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| Instrument = [[singer|Vocals]] |
| Instrument = [[singer|Vocals]] |
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| Occupation = [[Singer-songwriter]], [[Entertainer]] |
| Occupation = [[Singer-songwriter]], [[Entertainer]] |
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| Years_active = |
| Years_active = 1983–present |
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| Label = [[Phonogram Records|Phonogram]] <small>(1983–1985)</small><br> [[Interbeat]] <small>(1989)</small><br> [[Desilu Records]] <small>(2000)</small><br> [[Cherry Red Records|Cherry Red]] <small>(2008)</small><br> |
| Label = [[Phonogram Records|Phonogram]] <small>(1983–1985)</small><br> [[Interbeat]] <small>(1989)</small><br> [[Desilu Records]] <small>(2000)</small><br> [[Cherry Red Records|Cherry Red]] <small>(2008)</small><br> |
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| Associated_acts = |
| Associated_acts = [[Band Aid]] |
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| URL = |
| URL = |
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}} |
}} |
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==Biography== |
==Biography== |
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Marilyn was a part of the British [[New Romantic]] movement which emerged in the late 1970s and was popularised in the very early 1980s. [[Boy George]] and Marilyn were regulars at 'The Blitz' nightclub (regulars being labelled as [[Blitz Kids]]), a highly stylised nightclub in London run by [[Steve Strange]] of the musical group [[Visage]], and a place which spawned many early 1980s pop stars such as [[Spandau Ballet]]. Marilyn was introduced to [[Boy George]] through a mutual friend, [[Philip Sallon]]. Boy George and Marilyn moved into a squat in [[Kentish Town]], a suburb of London. Boy George claims they were later chased out by a neighbour who tried to break down the front door with an axe because the neighbour was attracted to Marilyn, whom he assumed was a woman and later found out he was a man <ref>Boy George, ''Take It Like A Man,'' 1995</ref>. Also according to George, Marilyn once attempted to seduce David Bowie at a nightclub venue called "Legends", but was rebuffed <ref>Boy George, ''Take It Like A Man,'' 1995</ref>. |
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Fame spreads like a virus. Just as [[Boy George]] was popping eyes and turning heads with [[Culture Club]], the record companies and their minions were eager to sign any of his squat-dwelling partners in gender crime. Marilyn was Blanche to the Boy's Baby Jane. His iconic appearance in the [[Eurythmics]]' "[[Who%27s_That_Girl%3F_(Eurythmics_song)|Who's That Girl?]]" video proved an alluring one. This was a pretty boy who looked like a dead screen siren, who amped the whole arena of gender expectations. Marilyn was the Candy Darling of the [[Blitz_Kids|Blitz]] crew. Where make-up merely hid the plain truth lurking beneath the facades that were [[Steve Strange]] and [[Boy George]], Marilyn had beauty on his side. A provocative siren who fooled many into believing they'd pulled a girl until it was too late, Marilyn was a thorn in the side of convention. Suddenly a select aspect of club-life was confounding the tabloid notions of the British public. A maverick genie was getting famous and threatening the very fabric of convention. |
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While Boy George went on to form [[Culture Club]] in 1981 and secured a recording deal with [[Virgin Records]], Marilyn was still scouting for a recording contract and had relocated to Los Angeles for some time with his then partner {{fact}}. He teamed up with songwriter and pop entrepreneur [[Paul Caplin]], with whom he co-wrote "Calling Your Name", "Cry and Be Free", "You Don't Love Me" and several other songs. By this point Culture Club had made a commercial impact with their debut album, and record companies were seriously looking for artists with a similar cross-dressing image. |
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Signed after a heated flurry of interest, things had initially seemed certain to succeed. His debut single, "Calling Your Name," had done brisk business, a smash across Europe and #1 in Japan. It seemed that this gender-bending entity would have a lasting career, but Marilyn being Marilyn didn't help. His next single, "Cry And Be Free," hit the charts at #31, but his coy appearance in a black monastic robe was just a little too much for the [[Top_of_the_Pops|Top of the Pops]] audience, and the record slid down the listings. [[Boy George]], with whom Marilyn endured an at times explosive friendship, referred to it as "Try And Be Me." It is one of those quirks of unfair fate that "You Don't Love Me," the follow-up, a delicious catchy piece of pure pop, failed to chart. |
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Following an appearance in the [[music video|video]] for [[Eurythmics]] [[hit single]], "[[Who's That Girl? (Eurythmics song)|Who's That Girl?]]" (1983), which garnered him considerable press attention, Marilyn was signed to [[Phonogram Records]] and released "Calling Your Name" in November 1983. The song reached #4 on the [[UK Singles Chart]], #3 in Australia, and #1 in Japan. The [[lyrics]] to the song were reportedly aimed at Boy George, with whom Marilyn was now having a stormy off-and-on friendship. He also released the singles "Cry and Be Free" and "You Don't Love Me" in 1984, with less success. |
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A pretty face with decent material was unraveling, a financial liability. Marilyn was shipped to the States to work with [[Don_Was|Don Was]], but the resulting single, "Baby U Left Me (In The Cold," was his last U.K. chart entry, peaking at #70. By the time [[Despite_Straight_Lines|Despite Straight Lines]] hit the racks in 1985, [[Mercury Records]] were at a loss about how to proceed with the nose-diving of Marilyn's career. |
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In November 1984, he took part in the [[Band Aid (band)|Band Aid]] charity record project "[[Do They Know It's Christmas?]]" with various other musicians of the era. |
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Personal problems quickly engulfed Marilyn as his career floundered. Drugs took their toll, and the attempts to leave the dead screen legend persona behind backfired. People knew the Marilyn they wanted, and it wasn't the pinstripe-suited man on the cover of the album. The hanging out days with [[Diana Ross]] and [[Andy Warhol]] evaporated, and for years he was excavated by those who wished to question him about the '80s, [[Boy George]], or both. Then the musical [[Taboo_(musical)|Taboo]] brought his youthful excesses into a fresher limelight. |
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Marilyn's début album ''[[Despite Straight Lines]]'' was released in June 1985, featuring his three previous hits and a new single, "Baby U Left Me (In the Cold)". The new single and the album were commercial failures in the UK, though found a modest audience in other parts of the world. A fifth single from the album, ''Pray For That Sunshine'' was also unsuccessful. |
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The Marilyn who stepped forward was a saddening sight, vulnerable and broken, his looks a memorable distance from the reality he now inhabited. [[Agoraphobia|Agoraphobic]], suffering from years of heroin excess, and the ravages of mental illness, he cast a haunting and haunted presence. Now the reissue of his sole album, with copious bonus tracks, displays a consummate talent who could write a memorable melody. The deviant diva deserves greater recognition for his obvious abilities, and this album is a real pleasure, sublime blue-eyed soul at its best. A postcard intimating what might have followed, had he managed the ravages of immediate success a little better. If pop is about that brief transcendent moment, then Marilyn was the ultimate pop visitation. Contentious, fabulous, and intoxicating, it really couldn't last. That it happened, albeit briefly, is enough. |
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Despite the initial collaborations between Boy George and Marilyn, their on-and-off friendship became increasingly strained due to fame and drug-related problems. On 9 July 1986, Marilyn along with Boy George's brother Kevin O'Dowd were sentenced at [[Marylebone]] Magistrates Court on a charge of possessing [[heroin]]. The resultant media fallout of Marilyn's drug addiction and his publicised disputes with Boy George damaged his public image. Coupled with the changing tastes of the public who had begun to eschew the New Romantic artists as an early 80s fad, Marilyn's music career never recovered. While attempting to record a follow-up album to ''Despite Straight Lines'' with the record producer [[Don Was]] in [[Detroit, Michigan]], with little record company support, Marilyn's finances were drained to the point of having to work regular jobs outside of music. He then retired from the industry until 2001, when he made a series of club appearances. |
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Marilyn, now in his forties, lives quietly with his mother in North London. - Robert Cochrane |
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In October 2005, Marilyn appeared on the [[Channel 4]] documentary ''Whatever Happened to the Gender Benders?'', in which he discussed his ongoing mental health problems including his struggle with [[agoraphobia]], and his fight against long-term drug use. Ravaged by his addiction and looking extremely unwell, Marilyn struggled to be coherent in the interview and, in stark contrast to his youth and glamour during the New Romantic era, the documentary highlighted the devastating effects that fame, fortune, addiction and mental illness have taken on him. |
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As a result of his ill-health and financial problems, Marilyn now lives a secluded life in his mother's home in north London. In November 2007, Marilyn was using his official [[MySpace]] [[blog]] to ask fans to send money to enable him to buy a new computer. |
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==Discography== |
==Discography== |
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;Albums |
;Albums |
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*[[1985_in_music|1985]] [[Despite Straight Lines]] (LP/MC, [[Mercury_Records|Mercury]]) |
*[[1985_in_music|1985]] [[Despite Straight Lines]] (LP/MC, [[Mercury_Records|Mercury]]) (reissued on CD in 2008 as ''Despite Straight Lines: The Very Best Of Marilyn'' by [[Cherry Red Records]]) |
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*[[2008_in_music|2008]] [[Despite Straight Lines: The Very Best Of Marilyn]] (CD, [[Cherry Red]]) |
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;Singles |
;Singles |
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*[[2002_in_music|2002]] Sooner Or Later (Fanclub only Release) |
*[[2002_in_music|2002]] Sooner Or Later (Fanclub only Release) |
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*[[2003_in_music|2003]] Hold On Tight (Fanclub only Release) |
*[[2003_in_music|2003]] Hold On Tight (Fanclub only Release) |
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==Compilation contributions== |
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[[1983_in_music|1983]] High Life, [[1984_in_music|1984]] Monstruo, [[1984_in_music|1984]] [[Throbbin'_'84|Throbbin' 84]], [[1984_in_music|1984]] Hits On CD Volume 2, [[1985_in_music|1985]] Formula 30, [[1985_in_music|1985]] Band Aid Special, [[1985_in_music|1985]] Turn It Up '85, [[1994_in_music|1994]] Nice & Sleazy: A Celebration Of Sleaze!, [[1995_in_music|1995]] Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits Of The '80s Vol. 12, [[1996_in_music|1996]] We Are The 80's Vol. 2, [[1998_in_music|1998]] Music For Heroes: The New Romantic Collection, [[1998_in_music|1998]] Echoes Of Darkness Volume 2, [[1998_in_music|1998]] One Hit Wonders CD3, [[2002_in_music|2002]] Eighties, [[2002_in_music|2002]] Best Of The 80's · 1984, [[2004_in_music|2004]] FriendsReunited.co.uk: The class of... 1983, [[2005_in_music|2005]] Electric 80s, [[2006_in_music|2006]] Mastermix Classic Cuts 69: One Hit Wonders, [[2008_in_music|2008]] The Edge Of The Eighties, [[2008_in_music|2008]] Countdown: One Hit Wonders, [[2008_in_music|2008]] The Ultimate Collection: Eighties (100 Hits) |
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==Collaborations== |
==Collaborations== |
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| [[1983]] |
| [[1983]] |
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| Calling Your Name |
| Calling Your Name |
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==Coverversions== |
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'''Marilyn''' covers... |
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*[[1985_in_music|1985]] ''I Ain't Been Licked'' by [[Diana Ross]] |
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*[[2002_in_music|2002]] ''Spirit In The Sky'' by [[Norman Greenbaum]] |
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*[[2002_in_music|2002]] ''Sooner Or Later'' by [[Sylvester James]] |
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*[[2003_in_music|2003]] ''[[O-o-h_Child|Ooh Child]]'' by [[Five_Stairsteps|The Stairsteps]] |
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Artists who covered '''Marilyn''' |
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*[[1989_in_music|1989]] ''Give It Up'' by Eric And The Good Good Feeling |
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*[[1998_in_music|1998]] ''Drive Me Crazy'' an adaption to ''Baby U Left Me (In The Cold)'' by Smash 'n' Grab |
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*[[1999_in_music|1999]] ''Calling Your Name'' by [[AJB]] |
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*[[2000_in_music|2000]] ''Calling Your Name / Land Of Make Believe (Megamix)'' by [[AJB]] |
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==Music videos== |
==Music videos== |
Revision as of 19:05, 27 February 2009
Marilyn |
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Peter Robinson (born 3 November 1962), better known as Marilyn, is a British pop singer who achieved international fame in the 1980s with his hit song "Calling Your Name".
Biography
Marilyn was a part of the British New Romantic movement which emerged in the late 1970s and was popularised in the very early 1980s. Boy George and Marilyn were regulars at 'The Blitz' nightclub (regulars being labelled as Blitz Kids), a highly stylised nightclub in London run by Steve Strange of the musical group Visage, and a place which spawned many early 1980s pop stars such as Spandau Ballet. Marilyn was introduced to Boy George through a mutual friend, Philip Sallon. Boy George and Marilyn moved into a squat in Kentish Town, a suburb of London. Boy George claims they were later chased out by a neighbour who tried to break down the front door with an axe because the neighbour was attracted to Marilyn, whom he assumed was a woman and later found out he was a man [1]. Also according to George, Marilyn once attempted to seduce David Bowie at a nightclub venue called "Legends", but was rebuffed [2].
While Boy George went on to form Culture Club in 1981 and secured a recording deal with Virgin Records, Marilyn was still scouting for a recording contract and had relocated to Los Angeles for some time with his then partner [citation needed]. He teamed up with songwriter and pop entrepreneur Paul Caplin, with whom he co-wrote "Calling Your Name", "Cry and Be Free", "You Don't Love Me" and several other songs. By this point Culture Club had made a commercial impact with their debut album, and record companies were seriously looking for artists with a similar cross-dressing image.
Following an appearance in the video for Eurythmics hit single, "Who's That Girl?" (1983), which garnered him considerable press attention, Marilyn was signed to Phonogram Records and released "Calling Your Name" in November 1983. The song reached #4 on the UK Singles Chart, #3 in Australia, and #1 in Japan. The lyrics to the song were reportedly aimed at Boy George, with whom Marilyn was now having a stormy off-and-on friendship. He also released the singles "Cry and Be Free" and "You Don't Love Me" in 1984, with less success.
In November 1984, he took part in the Band Aid charity record project "Do They Know It's Christmas?" with various other musicians of the era.
Marilyn's début album Despite Straight Lines was released in June 1985, featuring his three previous hits and a new single, "Baby U Left Me (In the Cold)". The new single and the album were commercial failures in the UK, though found a modest audience in other parts of the world. A fifth single from the album, Pray For That Sunshine was also unsuccessful.
Despite the initial collaborations between Boy George and Marilyn, their on-and-off friendship became increasingly strained due to fame and drug-related problems. On 9 July 1986, Marilyn along with Boy George's brother Kevin O'Dowd were sentenced at Marylebone Magistrates Court on a charge of possessing heroin. The resultant media fallout of Marilyn's drug addiction and his publicised disputes with Boy George damaged his public image. Coupled with the changing tastes of the public who had begun to eschew the New Romantic artists as an early 80s fad, Marilyn's music career never recovered. While attempting to record a follow-up album to Despite Straight Lines with the record producer Don Was in Detroit, Michigan, with little record company support, Marilyn's finances were drained to the point of having to work regular jobs outside of music. He then retired from the industry until 2001, when he made a series of club appearances.
In October 2005, Marilyn appeared on the Channel 4 documentary Whatever Happened to the Gender Benders?, in which he discussed his ongoing mental health problems including his struggle with agoraphobia, and his fight against long-term drug use. Ravaged by his addiction and looking extremely unwell, Marilyn struggled to be coherent in the interview and, in stark contrast to his youth and glamour during the New Romantic era, the documentary highlighted the devastating effects that fame, fortune, addiction and mental illness have taken on him.
As a result of his ill-health and financial problems, Marilyn now lives a secluded life in his mother's home in north London. In November 2007, Marilyn was using his official MySpace blog to ask fans to send money to enable him to buy a new computer.
Discography
- Albums
- 1985 Despite Straight Lines (LP/MC, Mercury) (reissued on CD in 2008 as Despite Straight Lines: The Very Best Of Marilyn by Cherry Red Records)
- Singles
- 1983 Calling Your Name (Mercury)
- 1984 Cry And Be Free (Mercury)
- 1984 You Don't Love Me (Mercury)
- 1985 Baby U Left Me (In The Cold) (Mercury)
- 1985 Pray For That Sunshine (Mercury)
- 1989 Sooner Or Later (Interbeat)
- 2000 How Could I Live (Desilu Records)
- 2002 Spirit In The Sky (Fanclub only Release)
- 2002 Sooner Or Later (Fanclub only Release)
- 2003 Hold On Tight (Fanclub only Release)
Collaborations
- 1984 with Band Aid on Do They Know It's Christmas?
- 1995 with Boy George on Cheapness And Beauty
Charts
Year | Title | Charts | ||||||||||||||
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UK | US | D | A | CH | SV | NL | F | P | NOR | FIN | DK | AUS | NZ | JP | ||
Singles | ||||||||||||||||
1983 | Calling Your Name | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | 1 |
1984 | Cry And Be Free | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
1984 | You Don't Love Me | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
1985 | Baby U Left Me (In The Cold) | 70 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Music videos
- 1979 Witches' Song with Marianne Faithful (Director: Derek Jarman)
- 1983 Who's That Girl? with Eurythmics (Director: Duncan Gibbins)
- 1983 Calling Your Name
- 1984 Cry And Be Free (Director: Marcelo Anciano)
- 1984 You Don't Love Me (Director: Nigel Dick)
- 1984 Do They Know It's Christmas? with Band Aid (Director: Nigel Dick)
- 1985 Baby U Left Me (In The Cold) - 2 different versions exist.
- 2008 Yes We Can with Boy George (Director: Pat 'Ladypat' Maloney)