The Damage Done

8th September marked the 65th anniversary of Frank Tovey's birth; on 3rd April 2022, it'll be twenty years since his death. My recent posting of the 1980s compilation Modern Dance prompted a comment from Mike about the enduring appeal and lasting significance of music we discover as teenagers and, for me, Fad Gadget is a prime example of this.

 

Sometime in 1981, I remember reading - probably in my brother's copy of Smash Hits - that Fad Gadget was supporting Toyah (who I was a big fan of at the time) on tour, mainly because it was accompanied by a photo of Frank/Fad in his "Mr. Punch" costume from the Incontinent album cover. That wasn't my jumping on point, though: that came in slightly reverse order from listening to Tovey's solo album from 1986, Snakes And Ladders, then the final Fad Gadget album from 1984, Gag. The first album that I actually bought for myself, circa 1988 and a couple of quid for a secondhand copy from Replay Records in Bristol, was Fad Gadget's third album, Under The Flag.

 

This is what I had to say about Under The Flag on my old blog, featured in Juicebox Jukebox #4, posted 31st October 2005:

 

Originally released in 1982, the third Fad Gadget album is a direct comment on being British during the Falklands War. Re-released in 1991 (coinciding with the first Gulf conflict), I picked this up recently in a second-hand CD shop, to replace my crackling, worn-out vinyl copy. With the protracted British presence in Iraq and Afghanistan, the album’s lyrical content continues to resonate. Despite being tagged as a leftfield electronic artist, there are traces of the folk tradition in Frank Tovey’s songs, notably the processed accapella of “Plainsoing”, which he would exploit more fully in 1989’s Tyranny And The Hired Hand and his two subsequent albums with The Pyros. 

Tovey’s scepticism of the government’s justifications for war is obvious, For Whom The Bells Toll cynically responding “If I’ve heard them once, I’ve heard them a thousand times before.” The title track’s dismissal that “the script is so damned obvious” could easily be applied to Margaret Thatcher’s cod-Churchill proclamations at the time. Paraphrasing the familiar World War II slogan in Cipher, “Careless talk can cost lives” also implies that criticism of the government’s pro-war stance is seen as unpatriotic, even treasonous, whilst The Sheep Look Up is a self-explanatory expose of the ‘go with the flow’ masses, never questioning the information they are supplied with. The tone throughout is sombre, yet surprisingly rich and layered, with unsettlingly muted contributions from Alison Moyet on backing vocals and saxophone. 

 

Occasionally the tempo picks up but, as the title of robo-disco stomp Love Parasite suggests, this doesn’t represent an escape into hedonistic club culture. Under The Flag was the last fully electronic Fad Gadget album: 1984’s Gag sought a more organic sound, further developed in Frank Tovey’s ‘solo’ albums. 2001’s Best Of reasserted his Fad Gadget persona as an electronic pioneer, and his sole new contribution – a rework of Swallow It – promised much, making his premature death the following year all the more tragic. Under The Flag is not comfortable listening – and rightly so – but it’s political message is one that’s sorely lacking in this generation’s electronic artists.

 

...I'm assuming that last comment was a dig at the electroclash movement, which had been the "next big thing" at the turn of the 21st Century though had already fizzled out by 2002-03. I really liked the music, but found it lacked artists with the social commentary and lyrical heft of 1980s electronica like Soft Cell, Cabaret Voltaire and Fad Gadget.

I followed Frank Tovey throughout his career and, as much as I enjoyed his natural progression to a more organic, contemporary folk sound, it was a thrill when Tovey resurrected Fad Gadget in 2001 for a best of compilation, updated remixes and a tour supporting Depeche Mode. He was reportedly working on an album at the time of his death from a heart attack in 2002. An unreleased song, Sleeper, appeared on a posthumous CD/DVD collection in 2006 so we can only wonder at the shape and sound of his new material.

Today's selection covers both sides of a mixtape that I recorded around 1990. Another 'best of', though heavily favouring Under The Flag, which remains my favourite Fad Gadget album. Frank Tovey was the first signing to the Mute label and what better way to announce Fad Gadget's arrival than with the single Back To Nature. Along the way, the selection takes in other brilliant standalone singles in Ricky's Hand and Lady Shave, as well as King Of The Flies, which improved on the album version with it's faster pace and rolling bassline. The extended versions of Saturday Night Special and Collapsing New People are my preferred takes on both of these songs. The latter song title was inspired by and features German band Einstürzende Neubauten, which translates as "collapsing new buildings". There's a more sombre, reflective feel to the closing four songs, including one which was tucked away on the B-side of the aforementioned Collapsing New People. Spoil The Child showcases the haunting vocals of longtime collaborator Joni Sackett and is one of the greatest Fad Gadget songs in an immense body of work.

 

Side One (45:04)

1) Back To Nature (1979)

2) Newsreel (1980) 

3) Coitus Interruptus (1980)

4) Ricky's Hand (Single Version) (1980)

5) Plain Clothes (1981)

6) Saturday Night Special (Album Version) (1981)

7) Lady Shave (Single Version) (1981)

8) Collapsing New People (Berlin Mix ft. Einstürzende Neubauten) (1983)

9) King Of The Flies (Single Version) (1982)

Side Two (44:54)

1) Ideal World (1984)

2) Jump (1984)

3) Scapegoat (1982)

4) Life On The Line (Version IV) (1982)

5) Sleep (Album Version) (1984)

6) The Sheep Look Up (1982)

7) Love Parasite (Album Version) (1982)

8) Under The Flag I (1982)

9) Cipher (1982)

10) Spoil The Child (ft. Joni Sackett) (1983)

11) The Ring (1984)

 

1979: Back To Nature 7": A1

1980: Fireside Favourites: A2, A3

1980: Ricky's Hand 7": A4

1981: Incontinent: A5, A6 

1981: Make Room / Lady Shave 7": A7

1982: King Of The Flies 7": A9 

1982: Under The Flag: B3, B4, B6, B7, B8, B9

1983: Collapsing New People 12": A8, B10

1984: Gag: B1, B2, B5, B11

Side One (45:04) (KF) (Mega)

Side Two (44:54) (KF) (Mega)