GoldCoaster (talk | contribs) alias is for other "professional" names he has used, associated acts are bands he prominently worked in/with not just people he knew, and the website URL is still unofficial. |
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| Background = solo_singer |
| Background = solo_singer |
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| Birth_name = Peter Anthony Robinson |
| Birth_name = Peter Anthony Robinson |
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| Alias = |
| Alias = Maz, Mazda |
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| Born = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1962|11|3}}<br>[[Kingston, Jamaica]] |
| Born = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1962|11|3}}<br>[[Kingston, Jamaica]] |
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| Origin = [[London]], U.K. |
| Origin = [[London]], U.K. |
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| Years_active = 1982–present |
| Years_active = 1982–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 = [[Boy George]]<br>[[Band_Aid_(band)|Band Aid]] |
| Associated_acts = [[Haysi Fantayzee]]<br>[[Culture Club]]<br>[[Boy George]]<br>[[Band_Aid_(band)|Band Aid]] |
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| URL = |
| URL = [http://www.themrmarilyn.com/ TheMrMarilyn.com] |
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}} |
}} |
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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. |
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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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)" |
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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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. 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. |
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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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. |
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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! width="40" bgcolor="#CCCCCC" | <small>[[Australien|AUS]] </small> |
! width="40" bgcolor="#CCCCCC" | <small>[[Australien|AUS]] </small> |
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! width="40" bgcolor="#CCCCCC" | <small>[[Neuseeland|NZ]] </small> |
! width="40" bgcolor="#CCCCCC" | <small>[[Neuseeland|NZ]] </small> |
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! width="40" bgcolor="#CCCCCC" | <small>[[Japan|JP]] </small> |
! width="40" bgcolor="#CCCCCC" | <small>[[Japan|JP]] </small> |
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! width="40" bgcolor="#CCCCCC" | <small>[[Ireland|IE]] </small> |
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! width="40" bgcolor="#CCCCCC" | <small>[[Italy|IT]] </small> |
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Revision as of 21:09, 28 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 to work on an album for James Cleveland. He teamed up with songwriter and pop entrepreneur Paul Caplin, with whom he co-wrote "Calling Your Name". 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.
Marilyn, now in his forties, lives quietly with his mother in North London.
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
Jahr | Titel | Charts | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK | US | D | A | CH | SV | NL | F | P | NOR | FIN | DK | AUS | NZ | JP | ||
Singles | ||||||||||||||||
1983 | Calling Your Name | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | — | 1 |
1984 | Cry And Be Free | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
1984 | You Don't Love Me | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
1985 | Baby U Left Me (In The Cold) | 70 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
1985 | Pray For That Sunshine | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 47 | — | — | 52 | — | — | — |
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)