Billie Ray Martin is a German singer and songwriter, known for her single " Your Loving Arms", which reached the top 10 of both the UK singles chart (#6) and the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

(#8) in 1995, and reached number one on the US Dance Club Chart. She was also one of the vocalists on the

S'Express S'Express (pronounced ''ess-express''; sometimes spelled S'Xpress or S-Express) was a British dance music act from the late 1980s, who had one of the earliest commercial successes in the acid house genre. " Theme from S'Express", which contain ...

UK top 10 hit single "Hey Music Lover" (1989), and had UK top 40 hits as lead vocalist of Electribe 101 with "Tell Me When the Fever Ended" (1989) and "Talking with Myself" (1990), and as a solo singer with " Running Around Town" (1995) and "Imitation of Life" (1996).

Early life

Born in Hamburg, West Germany, she grew up near Reeperbahn, St. Pauli, in the city's red-light district. She lived with her working-class grandparents, who exposed her to

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

and

German schlager music Schlager (, " hit(s)") is a style of European popular music and radio format generally defined by catchy instrumental accompaniments to vocal pieces of pop music with simple, easygoing, and often sentimental lyrics. Schlager tracks are typ ...

Career

Career beginnings

In the early 1980s, Billie Ray Martin moved to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. It was the time of electronic bands like Cabaret Voltaire,

Throbbing Gristle Throbbing Gristle were an English music and visual arts group formed in Kingston upon Hull by Genesis P-Orridge and Cosey Fanni Tutti, later joined by Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson and Chris Carter. They are widely regarded as pioneers of in ...

and the early

Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic music, electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their t ...

, shaping Martin's conceptions of music. Simultaneously, she encountered the soul music of Martha Reeves and the Vandellas,

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

and the

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

revival. In Berlin, she formed an eleven piece soul and sixties inspired band called Billie and the Deep. Their live shows became very popular in Berlin in 1985–86. After these experiences, Billie Ray Martin moved to London, where she placed an ad in ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'' reading "soul rebel seeks musical genius". The ad led to a meeting with four men from

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

who had been looking for a voice to add to their music, resulting in the formation of Electribe 101. The band returned to Birmingham, where they recorded their first song, entitled "Talking with Myself", releasing it as a 12" single on their own ''Hipnotic'' label. It was noticed by manager Tom Watkins (who managed

Pet Shop Boys Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music h ...

, Bros and

East 17 East 17 are an English pop boy band started by Tony Mortimer, Brian Harvey, John Hendy, and Terry Coldwell in 1991. They are best known for their 1994 hit single " Stay Another Day", which was the UK Christmas number one that year. The g ...

). Electribe 101 signed with Watkins, and his label

Phonogram Records Phonogram Incorporated was started in 1970 as a successor to Philips Phonographic Industries, a unit of the Grammophon-Philips Group (GPG), a joint venture of Philips N.V. of the Netherlands and Siemens AG of Germany. It was a holding company f ...

. Meanwhile, Billie Ray Martin had met DJ

Mark Moore Mark Moore (born 12 January 1965) is a British dance music record producer and DJ. He was founder of dance/ sampling pioneers S'Express, and runs the London nightclubs Electrogogo, and Can Can. Biography Moore began his DJ career in 1983 play ...

who invited her to the studio to work with his band

. Martin contributed to three songs on their debut album ''

Original Soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured ...

'': "Pimps, Pushers and Prostitutes", "L'Age du Gateau" and "Hey Music Lover" (retitled 'Music Lover' in the US). The latter became the third S'Express single, and a top 10 UK hit (reaching No. 6), giving Martin her first ''

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

'' appearance. She traveled across Europe with the group for a number of TV appearances in support of the single. Electribe 101's first single with Phonogram was "Tell Me When the Fever Ended" released in November 1989, reaching No. 32 on the UK charts, and No. 23 on the ''Billboard'' Dance charts. "Talking with Myself" was re-released in February 1990 with a

Frankie Knuckles Francis Warren Nicholls Jr. (January 18, 1955 – March 31, 2014), known professionally as Frankie Knuckles, was an American DJ, record producer, and remixer. He played an important role in developing and popularizing house music, a genre of mus ...

mix and became a hit reaching No. 23 in the UK and No. 8 on the ''Billboard'' Dance charts. DJ and producer

Marshall Jefferson Marshall Julius Jefferson (born September 19, 1959) is an American musician, working in the house music subgenres of Chicago house and deep house. Biography Sometimes known as the father of house music, Jefferson was originally a record produce ...

refused to remix it as he felt it was "already perfect". "Talking with Myself" remains a club classic and has appeared on countless Ibiza and

chill-out Chill-out (shortened as chill; also typeset as chillout or chill out) is a loosely defined form of popular music characterized by slow tempos and relaxed moods. The definition of "chill-out music" has evolved throughout the decades, and generally ...

compilations over the past 22 years. "Talking with Myself" was re-mixed in 1998 and reached No. 39 in the UK charts. Billie Ray Martin appeared on the cover of ''

i-D Magazine ''i-D'' is a British biannual magazine dedicated to fashion, music, art, film and youth culture. The magazine was launched in 1980 by Terry Jones, originally as a hand-stapled fanzine it has since evolved into a glossy publication. In 2023 the ...

'', as well as weekly music/pop

periodicals Periodical literature (singularly called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) consists of Publication, published works that appear in new releases on a regular schedule (''issues'' or ''numbers'', often numerically divided into annu ...

such as: ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'', ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'', ''Record Mirror'' and ''Number One''. NME described her style as looking like 'Cilla Black on Acid' when she made her first Top of the Pops appearance. A connection with

Steve Nieve Steve Nieve ( "naïve"; born Stephen John Nason, 21 February 1958) is an English musician and composer. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Nieve has been a member of Elvis Costello's backing bands the Attractions and the Imposters, as w ...

led to her being a guest vocalist with

house band A house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play at an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to bands which ...

Steve Nieve and The Playboys, singing " Stay With Me" and "

Chain of Fools A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. ...

", on the Channel X UK television series ''The Last Resort with

Jonathan Ross Jonathan Stephen Ross (born 17 November 1960) is an English broadcaster, film critic, comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He presented the BBC One chat show '' Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' during the 2000s and early 2010s, hosted his ow ...

''. Electribe 101's third single was entitled "You’re Walking" and reached No. 50 on the UK charts, prior to the release of their debut album '' Electribal Memories''. A live concert at London's The Town & Country Club (now The London Forum) was televised on ITV to coincide with the album's release. They also played at the

Milton Keynes Bowl The National Bowl (originally the Milton Keynes Bowl) is an entertainment venue located in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The site was a former clay pit (for brick-making), filled in and raised to form an amphitheatre using sub-soil e ...

in support to

Erasure Erasure may refer to: Arts and media * Erasure (duo), an English pop group * ''Erasure'' (album), 1995, by the British group Erasure * Erasure poetry, a form of found poetry created by erasing words from an existing text * ''Erasure'' (novel), ...

. Electribe 101 were then selected as the supporting act for the European leg of

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...

's 'World Violation' tour, including several nights at both the

Birmingham NEC The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) is an exhibition centre located in Marston Green, England, near to Birmingham and Solihull. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham Airport and Birmingham International rai ...

and

Wembley Arena Wembley Arena () (originally the Empire Pool, currently known as OVO Energy, OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, Greater London, England. The 12,500-seat facility is Greater Lond ...

. A fourth single was released – a cover of the

Jesse Rae Jesse Rae (born 1951) is a Scottish singer, songwriter and composer from St Boswells in Scotland. Career In the 1970s, Rae moved to the US securing work as a runner at the New York Stock Exchange to fund his stay. Through work in Cleveland an ...

song "Inside Out", the video of which was filmed in Paris. The band then set to work on their second album, with a provisional title of ''Electronic Soul''. However, conflict with Watkins and Phonogram led to the album not being released. While seeking another label, the band broke up.

Solo: 1993–2002

BRM's debut solo release was at the end of 1993 in collaboration with the British dance duo Spooky on a cover of the

song 'Persuasion'. Her second release was the ' Four Ambient Tales' EP with Dave Ball and Richard Norris of

The Grid The Grid are an English electronic dance group, consisting of David Ball (formerly of Soft Cell) and Richard Norris, with guest contributions from other musicians. They are best known for the hits "Swamp Thing", "Texas Cowboys", "Crystal C ...

. She made an appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show, performing a cover of

Ann Peebles Ann Lee Peebles (born April 27, 1947) is an American retired singer and songwriter who gained popularity for her Memphis soul albums of the 1970s while signed to Hi Records. Her most successful singles include " I Can't Stand the Rain", which s ...

’ "I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down" with

Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash th ...

from Guns N’Roses on guitar. With a new set of songs, she signed with

East West Records East West Records (stylized as east''west'') is a record label formed in 1955, distributed and owned by Warner Music Group, headquartered in New York City. History After its creation in 1955 by Atlantic Records, the label had its first hit wit ...

, a subsidiary of

Warner Music Warner Music Group Corp., commonly abbreviated as WMG, is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and the third-largest in the gl ...

. In the US, Martin was signed to

Seymour Stein Seymour Steinbigle (April 18, 1942 – April 2, 2023), known professionally as Seymour Stein, was an American entrepreneur and music executive. He co-founded Sire Records and was vice president of Warner Bros. Records. With Sire, Stein signed ba ...

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gotteh ...

. The first release with her new label was " Your Loving Arms" again with Dave Ball and Richard Norris of The Grid on production. The track reached No. 38 in November 1994. On a subsequent re-release the song peaked at No. 6 in the UK singles chart in May 1995, Martin once again appearing on

as well as various UK and European TV shows in support of the song. Further mixes by

Todd Terry Todd Norton Terry (born April 18, 1967) is an American DJ, record producer and remixer in the genre of house music. His productions helped define the New York house scene in the 1990s and used extensive samples that blend the sounds of classi ...

and

Brothers in Rhythm Brothers in Rhythm are a British electronic music group comprising Dave Seaman, Steve Anderson and Alan Bremner. The group was originally a duo comprising Seaman and Anderson, with Bremner joining later in 1999. They have remixed and/or produc ...

helped the song reach No. 1. It also topped the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart and eventually reached the top 50 of the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

and the top 20 of

Radio & Records ''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...

magazine's CHR/Pop airplay chart (ranking No. 76 on the 1996 year-end chart). In February 1995, the Junior Vasquez mix of "True Moments of My World" was being played in clubs, but was not released as her next single. Instead, " Running Around Town" was chosen and reached No. 29 in the UK, as well as hitting No. 1 on the club charts. Her solo album entitled '' Deadline for My Memories'' was planned for an Autumn release, but was delayed until 1996. It included several songs originally destined for Electribe 101's second album. The album was preceded by extensive press coverage including a number of magazine cover stories. Martin also guested on BBC Two's ''...Later with Jools Holland'' performing two songs from the album: "Hands Up And Amen" and "I Don't Believe". The album was preceded by a third single, "Imitation of Life", which reached No. 29. A video for the single was filmed in the docks and bars of

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

and featured members of Billie's family and friends. ''Deadline for My Memories'' was released at the end of January. Two further singles were released from the album: "Space Oasis", and the ballad, "You And I (Keep Holding On)". TV appearances continued, including a live MTV performance from Turkey. Meanwhile, Martin continued to write songs for a projected second album, but left the Warner label and moved to New York, where she wrote with dance music producer, Fred Jorio. She signed with React Music Limited in the UK, and released the single, "Honey". The song hit No. 1 in the club charts but poor performance on the UK singles chart caused the cancellation of a planned second release. "Honey" debuted stateside courtesy of Nervous Records four years later. The song peaked at No. 1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play charts. During this time, she also recorded an album of soul and blues songs with the Jon Tiven Group in New York, but this album remains unreleased. A single and an EP of her drum and bass recordings were released by NY label Finetune recordings. The single was "Pacemaker" while the EP was entitled "Crime & Punishment". In 2000, Martin travelled to Memphis, Tennessee to record her next album at the House of Blues studio. Her band was led by

Marvell Thomas Ronald Marvell Thomas (August 22, 1941 – January 23, 2017) was an American keyboardist, record producer and arranger known for his work in Memphis Soul. Biography Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Thomas's studio career started at the age of 17. H ...

, son of

Rufus Thomas Rufus C. Thomas, Jr. (March 26, 1917 – December 15, 2001) was an American rhythm-and-blues, funk, soul and blues singer, songwriter, dancer, DJ and comic entertainer from Memphis, Tennessee. He recorded for several labels, including Chess Re ...

, and featured members of

's own band.

and

Carla Thomas Carla Venita Thomas (born December 21, 1942) is an American singer, who is often referred to as the Queen of Memphis Soul. She is best known for her 1960s recordings for Atlantic and Stax including the hits " Gee Whiz (Look at His Eyes)" (1960) ...

provided backing vocals, while Peebles did a duet with Martin on the album's title track "Eighteen Carat Garbage". The album ''18 Carat Garbage'' was released on Martin's own Sonnenstahl Records label. Four 12" singles on vinyl were initially released from the album: "Systems of Silence" was released on 2 January 2001 followed by "18 Carat Garbage" on 16 January 2001 and then "I've Never Been To Memphis" in March 2001 and the Motown inspired "Where Fools Rush In" in September 2001. In 2002, Sonnenstahl Records released the 12-track CD ''Recycled Garbage'', a compilation of remixes of selected tracks from ''18 Carat Garbage''.

Solo: 2003–current

In 2003, Martin released a series of singles on her new Disco Activisto label, including the electronic music club hits "No Brakes on My Rollerskates" and "Dead Again". In 2005–06 she released collaborations with

DJ Hell Helmut Josef Geier (born 6 September 1962), known professionally as DJ Hell, is a German DJ. Biography 1970s and 1980s DJ Hell described his musical beginnings in an interview with '' The European'', telling them “I was socialized with Ge ...

and Slam. The song "Je Regrette Everything" (written by Billie and Mikael Delta) appeared on DJ Hell's album ''NY Muscle'' (

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum ...

). DJ Hell said of Martin "she's one of the living legends in modern music history and one of the best voices on planet earth". "Bright Lights Fading" appeared on Slam's ''Year Zero'' album. Both this and "Je Regrette Everything" were subsequently released as singles. The Moroder-influenced solo single "Undisco Me" was released on Rebirth Records in April 2007, and reached No. 6 in the UK Dance Chart. Martin also began a second career as a disc jockey launching her own clubnight Komputerliebe in London and then Frankfurt. In 2008, Martin formed a new band, The Opiates, with Robert Solheim producing. The Opiates made their live debut at Rough Trade, Brick Lane, London, in March, to coincide with the group's first release, the ''Anatomy of a Plastic Girl'' EP. In 2010, she released ''The Crackdown Project'' featuring her takes on the Cabaret Voltaire classic album, '' The Crackdown''. 2011 began with the solo single "Sweet Suburban Disco". She corroborated with Hard Ton on the ''Sold Life'' EP, featuring a new song "Sold Life" and a cover of the Pierre's Pfantasy Club classic, "Fantasy Girl". A second EP from The Opiates, titled ''Rainy Days and Remixes'', was released in September 2011 as a prelude to their album ''Hollywood Under The Knife''. A short UK tour including a performance at

HMV HMV is an international music and entertainment retailer, founded in 1921. The brand is owned by Hilco Capital and operated by Sunrise Records, except in Japan, where it is owned and operated by Lawson. The inaugural shop was opened on Lo ...

on Oxford Street, London launched the album, which was packaged in imagery by

Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award). ...

winner

Wolfgang Tillmans Wolfgang Tillmans (born 16 August 1968) is a German Fine-art photography, photographer. His diverse body of work is distinguished by observation of his surroundings and an ongoing investigation of the photographic medium’s foundations. Tillman ...

. The album got a four star review in Metro.
In February 2012, a remix collection entitled ''Hollywood Cuts'' was released. 2012 saw the release of a series of collaborations including "Make Me Feel" on Terranova's ''Hotel Amour'' album, and "Hyper Lust" on the new album from Motor. In September, Martin released a limited edition DVD entitled ''Five Takes (A Song About Andy)'', featuring five movies inspired by

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...

Screen Tests The ''Screen Tests'' are a series of short, silent, black-and-white film portraits by Andy Warhol, made between 1964 and 1966, generally showing their subjects from the neck up against plain backdrops. The ''Screen Tests'', of which 472 surv ...

. The song "On Borrowed Time" is presented in five unique takes, with music by electronic producer and soul singer, Waterson. On 3 February 2023, it was announced via Mary Wilson's

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

page that ''Soul Defender'', written by Martin, would be released on 3 March 2023, which would have been Wilson's 79th birthday.

Discography

* '' Deadline for My Memories'' (1996) * '' Recycled Garbage'' (2002) * '' BRM New Demos'' (2003)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Billie Ray Living people British house musicians German dance musicians German expatriates in England Sire Records artists German women in electronic music 21st-century British women singers 21st-century German women singers Year of birth missing (living people) British women in electronic music