Kenneth Lockie (born 1956) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

singer-songwriter and producer, best known as the principle songwriter and vocalist of English new wave band

Cowboys International Cowboys International (also stylised as Cowboys International®) were a new wave and synthpop band formed by vocalist and songwriter Ken Lockie that put out one album in 1979, '' The Original Sin'', and a few singles before dissolving in 1980 ...

, as well as a collaborator with synth-pop group

Dominatrix A dominatrix ( ; or dominatrices ), or domme, is a woman who takes the dominant role in BDSM activities. The BDSM practice is called female dominance, or femdom. A dominatrix can be of any sexual orientation, but this does not necessarily l ...

and John Lydon of

Public Image Ltd Public Image Ltd (abbreviated and stylized as PiL) are an English post-punk band formed by lead vocalist John Lydon (previously, as Johnny Rotten, lead vocalist of the Sex Pistols), guitarist Keith Levene (a founding member of the Clash), bassi ...

Early life and education

He was born in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

in 1956 as Peter Dellow and changed his name to Ken Lockie by

Deed poll A deed poll (plural: deeds poll) is a legal document binding on a single person or several persons acting jointly to express an intention or create an obligation. It is a deed, and not a contract, because it binds only one party. Etymology Th ...

on 8 January 1980.

Career

Cowboys International

Ken Lockie, a keyboardist for Cowboys International, was recording his first Virgin album (The Impossible) when Simple Minds signed with the label. The band took an interest in his work after hearing backing tracks, and hired its producer Steve Hillage to produce their next album (Sons And Fascination). Lockie fronted his own band Cowboys International, releasing the album '' The Original Sin'' (1979). The band recorded and played with many punk- and new wave-era musicians including: *

Terry Chimes Terence Chimes (born 5 July 1956, Stepney, London, England) is an English musician, best known as the original drummer of punk rock group the Clash. He played with them from July 1976 to November 1976, January 1977 to April 1977, and again from ...

from the English punk-rock band

The Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...

* Jimmy Hughes of the English

punk-rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

and new-wave band

The Banned The Banned were an English Power Pop punk/ new wave band active in the late 1970s. History The Banned had a minor UK hit in 1977 with " Little Girl", a cover version of a 1966 U.S. hit song by the Syndicate of Sound.Strong, Martin C. (200 ...

and the British new-wave band Department S *

Keith Levene Julian Keith Levene (18 July 1957 – 11 November 2022) was an English musician who was a founding member of both the Clash and Public Image Ltd (PiL). While Levene was in PiL, their 1978 debut album '' Public Image: First Issue'' reached No. 2 ...

from the English

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

band

Marco Pirroni Marco Francesco Andrea Pirroni (born 27 April 1959) frequently credited simply as Marco, is a British guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He has worked with Adam Ant, Sinéad O'Connor, Siouxsie and the Banshees and many others from the la ...

of the English rock band

Adam and the Ants Adam and the Ants were an English Rock music, rock band that formed in London in 1977. The band existed in two versions, both fronted by Adam Ant, between 1977 and 1982. The first phase began when the band were founded in May 1977 and were call ...

Steve Shears Stevie Shears (born 1954/1955) is an English musician known for playing in the rock bands Tiger Lily and Ultravox! (later Ultravox), as well as being part of the bands Faith Global and Cowboys International. Biography Tiger Lily and Ultravox! ...

of the English new-wave band

Ultravox Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which wa ...

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

of the English new-wave band

Radio Stars Radio Stars are an English punk rock band formed in early 1977. They released two albums and had one UK Singles Chart, UK Top 40 single. Career Radio Stars were formed by Sparks (band), Sparks exile Martin Gordon (bass, songwriter) and also i ...

Solo career

The band toured extensively throughout the UK and in Europe in 1980, at which point Lockie pursued a solo career with

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

, releasing the album '' The Impossible'' (1981), featuring guest appearances by Shears and Simon, as well as: *

Preston Heyman Preston Heyman is a British record producer, drummer and percussionist. He is credited on the Kate Bush album '' Never for Ever''. Not too long afterwards, he was recruited to be the drummer for Atomic Rooster's reformation, and appeared on th ...

of the English rock band

Tom Robinson Band Tom Robinson Band (TRB) are a British Rock music, rock band, established in 1976 by singer, songwriter and bassist Tom Robinson. The band's debut single "2-4-6-8 Motorway" was a top five hit on the UK Singles Chart in 1977, and their third sin ...

Jim Kerr James Kerr (born 9 July 1959) is a Scottish musician and lead singer of the rock band Simple Minds. Commercially successful singles released by Simple Minds include " Don't You (Forget About Me)", " Glittering Prize" (1982), " Someone Somewh ...

of the Scottish rock band

Simple Minds Simple Minds are a Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977, becoming best known internationally for their song "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Billboard Hot 100, Hot 100 ...

John McGeoch John Alexander McGeoch (25 August 1955 – 4 March 2004) was a Scottish musician and songwriter. He is best known as the guitarist of the rock bands Magazine (1977–1980) and Siouxsie and the Banshees (1980–1982). He has been described as o ...

of the English post-punk band

Magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

Nash the Slash James Jeffrey "Jeff" Plewman (March 26, 1948 – May 10, 2014), better known by his stage name Nash the Slash, was a Canadian musician. A multi-instrumentalist, he was known primarily for playing the electric violin and Electric mandolin, mandol ...

Public Image Ltd

Later in 1981, Lockie went to the United States to join

(PiL) in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, in 1981 in preparation for recording in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, in November of that year. His contributions to PiL stemmed back to PiL's album ''

Metal Box ''Metal Box'' is the second studio album by Public Image Ltd, released by Virgin Records on 23 November 1979. The album takes its name from the round metal canister which contained the initial pressings of the record. It was later reissued in s ...

'' (1979) where he contributed and co-wrote "Radio 4" (although not officially credited). Due to complications with Virgin and funding, recording in 1981 was delayed. PiL entered into various recording sessions in New York City during this period until finally entering into Park South Studios to record what became ''

Commercial Zone ''Commercial Zone'' is an album of studio recordings by Public Image Ltd, recorded in 1982 and 1983, and released in 1984 by PiL founding guitarist Keith Levene. ''Commercial Zone'' includes five songs that were later re-recorded for PiL's fo ...

'' (1984) in 1982 and 1983. At this point, Lockie was no longer a contributor to PiL.

Independent Producer

After his departure from PIL in 1982, Lockie found some success in dance music, co-producing, with Ivan Baker; and co-writing, with Stuart Agarbright, the song "Dominatrix Sleeps Tonight". Arthur Baker of Streetwise Records picked up on the single and it became a success in the spring of 1984 (number one on the

Billboard Dance Chart The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

for ten weeks). This track would later become part of the soundtrack to the American comedy film ''

Grosse Pointe Blank ''Grosse Pointe Blank'' is a 1997 American dark comedy film directed by George Armitage and written by Tom Jankiewicz, D. V. DeVincentis, Steve Pink, and John Cusack. Based on a story written by Jankiewicz, it follows a professional assassin wh ...

'' (1997).Database (undated).
"Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) Soundtracks"

Internet Movie Database IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

. Retrieved 30 September 2013. In 1985, CBS / Epic Records released the 12" single "Get on Top" and "K2" under the band name Go For Your Gun, produced by Ken Lockie the single featured Stuart Argabright and Laura Lockie.

Pnuma Recordings

In 2003, he founded his own label Pnuma Recordings, and re-issued a collection of Cowboys International recordings from ''The Original Sin'' album and various singles on CD. He recorded a new Cowboys International album ''The Backwards Life of Romeo'' (2004), performing a live show at

Eyedrum Eyedrum Art & Music Gallery is a non-profit art space and venue in Atlanta, Georgia, founded by American painter Woody Cornwell, musician and journalist Marshall Avett, Rachel Pomberg, Ben Young, Bill Spence, Todd Pullen, Sunni McGarity, and Wi ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, in 2005. In 2011 and continuing to 2019, Lockie began producing and releasing Techno, Tech House, Minimal, Deep House, and other genres on the Pnuma Recordings label.

Discography

Cowboys International

Studio albums * 1979 '' The Original Sin'' * 2004 '' The Backwards Life of Romeo '' Compilations * 2003 '' Revisited'' Singles * 1979 "Thrash" * 1979 "Aftermath" * 1979 "Nothing Doing" * 1980 "

Today Today ''Today Today'' was a drivetime radio show on Australia-wide radio station Triple J, broadcast between 3:00pm and 5:30pm weekdays during 2004 and 2005. The title is a parody of the Australian current affairs program ''Today Tonight'' on Channe ...

Solo

Studio albums *1981 '' The Impossible'' Singles * 1981 "Dance House" * 1981 "Today"

Related releases and collaborations

* 1979 "Radio 4" by

; keyboards * 1981 ''

Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call ''Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call'' is the fourth album by Scottish post-punk band Simple Minds; it is a double album. It was released in September 1981 and was their first to reach a wide international audience. It includes the single ...

'' by

; backing vocals

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lockie, Ken 1956 births Living people 20th-century British composers 20th-century English singers 20th-century English writers 21st-century composers 21st-century English singers 21st-century English writers English company founders English electronic musicians English expatriates in the United States English new wave musicians English male singer-songwriters English singer-songwriters English pop singers English record producers English rock keyboardists English expatriate musicians in the United States Public Image Ltd members Musicians from Newcastle upon Tyne British post-punk musicians Synth-pop singers Virgin Records artists

Early life and education

Career

Cowboys International

Solo career

Public Image Ltd

Independent Producer

Pnuma Recordings

Discography

Cowboys International

Solo

Related releases and collaborations

See also

References

External links