ZANG TUMMM TUMB ARTICLES “the first draft of history”

The ZTT master plan for world domination

Zang Tuum Tumb released their first record barely 18 months ago. Since then, with Frankie and now Art Of Noise, theyve achieved a success and a notoriety thats left all the other companies standing.

But the team of Paul Morley, Trevor Horn and Jill Sinclair arent resting on their laurels. Theyve got some new entertainers and some new schemes to launch on an unsuspecting public.

As Paul says: “Frankie were just the start. Theres a lot more going to happen.”

Exactly what is going to happen? Paul Morley fills in the details as he guides us through the next three months of ZTT…

MARCH

FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD

Welcome To The Pleasuredome single released March, as a three-track seven-inch featuring ‘Happy High and ‘Get It On, and a four-track 12-inch with ‘Relax International. UK tour March/April, to be followed by Europe and a massive 40-date jaunt round the United States.

Paul: “This single will finish off an era of Frankie — it begins the second phase. We went up to BANG with the LP. Now were in post-BANG, which were going to call the Escape Act.

“Frankie are now a mainstream pop act, up there with Duran and Spandau, and were going to be playing around with the position that they find themselves in. Its not that theyre going to be controversial in the way they were when they started — therell just be a certain irony in their position.

“After this single and the tour, the Pleasuredome imagery will be finished.

“The band are preparing a lot of new, different-sounding material, which wont be what people expect of them. We wont be releasing that until the end of the year.

“Thats what the Escape Act means — a starting from scratch, a new beginning in a way.

“Frankie will be a very different animal by the end of the year — itll be intriguing to see what happens.”

Visually theyll be developing the ‘polo player haute couture image they unveiled on tour in America.

ANNE PIGALLE

French solo singer-single ‘Hey Stranger released middle of March, LP ‘Everything Could Be So Perfect following in April.

Paul: “Everyone knows that theres a big vacuum in pop at the moment — Frankie wasnt enough on its own to fill it. Pop has become completely boring, completely bland and full of glitter and glamour.

“Annes single is very lush, very well performed and produced (by Luis Jardin), but its still quite raw. She sings in a French accent, about herself, about being a stranger in a strange country — that in itself is unique.

“Annes music is very much about doubt and uncertainty. Her musics highly melodic, idiosyncratic, abrasive and disturbing… thats unusual for pop singers.

“Shes not like Sade of Alf, who are singing conveyor belt songs full of conveyor belt images. Theres nothing about her that is controllable. So itll be interesting.”

ART OF NOISE

Moments In Love, follow-up to ‘Close (To The Edit), released end of March.

Paul: “Art Of Noise were concerned with their American success, in a way that we dont like any of our entertainers to be cornered — people thought they were a hip-hop group.

“So ‘Moments In Love is the obvious follow-up, ‘cos its completely different. It demonstrates the versatility of Art Of Noise — theyre an adventure.

“Everything can be involved in Art Of Noise — thats why we have the two masks, the happy and the sad. The silly and the serious.

“Theres only been a small indication of what they can do and will do, so far. Art Of Noise are intelligent musicians that can really play framed within a kind of comment on things as they are, or as theyre not.”

ANDREW POPPY

Composer of modern classical music: LP ‘The Beating Of Wings released end of March.

Paul: “I think Andrew is a maker of supremely beautiful music. Its reflective and dramatic.

“Hes the perfect exponent of that moment where the avant-garde beats up into New York dance.

“Hes one of those isolated individuals that Ive always felt rock music should champion, like Neil Young or Leonard Cohen.

“Its been a difficult project for ZTT, but very worthwhile, and now its all down to how people want their music — whether theyll rise to the occasion.”

APRIL

PROPAGANDA

German pop group who had a hit with debut single ‘Dr Mabuse last year. Follow-up ‘P-Machinery and LP ‘A Secret Wish released in April.

Paul: “Propaganda are how I always imagined Eurythmics, Thompson Twins, groups like that, would sound… full of ideas and genuinely full of new ways of looking at pop music. Those other groups always disappointed so much when you realised there were no twists to the cliches, no upsetting of the predictable.

“Propagandas LP will be sophisticated, expensive, high-powered and highly-charged. It comments on the obvious things of the twentieth century, like machinery, danger, love and uncertainty in a way that really makes you feel youve been somewhere.

“That classic ZTT feel!”

SUDDENLY THERE CAME A BANG

A book on Frankie Goes To Hollywood released on ZTT etc. in April.

Paul: “This will be the first release on ZTT etc., a new company which will deal with projects that cant find a place within ZTT itself. Itll deal in print, film, cloth and opinion.

“This book, detailing a year in the life of Frankie — all the truth, lies, fact and fiction — was due to come out in February. But its been held up because the printers have refused to work on it, because of the content and the picture on the cover. (The ‘animals cartoon which appears on the back of the LP cover, minus the figleaves.)

“Thats a bit of a shame, ‘cos the whole point of our first release was to show up all those other crappy rock books that people like Omnibus publish.

“Our basic point was that peoples lives were being restricted by the poverty of imagination, so we put together this rich and fulfilling work, and its been pulled back by the kind of abstract power that always stops young people getting the best out of life.”

MAY

INSTINCT

A hot pop combo containing former Pigbag members Angela Jaeger, Simon Underwood and James Johnson — single ‘Sleepwalking released early May.

Paul: “Angelas voice is brilliant, and Simon and James both have a very clear-eyed view of what they want to do. It ties up considerably with ZTT. Theyre remarkable and special. They make a particularly refreshing pop music.”

INSIGNIFICANCE

Soundtrack to the new Nic Roeg film, released end of May on ZTT etc.

Paul: “The soundtrack features jazz pianist Gil Evans, Stanley Myers who wrote the Dear Hunter theme, Glenn Gregory from Heaven 17 duetting with Claudia from Propaganda, and Roy Orbison. A single by Orbison, ‘Wild Hearts, will be out on the Action Series at the end of March!”

FOOTNOTE

No.1: What do you want ZTT to mean to people by the end of the year?

Paul: “I hope a lot more people will have noticed the detail, the sublety… what was involved, beneath the sheer accessibility of the surface. I hope theyll have realised that we were trying to say that there was more available to them in their entertainment and their hopes and dreams.