Trevor Herion, born John Trevor Herion, (c. April 1959 – 1 October 1988) was an Irish singer and songwriter, born in Cork who formed part of the

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

and new wave scenes in the 1970s and 1980s. He later became a solo artist, but was not commercially successful and died in 1988.

Life and career

During the late 1970s, he was lead vocalist in a locally successful pub band called "The B-52s", who later changed their name to "The Puritans" on discovering the existence of the similarly named US band. Failure to land 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 act (artist or group), where the act makes an audio recording (or series of recordings) for the label to sell and ...

meant the band's dissolution but shortly after he was called to join as lead vocalist in a new wave band called the Civilians, comprised by

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 ...

(former Neo and

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 ...

) on drums, Mark Scholfield on guitar and Michael French on bass. The band only released two singles: ''Made for Television''/''I See My Friends'' (Arista, November 1979) and without Herion or Simon and featuring Michael French on lead vocals ''In America''/''In Search of Pleasure'' (Secret, September 1980). After that, the band broke up (Later, Scholfield and French formed Academy One). By 1980 or 1981, Herion and Simon reunited in another band, the Fallout Club, alongside former

Bruce Woolley Bruce Martin Woolley (born 11 November 1953) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He wrote songs with artists such as the Buggles and Grace Jones, including " Video Killed the Radio Star" and " Slave to the Rhythm", ...

and the Camera Club's

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 Me ...

and

Matthew Seligman Matthew Seligman (14 July 1955 – 17 April 2020) was an English bassist, best known for his association with the new wave music scene of the 1980s. Seligman was a member of the Soft Boys and the Thompson Twins, and was a sideman for Thomas ...

. They only released three singles, which were "Falling Years"/"The Beat Boys", "Dream Soldiers", "Pedestrian Walkway", "Wonderlust"/"Desert Song" (Happy Birthday Records, 1981). After Fallout Club broke up, Herion went solo. He released a number of singles and an unsuccessful

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

called ''Beauty Life'' (1983), an album produced by Steve Levine, best known for his work with

Culture Club Culture Club are an English new wave music, new wave band formed in London in 1981. The band comprises Boy George (lead vocals), Roy Hay (musician), Roy Hay (guitar and keyboards), and Mikey Craig (bass guitar), and formerly included Jon Moss ( ...

. The sleeve of ''Beauty Life'' and its singles were designed by famed

Factory Records Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus. The label featured several important acts on its roster, including Joy Division, New Order (band), New Order, A Certain Ra ...

designer Peter Saville. Nevertheless, an argument over the unauthorised remixing of a 7" version resulted in Levine taking his name off the album and refusing to promote it. During the 1980s, Herion began to suffer from

severe depression Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Introd ...

. He died from suicide on 1 October 1988 at the age of 29.

Discography

Studio album * ''Beauty Life'' (1983) Singles * "Kiss of No Return" (1982) * "Dreamtime" (1983) * "Fallen Angel" (1983) * "Love Chains" (1983)

References

External links

Trevor Herion — ''Forever Young''
Fledgling Trevor Herion tribute web * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Herion, Trevor 1959 births 20th-century Irish male singers Irish new wave musicians 1988 suicides 1988 deaths Suicides in the Republic of Ireland Musicians from County Cork