The brainchild of, and featuring Tony James (ex-Generation X, who had since been briefly involved with Johnny Thunders and Stiv Bators), their image was that of the cyberpunk, which would become a respected genre at least ten years later, following the merging of industrial and techno music. The desire to shock was high on their agenda, and this meant dyed hair in outlandish styles, sharp colours and glamour make-up. The mish-mash of punk/glam/new romantic clothes was continued into the music, mixing Eddie Cochran riffs with punk guitars, synthesisers, drum machines, and multi-layered and looped vocals.
Lyrical concerns included subjects such as the celebration of consumerism, the imminent outbreak of global (and most likely, nuclear) war, and a fascination with media soundbites and modern technology. This was further expanded upon with the release of their debut album, which featured mock-advertisments in between tracks, urging you to buy multinational brand names (an idea that may yet be embraced by the music industry with international stars embarking on soft-drink sponsored world tours accepted as normal).
Rumour has it that the band signed to E.M.I. records for £4 million, with the label certain that this was a 'new' Sex Pistols, and keen not to repeat their mistakes of the late '70's. In reality, this figure had been deliberately exaggerated to gain extra publicity.
The debut single in 1986, 'Love Missile F1-11', was a unique example of cut-and-paste technology, and rocketed (pun intended) to number 3 in the UK singles chart. Follow-up '21st Century Boy' fared less well, although still managed to break the top 20, but by the time the album 'Flaunt It' had arrived, the public had become wiser to the shock tactics employed and were not surprised when the supposed new 'revolution' lacked real substance.
The second album 'Dress For Success' embraced a less schizophrenic and more commercial pop sound, and the lyrics concentrated more on fashion statements than any political insight (however vague the ideology) employed on their debut. Stock, Aitken and Waterman produced the album, showing that the band had lost none of their original ambition to rule the world (the production trio were at the time propelling Kylie into the realms of superstardom and dominated the pop charts with their many other proteges).
The band soon disappeared realising the party was well and truly over. Tony James joined the Sisters of Mercy for a short time in 1991 (he had actually asked Andrew Eldritch to leave them in their early days to become SSS's vocalist!), and drummer Chris Cavanagh went on to join Big Audio Dynamite. Lead vocalist Martin Degville released an atrocious solo album, Neal X joined up with Marc Almond and co-wrote most of his 'Fantastic Star' album in 1998, and James attempts to resurrect the band in the late '90's received very little interest from industry or media. The fans however remained, and with many internet sites championing the band's pioneering attitude, James was encouraged to continue, releasing two new albums since 2000, and performing occasional gigs.
As well as the cyberpunk theme being championed when Sigue Sigue Sputnik had been conveniently forgotten as an '80's joke, their influence could arguably be seen in bands such as the Manic Street Preachers, whose media savvy and emphasis on style and rebellion helped gain early column inches (the Manics too were accused of being sloganeering punk revivalists when they first arrived), and the political and media pranks perpetrated by U2 on their Zoo TV tour.
IF YOU LIKE THESE, YOU'LL LIKE SIGUE SIGUE SPUTNIK: Sex Pistols, Ministry, Manic Street Preachers, Giorgio Moroder, The Prodigy, Pop Will Eat Itself, T.Rex, David Bowie, Atari Teenage Riot, Sisters of Mercy, Generation X, Suicide, U2, Marc Almond, Soft Cell, Age of Chance.