Fad Gadget
Francis John "Frank" Tovey, known also by his stage name Fad Gadget (8 September 1956 – 3 April 2002), was a British avant-garde electronic musician and vocalist. He was a proponent of both new wave and early industrial music, fusing together a unique blend of pop structured songs mixed with mechanised experimentation.
As Fad Gadget, his music was characterised by the use of synthesizers in conjunction with sounds of found objects, including drills and electric razors. His bleak, sarcastic and darkly humorous lyrics were filled with biting social commentary toward subjects such as machinery, industrialisation, consumerism, human sexuality, mass media, religion, domestic violence and dehumanization while often being sung in a deadpan voice.
Early years
Tovey was born in 1956 in the UK. At school, Tovey tried to learn many different musical instruments. He realised he did not have the co-ordination to be able to play any of them really well.
Tovey drifted away from the idea of playing music, and began getting involved in other art forms instead. He later studied visual arts and mime at Leeds Metropolitan University, known as Leeds Polytechnic at the time. He felt the need to give his mime act some sort of musical accompaniment so he went back to the idea of recording music. The initial musical pieces were formed of sound manipulation using tape recorders.
Podcasts:
Fad Gadget
ALBUMS
- 1980-06-11: 101 Club, London, UK released: 2005
- 2002-01-25: PC69, Bielefeld, Germany released: 2002
- The Best of Fad Gadget released: 2001
- Gag released: 1991
- Fireside Favourites released: 1991
- Incontinent released: 1991
- Live From Pandora's Box released: 1984
- Under the Flag released: 1982
- 1981-11-13: Rafter's Club, Manchester, UK released:
- Live on SAMA 2002 released:
Live From Pandora's Box
Released 1984- Coitus Interruptus (live in Rotterdam April 1984)
- Ideal World (live in Rotterdam April 1984)
- Collapsing New People (live in Rotterdam April 1984)
- The Ring (live in Rotterdam April 1984)
- Ad Nauseam (live in Rotterdam April 1984)
- Lemmings on Lovers Rock (live in Rotterdam April 1984)
- For Whom the Bells Toll (live in Rotterdam April 1984)
- Ricky's Hand (live in Rotterdam April 1984)
- Back to Nature (live in Rotterdam April 1984)
- Fireside Favourite (live in Rotterdam April 1984)
- Speak to Me (live in Rotterdam April 1983)
- One Mans Meat (live in Rotterdam April 1983)
Born: 1956-09-08
Died: 2002-04-03
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Under The Flag I
by: Fad GadgetWell the story begins on the Isle of Dogs
In a time of world recession
There's a queue a mile long for every job
Young hopes deep in depression
Well our anti-hero's coy, such a weak-willed boy
He follows his nose, not his head
So the lap-dog finds a mate, and makes his first mistake
She winds up in a hospital bed
Now the baby's doing fine, but daddy hasn't got the time
He'll drink himself oblivious
Then return and hit the wife, she'll attack him with a knife
Oh the script is so damned obvious
Under the flag
Survival leads men to do foolish things
And yes he was a fool
He thought he'd try working for the government
A civil service tool
Now the boy is doing fine, but he'll have to toe the line
His orders are from high above
'Cos when you're working for the state you can sell your life to fate
You're not working anymore for love
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