Fad Gadget
Frank Tovey ( born September 8, 1956 in London, † April 3, 2002 ibid; actually John Francis Tovey ) was a British musician and pioneer of the British New Wave movement. He was also known by his pseudonym Fad Gadget.
The early years ( 1974-78 )
1974 Tovey visited a London art school, where he primarily focused on photography, film and performance. A year later, he enrolled at the prestigious Fine Arts in Leeds Polytechnic one, here also the first ideas to his early performance gigs emerged. In the years 1976 to 1978 Tovey spoke with odd jobs and working way to his first own songs. At a concert of the band Monochrome Set he learned label boss Daniel Miller know, the beginning of a fruitful and long-term cooperation.
Time as Fad Gadget ( 1979-84 )
Published in 1979 under the pseudonym Fad Gadget Tovey his debut single Back to Nature. Gadget was the first artist of the newly founded by Daniel Miller Mute Records label. There were other gadget singles like Ricky's hand, Fireside Favourite, Make Room / Lady Shave or Collapsing New People (the last single with the Berlin-based band Einstürzende Neubauten as a guest musician ). Until 1984, published four albums Gadget Fireside Favourites ( 1980), Incontinent (1981 ), Under the Flag (1982) and Gag (1984).
In 1980, the then-unknown band Depeche Mode in the opening act of gadget. After that concert Depeche Mode were taken at Mute Records. For gadget but the great success was largely. Despite the high recognition he enjoys in the electronic music scene of the 1980s, his reputation remained rather low.
Frank Tovey ( 1986-92 )
In 1986, Tovey his alter ego " Fad Gadget " surprising and from now appeared under his real name. The album " Snakes and Ladders" was still in place of " gag " recognizable, but the impending change of style was unmistakable. " Civilian " (1988), his next studio album, was a significant departure from the original Fad Gadget sound. More guitars and strong percussions were nothing left of the synth-pop image, the quality of the songs, however, remained the same. Also lyrically did not change much: serious issues with a touch of black humor continued to dominate Tovey's repertoire.
In 1989 the album " Tyranny and the hired hand ". As a folk album with versions of traditional songs like " Sam Hall ", " '31 Depression Blues ", " Joe Hill ", " 16 Tons " it marked a radical change in style again. In 1991 he was the "Grand Union ". This album also marked by an increasingly diverse instrumentation with guitars, banjos and even jew's harp. He was supported in this case, as with his next album, of "The Pyro ".
The last studio album was released a year later under the title " Worried Men in Second Hand Suits ". Musically, it followed on from the previous, but had significantly more blues elements.
Comeback ( 2001/ 02)
For many years it was quiet around Frank Tovey until he called " Fad Gadget " again appeared at several festivals in 2001. As a musician, he won " TEMPLEX " to the album he produced. From September 2001, Frank Tovey played the opening act for Depeche Mode Exciter tour in Europe. With its parallel appearing Best Of album and the following early 2002 solo tour to a successful comeback announced.
However, Frank Tovey died unexpectedly at the age of 45 years due to heart failure at his home in London. Since his childhood he suffered from a heart defect. Despite its influence on the development of New Wave and synth pop Tovey could never extend outside the scene its notoriety.
The Estate (2006)
On September 11, 2006, a comprehensive work with 2 DVDs and 2 CDs was released. It is titled Fad Gadget by Frank Tovey and contains, among other things, two complete concerts (Manchester 1984 / London 2002), all promo videos, TV appearances, unreleased tracks, demo tapes and a detailed documentation about Frank's career, which also companion as Daniel Miller, Anton Corbijn and Depeche Mode have their say. The driving force behind this album was Frank's family (his wife Barbara, his daughter Morgan and his son, Joseph ). They have compiled the documentation and worked closely with mute together with the selection of the content. It is the first official video release of Fad Gadget, and our first live album. Until then there were only two live tracks as B-sides in the early 1980s.