my new alter-ego: The Lost Airman
A bizarre character called The Lost Airman dropped in on a London gig Saturday night by Evelyn Evelyn, Amanda Palmer and Jason Webley.
And who was that masked man? The audience gasped as he tore off his false ‘tache and eyebrows, popped out the zombie contact lenses, and shed the Galliano coat; then Amanda said “It’s Thomas Fucking Dolby!” And the audience (mostly under 40) didn’t know who the hell Thomas Dolby was either. Never mind, I thought, and launched into an impromptu ‘New Toy’, which I wrote for the original, seldom-credited punk cabaret diva Lene Lovich. Amanda took a good long sniff of her armpit and blasted out a great version of the song, as Jason strummed.
Here’s a fan video clip of the song, which we managed to pull off without bass and drums.
Many thanks to @karohemd for the pics!
That top photo looks like something out of Madame Tussauds!! Fun performance. Amanda channels a pretty good Lene…
I’m old enough to remember you! ;P
Thank you for the credit, it was my pleasure.
For those interested, the complete set of the evening is here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/karohemd/sets/72157623944572604/
(now with extra chicken)
I thought you had to give that coat back after the Sole Survivor tour? Must say from the pictures it all looks a bit Tin Tin!
Tin Tin? I’d say it’s Biggles! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biggles)
I wish I could have been there!
I want the coat willed to me (oh the hours spent snipping the thread off it on the road…).
I do wonder…
http://bit.ly/1ISuEH
What a great song.Always been one of my faves.Breaking it down like that really let me hear how intricate & brilliant an arrangement of a song that is.Masterclass Mr. Dolby.
I almost never type this: LOL!!! Oh, thank you. Fine form.
we are at the 2 week point from which td said he’d make an announcement in 2-3 weeks. TD, how about a nice cinco de mayo present?
A
I hope Gerry Anderson is watching – you would make a great Thunderbird puppet – maybe the prodigal son of The Hood?
very good.
A
THOMAS DOLBY PREPARES TO RELEASE FIRST NEW STUDIO ALBUM IN 20 YEARS
A Map of the Floating City, set for late 2010,
will be preceded by three digital EPs
Guests include Mark Knopfler, Regina Spektor,
Natalie MacMaster, Eddi Reader and Imogen Heap
LONDON, U.K. — Thomas Dolby, the iconic ’80s star whose smash hits “She Blinded Me With Science” and “Hyperactive” helped define the MTV generation/revolution, is preparing to break his 20-year silence with a new album later this year titled A Map of the Floating City. The album features appearances by special guest artists Mark Knopfler, Regina Spektor, Natalie MacMaster, Bruce Woolley and Imogen Heap. Leading up to the full-length, Dolby will release three digital-only EPs containing three or four songs apiece exclusively for signed-up members of his online fan community, The Flat Earth Society.
The five time Grammy™-nominated British artist quit the music business in the early ’90s and spent many years in Silicon Valley, where his tech company Beatnik Inc. created the ringtone synthesizer embedded in more than 3 billion mobile phones shipped by Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson and others. Now retired from Beatnik, Dolby has returned to his native U.K. and is busy recording an album of brand new songs in a renewable energy-powered studio he built aboard a 1930s lifeboat in the garden of his beach house on England’s North Sea coast.
“The new songs are organic and very personal,” says Dolby. “This album is a travelogue across three imaginary continents. In Amerikana I’m reflecting with affection on the years I spent living in the USA, and my fascination with its roots music. Urbanoia is a dark place, a little unsettling . . . I’m not a city person. And in Oceanea I return to my natural home on the windswept coastline.
“I marvel at the new landscape of the music business — distribution via the Internet and recording technologies I barely dreamed of when I started out,” he continues. “But this album does not sound electronic at all. I have zero desire to add to the myriad of machine-based, synth-driven grooves out there. The Net has made a music career approachable for thousands of bands — but I hear too few single-minded voices among them. What I do best is write songs, tell stories.”
To help tell his stories, Dolby has enlisted an impressive cast of guest musicians. Legendary guitarist Mark Knopfler helps drive the epic “17 Hills,” a song about a pair of hapless lovers and a jailbreak. Natalie MacMaster, the Cape Breton fiddler, adds spice to two songs. Scottish singer Eddi Reader takes a front seat on the ethereal “Oceanea.” Bruce Woolley (Camera Club) adds theremin. And Regina Spektor has a cameo as an East European waitress on “Evil Twin Brother.”
The first EP, Amerikana, will be available June 12 exclusively to signed-up members of The Flat Earth Society at http://www.thomasdolby.com. It includes the songs “Road to Reno,” “The Toad Lickers” and “17 Hills,” featuring Knopfler and MacMaster. Two additional EPs are to follow during 2010, culminating in a physical CD release that will add additional songs and complete the set. A multi-city live tour is likely for 2011.
# # #
Something tells me that John Galliano isn’t getting the coat back.
So THAT’s What Happened to Russ Abbott!