Fiona Russell Powell (born 2 April 1962) is a British journalist. She is best known for her series of interviews throughout the 1980s in ''

The Face The face is a part of the body, the front of the head. Face may also refer to: Film * ''The Magician'' (1958 film) or ''The Face'' * ''The Face'' (1996 film), an American television film * ''Face'' (1997 film), a British crime drama by Antonia ...

'' magazine. For a brief period in the mid-1980s, she performed as a member of pop group

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

in videos and onstage to support their cartoon-synth album '' How to Be a ... Zillionaire!'' (1985). She was credited originally as "Fiona" in early recordings of material for this album, but eventually performed under the stage name "Eden".

Early life and career

Growing up in Dore,

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

, she had known ABC from their early days as an electronic three-piece called

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. In 1982, aged 20, she began writing for ''

'' as a features writer, concentrating mostly on music and became known for her irreverent mickey-taking interviews with leading pop stars of the day.

ABC

After the success of ABC's debut album ''

The Lexicon of Love ''The Lexicon of Love'' is the debut studio album by English pop band ABC. It was released on 21 June 1982 by Neutron Records in the United Kingdom, by Mercury Records in the United States and Japan, and by Vertigo Records in Canada and Euro ...

'' and the disappointing reception to their follow up ''

Beauty Stab ''Beauty Stab'' is the second studio album by English pop band ABC, released on 14 November 1983 by Neutron Records, Mercury Records and Vertigo Records. The album was recorded over a period of three months between August and September 1983, ...

'', ABC's

Martin Fry Martin David Fry (born 9 March 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, composer, musician, and record producer. Fry's music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as co-founder and lead singer of the pop band ...

and Mark White decided they wanted a completely new image for ABC. To that end, they asked Powell to join the band as well as American

David Yarritu David Yarritu is an American musician and photographer. He was best known for his short stint as a member of the English new wave band ABC in the 1980s. He was featured in several music videos from the band's '' How to Be a ... Zillionaire!'' a ...

. Neither Powell nor Yarritu were allowed to contribute musically. When Powell admitted she couldn't play any instruments, ABC frontman Martin Fry replied "It doesn't matter. You can pretend. We want you because you've got a great look". Vocals attributed to Powell as Eden on the album '' How to Be a Zillionaire'' were not performed by her either – for example, in the song "A to Z", the words "Hi, I'm Eden, and I want you to kiss my snatch" was actually Martin Fry's voice sped up and was recorded entirely without Powell's knowledge. Inflatable instruments were made for the band with the aim to be as luridly bright and "cartoony" as possible. Eden even wore a

dildo A dildo is a sex toy, often explicitly phallic in appearance, intended for sexual penetration or other sexual activity during masturbation or with sex partners. Dildos can be made from a number of materials and shaped like an erect human penis ...

belt she made on '' The Tube'', the 1980s Channel 4 live music show, which was a belt covered in "ladyfingers" – very small white dildoes – to look like a bullet belt.Interviewed by Bill Brewster in Mark's West London flat
DJhistory.com, 20.7.04 Link not actually DEAD, it has just always been the wrong one. Belt can be seen at timecode 1:27 The new look ABC went over well enough; in the UK and the US ''How to Be a Zillionaire'' charted in the top 30, while "

Be Near Me "Be Near Me" is a song by English New wave music, new wave and synth-pop band ABC (band), ABC. It was released in April 1985 as the second single from their third studio album, ''How to Be a ... Zillionaire!'' It peaked at No. 26 on the UK Singl ...

" was the highest-charting track off the album at No. 26 in the UK and in the top ten on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Journalistic career

Powell has written for ''

Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...

'', ''The Face'', ''

i-D ''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 (magazine), Vogue'' art director Terry Jones (i-D), Terry Jones in 1980. The ...

'', ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

'', ''

Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an enginee ...

'' and ''

New Humanist ''New Humanist'' is a quarterly magazine, published by the Rationalist Association in the UK, that focuses on culture, news, philosophy, and science from a sceptical perspective. History The ''New Humanist'' has been in print for more than 131 ...

'', among others.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell Powell, Fiona ABC (band) members English journalists Living people 1962 births People from Dore Women new wave singers