The Passions were a British

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-r ...

/ new wave band which formed in 1978 and disbanded in 1983. The Passions' music was grounded mainly in Barbara Gogan's voice and Clive Timperley's delicate

Echoplex The Echoplex is a tape delay effect, first made in 1959. Designed by Mike Battle, the Echoplex set a standard for the effect in the 1960s—it is still regarded as "the standard by which everything else is measured." It was used by some of the ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

work. They were considered one of the

one-hit wonder A one-hit wonder or viral hit is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music p ...

s due to their early 1981 single "

I'm in Love with a German Film Star "I'm in Love with a German Film Star" is a post-punk song by the British band the Passions. It was released as a single by Polydor Records on 23 January 1981,''Post Punk Diary: 1980–1982'' by George Gimarc and reached No. 25 on the UK Singles C ...

History

Based in

Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a district of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character ...

in west

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, The Passions formed in early 1978 as the Youngsters with a line-up of Gogan (guitar, vocals), Claire Bidwell (bass guitar), Richard Williams (drums), Dack Dyde (guitar) and Mitch Barker (vocals). Williams and Gogan were previously in the punk rock outfit

the Derelicts The Derelicts were a London-based " ctivistR&B band" active from 1974–1976, well known on the London pub rock/squat rock circuit, consisting of Susan Gogan, lead vox/artwork; Richard Williams, drums; Barbara Gogan, guitar/backing vox; Marion ...

. After a name change to Rivers of Passion, soon shortened to The Passions, Dyde was replaced by Timperley (formerly of

The 101ers The 101ers were a pub rock band from the 1970s playing mostly in a rockabilly style, notable as being the band that Joe Strummer left to join The Clash. Formed in London in May 1974, the 101ers made their performing debut on 7 September at the ...

). The Passions' first single, issued in March 1979 on the Soho label, was the

double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

"Needles and Pills" (written by Dyde) and "Body and Soul", which assisted in gaining the band a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

with

Fiction Records Fiction Records is a British record label founded by Chris Parry in 1978, owned by Universal Music Group and based in the United Kingdom. It is best known for being the home of The Cure for over 20 years. It was originally a part of Polydor, ...

. By the time the band recorded the first of their three

Peel session John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

s in November 1979, Barker had departed and Gogan took over as lead vocalist. '' Michael & Miranda'', the band's debut album, was released on 18 April 1980,''Post Punk Diary: 1980–1982'' by George Gimarc preceded by their second single "Hunted". The album was produced by Fiction head Chris Parry and engineered by

Mike Hedges Mike Hedges (born 1953) is a British audio producer/engineer best known for his work with The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Manic Street Preachers. During his career, Hedges has worked with an eclectic roster of artists ranging from r ...

. In May 1980, The Passions embarked on a UK and European tour supporting labelmates

The Cure The Cure are an English rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith has remained the only constant member. The band's ...

. Bidwell left after the tour (joining The Wall), was replaced in July 1980 by David Agar, and the band were dropped by Fiction. A meeting with Peter Wilson, the in-house producer for

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

, led to the band signing to that label, which released their third single, "The Swimmer", on 1 October 1980. Their major chart hit, "I'm in Love with a German Film Star", was released as the band's fourth single on 23 January 1981. The lyrics were written by Gogan about Steve Connelly, a one-time

roadie The road crew (or roadies) are the technicians or support personnel who travel with a band on tour, usually in sleeper buses, and handle every part of the concert productions except actually performing the music with the musicians. This ca ...

for

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...

and

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

who had minor roles in several German films. It was produced by Peter Wilson. According to Wilson, "It was a song that almost seemed to write itself". The music weeklies declared the song "Single of the Week", and it was named "Peoples Choice" on

Capital Radio Capital London is a radio station owned and operated by the Global media company as part of its national Capital FM Network. As Capital Radio it was launched in the London area in 1973 as one of Britain's first two commercial radio stations. ...

. This led to a ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

'' appearance on 5 February 1981, which was repeated on 26 February 1981. The next single, "Skin Deep", produced by

Nigel Gray Nigel Gray (1947 – 30 July 2016) was an English record producer. His album credits include '' Outlandos d'Amour'' (1978), '' Reggatta de Blanc'' (1979), and '' Zenyatta Mondatta'' (1980) for the Police, '' Kaleidoscope'' (1980) and '' Juju'' (19 ...

, was issued on 2 July 1981. "Skin Deep" and the previous two A-sides ("The Swimmer" and "I'm in Love with a German Film Star") were included, along with several brand new recordings, on the band's second album, ''

Thirty Thousand Feet Over China ''Thirty Thousand Feet Over China'' is the second studio album by English post-punk/ new wave band The Passions, released 18 September 1981 by Polydor Records.''Post Punk Diary: 1980-1982'' by George Gimarc It reached No. 92 in the UK Albums Ch ...

'', released on 18 September 1981. Timperley left the band in

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...

, Italy, in December 1981, during the Italian leg of their prophetically named "Tour Till We Crack" tour, as a result of "serious political differences". The next single, "Africa Mine", released on 8 January 1982, was recorded by the remaining members prior to a line-up change. The guitar part was played by their producer, Peter Wilson. Gogan explained the situation: "It's the same old story. Some bands play together for 10 years and it's all very wonderful and imaginative. More often, though, you reach a point where you've done all you can do and you want to change. Whenever we've reached that point someone has always left and brought us a step further on. Any band playing their own songs to the public has a duty to change and keep being imaginative all the time". The Canadian band, Go Four 3, released a cover of the song on their 1987 album, ''Six Friends''. Kevin Armstrong, previously with Local Heroes SW9 and a contributor to

Thomas Dolby Thomas Morgan Robertson (born 14 October 1958), known by the stage name Thomas Dolby, is an English musician, producer, composer, entrepreneur and teacher. Dolby came to prominence in the 1980s, releasing hit singles including " She Blinded M ...

's debut album, joined The Passions in 1982. The group also added a keyboard player, Jeff Smith, best known for his past work with Lene Lovich. Armstrong and Smith took part in the recording of the band's third album, ''

Sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...

'', produced by

Mick Glossop Mick Glossop is an English record producer and recording engineer. In 2009, he was awarded a Visiting Professorship at Leeds College of Music. Glossop was initially known for recording and producing for new wave and punk bands such as Magazine ...

. The first single from that album was "Jump for Joy", which was released on 5 May 1982, followed by the album and the "Sanctuary" single on 18 September 1982. Stephen Wright, previously in the band

Bim ''Bim'' is a 1974 Trinidad and Tobago film written by Raoul Pantin and directed by Hugh A. Robertson. It was described by Bruce Paddington as "one of the most important films to be produced in Trinidad and Tobago and... one of the classics of ...

, then replaced Armstrong. The band toured Europe and the US, and appeared on ''

The Old Grey Whistle Test ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''Whistle Test'' or ''OGWT'') is a British television music show. The show was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers, commissioned by David Attenborough and aired on BBC2 from 1971 to 1988. ...

'' on

BBC 2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream ...

and on ''Whatever You Want'' on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

from which two live songs can be seen on YouTube. The Passions dissolved for good in the middle of 1983, after playing their last show at London's

Marquee Club The Marquee Club was a music venue first located at 165 Oxford Street in London, when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. Its most famous period was from 1964 to 1988 at 90 Wardour Street in Soho, and it finally closed ...

that August. A compilation album, '' Passion Plays'', was issued by Polydor on vinyl in 1985 and CD in 1995. "I'm in Love with a German Film Star", was re-released as a

download In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar system. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote ...

in December 2006, and ''Thirty Thousand Feet Over China'' was reissued on CD with five bonus tracks on

Cherry Red Records Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything But the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as we ...

on 21 July 2008. ''Michael and Miranda'' was reissued on CD with three bonus tracks on Cherry Red Records in November 2015. ''Sanctuary'' was reissued on CD with nine bonus tracks on Rubellan Remasters in November 2019.

Later projects

Gogan resurfaced in 1997, when she issued ''Made on Earth'', an album she recorded with the French experimentalist

Hector Zazou Hector Zazou (11 July 1948 – 8 September 2008) was a prolific French composer and record producer who worked with, produced, and collaborated with an international array of recording artists. He worked on his own and other artists' albums, inclu ...

. Armstrong served as a guitarist and songwriter for numerous artists including

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the " Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band The Stooges, who w ...

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since th ...

, Steve Nieve and

Sinéad O'Connor Shuhada Sadaqat (born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor on 8 December 1966; ) is an Irish singer-songwriter. Her debut album, '' The Lion and the Cobra'', was released in 1987 and charted internationally. Her second album, ''I Do Not Want Wha ...

, and was a member of

Tin Machine Tin Machine were a British–American rock band formed in 1988, and fronted by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. The band consisted of Bowie on lead vocals, saxophone and guitar; Reeves Gabrels on guitar and vocals; Tony Fox Sales on ba ...

Cover versions

There have been numerous cover versions of "I'm in Love with a German Film Star", including

Linoleum Linoleum, sometimes shortened to lino, is a floor covering made from materials such as solidified linseed oil (linoxyn), pine resin, ground cork dust, sawdust, and mineral fillers such as calcium carbonate, most commonly on a burlap or canva ...

in 2000,

Foo Fighters Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the eponymous debut album, Grohl (lead vocals, guitar) ...

in 2005,

Chris Whitley Christopher Becker Whitley (August 31, 1960 – November 20, 2005) was an American blues/rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. During his 25-year career he released more than a dozen albums, had two songs in the top 50 of the Billboard mains ...

and

Kish Mauve Kish Mauve is a British electropop group. The group was formed in 2005 in London, England, and consists of Mima Stilwell (vocals) and Jim Eliot (synthesizer, vocals). Career The group released their debut extended play, ''Kish Mauve EP'', in ...

in 2006, Sam Taylor-Wood (with the

Pet Shop Boys The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo ...

) in 2008, and Dubstar in 2010, and

Sunscreem Sunscreem are a techno/house music band from Essex, England that scored a number of hits on the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart throughout the 1990s and into the 21st century. Sunscreem also has the rare reputation as a techno-based band ...

(released 2018).

In popular culture

* Williams appeared on the "Identity Parade" on

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

's programme, '' Never Mind the Buzzcocks'', on 7 February 2007. The fragment can be seen on YouTube. *"I'm in Love With a German Film Star" featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. *"I'm in Love With a German Film Star" featured in the first episode of The Line of Beauty. * In the first episode (2008) of the

cop-

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

'' Ashes to Ashes'', "I'm in Love with a German Film Star" was played in the background as DI Alex Drake walked in

slow motion Slow motion (commonly abbreviated as slo-mo or slow-mo) is an effect in film-making whereby time appears to be slowed down. It was invented by the Austrian priest August Musger in the early 20th century. This can be accomplished through the use ...

into Luigi's restaurant.

Band members

* Barbara Gogan —

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

(1978–1983) * Claire Bidwell —

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

(1978–1980) * Richard Williams —

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

(1978–1983) * Dack Dyde — guitar (1978) * Mitch Barker — vocals (1978–1979) * Clive Timperley — guitar (1978–1981) * David Agar — bass guitar (1980–1983) * Kevin Armstrong — guitar (1982) * Jeff Smith — keyboards (1982–1983) * Stephen Wright — guitar (1982–1983)

Discography

Studio albums

* 1980: '' Michael & Miranda'' (

Fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a tradi ...

) * 1981: ''

'' (

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United State ...

) — No. 92 (

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

) * 1982: ''

'' (Polydor)

Compilation albums

* 1985: '' Passion Plays'' (Polydor) *2004: ''The Passions Singles'' (Lulumusic)

Singles

References

External links

The Passions official websiteThe Passions on Facebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Passions, The English post-punk music groups English new wave musical groups Musical groups established in 1978 Musical groups disestablished in 1983 Musical groups from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Fiction Records artists Polydor Records artists