282) Sigue Sigue Sputnik - Flaunt It

I was (am) a big fan of Big Audio Dynamite and quite often in interviews there would be a mention of Sigue Sigue Sputnik who Mick Jones had helped, so I was keen to hear them.

Before I heard them, I saw the first pictures of them all big hair, rubber, high heels, and the lead singer had decided that a pair of fishnet tights over the face was a good look, he looked like an armed robber in stilettos.

Sputnik were the idea of Tony James, previously of Generation X who was planning world domination having claimed they had received four million to sign with EMI (rumours are it was close to £350,000), but never let the truth get in the way of a good story.

For a brief period, it looked like he may pull it off as they made not just the rock press but also the tabloids and their debut single stormed into the charts to number three.

This, their debut album, also made the top ten but from there it was diminishing returns, and the Sputniks never became the phenonium they clearly thought they would.

Mr James forgot one crucial thing with his styling, samples, and predictions to be a great band you also need great songs and that’s where it fell apart.

Now I like this record, I bought it when it came out and since I have restarted buying records, I was chuffed to pick this up for four quid.

It’s an eight track album and I would argue three of the tracks are good, Love Missile F1-11 was the big hit with a repetitive electric bass throughout and lead singer Martin Degville’s vocal distorted, but what I like is Neil X lead guitar, a riff here and a riff there, its no moment of genius but is something different, a more modern update on the New York Dolls.  Second single, 21st Century Boy starts with a church organ before the exact same electronic bass comes in and Degville confirms he is a space cowboy as Neil again riffs away and at two minutes forty there’s a minor piano break, if you have listened to these two you don’t need to bother with Sex Bomb Boogie which is exactly the same.

You may think I remember them, and they were crap, well give Atari Baby a listen, all slowed down with excellent female backing singers and no constant identical beat, Sputnik go ballad and Degville delivers.

Dirty Harry is sampled at the start of Rockit Miss USA with a heavier drum sound and Neil X gets to play his Rock n Roll guitar on Teenage Thunder and She’s My Man (nowadays he plays with Marc Almond and they play in a band as The Loveless that are well worth your time).  

They didn’t change the world but there is a novelty to this record that I enjoy.

5/10

GIVE IT A STREAM: Atari Baby