Freaks of Desire were an electronic rock band from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

History

Freaks of Desire were formed in

Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a district of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character, i ...

in 1993. Their unique sound was derived from a diverse set of influences and combined programmed beats and electronic soundscapes with strong melodies and driving distorted guitars. The band quickly came to the attention of Dave Stewart from

Eurythmics Eurythmics were a British pop duo consisting of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart. They were both previously in The Tourists, a band which broke up in 1980. The duo released their first studio album, '' In the Garden'', in 1981 to little succ ...

, who signed them to his label,

Anxious Records Anxious Records (sometimes typeset as AnXious) was a record label set up by David A. Stewart of Eurythmics, and overseen by Stewart with Infectious Music's Korda Marshall (when Marshall was at BMG/RCA Records). Originally set up as a BMG label, ...

. The band recorded their debut album with producer Bruce Lampcov at The The’s War Room studios in

Shoreditch Shoreditch is a district in the East End of London in England, and forms the southern part of the London Borough of Hackney. Neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets are also perceived as part of the area. In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an impor ...

. Freaks of Desire quickly built a live following and toured the UK throughout 1994, but quickly grew tired of playing in traditional music venues. Borrowing an old

PA, they began playing in clubs such as Smashing, Magick and Fantastic in London and

Jackie 60 Jackie 60 (1990–1999) was a famous weekly party held every Tuesday in New York's Meatpacking District. Founded by DJ Johnny Dynell, writer Chi Chi Valenti, fashion designer Kitty Boots and dancer/choreographer Richard Move, who were later (c. 19 ...

and Don Hill's 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 ...

. A live show at

Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

in London was attended by

Paul Verhoeven Paul Verhoeven (; born 18 July 1938) is a Dutch director, producer and screenwriter, active in the Netherlands, France and the United States. His blending of graphic violence and sexual content with social satire is a trademark of both his dram ...

who asked the band to contribute to the soundtrack of his forthcoming movie Showgirls, alongside

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

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 ...

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...

. The band recorded a new song ‘Beast Inside’ for the movie, which they co-produced with Dave Stewart at The Church Studios in London. The track also appeared in the acclaimed Eric Laneuville film Born Into Exile. The band completed their debut album with producer Bob Rosa at House of Sound Studios and Electric Lady Studios in New York City. By this time relations with the record label had become strained as

was swallowed by

East West Records East West Records (stylized as east''west'') is a record label formed in 1955, distributed and owned by Warner Music Group, headquartered in London, England. History Upon its creation in 1955 by Atlantic Records, the label had one hit with th ...

and band and label parted ways. Following a final headline show at the

LA2 LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on Figure 8 ( ...

in London the band relocated to New York in the spring of 1997 and began recording new material with Bob Rosa and Barrett Jones. The band played their final shows at New York venues

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...

, Maxwell's and Coney Island High in the winter of 1997.

Members

*Tommy James - Vocals / Guitar *Tony Wilson - Bass / Programming *Mal Campbell - Guitar / Keyboards / Programming *Hans Persson - Drums

Discography

Singles: *Strange Things (

East West East West (or East and West) may refer to: * East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *''East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...

) ANX1017CD (1994) *Messiah (Anxious Records/East West) FOD001CD (1994) *Beast Inside (Anxious Records/East West) ANX1035CD (1996); appears on

Showgirls (soundtrack) ''Music from and Inspired by Showgirls'' is the soundtrack album of the 1995 film ''Showgirls''. The album features tracks only recorded for the Paul Verhoeven film, including an early version of David Bowie's "I'm Afraid of Americans",Considine, J ...

(

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...

) 92652-2 Album: *Intoxicated (Anxious Records/East West) (1996)

References

Freaks of Desire on Facebook
{{Authority control English electronic music groups