Birgit Dieckmann, known professionally as Billie Ray Martin, is a German singer and songwriter, known for her single "

Your Loving Arms "Your Loving Arms" is a song by German singer Billie Ray Martin, the former lead singer of Electribe 101. It was released in October 1994 as the first single from her debut solo album, ''Deadline for My Memories'' (1995). Written by Martin and D ...

", which reached the top 10 of both the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

(#6) and the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...

(#8) in 1995, and reached number one on the US Dance Club Chart. She was also one of the vocalists on the

S'Express S'Express (pronounced ''ess-express''; sometimes spelled S'Xpress or S-Express) were a British dance music act from the late 1980s, who had one of the earliest commercial successes in the acid house genre. "Theme from S'Express", which containe ...

UK top 10 hit single "Hey Music Lover" (1989), and had UK top 40 hits as lead vocalist of Electribe 101 with "Tell Me When the Fever Ended" (1989) and "Talking with Myself" (1990), and as a solo singer with "

Running Around Town "Running Around Town" is a song by German artist Billie Ray Martin, the former lead singer of Electribe 101, and was released in 1995 as the second single from her debut solo album, ''Deadline for My Memories'' (1995). Written by Martin, it reach ...

" (1995) and "Imitation of Life" (1996).

Early life

Born in Hamburg, West Germany, she grew up near Reeperbahn, St. Pauli, in the city's red-light district. She lived with her working-class grandparents, who exposed her to

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

and

German schlager music Schlager music (, " hit(s)") is a style of European popular music that is generally a catchy instrumental accompaniment to vocal pieces of pop music with simple, happy-go-lucky, and often sentimental lyrics. Typical Schlager tracks are eith ...

Career

Career beginnings

In the early 1980s, Billie Ray Martin moved to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. It was the time of electronic bands like Cabaret Voltaire,

Throbbing Gristle Throbbing Gristle were an English music and visual arts group formed in 1975 in Kingston upon Hull by Genesis P-Orridge, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Peter Christopherson, and Chris Carter (British musician), Chris Carter. They are widely regarded as pi ...

and the early

Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their third album ''Dare' ...

, shaping Martin's conceptions of music. Simultaneously, she encountered the soul music of

Martha Reeves and the Vandellas Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1972 as Martha Reeves & The Vandellas) were an American vocal girl group formed in Detroit in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown. An act founded by friends Annette Beard, Rosali ...

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

and the

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

revival. In Berlin, she formed an eleven piece soul and sixties inspired band called Billie and the Deep. Their live shows became very popular in Berlin in 1985–86. After these experiences, Billie Ray Martin moved to London, where she placed an ad in ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' reading "soul rebel seeks musical genius". The ad led to a meeting with four men from

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

who had been looking for a voice to add to their music, resulting in the formation of Electribe 101. The band returned to Birmingham, where they recorded their first song, entitled "Talking with Myself", releasing it as a 12" single on their own ''Hipnotic'' label. It was noticed by manager Tom Watkins (who managed

Pet Shop Boys The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo i ...

, Bros and

East 17 East 17 are an English pop boy band started by Tony Mortimer, Brian Harvey, John Hendy, and Terry Coldwell in 1991. As of 2020, the group consists of Coldwell, Robbie Craig, and Joe Livermore. East 17 have undergone multiple lineup changes, ...

). Electribe 101 signed with Watkins, and his label

Phonogram Records Phonogram Incorporated was started in 1970 as a successor to Philips Phonographic Industries, a unit of the Grammophon-Philips Group (GPG), a joint venture of Philips N.V. of the Netherlands and Siemens A.G. of Germany. Phonogram was the nam ...

. Meanwhile, Billie Ray Martin had met DJ

Mark Moore Mark Moore (born 12 January 1965) is a British dance music record producer and DJ. He was founder of the dance / sampling pioneers S'Express, and runs the London nightclubs, 'Electrogogo' and 'Can Can'. Biography Moore began his DJ career ...

who invited her to the studio to work with his band

. Martin contributed to three songs on their debut album ''

Original Soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of ...

'': "Pimps, Pushers and Prostitutes", "L'Age du Gateau" and "Hey Music Lover" (retitled 'Music Lover' in the US). The latter became the third S'Express single, and a top 10 UK hit (reaching #6), giving Martin her first ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

'' appearance. She traveled across Europe with the group for a number of TV appearances in support of the single. Electribe 101's first single with Phonogram was "Tell Me When the Fever Ended" released in November 1989, reaching No. 32 on the UK charts, and No. 23 on the ''Billboard'' Dance charts. "Talking with Myself" was re-released in February 1990 with a Frankie Knuckles mix and became a hit reaching No. 23 in the UK and No. 8 on the ''Billboard'' Dance charts. DJ and producer

Marshall Jefferson Marshall Julius Jefferson (born September 19, 1959) is an American musician, working in the house music subgenres of Chicago house and deep house. Biography Sometimes known as the father of house music, Jefferson was originally a record produce ...

refused to remix it as he felt it was "already perfect". "Talking with Myself" remains a club classic and has appeared on countless Ibiza and

chill-out Chill-out (shortened as chill; also typeset as chillout or chill out) is a loosely defined form of popular music characterized by slow tempos and relaxed moods. The definition of "chill-out music" has evolved throughout the decades, and generally ...

compilations over the past 22 years. "Talking with Myself" was re-mixed in 1998 and reached No. 39 in the UK charts. Billie Ray Martin appeared on the cover of ''

i-D Magazine ''i-D'' is a British bimonthly magazine published by Vice Media, dedicated to fashion, music, art and youth culture. ''i-D'' was founded by designer and former '' Vogue'' art director Terry Jones in 1980. The first issue was published in the fo ...

'', as well as weekly music/pop

periodicals A periodical literature (also called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule. The most familiar example is a newspaper, but a magazine or a Academic journal, journal ...

such as: ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'', ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

'', ''Record Mirror'' and ''Number One''. NME described her style as looking like 'Cilla Black on Acid' when she made her first Top of the Pops appearance. A connection with

Steve Nieve Steve Nieve ( "naïve"; born Stephen John Nason, 21 February 1958) is an English musician and composer. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Nieve has been a member of Elvis Costello's backing bands the Attractions, the Imposters and Madnes ...

led to her being a guest vocalist with

house band A house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play at an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to bands which ...

Steve Nieve and The Playboys, singing " Stay With Me" and "

Chain of Fools "Chain of Fools" is a song written by Don Covay. Aretha Franklin first released the song as a single in 1967 and subsequently it appeared on many of her albums. It hit number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot Rhythm & Blues chart and number two on ...

", on the

Channel X Channel X Productions is a UK comedy and entertainment company with a 22–year history of producing programmes for all of the major broadcasters. The company specialises in scripted broken and narrative comedy, comedy-entertainment formats and g ...

UK television series ''The Last Resort with

Jonathan Ross Jonathan Stephen Ross (born 17 November 1960) is an English broadcaster, film critic, comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He presented the BBC One chat show ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' during the 2000s, hosted his own radio show on ...

''. Electribe 101's third single was entitled "You’re Walking" and reached No. 50 on the UK charts, prior to the release of their debut album '' Electribal Memories''. A live concert at London's

The Town & Country Club The O Forum Kentish Town is a concert venue in Kentish Town, London, England owned by MAMA & Company, and originally built in 1934. History The venue was built in 1934 and was originally used as an art deco cinema. After the cinema was close ...

(now The London Forum) was televised on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

to coincide with the album's release. They also played at the Milton Keynes Bowl in support to

Erasure Erasure () is an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985, consisting of lead vocalist and songwriter Andy Bell with songwriter, producer and keyboardist Vince Clarke, previously known as co-founder of the band Depeche Mode and a membe ...

. Electribe 101 were then selected as the supporting act for the European leg of

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depeche ...

’s 'World Violation' tour, including several nights at both the Birmingham NEC and

Wembley Arena Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500-sea ...

. A fourth single was released – a cover of the

Jesse Rae Jesse Rae (born 1951) is a Scottish singer and composer from St Boswells in Scotland. Career In the 1970s Rae moved to the US securing work as a runner in the New York Stock Exchange to fund his stay. Through work in Cleveland and Los Angeles ...

song "Inside Out", the video of which was filmed in Paris. The band then set to work on their second album, with a provisional title of ''Electronic Soul''. However, conflict with Watkins and Phonogram led to the album not being released. While seeking another label, the band broke up.

Solo: 1993–2002

BRM's debut solo release was at the end of 1993 in collaboration with the British dance duo

Spooky Spooky or Spookey may refer to: something that will cause creepiness or uncanniness. Arts and entertainment Music Musicians * Spooky (house music duo) * Spookey (UK band), a 1970s soul band based in Manchester *DJ Spooky, musician and producer * ...

on a cover of the

song 'Persuasion'. Her second release was the ' Four Ambient Tales' EP with Dave Ball and Richard Norris of

The Grid The Grid is an English electronic dance group, consisting of David Ball (formerly of Soft Cell) and Richard Norris, with guest contributions from other musicians. They are best known for the hits "Swamp Thing", "Texas Cowboys", "Crystal Cle ...

. She made an appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show, performing a cover of

Ann Peebles Ann Lee Peebles (born April 27, 1947) is an American singer and songwriter who gained celebrity for her Memphis soul albums of the 1970s for Hi Records. Two of her most popular songs are " I Can't Stand the Rain", which she wrote with her husband ...

’ "I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down" with

Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash ...

from Guns N’Roses on guitar. With a new set of songs, she signed with

East West Records East West Records (stylized as east''west'') is a record label formed in 1955, distributed and owned by Warner Music Group, headquartered in London, England. History Upon its creation in 1955 by Atlantic Records, the label had one hit with th ...

, a subsidiary of

Warner Music Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

. In the US, Martin was signed to

Seymour Stein Seymour Stein (born April 18, 1942) is an American entrepreneur and music executive. He co-founded Sire Records and was Vice President of Warner Bros. Records. With Sire, Stein signed bands that became central to the new wave era of the 1970s ...

’s

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer ...

. The first release with her new label was "

" again with Dave Ball and Richard Norris of The Grid on production. The track reached No. 38 in November 1994. On a subsequent re-release the song peaked at No. 6 in the UK Singles Chart in May 1995, Martin once again appearing on

as well as various UK and European TV shows in support of the song. Further mixes by

Todd Terry Todd Norton Terry (born April 18, 1967) is an American DJ, record producer and remixer in the genre of house music. Musical career Todd Terry was influential in moving House music beyond the early Chicago house sound of 1984–86. He crossed ...

and Brothers in Rhythm helped the song reach No. 1. It also topped the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart and eventually reached the top 50 of the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

and the top 20 of

Radio & Records ''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...

magazine's

CHR/Pop Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...

airplay chart (ranking #76 on the 1996 year-end chart). In February 1995, the Junior Vasquez mix of "True Moments Of My World" was being played in clubs, but was not released as her next single. Instead, "

" was chosen and reached No. 29 in the UK, as well as hitting No. 1 on the club charts. Her solo album entitled '' Deadline For My Memories'' was planned for an Autumn release, but was delayed until 1996. It included several songs originally destined for Electribe 101's second album. The album was preceded by extensive press coverage including a number of magazine cover stories. Martin also guested on BBC Two's ''...Later with Jools Holland'' performing two songs from the album: "Hands Up And Amen" and "I Don't Believe". The album was preceded by a third single, "Imitation Of Life", which reached No. 29. A video for the single was filmed in the docks and bars of

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

and featured members of Billie's family and friends. ''Deadline for My Memories'' was released at the end of January. Two further singles were released from the album: "Space Oasis", and the ballad, "You And I (Keep Holding On)". TV appearances continued, including a live MTV performance from Turkey. Meanwhile, Martin continued to write songs for a projected second album, but left the Warner label and moved to New York, where she wrote with dance music producer, Fred Jorio. She signed with React Music Limited in the UK, and released the single, "Honey". The song hit No. 1 in the club charts but poor performance on the UK singles chart caused the cancellation of a planned second release. "Honey" debuted stateside courtesy of

Nervous Records Nervous Records is a UK rockabilly music independent record label. It was formed in 1979 by Roy Williams, a DJ on the UK rock'n'roll scene. Nervous Records is credited by many as the leading record label behind the emergence of the British neo ...

four years later. The song peaked at No. 1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play charts. During this time, she also recorded an album of soul and blues songs with the Jon Tiven Group in New York, but this album remains unreleased. A single and an EP of her drum and bass recordings were released by NY label Finetune recordings. The single was "Pacemaker" while the EP was entitled "Crime & Punishment". In 2000, Martin travelled to

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

, Tennessee to record her next album at the House of Blues studio. Her band was led by

Marvell Thomas Ronald Marvell Thomas (August 22, 1941 – January 23, 2017) was an American keyboardist, record producer and arranger known for his work in Memphis Soul. Biography Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Thomas's studio career started at the age of 17. He ...

, son of Rufus Thomas, and featured members of

’s own band.

and

Carla Thomas Carla Venita Thomas (born December 21, 1942) is an American singer, who is often referred to as the Queen of Memphis Soul. Thomas is best known for her 1960s recordings for Atlantic and Stax including the hits "Gee Whiz (Look at His Eyes)" (1 ...

provided backing vocals, while Peebles did a duet with Martin on the album's title track "Eighteen Carat Garbage". The album ''18 Carat Garbage'' was released on Martin's own Sonnenstahl Records label. Four 12" singles on vinyl were initially released from the album: "Systems Of Silence" was released on 2 January 2001 followed by "18 Carat Garbage" on 16 January 2001 and then "I've Never Been To Memphis" in March 2001 and the Motown inspired "Where Fools Rush In" in September 2001. In 2002, Sonnenstahl Records released the 12-track CD ''Recycled Garbage'', a compilation of remixes of selected tracks from ''18 Carat Garbage''.

Solo: 2003–current

In 2003, Martin released a series of singles on her new Disco Activisto label, including the electronic music club hits "No Brakes on My Rollerskates" and "Dead Again". In 2005–06 she released collaborations with

DJ Hell Helmut Josef Geier (born 6 September 1962), known professionally as DJ Hell, is a German DJ. Biography 1970s and 1980s DJ Hell described his musical beginnings in an interview with '' The European'', telling them “I was socialized with ...

and

Slam Slam, SLAM or SLAMS may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional elements * S.L.A.M. (Strategic Long-Range Artillery Machine), a fictional weapon in the ''G.I. Joe'' universe * SLAMS (Space-Land-Air Missile Shield), a fictional anti-ball ...

. The song "Je Regrette Everything" (written by Billie and Mikael Delta) appeared on DJ Hell's album ''NY Muscle'' (

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, Dutch law. UMG's cor ...

). DJ Hell said of Martin "she's one of the living legends in modern music history and one of the best voices on planet earth". "Bright Lights Fading" appeared on Slam's ''Year Zero'' album. Both this and "Je Regrette Everything" were subsequently released as singles. The Moroder-influenced solo single "Undisco Me" was released on Rebirth Records in April 2007, and reached No. 6 in the UK Dance Chart. Martin also began a second career as a disc jockey launching her own clubnight Komputerliebe in London and then Frankfurt. In 2008, Martin formed a new band, The Opiates, with Robert Solheim producing. The Opiates made their live debut at Rough Trade, Brick Lane, London, in March, to coincide with the group's first release, the ''Anatomy of a Plastic Girl'' EP. In 2010, she released ''The Crackdown Project'' featuring her takes on the Cabaret Voltaire classic album, ''

The Crackdown ''The Crackdown'' is the fifth studio album by English electronic band Cabaret Voltaire, released in August 1983 jointly through record labels Some Bizzare and Virgin. It was produced by the band themselves and Flood. Background and recording ...

''. 2011 began with the solo single "Sweet Suburban Disco". She corroborated with Hard Ton on the ''Sold Life'' EP, featuring a new song "Sold Life" and a cover of the Pierre's Pfantasy Club classic, "Fantasy Girl". A second EP from The Opiates, titled ''Rainy Days and Remixes'', was released in September 2011 as a prelude to their album ''Hollywood Under The Knife''. A short UK tour including a performance at

HMV Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...

on Oxford Street, London launched the album, which was packaged in imagery by

Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award) ...

winner

Wolfgang Tillmans Wolfgang Tillmans (born 16 August 1968) is a German photographer. His diverse body of work is distinguished by observation of his surroundings and an ongoing investigation of the photographic medium’s foundations. Tillmans was the first photog ...

. The album got a four star review in Metro.
In February 2012, a remix collection entitled ''Hollywood Cuts'' was released. 2012 saw the release of a series of collaborations including "Make Me Feel" on Terranova's ''Hotel Amour'' album, and "Hyper Lust" on the new album from Motor. In September, Martin released a limited edition DVD entitled ''Five Takes (A Song About Andy)'', featuring five movies inspired by

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

‘s

Screen Tests The ''Screen Tests'' are a series of short, silent, black-and-white film portraits by Andy Warhol, made between 1964 and 1966, generally showing their subjects from the neck up against plain backdrops. The ''Screen Tests'', of which 472 survive ...

. The song "On Borrowed Time" is presented in five unique takes, with music by electronic producer and soul singer, Waterson.

Discography

* '' Deadline for My Memories'' (1996) * '' Recycled Garbage'' (2002) * '' BRM New Demos'' (2003)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Billie Ray Living people British house musicians German dance musicians German expatriates in England Sire Records artists Women in electronic music 21st-century British women singers 21st-century German women singers Year of birth missing (living people)