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The Flying Lizards

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This article is about the band. For other uses, see Flying lizard (disambiguation).
The Flying Lizards
OriginUnited Kingdom
GenresExperimental rock, new wave
Years active1976–1984
LabelsVirgin, Statik
Past membersDavid Toop
Steve Beresford
David Cunningham
Vivien Goldman
Robert Fripp
Bob Black
Deborah Evans-Stickland
Patti Palladin
Peter Laurence Gordon
Sally Peterson
Julian Marshall

The Flying Lizards were an English experimental rock band, formed in 1976 in England. Their cover version of Barrett Strong's "Money" reached the UK and US record charts in 1979.[1][2][3]

Career

Formed by and led by record producer David Cunningham, the group was a loose collective of avant-garde and free improvising musicians, such as David Toop and Steve Beresford as instrumentalists, with Deborah Evans-Stickland, Patti Palladin and Vivien Goldman as main vocalists.

In August 1979 the band appreared twice on BBC's Top of the Pops performing their hit single "Money".[citation needed] They also appeared in February 1980 performing follow up single "TV". Virgin Records extended the band's recording contract after the success of "Money".[1] The group released their début album The Flying Lizards in 1980. The album included two songs – "Her Story" and "The Window" – written and sung by Goldman.[4] Their single issues included their postmodern cover versions of songs such as Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues" and "Money".[5]

The 1981 album Fourth Wall received praise from critics but did not sell well.[1] Top Ten (1984), with vocalist Sally Peterson, released. by Statik records, consisted entirely of covers, done in a similarly deliberately emotionless, and robotic style, (described by the NME at the time as "Sloane Rap"), including two singles, James Brown's "Sex Machine" and "Dizzy, Miss Lizzy" as well as an album track of Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne". Cunningham and Peterson worked together on music production for film and advertising after Top Ten was released,[1] including a re-recording of "Money".

The Flying Lizards version of Barrett Strong's "Money" remained popular, and was used in the film soundtracks for The Wedding Singer, Empire Records, Charlie's Angels and Lord of War, as well as in the Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning American television medical drama Nip/Tuck and the follow-up to the UK TV drama Life on Mars, called Ashes to Ashes. In 2011, the song was used in a commercial for Taco Bell.

An album of dub instrumentals, The Secret Dub Life of the Flying Lizards, recorded by David Cunningham mostly in 1978, was finally released in 1995.[1] The first two albums, The Flying Lizards and Fourth Wall, were re-released by RPM in 2010, with the catalogue number RETROD883.[citation needed] With only one single making the UK Top 40,[2] the Flying Lizards join the list of one-hit wonders.

Band members

Discography

Albums

  • The Flying Lizards (Virgin Records, 1980) (UK No. 60, US No. 99[5])
  • Fourth Wall (Virgin, 1981)
  • Top Ten (Statik, 1984)
  • The Secret Dub Life of the Flying Lizards (Piano Records, 1996)
  • The Flying Lizards & Fourth Wall (re-release, RPM Records, 2010)
  • The Secret Dub Life of the Flying Lizards (vinyl re-release, Staubgold, 2010)

Singles

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Biography by Mark Deming". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 6 October 2009.
  2. ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 206. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  3. ^ "Allmusic ((( The Flying Lizards > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))".
  4. ^ Allen, Mark (April 2001). "The Flying Lizards: A Pop Band Arranged According to the Laws of Chance". No. 6. Sound Collector. Retrieved 18 November 2008.
  5. ^ a b c d Strong, Martin C. (2003) "Flying Lizards", in The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, ISBN 1-84195-335-0
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