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 Burnalbum they’ve taken that singular style into a new century and somehow become more prolific than ever. Now Blancmange bring all – well, 38 to be precise – of these highlights together with the career-spanning collection Everything Is Connected, released on London Records on 11th May 2024.
Blancmange
Everything Is Connected shows that Blancmange’s roads less travelled are just as remarkable as their big hits. While some of the songs may be new to you, their textures are familiar: primary-coloured electronics with a hidden edge, or a rain-spattered bleakness that’s somehow comforting, often delivered with blunt Northern humour. It’s like discovering new rooms in a house you thought you knew.
Vocalist and songwriter Neil Arthur says, “I’m really lucky to be able to make the music completely on my own terms. Within myself there are no limits, there’s a massive palette inside and I will try anything.”
Blancmange’s history has also been shaped in unexpected ways. Neil 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. Signing with London Records 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) – excerpts from all of which feature on Everything Is Connected. 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, 2022’s Private View, happily closing a circle and showing once again, that everything is indeed connected.
Alongside the collection is the new track Again, I Wait For The World, dropping on 13th March – although “new” is, admittedly, a half-truth. Neil had first written the song with his pre-Blancmange band L360 way back in 1979. It kept nagging at him, so 45 years later he finally finished it. Oddly, parts of it sound simultaneously like they come from both 1979 and 2024, but overall it sounds like it comes from neither. With its distinctive vocals, wry wordplay and a deft blend of future-facing electronics and vintage synths it’s testament to Neil’s inimitable, enduring creativity.
Neil Arthur will follow Everything Is Connected with a Blancmange headline tour which includes a London show at the Islington Assembly Hall. In inimitable – fashion, support comes from Neil himself in one of his many other collaborative projects, The Remainder, who are completed by Finlay Shakespeare and Liam Hutton.
Upcoming UK Tour Dates:
MAY
16th – Newcastle, Wylam Brewery
17th – Glasgow, St. Luke’s
18th – Birmingham, O2 Institute
23rd – Nottingham, Rescue Rooms
24th – Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
25th – Manchester, Academy 2
26th – Colchester, Arts Centre
31st – Bristol, Trinity
JUNE
1st – London, Islington Assembly Hall
2nd – Brighton, Old Market
3rd – Southampton, 1865
Share Thing