The Comateens were originally a new wave duo formed in 1978 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

by bassist/vocalist Nic North and guitarist Ramona Jan. Soon after, Lyn Byrd joined on vocals and synthesizer, and the duo became a trio. When Jan departed in 1980, North's brother Oliver joined on guitar, completing the final lineup. They contributed two tracks to the influential ''

Marty Thau Marty Thau (December 7, 1938 – February 13, 2014) was an American rock 'n' roll entrepreneur and music producer. He was best known as the founder of indie punk— new wave label Red Star Records in 1977, and for being the manager of the New York ...

Presents 2x5'' compilation, and their debut album, the self-titled ''Comateens'' (1980), featured the band's original compositions alongside covers of "Summer in the City" (

The Lovin' Spoonful The Lovin' Spoonful is an American rock band popular during the mid- to late-1960s. Founded in New York City in 1965 by lead singer/songwriter John Sebastian and guitarist Zal Yanovsky, the band is widely known for a number of hits, including " ...

), "

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" (

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

), and the theme song from TV's ''

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''. ''Pictures on a String'', their first album for

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

, followed in 1983, yielding the dance club hit "Get Off My Case". In 1984 the band released their final album, ''Deal with It'', which featured live drums played by

Chuck Sabo Chuck Sabo is an American drummer, musical director, songwriter, and producer who has performed and recorded with prominent artists including XTC, Natalie Imbruglia, Elton John, Tom Jones, Chaka Khan, Bryan Adams, Cher, Tina Turner, Pet Shop Bo ...

. The band split up in 1985. Oliver North died in 1987 of

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-related heart failure due to a heroin overdose. In 1988 Nic North (now Nicholas West) and Lyn Byrd recorded an album, ''West & Byrd'', together. In 1990 the duo, again under the name Comateens, recorded the song "A Place For Me", an English language adaptation of the

Julien Clerc Paul Alain Leclerc (born 4 October 1947), known by his stage name Julien Clerc (), is a French singer-songwriter. Life Born in Paris, Clerc grew up listening to classical music in his father Paul Leclerc's home, while his mother Évelyne Merlot ...

and

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song "

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", and it became a European hit. Virgin Records released a retrospective compilation of their music in 1991 called ''One By One: Best Of Comateens'' which has become a rare and much sought-after record among collectors of new wave music. In 1995, their video for "The Late Mistake" was mocked in a season five episode of

Beavis and Butt-head ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' is an American adult animated series created by Mike Judge. The series follows Beavis and Butt-Head, both voiced by Judge, a pair of teenage slackers characterized by their apathy, lack of intelligence, lowbrow humor, ...

called "Top O'The Mountain".

Discography

Albums

*''Comateens'' (1981) *''Pictures on a String'' (1983) *''Deal with It'' (1984) *''Comateens'' (limited collectors edition) (2007)

Compilations

*''One by One - The Best of the Comateens'' (1991)

West & Byrd

*''West & Byrd'' (1988)

References

External links

Official Site

Comateens bio
from

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...

Comateens discography
on

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

Comateens
on

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Comateens
on Beavis and Butthead {{Authority control American new wave musical groups Musical groups from New York (state) Musical groups established in 1978 1978 establishments in New York City