I never said all of the records on this list had to be good!
After masterminding the controversial ascent of the Sex Pistols and Bow Wow Wow, where does a subversive pop svengali go? When the eulogies were flooding in for Malcolm McLaren, I don't recall anyone mentioning his role as manager of Jimmy The Hoover. The band swam in the murky slipstream of Culture Club, sharing their producer (Steve Levine) who gave them a similarly exotic pop lilt. CBS subsidiary Innervision (then also home to Wham!) signed the band and released "Tantalise (Wo Wo Ee Yeh Yeh)". It was the group's sole hit, reaching number 18 in the UK in 1983. Derek Jarman directed the video, but probably erased it from his CV soon afterwards.
It's probably best not to speculate as to the origin of the band's name, but there was no 'Jimmy'. The vocals came courtesy of one Derek Dunbar - an un-popstar-ish name if ever there was one. Legend has it that the band's career took a serious nosedive when Derek replaced his floppy blonde haircut (popular with the girls, apparently) with a severe mohican (teen magazines didn't want to know). There were also the visa problems of Zambian bassist Flinto Chandia, who is now a celebrated sculptor. McLaren's attention was possibly diverted by his own 'Duck Rock' project and after just a few singles, the plug was pulled on Jimmy The Hoover.
No comments:
Post a Comment