Fellow Lancastrians Blancmange have been busy in the studio. Don't know what it is, but there is something very special about an electronic song sung with a North-West English accent. :-) "What did you find" sounds very Foxx-like.

Blancmange myspace page

Yay! Good old Blancmange. I love 'em. 'Living on the Ceiling' is currently on a TV advert, but I can't think what it's for...I heard it in the background last night.

'Don't Tell Me' is one of my all time favourites, and to hear the words 'Barrrbara Carrrtland' rolled in such a fantastic way in 'The Day Before You Came' still makes me smile!

Sarah

I LOVE Blancmange too! I was just dancing around to Blind Vision

Nice to see Blancmange still around in verious ways. They have a great sense of humour and are the malteasers of electronic music. The lighter way to listen to synths.

I saw Blancmange once back in '84. It's a little off-topic, but they were supported by a synth duo called Portion Control. I preferred Portion Contol to Blancmange, though all I knew of them were a few tracks I had recorded from Radio 1 sessions.

I googled Portion Control a while back and it seems that they have reformed. They seem to have been quite influential for an unheralded band and their six albums have been reissued as a box-set, only, which makes checking them out prohibitive.

Anyone here have any of their albums or even bought the box-set?

I saw Blancmange support JAPAN @ Portsmouth Guildhall. I think it was the 'Sons Of Pioneers' tour. David Rhodes played guitar for Blancmange & Japan on this tour. Blancmange were rather good too.

Can anyone recommend a good start point for getting into Blancmange? Cheers.

Probably the nursery school Christmas party.

Saw Blancmange support Depeche Mode just after Vince had left,just before the released "Gods Kitchen"
Their version of "The day before you came" was a bigger hit here in the UK than the original,and that cheeky grin at the end is brilliant

For me it would have to be their first album "Happy Families" great collection of songs

Neil Arthur was involved with The Bhutan Philharmonic recently. The self titled CD is an eastern influenced electro dance pop thingy ma jiggy. Very good it is too.

I've got the compilation 'Second Helpings' and that's got a good mix of stuff on there.

I've got a live DVD of theirs too - and it's a hoot. I regret not having seem them live, as I really do love their stuff....

Sarah

Blancmange are back!? Great news!

Would second Sarah's reccommendation for Second Helpings. I'd have to say Game Above My Head is my favourite Blancmange track.

I only know Living On the Ceiling...

Me too, Alex.

Yes, definitely 'Second Helpings' - you get Living on the Ceiling and their remarkable cover of The Day Before You Came, and many many more.

Mind I think they've been 'coming back' for ages now .. it's one of the reasons I discovered myspace - them and another artist called John Foxx

My fave Blancmange track would have to be "Lorraine's My Nurse", as quirky as a whole bag of quirky things on a bus to Quirkytown.

I loved how in their version of The Day Before You Came, at the point where he sings "There's not, I think, a single episode of Dallas that I didn't see", they throw in a few bars of the theme tune from Coronation Street. For those of you not raised in the UK, Coronation Street is a soap that's been on TV since before TV was invented. Nice touch, as subtle as a.....you get the picture!

Ô¿Ô

Remember The Day Before You Came is an Abba cover.

Having a look at Amazon there's a new collection out called 'The Platinum Collection' has all the same tracks as 'Second Helpings' plus around seven extra tracks.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Platinum-Collect...08275043&sr=1-1

ooh nice ..
the review says it's better sound quality too ..

Malcolm Ross played guitar on some Blancmange tracks.
I loved him in Josef K and to a somewhat lesser extent Orange Juice

Off topic for a moment,funnily enough I went to see Paul Haig perform his first full live gig in over 16 years last Sunday in Edinburgh,top stuff but far too short a gig,just 11 songs

Did someone get the Blackadder box-set as an emigrating pressie?

Didn't need it! We have a satellite channel over here called BBC Prime that shows lots of BBC classics (and Father Ted, which is weird as it was on Channel 4) and they just showed the entire four series of Blackadder, one episode per night, shortly after I arrived. I'd rather have got Blancmange's 'Believe You Me' on CD as it was the only one I didn't manage to track down on CD.

See how I got back on topic there? A plan so cunning you could stick a tail on it and call it a weasel!

Ô¿Ô

ah BBC Prime! . .couldn't live without it although it's so annoying; like how we're still on series two of Dr Who, series one of Waterloo road and the umpteenth repeat of French & Saunders....not to mention Eastenders omnibus aaarrgghhh...
Unlike others I am unable to get back on topic so I am therefore leaving immediately for Nepal, where I intend to live as a goat.

Tha nors yon Blancmange sound nowt like John . mo'or like these yonder !!

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Blw5_H9aw-U&feature=related

ay there's trouble at mill ...

(Ivan stop talking in Piedmontese!)

Ai u nent dicc mi !!

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=-YfKk3Tmkyw

OMG Pidemontese folk! We are waaay off topic! Mind you I reckon if BLANCMANGE were Italian they'd be Piedmontese. (phew skilfully back on topic now I'm happy as a Frenchman who's invented a pair of self-removing trousers.)

ARf !! Here is Tre Martelli's best ever moment
Get the Radler to explain it ,if you're lost You'll have to explain "Tre Martelli" to him first mind . I've now officially hijacked this topic and taken it into hyperspace

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/01112007/5...nt=fo_england_p

New song on myspace .. "All Things Are Nice".

that's not a new song,it's on their second album..it must be a remix?

oops maybe just a new myspace posting...never mind

Hey, that is a new version... thanks!

Hello all:

I always loved this band. I think their best cd is Believe You Me, though many don't. When I lived in Seattle for a period when this came out, it was a great collection to walk around to while looking at the nature of life.

One day on Regent Street in London, I had a musical religious experience, per say, while listening to Wasted and walking around. It inspired me, greatly.

Regards.

Blue

Well,just got round to buying "Happy Families",bought it with Glimmer,it came and it's great...my only complaint,and actually,it's a pretty big one!!,why did they put the inferiour single mix of Waves on the cd inplace of the original,therefore making this NOT a re-master of the original album at all

I can't believe they have done that the original version of "Waves" was miles better, the single version I did n't care for at all.

Gary
Gary Hunter Myspace Page

Have just got 'Happy Families' put on order today. Will be the first time ive heard the whole album since about '88.

I cannot remember a single song by Blancmange

Well you will be pleasently surprised when you heard them again.

WOW!!!

Just found out I've won all 3 Reissues in a competition on http://www.remembertheeighties.com/

I'm just a bit happy!!!!! I was wanting to get these but with all the Foxx, Ultravox and several other reissues, they were a little down on the list.

...Well, thats a few quid saved anyway!

Very well done!

... reviews expected....

Like Mr. Ilektrik, I saw Blancmange live supporting Japan (I still have the "Sons of Pioneers" t-shirt from that gig). That was way, way back. The funny this was (funny to me) that Stephen Luscombe came on stage, stands behind a bank of synths and my mate says to me "Wow, it's John Foxx!". I went mad! The venue was the Hammersmith Odeon and I was way up in the balcony - having bad eyesight too, I was easy to deceive. Needless to say that when I realised it wasn't him, I felt a bit uncoo :rolleyes: l. No-one goes to a Japan gig and cheers the support band!

Blancmange made it big that year, and I really enjoyed their early music (Happy Families, and a bit more). I got the CD re-issue a few weeks back and I love it. My scratchy vinyl version can rest at last! Finally I have digital versions of "Kind" and "Cruel" which never appeared on any of the omnibus CD's that were available. These are my two favourite tracks. The bonus tracks I wasn't specifically impressed with, maybe good for a collector, but not particularly for a listener.

Wonder if they will tour in Japan??

Well this is the ideal place to tell you that I have recorded 2 versions of "Living On The Ceiling", short & extended version. You can find them on my myspace page or my page on iCompositions (This is the better one as the MP3's are of very high quality compared to myspace). If you do check them out let me know what you think.

Here are the links

Living On The Ceiling On Myspace

Living On The Ceiling Extended On iCompositions

Living On The Ceiling Short Version On iComposlitions

Hope you enjoy them.

Gary

Hi Gary, Nice covers there as always, especially the arrangements on the extended version. Overall most impressed by the choice and use of sounds on all tracks.

Thanks for having a listen and for the feedback, it is appreciated.

Gary

To someone who has "Mange Tout" as well.
Please take a listen to track 4 of disc two, being "That's love that it is [extended]".
Is it a mastering hickup at 01:18-01:19???
Otherwise my copy is defect...

Greetings,
fons

addendum: just heard a similar hickup on the remix of the same song at track 6 > 03:04

New album and UK tour in 2011

http://fnmedia.wordpress.com/2010/10/20/blancmange-announce-uk-tour/

cheers MArtin ..

"Blanc Burn" .. love it! Always had a great sense of humour those guys..

Yep, cheers Martin - of all the bands keen to take the dust covers off, I'm really glad Blancmange have. Such a great sense of humour that's been sorely missed.

ask 'em a question...and get an answer!

http://blancmange.fanbridge.com/fan_questions

Senelity setting in
Cheers

Blancmange, Mirrors, Mark Jones etc etc..
BBC6 next Sunday
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00xhzkt

Cheers for that Mark. Will listen to that.

It was a fantastic show. Not a bad song played all night. That said , they played the new Human League song Never Let Me Go & I wasn't impressed much. The girls had the vocals & this was probably the worst song on the show. They also played The Western by Blancmange & that sounded great. Looking forward to that album more now the the League one.

Thanks Scott - I haven't listened to it (yet) but I saw the set-list which looked really good, including the Mirrors set.
The new League stuff really is producing some mixed feelings.. :rolleyes:

I listened to the show to. Once again Human League track failed to deliver, it livened up in the last third but to me seemed to lack direction, I did get to like "Night People" a bit the more I heard it but that also didn't get going until the last third.

Heard "Sky" and "Into The Night" as well off the album and to be honest of all the 4 tracks heard so far "Into The Night" is the best song.

Doesn't bode well for the album.

Blancmange track was pretty good!

An exclusive new interview with Neil Arthur, courtesy of Thomas Janek at POEM

http://www.mixcloud.com/POEM/episode-5-in-conversation-with-blancmanges-neil-arthur/