |10 |
| scope="row" |Twilight of Idols
|
|69 |
| scope="row" |Stairway to Nowhere
|
|— |
| colspan="3" style="font-size:90%" |"—" denotes releases that did not chart. |
==Compilation albums==
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
! scope="col" style="width:15em;" | Title ! scope="col" style="width:15em;" | Album details |
| scope="row" |The Height of Fashion
|
|
|---|
| scope="row" |Hits
|
|
| scope="row" |MMXIX
|
|
| scope="row" |Fabrique de luxe
|
|
| scope="row" |Fàshiön Music
|
|
=Singles=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
! rowspan="2" scope="col" style="width:17em;" | Title ! rowspan="2" scope="col" style="width:2em;" | Year ! colspan="2" |Peak chart positions ! rowspan="2" |Album |
| scope="col" style="width:2em;font-size:90%;" | UK {{Cite web |title=UK Singles Charts: 1984 (including chart panel sales) |url=https://www.ukmix.org/forum/chart-discussion/chart-analysis/10895472-uk-singles-charts-1984-including-chart-panel-sales/page8 |access-date=2022-06-02 |website=UKMIX Forums |language=en}} ! scope="col" style="width:2em;font-size:90%;" | UK Indie |
|---|
| scope="row" |"Steady Eddie Steady"
|1978 |— |— |{{N/A|Non-album single}} |
| scope="row" |"Citinite"
| rowspan="2" |1979 |— |— | rowspan="2" |Product Perfect |
| scope="row" |"The Innocent" (US-only release)
|— |— |
| scope="row" |"Silver Blades"
|1980 |— |29 |{{N/A|Non-album single}} |
| scope="row" |"Move On"
|1981 |— |— | rowspan="5" |Fabrique |
| scope="row" |"Streetplayer (Mechanik)"
| rowspan="4" |1982 |46 |— |
| scope="row" |"Something in Your Picture"
|— |— |
| scope="row" |"Love Shadow"
|51 |— |
| scope="row" |"You Only Left Your Picture" (US-only release)
|— |— |
| scope="row" |"Eye Talk"
| rowspan="3" |1984 |69 |— | rowspan="3" |Twilight of Idols |
| scope="row" |"Dreaming"
|101 |— |
| scope="row" |"You in the Night"
|94 |— |
| scope="row" |"Sodium Pentathol Negative"
|2022 |— |— |{{N/A|Non-album single}} |
| colspan="5" style="font-size:90%" |"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.fashionlukesky.com/Home_Page.html Stairway To Nowhere – fàshiön] Fàshiön homepage
- [http://www.myspace.com/fashionlukesky Official Fàshiön MySpace site released by singer and guitarist Luke Sky] Featuring only Fàshiön Music period and new material
- [http://www.connollyco.com/discography/fashion/index.html Fashion discography]
- {{discogs artist|Fashion}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20050405011254/http://www.irscorner.com/f/fashion.html Fashion information]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20051026205814/http://america.net/~davdmock/fashion.htm Fashion fan page]
- {{imdb name|4759997}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fashion}}
Category:English new wave musical groups
Category:English post-punk music groups
Category:Musical groups from Birmingham, West Midlands
Category:Musical groups established in 1978
Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1984