Blancmange’s story is one of two distinct chapters. In the early ‘80s they infused the emergent synth-pop scene with oblique lyrics, wry British humour and occasionally tabla-tinged sonics, an unlikely mix which saw them soar into the Top 10 with singles such as Living On The Ceiling, Blind Vision and Don’t Tell Me. And since 2011’s Blanc Burn album they've taken that singular style into a new century and somehow become more prolific than ever.
Blancmange’s history has also been shaped in unexpected ways. Neil Arthur met multi-instrumentalist Stephen Luscombe at the Harrow School of Art in 1979, and as synths weren’t readily available, they toyed with experimental homemade instruments which at least sounded vaguely like synths.
Following the release of their first EP, the band were included on a seminal Some Bizzare Records label compilation album of new wave, post-punk and synth-pop bands (featuring Soft Cell, The The and Depeche Mode), which caught the attention of London Records.
Signing with the label in February 1982 they embarked on one of the great Imperial Phases of synth pop. These were Radio One hits secretly nourished by Can and Captain Beefheart, making the band a regular fixture in the charts and on Top of The Pops, but after half a decade and ten UK hits the sheen had started to wear off. With the grandeur of the Royal Albert Hall as their backdrop, in 1986 Blancmange made the curtain call for part one of their story.
Neil and Stephen did stay in contact, often joking that they should do more stuff together one day. Eventually they realised they weren’t really joking about it, re-emerging some 25 years later with 2011’s acclaimed album Blanc Burn. Sadly Stephen left shortly after due to ill-health, but reconnecting with the spirit of Blancmange unlocked an astonishingly prolific side to Neil, resulting in seven more Blancmange albums in the space of a decade (not including the instrumental series Nil By Mouth).
In 2022 and some 40 years after the release of their debut Happy Families, Blancmange re-signed to London Records for their most recent album, Private View (2022), happily closing a circle and showing once again, that everything is indeed connected.
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