Blancmange are an English synthpop duo from Harrow, Middlesex, England that consisted of singer Neil Arthur (born on June 15, 1958 in Darwen, Lancashire, England) and instrumentalists Stephen Luscombe (born on October 29, 1954 in Hillingdon, Middlesex, England) & Laurence Stevens.
The band was formed in 1979. Laurence left the band shortly after it was formed, leaving Neil and Stephen as a duo.
In 1980, they released their first EP "Irene and Mavis." The duo earned their first real exposure when they were featured on a track on the album "Some Bizzare Album" along with music acts Soft Cell and Depeche Mode. This later led to Neil and Stephen signing a record deal with London Records.
In 1982, Blancmange released the double A-sided single "God's Kitchen/I've Seen the World" which peaked at #65 on the U.K. Singles chart. Their second single "Feel Me" fared better, peaking at #46 on the U.K. Singles chart.
In September of 1982, Blancmange released their debut album "Happy Families" which peaked at #30 on the U.K. Albums chart. The album was certified Gold.
Their third single "Living on the Ceiling" became a hit, peaking at #7 on the U.K. Singles chart. In the United States, the song managed to peak at #52 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart (along with "Feel Me").
The song was certified Silver by the BPI for sales in excess of 200,000 copies. One of the lyrics in the song "up the bloody tree" was edited as "up the cuckoo tree" on BBC radio and when the duo performed the song on "Top of the Pops."
The last single from Blancmange's debut album "Waves" was moderately successful, peaking at #19 on the U.K. Singles chart.
In 1984, the duo released their second album "Mange Tout" which peaked at #8 on the U.K. Albums chart. The album become Blancmange's most successful album to date. It was certified Gold by the BPI for sales in excess of 100,000 copies.
The first single from the album "Blind Vision" peaked at #10 on the U.K. Singles chart. The song also peaked at #3 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.
The second single "That's Love, That Is" peaked at #33 on the U.K. Singles chart. It also managed to peak at #16 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart (along with the song "Game Above My Head").
The third single from the album "Don't Tell Me" peaked at #8 on the U.K. Singles chart and #44 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.
The last single from the album, a cover version of ABBA's single "The Day Before You Came" peaked at #22 on the U.K. Singles chart which was slightly higher than when ABBA's version was released two years earlier.
In 1985, Blancmange released their third album "Believe You Me" which peaked at #54 on the U.K. Albums chart and stayed on the chart for only two weeks. The lead single from the album "What's Your Problem" peaked at #40 on the U.K. Singles chart.
The follow-up single "Lose Your Love" peaked at a low #77 on the U.K. Singles chart, but managed to peak at #2 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart and #36 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart (along with the song "Ave Maria").
The last single from the album "I Can See It" peaked at #71 on the U.K. Singles chart. In 1987, Blancmange disbanded.
In 1989, Stephen released an album of Indian-influenced music entitled "New Demons" along with Pandit Dinesh, Peter Culshaw, Priya Khajuria and Asha Bhosle under the name "West India Company." In 1994, Neil released his solo album "Suitcase."
In 2011 (26 years after the release of their last album), Blancmange released their fourth album "Blanc Burn" which peaked at #163 on the U.K. Albums chart.
In July of 2013, Blancmange announced on their official website that they will be going on tour in November across the United Kingdom. They'll also be releasing a new album "Happy Families Too" that features updated recordings of their 1982 debut album.
Blancmange's new album will only be available on their tour, but a digital download will soon follow.
To see Blancmange's official website, go to:
http://www.blancmange.co.uk/To see Blancmange's official Facebook page, go to:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Blancmange/116356598425703To follow Blancmange on Twitter, go to:
https://twitter.com/_blancmange_
To see the music video for "Living on the Ceiling," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ8qPOk0ZvcTo see the music video for "Blind Vision," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YAvhMTgE8oTo see the music video for "Lose Your Love," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N81UChK78WYTo see the music video for "That's Love That Is," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qadZXcN0brcTo see a fan-made video for "Don't Tell Me," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YS_dDg_Dx10To see the music video for "The Day Before You Came," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFNs_-LGgQsTo see the music video for "Waves," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbMi1Wg3uQUTo see a fan-made video for "God's Kitchen," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gArgTD2PQB0
