Fatal Charm (also known as The Fatal Charm) is a

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

turned

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band that formed in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

, England in 1978. From 1980 onwards, their musical style contained variations on the alternative rock genre that defied comparison with other emerging UK acts such as Echo & the Bunnymen,

the Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...

, New Order and

Ultravox Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which was ...

, who were darker and more introspective. Neither were they as 'poppy' as the female fronted bands that followed, such as T'Pau,

the Primitives The Primitives are an English indie pop band from Coventry, best known for their 1988 international hit single "Crash". Formed in 1984, disbanded in 1992 and reformed in 2009, the band's two constant members throughout their recording career ...

, and

the Darling Buds The Darling Buds are an alternative rock band from Newport, South Wales. The band formed in 1986 and were named after the H. E. Bates novel '' The Darling Buds of May'' – a title taken in turn, from the third line of Shakespeare's Sonnet 18: ...

Early days

The band was formed in 1978 by Paul Arnall and quickly took on new members. Over the years, recording deals came and went, due mainly to a great deal of uncertainty and volatility that existed in the music industry at that time. By 1980, the line-up was: :Paul Arnall (guitar, vocals, songwriter) :David Barker (keyboards) :Kevin Davies (bass guitar) :Kevin Gallagher (drums) The four-piece released four tracks on the 1980 compilation LP ''East''. The collapse of various recording contracts precipitated frequent changes to the personnel, and vocalist ''Sarah Simmonds'' joined in the same year, enabling Arnall to concentrate on his writing and musicianship. On occasion, the band was even reduced to the Arnall/Simmonds duo, and they continued to perform live with the aid of reel-to-reel tapes and Simmonds playing keyboards. The band supported big-name acts like

and

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 ...

on tour, gaining them some media coverage, including an appearance on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

's music television programme '' The Tube'' in 1983.Lazell, Barry (1998) ''Indie Hits 1980-1989'', Cherry Red Books, , p. 85The Music Makers
, ''

Evening Times The ''Glasgow Times'' is an evening tabloid newspaper published Monday to Saturday in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. Called ''The Evening Times'' from 1876, it was rebranded as the ''Glasgow Times'' on 4 December 2019.Radio 1 Radio 1 or Radio One most commonly refers to: *BBC Radio 1, a music radio station from the BBC ** BBC Radio 1Xtra, a digital radio station broadcasting black music *CBC Radio One, a talk radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporatio ...

''In Concert'' shows, supporting Ultravox and

the Cult The Cult are an English rock band formed in 1983 in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Before settling on their current name in January 1984, the band performed under the name Death Cult, which was an evolution of the name of lead singer Ian Astbury's ...

Debut album

In 1984, the band released their third single titled "Summer Spies". Prior to this, their earlier singles "Paris" and "Christine" did not gain much attention. This track ultimately served as a catalyst for their debut album, Endangered Species, which was released the following year in 1985. In the lead-up to the album's launch, the band also released the singles "King of Comedy" and "You Know (You'll Never Believe)". Arnall and Simmonds followed up with the single "Images of Fire" in 1986, recorded on 8-track at home released by

Native Records Native Records is a small British independent record label formed in Sheffield, England. The label was founded by Kevin Donoghue in 1985, after he left RCA Records and during his time at the Music Factory where he was a sound engineer. In J ...

and it peaked at No. 16 in the

UK Independent Singles Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the rele ...

. Likewise, 1987's single "Lucille", also released by Native, charted. Around this time, Simmonds revealed interest in writing melodies and hook lines and the pair set about writing some more material.

Second album

In 1989, the band's second album, ''This Strange Attraction'' was greeted by critical acclaim from most quarters and another radio session arranged for Radio 1's Bob Harris. This time the recording was on their own label - "Really Great Records". Presumably the name paid homage to, or was a parody of, the East Midlands-based "Dead Good Records" later re-released on Native Records. Mansfield's

B-Movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...

included 3 Fatal Charm tracks on the 1979 compilation album ''East''. By now there had been many Radio 1 sessions for some of the station's DJs, including

Janice Long Janice Berry ( Chegwin; 5 April 1955 – 25 December 2021), known professionally by her first married name Janice Long, was an English broadcaster who was best known for her work in British music radio. In a career that spanned five decades, s ...

Andy Peebles Robert Andrew Peebles (born 1948) is a British radio DJ, television presenter, and cricket commentator. Born in London, Peebles attended Bishop's Stortford College. He began as a nightclub DJ in the late 1960s. Peebles was resident DJ at the C ...

Annie Nightingale Annie Avril Nightingale (born 1 April 1940) is an English radio and television broadcaster. She was the first female presenter on BBC Radio 1 in 1970, and is its longest-serving presenter. Early life and career Nightingale was born in Osterley ...

and

Simon Mayo Simon Andrew Hicks Mayo (born 21 September 1958) is an English radio presenter and author who worked for BBC Radio from 1982 until 2022. Mayo has presented across three BBC stations for extended periods. From 1986 to 2001 he worked for Radio ...

. In the wake of the second album, there was considerable media interest in the band and they were offered financial backing, a new management deal and (eventually) a contract with major label

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

. Consequently, the Fatal Charm name was shelved in recognition of a new beginning based on a more ambient dance/pop style of music. ''State of Grace'' was born in 1991 and ran through to 1998.

Retrospective works and live performances

In 1996, a retrospective collection of the band's earliest material was released (titled ''Out of my Head'', by the Fatal Charm). Then in 2005, Arnall returned to the original tapes of various archived recordings, some of them previously unreleased and others unfinished. The keyboards and synthesizers were stripped back and replaced with a cleaner, more contemporary guitar sound. The third Fatal Charm album is simply entitled ''Pop'' and includes a re-worked version of "Western Laughter", previously only available as a flexi-disc given away free at early concerts. ''Pop'', published by the band's own Cycles and Trips label is only available through the website and appears therefore to be a side-project rather than an attempt to re-launch the band in a full-time capacity. Simmonds has over the years obtained qualifications in music, trained her voice to cover a range of singing styles, become a singing teacher and has sung with internationally acclaimed vocal groups

The Swingle Singers 270px, The Swingles at the Black Forest Voices Festival in Kirchzarten, Germany">Kirchzarten.html" ;"title="Black Forest Voices Festival in Kirchzarten">Black Forest Voices Festival in Kirchzarten, Germany on 29 June 2019 The Swingles are a v ...

(1st alto) and Synergy. Her other credits include contributions to the soundtracks for

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...

, '' Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith'' and ''

Shrek 2 ''Shrek 2'' is a 2004 American computer-animated comedy film loosely based on the 1990 picture book ''Shrek!'' by William Steig, produced by DreamWorks Animation and released by DreamWorks Pictures. The sequel to ''Shrek'' (2001) and the seco ...

''; also backing vocals for

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

at the opening ceremony of the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

. ''Pop'' was followed by the release of further retrospective albums featuring the various incarnations of the band. After a lengthy period of inactivity, Fatal Charm performed live dates in March and April 2012 and added more dates throughout the year.

Discography

Albums

;as Fatal Charm: *''Endangered Species'' (1985),

Carrere Carrere or Carrère may refer to: As a name * Georges Carrère (1897–1986), French classical violinist * Edward Carrere (1906–1984), Mexican art director * Emmanuel Carrère (1957–), French author, screenwriter, and director * Fernando Car ...

*''This Strange Attraction'' (1989), Really Great *''Out of My Head'' (1996), Three Lines *''Pop'' (2005), Really Great *''Lovebrigade'' (2006), Really Great ;as State of Grace: *''Pacific Motion'' (1994), 3rd Stone *''Jamboreebop'' (1995), 3rd Stone *''Every Day'' (1997) *''Everyone Else's Universe'' (1997), 3rd Stone *''Sometimes'' (1998), Zimbabel *''Sometimes - More'' (1999) - Zimbabel *''Ocean'' (2007), Zimbabel ;Compilations: *''Plastic'' (2006), Really Great

Singles

;as Fatal Charm: *"Paris" (1979), Company *"Western Laughter"/"Dark Eyes" (1980), Double D *"Paris"/"Christine" (1981),

Ariola Ariola (also known as Ariola Records, Ariola-Eurodisc and BMG Ariola) is a German record label. In the late 1980s, it was a subsidiary label of the Bertelsmann Music Group, which in turn has become a part of the international media conglomerat ...

*"Summer Spies" (1984), Carrere *"You Know (You'll Never Believe)" (1985), Carrere *"King of Comedy" (1985), Carrere *"Images of Fire" (1986),

Native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

- UK Indie No. 25 *"Lucille" (1987), Native ;as State of Grace: *"Camden" (1992), Cheree *"Love, Pain & Passion" (1992), 3rd Stone *''Free Thoughts'' EP (1992), Cheree - split with The Bardots and

Barenaked Ladies Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian rock band formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario. The band developed a following in Canada, with their self-titled 1991 cassette becoming the first independent release to be certified gold in Canada. They reach ...

*"Miss You" (1993), 3rd Stone *"Smile" (1995), 3rd Stone *''Hello'' EP (1995),

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 ...

References

External links

Official Fatal Charm Website, with Audio, Discography, History
*

Sarah Simmonds Website with Audio
{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1978 English rock music groups English post-punk music groups British indie rock groups English new wave musical groups Musical groups from Nottingham