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Track Listing |
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1. |
Fuck of the Century |
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2. |
The Hunger |
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3. |
What Do U Know |
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4. |
Glam Rocks |
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5. |
What She Got That I Ain't Got |
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6. |
Cosima Von |
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7. |
3Some |
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8. |
Bitch |
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9. |
You Know You Want To Be Seduced |
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10. |
Fin de Siecle |
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FIN DE SIECLE - THIS IS WHAT I LIKE
And it is. For many reasons.
Firstly, making this album was a complete joy. I was working together with really great people - William Hamer and Danny B. - two of the most talented producers I've ever met - and my partner Penelope Kyme a writer and the inspiration behind the idea. Everyone brought their own unique creative talent to the project and it just unfolded - song after song. It was a breeze and the best fun I have ever had making a record.
For a long time I had had this vision of a band that was all about hedonism. The look, feel and sound of sensuality. A grown up band, one whose image and lyrics reflected where my head is today.
I had been messing about with the concept for ages and more importantly, keeping my ear to the ground for possible people to work with and I had been writing lyrics with Penelope.
That part was easy but we needed someone to create the music and I was having a very tough time coming up with an unknown musical genius who would understand the feel of what we were trying to do.
As so often the case in my career, fate took a guiding hand.
I got a call out of the blue from Steve Fargnoli. Steve, who sadly passed away two years ago, had been Prince's manager for many years and we knew each other socially. Steve had a great ear and was always on the look out for the next big thing so when he said he had something special he wanted me to listen to, he had my full attention.
Danny B and William Hamer were two guys based in Manchester. They had their own studio and wrote and produced all their own music. I thought the songs were magical and one in particular, "Sing Hallelujah" sounded like a hit.
Steve thought otherwise and decided to pass on managing them, but I couldnąt get that song out of my head. It was a great pop song and more importantly, it sounded joyful. It is very hard to write a joyful pop song and very easy to write a dreary one. These boys had something. Their names were William Hamer and Danny B. and they lived in Manchester. I wondered what else they could do. Even more interesting, the video that they had made for "Sing Hallelujah" was very Film Noire, very Helmut Newton, very Fin de Siecle in fact very much how I saw my new band.
So I sent them the lyrics to "What do you Know" and asked them if they could come up with something for a tune. The brief was to make it sound like Prince when he was great. I nearly fell off my chair when I played the tape they sent back. I knew immediately they were perfect for Fin de Siecle.
Penelope and I moved to Manchester for six months to work with Danny and William in their studio. It very quickly became apparent that they were the other half of Fin de Siecle. What you hear on the album is what we created during that time.
The concept for each song is mine. A lot of the words are written by Penelope. I wanted the lyrics to be completely different to anything I had worked on before. Penelope is one of the most hedonistic, sensual women I have ever met she set the tone perfectly. The tunes and production are all Danny and William.
I think it's one of the best things I've done. Could we get a deal? No, of course not all those record company fat cats weren't going to let me do it again. I'd already been around far too long.
We played a load of gigs in London. The band looked and sounded great everything I dreamed it would be.
Along with myself on bass, Danny on vocals and William on keyboards and guitar, we had Adrian Harris on lead guitar and two heavenly creatures called Tina Von Hoyden and Claudia Cujo on drums. I remember Roger Taylor from Queen coming to our first gig and being stunned that a girl could be as beautiful as Claudia and play some of the best drums he had ever heard. Daryl Hall was there that first night he fell in love with "Fuck of the Century" and wanted to record it. There was an incredibly glamerous vibe surrounding the band right from the start.
The girls were beautiful and we were attracting a great following. Tara Palmer-Tomkinson became our official groupy; she came with us in the limo the night we opened Café de Paris. We had all of London at our feet, hell, all the big fat record company bosses were in the front row singing along, every one wanted an invitation because our gigs were some of the best parties in town.
We were getting masses of press coverage and people were clamoring to buy the CD's at each gig we played. But no one wanted to do a deal.
And at that point in time even though it was just a few years ago - if you didnąt have a record deal, officially you didnąt exist. It was still way too expensive to consider pressing your own records and websites were only just becoming reality. Without a record deal we were sunk and all those glorious, joyful downright DIRTY songs got put in the cupboard. Until now.
Now you get to decide for yourself about the music.
But let me make it clear This Is What I Like.
In fact I love it.