Dalek I Love You were a

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

group from

the Wirral Wirral (; ), known locally as The Wirral, is a peninsula in North West England. The roughly rectangular peninsula is about long and wide and is bounded by the River Dee to the west (forming the boundary with Wales), the River Mersey to the ...

, England. At various points in their existence, the band was also known as Dalek I. Record executives at

Phonogram Phonogram may refer to: * A sound recording – see Geneva Phonograms Convention * ''Phonogram'' (comics), a comic book by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie * Phonogram (linguistics), a grapheme which represents a phoneme or a combination of phone ...

shortened the band's name without telling them for the "Freedom Fighters" single.

History

Roots: Mr. McKenzie and Radio Blank

By the mid-1970s,

David Balfe David Balfe (born 1958 in Carlisle, Cumberland) is a musician and record company executive, most notable for playing keyboards with the Teardrop Explodes, founding the Zoo and Food independent record labels, signing Blur and for being the subj ...

Alan Gill Alan David Gill is an English vocalist, guitarist and songwriter, who formed part of the synthpop band Dalek I Love You and the post-punk/neo-psychedelic band the Teardrop Explodes. Biography Early career Living in Thingwall, Wirral, he form ...

and Keith Hartley, three residents of

Thingwall Thingwall is a village on the Wirral Peninsula, in Merseyside, England. The village is situated approximately to the south west of Birkenhead and north east of Heswall. Historically part of Cheshire, the area is within the Pensby and Thingwal ...

on the

Wirral Peninsula Wirral (; ), known locally as The Wirral, is a peninsula in North West England. The roughly rectangular peninsula is about long and wide and is bounded by the River Dee to the west (forming the boundary with Wales), the River Mersey to t ...

, had formed a band called Mr. McKenzie. In November 1976, as

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

was emerging and influencing them, the group changed their name to Radio Blank, composed of Balfe (bass and keyboards), Gill (guitar and vocals) and Hartley (lead vocals and guitar) as well as Stephen Brick (drums). They played their own material and also some covers, such as "

You Really Got Me "You Really Got Me" is a song written by Ray Davies for English rock band the Kinks. The song, originally performed in a more blues-oriented style, was inspired by artists such as Lead Belly and Big Bill Broonzy. Two versions of the song wer ...

" and "

Peaches The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-fuz ...

". Five of their 15 live gigs were at

Eric's Club Eric's Club was a music club in Liverpool, England. It opened on 1 October 1976 in the basement of The Fruit Exchange in Victoria Street, with performances by The Runaways and The Sex Pistols (their only Liverpool gig) before soon moving around ...

in Liverpool. Balfe and Gill lost interest in punk during 1977, and dissolved the band in October 1977 to form a more experimental project.

First years (1977–1980)

In December 1977, Balfe and Gill, influenced by

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, "power station") is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize the ...

, formed Dalek I Love You. The name was a compromise: Balfe wanted to call the band the

Dalek The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by writer Terry Nation and first appeared in the 1963 ''Doctor Who'' ...

s (after the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' villains), while Gill wanted to call the band Darling, I Love You. The other two founding members were

Dave Hughes David William Hughes (born 26 November 1970) is an Australian stand-up comedian, television and radio presenter. He is known for his larrikin personality, drawling Australian accent, and deadpan comedic delivery. Hughes co-hosts ''Hughesy, ...

(keyboards) and

Chris Teepee Chris Shaw, also known as Chris Teepee (a name which originated during his 'Teachers Practice'), is an English musician from Upton on the Wirral. Shaw is a drummer, synthesizer player and guitarist who has played with various Wirral and Liverp ...

(rhythm unit and tapes). In 1978, Balfe left the group to manage other bands, and eventually joined Big in Japan and later

the Teardrop Explodes The Teardrop Explodes were an English post-punk/neo-psychedelic band formed in Liverpool in 1978. Best known for their Top Ten UK single "Reward", the group originated as a key band in the emerging Liverpool post-punk scene of the late 1970s. T ...

. In August 1978, the band were joined by Martin Cooper (saxophone),

Andy McCluskey George Andrew McCluskey (born 24 June 1959) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. He is best known as the lead singer and bass guitarist of the electronic band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), which he founded a ...

(lead vocals and bass, who was previously in

the Id The Id were a new wave/ synthpop band from the Wirral, Merseyside, England formed in 1977. They are best recalled as the precursor to the band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), in which Id members Andy McCluskey (bass, vocals), Paul Hu ...

) and Kenny Peers (drums), along with poets Gordon Hon (aka "The Worm") and Max the Actor. In September, McCluskey quit to rejoin a former Id bandmate,

Paul Humphreys Paul David Humphreys (born 27 February 1960) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who is best known for his contributions to Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), a new wave band which he founded alongside Andy McCluskey in 1978. ...

, to form

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Wirral Peninsula, Wirral, Merseyside, in 1978. The group consists of co-founders Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboar ...

, and by October 1978, only Gill and Hughes remained in the band. As a duo, they signed to Inevitable Records. A demo of "Freedom Fighters" attracted the interest of Phonogram Records, who then signed them. However, Phonogram shortened the name of the band to Dalek I for the initial releases, and wanted to change the chords of "Freedom Fighters". On 16 July 1979, Dalek I released their first single, "Freedom Fighters", on Phonogram's

Vertigo Records Vertigo Records is a record company with United Kingdom origins. It was a subsidiary of the Philips/Phonogram record label, launched in 1969 to specialise in progressive rock and other non-mainstream musical styles. Today, it is operated by Uni ...

subsidiary, containing the eponymous song and

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

"Two Chameleons". It was followed by "The World" (2 October 1979) on Vertigo, and "Dalek I Love You (Destiny)" (1 May 1980), on the Back Door subsidiary, founded by the Blitz Brothers. The latter duo, composed of

Chris Hughes Chris Hughes (born November 26, 1983) is an American entrepreneur and author who co-founded and served as spokesman for the online social directory and networking site Facebook until 2007. He was the publisher and editor-in-chief of ''The New R ...

and Paul Collister (OMD's then-manager), produced the singles under that name. Dalek I's debut album, ''

Compass Kumpas ''Compass Kumpas'' (aka ''Compass kum'pəs'') was the first album from Dalek I Love You (band), Dalek I Love You, shortened to Dalek I for this album and accompanying singles. It was released on May 24, 1980, by Back Door/Phonogram Records, Phon ...

'' (stylized as ''Compass kum'pəs''), was released 24 May 1980 on Back Door/Phonogram. It was critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful. By the time of the album's release, Gill was the only remaining member, maintaining the Dalek I Love You name (Dave Hughes having left to join OMD, and then forming the duo Godot with Hartley). The project soon went on hiatus and Gill joined the Teardrop Explodes in July 1980, replacing Mick Finkler. Gill contributed two important things to the band: their most successful single, "

Reward Reward may refer to: Places * Reward (Shelltown, Maryland), a historic home in Shelltown Maryland * Reward, California (disambiguation) * Reward-Tilden's Farm, a historic home in Chestertown Maryland Arts, entertainment, and media * "Rewa ...

", which he co-wrote, and

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...

, which he introduced to frontman

Julian Cope Julian David Cope (born 21 October 1957) is an English musician and author. He was the singer and songwriter in Liverpool post-punk band the Teardrop Explodes and has followed a solo career since 1983 in addition to working on musical side proj ...

. His stay with the band was short-lived, however.

Reformation

By 1981, Gill had reformed Dalek I Love You, with himself as the sole member. He was augmented by Hugh Jones and Chuca Russo on vocal harmonies, and

on drums for the recording of a single, "Heartbeat", released on 28 February 1981 by Back Door. By 1983, the band consisted of Gill and returning members Hartley, Hon and Peers, with backing vocalists Chuca Russo, Heather Balshaw and Amanda Hon (née Hawkins). They released an eponymously titled

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

in November 1983 on the Korova label. Hon left for London to study fine art. Gill continued making and recording music with local artists, starting his own cassette-only label, Bop a Dub. In 1985, the band released the cassette-only ''

Naive Naivety (also spelled naïvety), naiveness, or naïveté is the state of being naive. It refers to an apparent or actual lack of experience and sophistication, often describing a neglect of pragmatism in favor of moral idealism. A ''naïve'' may b ...

'' and effectively disbanded shortly afterwards. The band's first two albums were reissued in the UK on

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then rele ...

, ''Compass Kumpas'' in 1989 by

Fontana Records Fontana Records is a record label that was started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records. The independent label distributor Fontana Distribution takes its name from the label. History Fontana started in the 1950s as a subs ...

(with four bonus tracks), and ''Dalek I Love You'' in 2007 by Korova (in a remastered and expanded edition).

Legacy

The band inspired the title of ''

Dalek I Love You Dalek I Love You were a synthpop group from the Wirral, England. At various points in their existence, the band was also known as Dalek I. Record executives at Phonogram shortened the band's name without telling them for the "Freedom Fight ...

,'' a

radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

which premiered on the British

digital radio Digital radio is the use of digital technology to transmit or receive across the radio spectrum. Digital transmission by radio waves includes digital broadcasting, and especially digital audio radio services. Types In digital broadcasting syst ...

station

BBC 7 BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British digital radio station from the BBC, broadcasting archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes nationally, 24 hours a day. It is the sister station of BBC Radio 4 and the p ...

on 11 February 2006. The story centred on a man obsessed with ''

'' who falls in love at a

science fiction convention Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of the speculative fiction genre, science fiction. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expres ...

. A sequel was produced in 2008 entitled Dalek, I Love You Too. The band also inspired the title of ''Dalek I Loved You'', an autobiography by the journalist Nick Griffiths about his life as a ''Doctor Who'' fan, published in 2007.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (1980, Back Door/

) UK No. 54 * ''

'' (1983, Korova) * ''

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in th ...

only (1985, Bop a Dub)

Singles

* "Freedom Fighters" () ** 7": Vertigo/Phonogram DALEK 1 * "The World" () ** 7": Vertigo/Phonogram DALEK 2 * "Dalek I Love You (Destiny)" () ** 7": Back Door/Phonogram DOOR 005 * "Heartbeat" () ** 7": Back Door/Phonogram DOOR 10 ** 12": Back Door/Phonogram DOOR 10-12 * "Holiday in Disneyland" () ** 7": Korova/WEA KOW 25 ** 12": Korova/WEA KOW 25T * "Ambition" () ** 7": Korova/WEA KOW 29 ** 12": Korova/WEA KOW 29T * "Horrorscope" () ** 7": Korova/WEA KOW 31 ** 12": Korova/WEA KOW 31T

Compilation appearances

* "Dalek I Love You (Destiny)" on ''Machines'' (1980,

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

) * "Dalek I Love You", "Freedom Fighters" and "The World" on ''Thru' the Back Door'' (1980,

Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

) * "A Suicide" on ''To the Shores Of Lake Placid'' (1982,

Zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoo ...

) * "Freedom Fighters" (demo version) on ''Small Hits & Near Misses/The Inevitable Compilation'' (1984, Inevitable/

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

) * "Everything I Do" on '' Liverpool...All of This & Heaven Too'' (1990, Homar) * "Holiday in Disneyland" on ''North by North West - Departure 1976 Arrival 1984'' (2006, Korova)

References

External links

Dalekiloveyou.com - fansite

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dalek I Love You English post-punk music groups English new wave musical groups Musical groups from Merseyside British synth-pop new wave groups Phonogram Inc. artists Vertigo Records artists English synth-pop groups