SIGUE SIGUE SPUTNIK
Led by former Generation X member Tony James, the new wave group
Sigue Sigue Sputnik raised selling out to an art form. The concept
behind Sigue Sigue Sputnik was simple -- the band adopted a post-modern,
ironic style and sound and marketed it to the hilt, saturating
the media with slogans and interviews.
James didn't even intend the band to be musical; he recruited
Martin Degville, Neal X, Chris Cavanagh, and Ray Mayhew partially
because they lacked extensive musical experience. After a publicity
campaign designed to solicit a record contract, the band signed
with EMI; they released their first single, "Love Missile
F1-11" in early 1986 and it hit number three on the U.K.
charts. Sigue Sigue Sputnik sold the space between tracks to advertisers
on their debut album, Flaunt It.
Despite the massive marketing campaign, the album fell on deaf
ears, as did the more serious follow-up, Dress for Excess (1988),
which featured the slogan "This time it's music" on
the album cover. The group split soon after the release of Dress
for Excess. James was a member of Sisters of Mercy for a short
time in 1991, only to go on and reform in 2000.