Sigue Sigue Sputnik
Sigue Sigue Sputnik is a British new wave band formed in 1982 by former Generation X bassist Tony James. The band have had three UK top-40 hit singles, including "Love Missile F1-11" and "21st Century Boy". The band's music, image and inspiration drew from a range of electronic and glam bands such as Suicide and the New York Dolls. History Early years The band, which is often just called "Sputnik", was formed by Tony James, ex-bassist of the defunct Generation X, and Neal X (Whitmore), who recruited singer Martin Degville. Degville was a clothes designer and supplied the band's wardrobe, and YaYa, the store where he worked, became the band's base. Their first gig was in Paris, supporting Johnny Thunders, with James' former Generation X colleague and then drummer for Thunders, Mark Laff, on drums. Mick Jones, formerly of the Clash, worked with the band as live sound engineer, helped manipulate their sound, and appeared with them when they opened for New Model Army. Fachna O'Kelly, manager of the Boomtown Rats who had provided much of the band's equipment, provided the band with the name Sigue Sigue Sputnik, a reference to a Filipino street gang and meaning, in rough translation "go, go satellite" ("sigue" coming from Tagalog, and from original Spanish meaning "go on", and Sputnik referencing the first man-made satellite launched by the Soviet Union in 1957). The band's sound was, according to James, arrived at by accident, when he inadvertently mixed elements of film soundtracks with their demo track "Love Missile F1-11" while putting together a video compilation from his favourite films. Commercial success (1984–1989) Interest in the band increased sharply in 1984 after James was interviewed by the NME, with several record companies sending representatives to their next performance at the Electric Cinema in London, and they were invited to perform on The Tube. The band were signed by EMI, with the band themselves claiming in the press that they had signed for £4 million, though in fact revealed to be £350,000. James wanted the band to be produced by David Bowie or Prince, with the latter rejecting the offer because the band's material was "too violent." Also shortlisted were John Carpenter and Giorgio Moroder because of their soundtrack work. The band's first single, the Moroder-produced "Love Missile F1-11", was released in February 1986, and reached number 3 in the UK Singles Chart, number 2 in South Africa and was a major hit in several countries in Europe and Asia. Its popularity was boosted by its inclusion in the John Hughes film Ferris Bueller's Day Off. The samples used in the single had not received copyright clearance, and were replaced in the US version, a move that James says "killed the record" in America. Their second single, "21st-Century Boy" reached number 20 in the UK, a relative disappointment James blamed on audiences tiring of the band due to overexposure in the media. Despite largely negative reviews, their debut album, Flaunt It, also produced by Moroder, made the