Leigh Gorman (born 11 December 1961) is an English rock musician, record producer, and composer, best known for his work as the

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

player for

Bow Wow Wow Bow Wow Wow are an English new wave band, created by manager Malcolm McLaren in 1980. McLaren recruited members of Adam and the Ants to form the band behind 13-year-old Annabella Lwin on vocals. They released their debut EP '' Your Cassette ...

Early life

Leigh grew up in the East End of London. He started playing classical guitar at the age of 12. Graduating to the bass guitar two years later, he developed a unique, classically-rooted, extremely fast and funky style. Leigh made the acquaintance of

Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex. Bolan was posthumously inducted int ...

's road manager who gave him free rein to use all of Marc's spare equipment. Leigh was able to play virtually anything he picked up, but he had an affinity for stringed instruments. Aside from mastering classical, flamenco, rock, and bass guitar, Leigh taught himself to play the sitar, bouzouki, mandolin, and keyboards. He started doing session work at 16 and went on to join a band called 57 Men, the first incarnation of which featured vocalist

Glenn Gregory Glenn Peter Gregory (born 16 May 1958) is an English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as co-founder and lead singer of the new wave and synthpop b ...

(who went on to form

Heaven 17 Heaven 17 are an English new wave and synth-pop band that formed in Sheffield in 1980. The band were a trio for most of their career, composed of Martyn Ware (keyboards) and Ian Craig Marsh (keyboards) (both previously of the Human League), an ...

). The rest of the band later became Wang Chung.

Adam and the Ants

While gigging around town, Leigh was spotted by Knox of

The Vibrators The Vibrators are a British punk rock band that formed in 1976. Early career The Vibrators were founded by Ian ' Knox' Carnochan, bassist Pat Collier, guitarist John Ellis, and drummer John 'Eddie' Edwards. They first came to public notice ...

, who asked him to audition for

Adam and the Ants Adam and the Ants were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. The group existed in two incarnations, both fronted by Adam Ant, over the period 1977 to 1982. The first, founded in May 1977 and known simply as The Ants until November of t ...

. Leigh joined the Ants in November 1979 and

Adam Ant Stuart Leslie Goddard, better known as Adam Ant (born 3 November 1954), is an English singer, musician, and actor. He gained popularity as the lead singer of new wave group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring 10 UK top ten ...

, hoping to gain wider recognition, hired former

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

manager,

Malcolm McLaren Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren (22 January 1946 – 8 April 2010) was an English impresario, visual artist, singer, songwriter, musician, clothes designer and boutique owner, notable for combining these activities in an inventive and provoc ...

. But, McLaren had other ideas and persuaded Gorman, guitarist

Matthew Ashman Matthew James Ashman (3 November 1960 – 21 November 1995)
– accessed June 2011 was an English guitarist with

and drummer

David Barbarossa David Barbarossa (born 1961, also known as Dave Barbe) is a drummer and an author of British and Mauritian descent. As part of both Adam and the Ants and Bow Wow Wow, he was instrumental in creating the highly influential and innovative tribal d ...

to leave Adam behind and form a new group under McLaren's management. Thirteen-year-old

Annabella Lwin Annabella Lwin (born Myant Myant Aye, , 31 October 1966) is an Anglo-Burmese singer, songwriter and record producer best known as the lead singer of Bow Wow Wow. Early life, family and education Lwin was born in Rangoon, Burma to a Burmese fat ...

was recruited as vocalist, and the band became Bow Wow Wow.

Bow Wow Wow

Bow Wow Wow signed with

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...

in July 1980. Their first single, "

C·30 C·60 C·90 Go "C·30 C·60 C·90 Go" is the debut single by English new wave band Bow Wow Wow. It was written by Malcolm McLaren, Matthew Ashman, Leigh Gorman and Dave Barbarossa. Originally only released on cassette, it was the world's first-ever cassette ...

!", for which Gorman shared songwriting credit with McLaren, Ashman and Barbarossa, holds the distinction of being the world's first-ever

cassette single A cassette single (CS), also known by the trademark cassingle, or capitalised as the trademark Cassette Single, is a music single supplied in the form of a Compact Cassette. The cassette single was first introduced in 1980. History The debu ...

. It reached No. 34 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and stayed on the chart for seven weeks, despite its lack of promotion due to lyrics that encouraged music piracy. In November 1980, Bow Wow Wow released the cassette-only

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 ...

, ''

Your Cassette Pet ''Your Cassette Pet'' is the cassette-only debut mini-album by English new wave band Bow Wow Wow, released in November 1980 on EMI Records. It included a cover of the 1940 Johnny Mercer/ Rube Bloom pop hit " Fools Rush In". Release ''Your Cass ...

''. Gorman again shared songwriting credit with McLaren, Ashman and Barbarossa on seven of its eight tracks. As it was not released on

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...

, it was eligible only for the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at No. 58. When their second single, "W.O.R.K. (N.O. Nah, No No My Daddy Don't)", failed to chart, EMI dropped the group. Bow Wow Wow signed next with

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 ...

and in October 1981 they released their first full-length album, ''

See Jungle! See Jungle! Go Join Your Gang, Yeah. City All Over! Go Ape Crazy ''See Jungle! See Jungle! Go Join Your Gang Yeah, City All Over! Go Ape Crazy!'' (later retitled ''See Jungle! See Jungle! Go Join Your Gang Yeah! City All Over, Go Ape Crazy'') is the debut studio album by English new wave band Bow Wow Wow, rel ...

.'' It earned them their first UK top ten hit, "

Go Wild in the Country "Go Wild in the Country" is a single by English new wave band Bow Wow Wow from their album ''See Jungle! See Jungle! Go Join Your Gang Yeah, City All Over! Go Ape Crazy!''. Released in January 1982 by RCA Records, it was their first top 10 hit on ...

". In May 1982, Bow Wow Wow released a four-track EP, ''

The Last of the Mohicans ''The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757'' is a historical romance written by James Fenimore Cooper in 1826. It is the second book of the '' Leatherstocking Tales'' pentalogy and the best known to contemporary audiences. '' The Pathfinde ...

'', which contained a remake of

the Strangeloves The Strangeloves were a band created in 1964 by the New York City, New York-based United States, American songwriter, songwriting and record producer, production team of Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein (producer), Jerry Goldstein, and Richard Got ...

' 1965 hit, "

I Want Candy "I Want Candy" is a song written and originally recorded by the Strangeloves in 1965 that reached No. 11 in the US Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. It is a famous example of a song that uses the Bo Diddley beat. Original version ...

". "I Want Candy" was Bow Wow Wow's biggest international hit, and has lived on as an eighties classic, thanks in part to an iconic

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

in heavy rotation on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

. In 1983, Bow Wow Wow released their second full-length album, ''

When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going "When the going gets tough, the tough get going" is a popular witticism in American English. The phrase is an example of antimetabole. The origin of the phrase has been attributed to various sources. It appears to come from American football par ...

''. Its lead single, "Do You Wanna Hold Me?", reached No. 47 in the UK, but fared best on the

Dutch charts Dutch Charts, GfK Dutch Charts, MegaCharts is a chart company responsible for producing a number of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Single Top 100 and the Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Dutch Charts are also part of GfK ...

, where it peaked at No. 3. The song reached No. 77 in the U.S. The group were due to embark on a world tour in support of ''When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going'', but tensions within the group were rising, as the members suffered illness and exhaustion after intense US touring. Following a brief hiatus, Gorman, Ashman and Barbarossa kicked Annabella out of the group, and formed

Chiefs of Relief Chiefs of Relief were a British rock group with a unique electro-punk style, punctuated by the guitar work of vocalist Matthew Ashman, and also featuring drummer Paul Cook. The Chiefs fused rock with hip hop and electronic elements from the e ...

with Ashman as its lead singer.

Production and recent work

Gorman and Barbarossa left Chiefs of Relief after only a few months. Leigh tried to form a new band with Barbarossa, did some work with Lwin, wrote new songs, did session work, then ultimately turned to producing. In 1989, Gorman's production of

Silver Bullet In folklore, a bullet cast from silver is often one of the few weapons that are effective against a werewolf or witch. The term ''silver bullet'' is also a metaphor for a simple, seemingly magical, solution to a difficult problem: for example, pe ...

's "Twenty Seconds To Comply" rose to No. 11 in the UK singles chart. The

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develop ...

single "Hippychick", which he also produced, went top 10 and topped the dance charts on both sides of the Atlantic. Gorman earned a

gold record Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile meta ...

for his work on the track. He subsequently joined Soho for a US tour and appeared on ''

The Arsenio Hall Show ''The Arsenio Hall Show'' is an American syndicated late-night talk show created by and starring comedian Arsenio Hall. There have been two different incarnations of ''The Arsenio Hall Show''. The original series premiered on January 3, 1989, ...

''. In the early-90s, Gorman worked again with Malcolm McLaren, co-writing and producing the ''Paris'' album, featuring the voice of

Catherine Deneuve Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (, , ), is a French actress as well as an occasional singer, model, and producer, considered one of the greatest European actresses. She gained recogni ...

. This jazz-influenced album sold well throughout

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, resulting in an album of Gorman's

ambient Ambient or Ambiance or Ambience may refer to: Music and sound * Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgrounds * Ambient music, a genre of music that puts an emphasis on tone and atmosphere * ''Ambient'' (album), by Moby * ...

dance mixes being released. The duo proceeded to collaborate on several high-profile TV commercials and two film scores. Gorman wrote and produced micro-operettas, soundscapes, and hip-hop & soul jams for the small screen for such clients as

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi was ...

, MCI,

Nike, Inc. Nike, Inc. ( or ) is an American multinational corporation that is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing, and worldwide marketing and sales of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services. The company is headquartered ne ...

and

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...

. In the summer of 1997, his remix of Mr. President's " I Give You My Heart" went Top 10 in the UK dance charts for 3 weeks.

Bow Wow Wow reunion

Also in 1997, Gorman and Lwin reformed Bow Wow Wow and embarked on the "Barking Mad" reunion tour with guitarist Dave Calhoun and drummer

Eshan Khadaroo Eshan may refer to: * Eshan Yi Autonomous County, Yuxi, Yunnan Province, China * Eshan Hilal, Indian belly dancer * Eshan Nayeck (died 1987), Mauritian convicted murderer See also * Eshani, a town and union council of Barkhan District, Balochistan ...

. The tour produced the live CD ''

Wild in the U.S.A. ''Wild in the U.S.A.'' is a compilation album by English New wave music, new wave band Bow Wow Wow, released solely on compact disc in 1998 by Cleopatra Records. ''Wild in the U.S.A.'' is a 20-track compilation. The first six tracks are remixes o ...

'' which also included remixes of previous Bow Wow Wow tracks. The tour sparked off a spate of label interest. This demand also prompted Leigh to move to America. Missing the dance world and playing in the live arena, in March 2000, Leigh joined SoCal organic/electronic rave band Electric Skychurch for some live dates. The band achieved notoriety playing sunrise sets at the infamous Full Moon Gatherings deep in the Mojave Desert. Gorman and Lwin recorded a new song, entitled "A Thousand Tears", for Bill Fishman's 1999 film, '' Desperate But Not Serious'' (retitled ''Reckless + Wild'' in the US). Gorman and Lwin also made cameos in this film that starred

Christine Taylor Christine Joan Taylor Stiller (born July 30, 1971) is an American actress. She is known for playing Marcia Brady in ''The Brady Bunch Movie'' and ''A Very Brady Sequel'', as well as roles in films like '' The Craft'', ''The Wedding Singer'', ''Z ...

and

Claudia Schiffer Claudia Maria Schiffer (; born 25 August 1970) is a German model and actress based in the United Kingdom. She rose to fame in the 1990s as one of the world's most successful models, attaining supermodel status. In her early career, she was compa ...

. In 2003 Gorman and Lwin reformed Bow Wow Wow again with Los Angeles guitarist

Phil Gough Philip Gough is a guitarist, singer-songwriter, film score composer, music producer and engineer. Phil has played in the bands, Novacaine (1996–1997), Bow Wow Wow (1999–2009), English Beat (2014), Common Sense (2001–present). As a compo ...

and

Adrian Young Adrian Samuel Young (born August 26, 1969) is an American drummer and member of the rock bands No Doubt and Dreamcar. Biography When not performing, in the studio or touring, Young likes to spend his time out on the golf course, as he is an ...

No Doubt No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California, formed in 1986. For most of their career, the band has consisted of vocalist Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal, and drummer Adrian Young. Since the mid-1990s, they ...

on drums to play the Inland Invasion show as part of

KROQ-FM KROQ-FM (106.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pasadena, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock format known as "The World Famous KROQ" (pronounced "kay-rock"). The stat ...

's 25th Anniversary celebrations. The band has maintained a frequent small-venue concert schedule through November 2006. In June 2006 Bow Wow Wow recorded a cover of

The Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to emerg ...

' " I Started Something" for a proposed Smiths tribute record. The recording can be found on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

, and it also appears on the soundtrack of the film '' Blood and Chocolate'', and a promo edit of the recording can be heard on Gorman's MySpace page. When he's not on the road with Bow Wow Wow, Gorman lives and works in Los Angeles producing bands (most recently

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...

and Calahan), doing remixes (including the alternative radio remix of the

Meredith Brooks Meredith Ann Brooks (born June 12, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist best known for her 1997 hit song "Bitch", for which she was nominated for a Grammy Award. Career Brooks started her music career in 1976 as a member of ...

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album ''All Hail the Que ...

duet "

Lay Down "Lay Down" is a single by the Strawbs which reached No. 12 in the UK Singles Chart in October 1972 - their first hit. It was included on their 1973 album '' Bursting at the Seams''. The lyrics are loosely based on the 23rd Psalm in the Old Test ...

") and composing music for TV and film (

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

and The Tenants). With a new guitarist (Jimmy Magoon) and drummer (Dylan Thomas), Bow Wow Wow played shows in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and toured the UK during 2011-2012. In December 2012, Gorman began performing under the name "Bow Wow Wow" new singer Chloe Demetria of the band Vigilant replacing Lwin on vocals. In 2014, actor/musician Zachary Throne (

Sin City Sinners Sin City Sinners is a group of musicians who perform self-penned originals and rock and roll covers at key venues throughout Las Vegas, Nevada. The band is composed of a tight-knit group of core members: Brent Muscat (ex-Faster Pussycat), guita ...

) joined the band on guitar. In a 2016 ''

Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...

'' interview, Gorman indicated that he was interested in creating new Bow Wow Wow music with this lineup.

References

External links

* - inactive * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gorman, Leigh English rock bass guitarists Male bass guitarists Bow Wow Wow members Adam and the Ants members English new wave musicians Living people 1961 births