One of my favourite songs of all time, No G.D.M. was first released in 1979 by Gina X Performance, a duo of Gina X (aka Gina Kikoine aka Claudia De Held) and Zeus B. Held (aka Bernd Held). The single was re-released in 1982, by now credited simply to Gina X. I have a (very crackly) 12" single of the further re-release in 1985, including an additional dub (but actually vocal heavy) version by Zeus B. Held, which I picked up secondhand in the late 1980s/early 1990s. My brother had a copy of the same 12" so I'm not sure if I first heard the song in his bedsit on Jamaica Street in Stokes Croft in the heart of Bristol, or one of the many indie/goth/alternative clubs that we frequented in the city centre.
I can't find the original promo video on YouTube but have stumbled across a rather entertaining fan-made homage by foxinaboxvideo, posted in 2009. The video includes snippets from the Gina X at the start, with scenes from The Naked Civil Servant interspersed throughout. The latter is a 1975 made-for-TV film dramatising the early years of Quentin Crisp, the inspiration for No G.D.M.
Unsurprisingly, No G.D.M. has been a significant influence on electronica/dance acts that have followed, several of whom have been unable to resist remixing the song. First up is Headman aka Robi Insinna, whose remix appeared on a 12" released by International Deejay Gigolo Records in Germany back in 2003, along with remixes by Psychonauts and Cat O'Nine Tales. The version featured here is Robi Insinna's rework from 2016.
Next up is Red Axes, their remix featuring on the Relish EP V 12" single, released by Robi Insinna's label Relish Recordings in 2014.
Last but not least, here's the Supa Edit of No G.D.M. by French producer Joakim Bouaziz, released on a Tigersushi 12" in 2002, which isn't far removed from my crackly 12" single from 1985.
There's only one official cover version of No G.D.M. that I'm aware of, by - no surprise - Erasure and featuring on the flip of their Blue Savannah 12" single in 1990. It goes without saying that it's not a patch on the original, so I'm not posting it here.
In 2020, the city of Cologne awarded Gina Kikoine and Zeus B. Held the Holger Czukay Honorary Lifetime Achievement Award, the jury stating that
"Gina X Performance were way ahead of their time with their elegantly distanced electronic pop and extroverted performances. Even before pop icons like Grace Jones or the Eurythmics became famous for their chilled sound, Gina Kikoine and Zeus B. Held carried their androgynous coolness out into the world from Cologne.
The new wave pop made in Cologne celebrated chart successes in Austria, Canada, UK and Israel.
The sound of Gina X Performance has proven to be timelessly contemporary, as evidenced by the rediscovery of her music by star DJs such as Andrew Weatherall and DJ Hell.
The lyrics and above all the legendary performances of Gina X Performance, in which music, fashion, theatre and performance art merged, make the group pioneers of queer art in which questions of gender and identity are renegotiated."
The new wave pop made in Cologne celebrated chart successes in Austria, Canada, UK and Israel.
The sound of Gina X Performance has proven to be timelessly contemporary, as evidenced by the rediscovery of her music by star DJs such as Andrew Weatherall and DJ Hell.
The lyrics and above all the legendary performances of Gina X Performance, in which music, fashion, theatre and performance art merged, make the group pioneers of queer art in which questions of gender and identity are renegotiated."
I couldn't have put it better myself.
Yes! Very glad someone else regards this as an important song - Weatherall also rated it enough to include it on his 9 O'clock Drop Compilation*. Remember thinking it was very daring & transgressive for the time (like you unsure where/when 1st heard, possibly some grotty club in Bristol but more likely Leeds Warehouse, maybe when Marc Almond was DJing, but memory being what it isn't who knows? :-) I should dig my 7" single out to see which pressing it is.
ReplyDelete*edit* - that was 'Nice Mover' not GDM - see what I mean about memory!
Thanks, anwe. Funnily enough, I immediately thought of 9 o'Clock Drop when I was writing the post and had to go back to check. Nice Mover's a great song, too. I'm also partial to Gina X's version of Drive My Car.
DeleteMarc Almond Djing at Leeds Warehouse must have been quite something!
Blimey! I probably haven't heard this in 40 years, but as soon as it started I recognised it instantly. A big tune in my earliest days working behind the counter of a record shop. I'm not sure that any of those later remixes add anything to the original.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Swede. I've got to agree with your comment about the remixes. I like them all but the original is such a minimalist classic that all anyone can really do with the song is either completely deconstruct it or embellish it with contemporary beats and noises which, to use a cliche, is gilding the lily.
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