Strange Cruise was a short-lived 1980s British

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, ear ...

group, fronted by former

Visage Visage may refer to: *A synonym of face *Visage Mobile, an American software as a service company *Visage, Georgia, a community in the United States * ''Visage'' (film), also known as ''Face'', a 2009 French film * ''Visage'' (video game), a surv ...

singer

Steve Strange Stephen John Harrington (28 May 1959 – 12 February 2015), known professionally as Steve Strange, was a Welsh singer. From the late 1970s he was a nightclub host and promoter. He became famous as the leader of the new wave synth-pop group V ...

and Wendy Cruise (aka Wendy Wu, the former singer of

the Photos The Photos were an English new wave band fronted by Wendy Wu, who had a top 5 album in the UK Albums Chart in 1980. History The Photos were originally a punk band named Satan's Rats that formed in Evesham, Worcestershire in 1977, with the f ...

). The band released only one, self-titled album in 1986.

History

After the flop of the third

album, ''

Beat Boy ''Beat Boy'' is the third studio album by the British new wave band Visage. It was recorded at Trident Studios between 1982 and 1983 and released on Polydor Records in October 1984 (delayed by contractual problems the band were having at that t ...

'', and while temporarily staying off heroin after rehab,

formed a new band. Strange Cruise, contrarily to Visage, was expected to be a live touring band, initially involving

Pete Pete or Petes or ''variation'', may refer to: People * Pete (given name) * Pete (nickname) * Pete (surname) Fictional characters * Pete (Disney), a cartoon character in the ''Mickey Mouse'' universe * Pete the Pup (a.k.a. 'Petey'), a charact ...

Gary Gary may refer to: *Gary (given name), a common masculine given name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name *Gary, Indiana, the largest city named Gary Places ;Iran *Gary, Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Province ;Unit ...

and Steve Barnacle (all of whom had worked with Visage), as well as

Steve New Stella Nova, born Stephen Charles New (16 May 1960 – 24 May 2010), was an English guitarist and singer who performed with a number of punk rock and new wave bands in the late 1970s and early 1980s, including the Rich Kids. In the 2000s, s ...

. In a 1985 interview for the West German TV show ''

Musikladen ''Der Musikladen'' (german: The Music Shop) was a West German music television programme that ran from 13 December 1972 to 29 November 1984. The show continued the 1960s '' Beat-Club'' under a new name, and in turn was replaced by ''Extratour'' ...

'', Steve Strange stated that model Leza Cruz was also a singer and member of the band and that their first single would be a cover of

Sonny & Cher Sonny & Cher were an American pop and entertainment duo in the 1960s and 1970s, made up of husband and wife Sonny Bono and Cher. The couple started their career in the mid-1960s as rhythm and blues, R&B backing singers for record producer Phil Spe ...

's " The Beat Goes On". Cruz, a model and muse for

Jean-Paul Gaultier Jean Paul Gaultier (; born 24 April 1952) is a French haute couture and prêt-à-porter fashion designer. He is described as an "enfant terrible" of the fashion industry and is known for his unconventional designs with motifs including corsets, ...

at the time, did not end up recording with the band, and Wendy Cruise (aka Wendy Wu) sang the vocals with Strange.Strong, Michael Charles. ''The Great Indie Discography'', Edinburgh: Canongate, 2003 The band went to Germany to record an album with

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 rock ...

. The lead single, "Rebel Blue Rocker", was released in February 1986, but Strange claimed that their record company

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 2012, ...

failed to promote it, and it was commercially unsuccessful. The group's album, '' Strange Cruise'', as well as the second single, "The Beat Goes On", were also unsuccessful, and the group disbanded.

Discography

Albums

* 1986: '' Strange Cruise''

Singles

* 1986: "Rebel Blue Rocker" * 1986: "The Beat Goes On"

References

{{reflist English pop rock music groups EMI Records artists Musical groups established in 1985 Musical groups disestablished in 1986 Musical groups from London 1985 establishments in England