Silicon Teens were a British new wave

virtual band In entertainment, a virtual band (also called a virtual idol, virtual singer, virtual group, cartoon group, cartoon idol, cartoon singer or cartoon band) is a band or music group whose members are not depicted as corporeal musicians, but anima ...

. The project was the creation of

Mute Records Mute Records is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller (music producer), Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Einstürzende Neubauten, ...

founder Daniel Miller.

Frank Tovey Francis John Tovey (8 September 1956 – 3 April 2002), known also by his stage name Fad Gadget, was a British avant-garde music, avant-garde Electronic music, electronic musician and vocalist. He was a proponent of both New wave music, new wav ...

was the band's fictional frontman.

Background

The "group" were publicised as a quartet with members named Darryl, Jacki, Paul and Diane, but in reality these individuals did not exist and for media interviews their parts were played by actors, with the band's lead singer Darryl portrayed by musician

. Tovey did not perform on any Silicon Teens recordings; all vocals and instrumentation were actually provided by Daniel Miller. Miller also produced the recordings under the pseudonym "Larry Least", a play on the name of 1960s pop producer

Mickie Most Michael Peter Hayes (20 June 1938 – 30 May 2003), known as Mickie Most, was an English record producer behind scores of hit singles for acts such as the Animals, Herman's Hermits, the Nashville Teens, Donovan, Lulu, Suzi Quatro, Hot Choco ...

. The project was launched in 1979 with the single "

Memphis Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-m ...

", a cover of the

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined a ...

song. Two other singles followed; these were, along with other tracks, assembled into the 1980 album ''Music for Parties'', a collection mostly comprising

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

standards from the 1950s and 1960s, played in an upbeat

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

style. There were three original compositions on the album, one featuring a vocal ("TV Playtime") and two instrumentals ("Chip 'n' Roll", "State of Shock (Part 2)"). An additional original, "Sun Flight", appeared as a single B-side and was subsequently added to the CD reissue of the album. The video for the 1979 single "Memphis Tennessee" centres on the Sinking of the ''RMS Titanic''. The album and the singles "

Judy in Disguise "Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)" is a song that was a hit for the Louisiana-based John Fred, John Fred & His Playboy Band in late 1967. It was jointly composed by Fred and bandmate Andrew Bernard. Arrangements and content The song features strin ...

" and "

Just Like Eddie "Just Like Eddie" is a song by recording artist Heinz. The song was his second solo release after leaving the band The Tornados. Background The song was a tribute to American rock 'n' roll pioneer Eddie Cochran. The song was produced and engineere ...

" were top ten hits on the

UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the re ...

in 1980.Lazell, Barry (1998) ''Indie Hits 1980-1989'', Cherry Red Books, , p. 205 The "group" ceased activity after 1980, but film director John Hughes was so taken with it that their rendition of "

Red River Rock "Red River Valley" is a folk song and cowboy music standard of uncertain origins that has gone by different names (such as "Cowboy Love Song", "Bright Sherman Valley", "Bright Laurel Valley", "In the Bright Mohawk Valley", and "Bright Little Va ...

" (in a re-recorded version) can be heard in the film soundtrack of the

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominat ...

and

John Candy John Franklin Candy (October 31, 1950 – March 4, 1994) was a Canadian actor and comedian known mainly for his work in Hollywood films. Candy rose to fame in the 1970s as a member of the Toronto branch of the Second City and its '' SCTV'' ser ...

film ''

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles ''Planes, Trains and Automobiles'' is a 1987 American comedy film written, produced and directed by John Hughes and starring Steve Martin and John Candy with supporting roles by Laila Robins and Michael McKean. It tells the story of a high-strun ...

''. It was also issued as a single in 1988 in both the US and the UK. The band's rendition of "

You Really Got Me "You Really Got Me" is a song written by Ray Davies for English rock band the Kinks. The song, originally performed in a more blues-oriented style, was inspired by artists such as Lead Belly and Big Bill Broonzy. Two versions of the song ...

" was featured on a compilation album of new wave songs put out by French covers band

Nouvelle Vague French New Wave (french: La Nouvelle Vague) is a French art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentation and a spirit of iconocla ...

. The group is the subject of a song called "Silicon Teens" by The Pulsars on their 1997 album, ''Pulsars''.

Discography

Albums

*''Music for Parties'' (September 1980) – UK Indie No. 4

Singles

" / " Let's Dance" (August 1979) *"

" / "Chip 'n' Roll" – UK Indie No. 4 *"

" / "Sun Flight" – UK Indie No. 7

References

External links

Silicon Teens at Mute Records Official site
* ** ''Music for Parties'' Reviewbr>Silicon Teens Discography at discogs.com
English new wave musical groups English electronic music duos New wave duos Mute Records artists Sire Records artists Fictional characters invented for recorded music {{UK-pop-band-stub