Formed 1979, London, UK: Neil Arthur – vocals; Stephen Luscombe – keyboards. The experimental duo released a self financed début EP Irene & Mavis in 1980 but only gained major exposure the following year when they appeared on the seminal Some Bizarre Album alongside Depeche Mode, Soft Cell and The The. This led to a major record deal and 1982’s début album Happy Families, which included the top twenty hits Living On The Ceiling and Waves. Two further top ten hits Blind Vision (1983, #10) and Don’t Tell Me (1984, #8) preceded the duo’s most successful album Mange Tout which reached number 8. A cover of ABBA’s The Day Before You Came reached number 22 but the band lost momentum in the year’s gap before third album Believe You Me (1985, #54) and split following its failure. Luscombe formed The West India Company with Indian musician Pandit Dinesh, releasing an album Music From New Demons in 1990. Neil Arthur scored a radio hit with a solo single One Day, One Time in 1992 but the album from which it was taken, Suitcase, did not surface until 1994. It failed to make an impression on the chart although the accompanying single I Love I Hate was a top fifty hit. Arthur and Luscombe reformed Blancmange in 2006 although it wasn’t until 2011 that they finally released a fourth album, Blanc Burn. Luscombe withdrew from band duties in 2013 due to health issues but Arthur continues to keep Blancmange alive, playing the Happy Families album live for a thirtieth anniversary tour and releasing a trio of increasingly experimental new albums Semi Detached, Nil By Mouth (an entirelyh instrumental set) and Commuter 23 in 2015-16.
ESSENTIAL ’80s BLANCMANGE
SINGLES
LIVING ON THE CEILING
October 1982, #7
BLIND VISION
May 1983, #10
I CAN SEE IT
April 1986, #71
ALBUMS
HAPPY FAMILIES
October 1982, #30
MANGE TOUT
May 1984, #8
BELIEVE YOU ME
October 1985, #54
