Fiat Lux are an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
synthpop band formed in
Wakefield
Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...
,
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, in 1982, by Steve Wright (vocals, percussion) and David P Crickmore (guitars, bass, keyboards).
Ian Nelson (sax, keyboards), younger brother of
Be-Bop Deluxe
Be-Bop Deluxe were an English rock band who achieved critical acclaim and moderate commercial success during the mid to late 1970s.
History Be-Bop Deluxe
Be-Bop Deluxe was founded in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, by singer, guitaris ...
guitarist and lead vocalist
Bill Nelson
Clarence William Nelson II (born September 29, 1942) is an American politician and attorney serving as the administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Nelson previously served as a United States Senator from Flo ...
, joined shortly afterwards, complementing the classic line-up of the band. In 2017 Wright and Crickmore began working together again as Fiat Lux after a long hiatus.
History
Wright and Crickmore attended
Bretton Hall College
Bretton Hall College of Education was a higher education college in West Bretton in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. It opened as a teacher training college in 1949 with awards from the University of Leeds. The college merged with the Univ ...
, Wakefield, where they studied drama, meeting after the first joined the latter's new wave band, Juveniles (whose two songs were released in a various artists compilation called ''Household Shocks''). Wright later joined theatre company Yorkshire Actors, where he met musician
Bill Nelson
Clarence William Nelson II (born September 29, 1942) is an American politician and attorney serving as the administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Nelson previously served as a United States Senator from Flo ...
.
[Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Indie & New Wave'', Virgin Books, , p. 163] After impressing him with a demo tape, Nelson produced one of the demo's tracks, "Feels Like Winter Again", b/w "This Illness" and released it on his Cocteau Records label in November 1982, by which time Nelson's brother Ian had joined the band.
[Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , pp. 330-331] "Feels Like Winter Again" gained the band radio airplay and led to them signing a record deal with major label,
Polydor
Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States ...
, and subsequent support slots with
Howard Jones.
The band had minor UK chart hits with "Secrets" and "Blue Emotion", which were followed by the
mini album
A mini-LP or mini-album is a short vinyl record album or LP, usually retailing at a lower price than an album that would be considered full-length. It is distinct from an EP due to containing more tracks and a slightly longer running length. A ...
, ''Hired History'', in August 1984.
They made several TV appearances, including a performance on ''
Old Grey Whistle Test
''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''Whistle Test'' or ''OGWT'') is a British television music show. The show was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers, commissioned by David Attenborough and aired on BBC2 from 1971 to 1988. ...
''. There was also a long format video release ''Commercial Breakdown'', which included live versions of the shelved tracks for their debut Polydor album.
Crickmore departed after the chart failure of their fifth Polydor single release, "House Of Thorns". The band continued recording some songs with
session musicians, including Rick Martinez (Richard Anthony Martinez) who had already played drums on some of their earlier works. They disbanded in 1985.
Wright joined former members of
Camera Obscura
A camera obscura (; ) is a darkened room with a small hole or lens at one side through which an image is projected onto a wall or table opposite the hole.
''Camera obscura'' can also refer to analogous constructions such as a box or tent in w ...
, to form
Hoi Poloi, another short-lived pop group. He then abandoned the
music industry to become a
television director
A television director is in charge of the activities involved in making a television program or section of a program. They are generally responsible for decisions about the editorial content and creative style of a program, and ensuring the prod ...
. Crickmore dedicated to more experimental projects through the remaining 1980s, culminating in an album on the London-based
independent record label, Yellow Moon Records, ''Lettuce Spay'' under the name
This
This may refer to:
* ''This'', the singular proximal demonstrative pronoun
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* This, or ''Thinis'', an ancient city in Upper Egypt
* This, Ardennes, a commune in France
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* Hervé This, French culinary chemist Arts, ...
. In the 1990s he rediscovered his love of folk and roots music and became a founder member of
The Durbervilles. From 2005 The Durbevilles became radio presenters with a weekly folk and roots show on
BBC Radio Leeds. Ian Nelson continued to work with his brother Bill in the early 1990s;
he died in his sleep on 23 April 2006.
In 2017, Wright and Crickmore reformed Fiat Lux and released a remake of their song "Secrets". A full album of new material "Saved Symmetry" was released in March 2019, swiftly followed by a double CD retrospective collection of "Polydor years" material entitled ''Hired History Plus'' in April 2019. Disc two of this collection contained the previously shelved 'Ark Of Embers' album, originally intended for release in 1985. ''Ark Of Embers'' as a vinyl LP was finally released as a stand alone item by Splid Records later that same year.
2019 also saw Fiat Lux return to live performance (Steve and David augmented by saxophonist Will Howard), with a relaunch gig in a
William Morris
William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...
decorated Victorian church in Bradford, followed by UK festival appearances.
Live appearances continue from then on with Will Howard becoming a regular feature on sax. By the release of November 2021's ''Twisted Culture '' album on Splid Records his photograph has due prominence on the inner sleeve along with Steve and David
Discography
Singles
* "Feels Like Winter Again" (November 1982), Cocteau
* "Photography" (August 1983), Polydor
* "Secrets" (January 1984), Polydor -
UK No. 65
* "Blue Emotion" (March 1984), Polydor - UK No. 59
* "House of Thorns" (September 1984), Polydor
* "Solitary Lovers" (January 1985), Polydor
* "Secrets 2017" (February 2017), Splid
* "It's You" (May 2018) Splid
* "Everyday In Heaven" (February 2019), Splid via Proper
* "(How Will We Ever) Work This Way" (June 2020), Splid via Proper
Albums
* ''Hired History'' (August 1984), Polydor –
mini-LP
A mini-LP or mini-album is a short vinyl record album or LP, usually retailing at a lower price than an album that would be considered full-length. It is distinct from an EP due to containing more tracks and a slightly longer running length. A ...
* ''Saved Symmetry'' (March 2019), Splid
* ''Hired History Plus'' (April 2019), Cherry Red - on CD/ Universal Music - digitally
* ''Ark Of Embers'' (November 2019), Splid
*''Twisted Culture'' (November 2021), Splid
Videography
*''Commercial Breakdown'' (1990), Hendring Video
*''Live at Bradford St Clements The Comeback Gig 19/10/19'' (2021), Splid DVD
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fiat Lux (Band)
British synth-pop new wave groups
English synth-pop groups
English new wave musical groups
Musical groups established in 1982