Marilyn (singer)

Marilyn

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".

Early life

Robinson was born in Kingston, Jamaica. His father was self-employed, and his mother was a housewife. When he was around four years old, he and his mother settled in Hertfordshire, England.

The Blitz Years

Robinson was a part of the British New Romantic movement which emerged in the late 1970s and was popularised in the very early 1980s. He and Boy George 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. Now adopting the name "Marilyn", he was introduced to Boy George through a mutual friend and fellow Blitz kid, 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. Also according to George, in his autobiography "Take It Like A Man", Marilyn once attempted to seduce David Bowie at a nightclub venue called "Legends", but was rebuffed. In 1979, Marilyn made an appearance in Marianne Faithfull's video for "Witches Song", directed by Derek Jarman.

Career

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?" in 1983, which garnered him considerable press attention, Marilyn was signed to Phonogram Records and released his debut single, "Calling Your Name", in November 1983. The single reached #4 in the UK, #4 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, but with less success.

In November 1984, Marilyn took part in the Band Aid charity record project "Do They Know It's Christmas?" with various other musicians of the era.

Marilyn's debut 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, as was a fifth single from the album, "Pray For That Sunshine".

Boy George and Marilyn's 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, appeared at Marylebone Magistrates Court after being arrested and charged with possession of heroin. The resultant media fallout of Marilyn's drug addiction and his publicised disputes with Boy George further 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. He was dropped from Phonogram Records and his finances were drained to the point of having to work regular jobs outside of the music industry. He then virtually retired from the industry until 2001, when he made a series of club appearances.

Recent Activity

In 1999, Marilyn appeared on the Channel 4 show Top Ten New Romantics, hosted by Boy George. Although Marilyn was not listed in the Top 10 himself, he gave a very brief interview discussing both Boy George (opining that the other three members of Culture Club were essentially "a frame to a Picasso"), and the concept of "gender bending".

In 2002, Boy George reflected on the New Romantic scene of the early 1980s in his stage musical Taboo, which featured actors playing himself, Marilyn, Steve Strange, Leigh Bowery, and other peers from the era. The musical opened in London's West End Venue Theatre before a UK tour in 2003.

In 2003, Marilyn made an appearance on Channel 4's reality series The Salon, in which members of the public (and sometimes celebrities) attend a studio-based beauty salon to get their hair cut and styled.

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.

As a result of his health and financial problems, Marilyn now lives a relatively secluded life with his mother in North London. In November 2007, Marilyn was using his official MySpace blog to ask fans to send him money so that he could buy a new computer for himself . As of 2009, Marilyn has been using Facebook as a way to communicate with fans from all over the world.

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 - Italian 12" release only)
• 2000 How Could I Live (Desilu Records - 12" promo)
• 2002 Spirit In The Sky (self-released CD-R promo)
• 2002 Sooner Or Later (self-released CD-R promo)
• 2003 Hold On Tight (self-released CD-R promo)

Collaborations

• 1984 with Band Aid on Do They Know It's Christmas?
• 1995 with Boy George on Cheapness and Beauty

Charts

Year	Title	Charts
		UK	IE	NL	POR	DK	AUS	JP
Albums
1985	Despite Straight Lines	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Singles
1983	Calling Your Name	4	10	—	—	—	3	1
1984	Cry and Be Free	31	—	—	—	—	17	—
	You Don't Love Me	40	—	14	—	—	—	—
1985	Baby U Left Me (In the Cold)	70	—	—	—	—	34	—
	Pray for That Sunshine	—	—	—	47	52	—	—