The Flaming Mussolinis were a 1980s pop/rock band from

Teesside Teesside () is a built-up area around the River Tees in the north of England, split between County Durham and North Yorkshire. The name was initially used as a county borough in the North Riding of Yorkshire. Historically a hub for heavy manu ...

who released two albums, and had a minor UK hit with "My Cleopatra".

History

The band formed in 1984 in Middlesbrough, United Kingdom, although various members had been in local

(North-east England) bands since the late 1970s. The most notable of these bands was

Basczax Basczax were a British post-punk band formed in Redcar in August 1978.Ogg, Alex (2006) ''No More Heroes: a Complete History of UK Punk from 1976 to 1980'', Cherry Red Books, , p. 79-80 History The band was formed by Mick Todd, who recorded a de ...

. They signed to

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

in-house label

Portrait Records Portrait Records was a sister label of Epic Records and later of Columbia Records. Notable artists Cyndi Lauper and Sade signed with Portrait, but their contracts were absorbed by Epic after that incarnation of the label was shuttered. History ...

in 1985 and were tipped for big things. The band released five singles: "Swallow Glass", "My Cleopatra" (a minor UK hit at #79), "Masuka Dan", "Girl on a Train" and "Different Kind of Love". They also released two albums: ''Watching the Film'' (1986) and ''Charmed Life'' (1987). The band's song "Angels Fall Down" was a finalist in the

World Popular Song Festival The , also known as Yamaha Music Festival and unofficially as the "Oriental Eurovision", was an international song contest held from 1970 until 1989. It was organised by the Yamaha Music Foundation in Tokyo, Japan from 1970 until 1989. The first ed ...

in 1986. Critical coverage was mixed. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' touted them in 1986 as "a band with something new to say", and ''Fanfare'' described ''Watching the Film'' as "good noise of the post-'87 boomlet: laid back, languid, and cleaner than most", The band split up in 1988. Alan Savage later became a school teacher.

Members

*Alan Savage - vocals/guitar (Now works as a teacher) *Kit Haigh - guitar *Jeff Fogarty - saxophone and keyboards *Doug Maloney - bass guitar, keyboard programming, backing vocals *

Craig McClune Craig McClune, commonly known as Clune, is a British musician and producer, known mostly as the drummer, percussionist, backing vocalist and bass player for David Gray. He first appeared with Gray on his second studio album, 1994's ''Flesh'', ...

- drums

Discography

Albums

*''Watching the Film'' (1986),

Portrait A portrait is a portrait painting, painting, portrait photography, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, Personality type ...

*''Charmed Life'' (1987),

Epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film with heroic elements Epic or EPIC may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and medi ...

Singles

*"Swallow Glass" (1985), Portrait *"My Cleopatra" (1985), Portrait - UK No. 79The Flaming Mussolinis
,

Official Charts Company The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. In the United Kingdom, its charts inc ...

. Retrieved 12 March 2016 *"Masuka Dan" (1986), Portrait *"Different Kind of Love" (1987), Epic *"Girl on a Train" (1987), Epic

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flaming Mussolinis English rock music groups English alternative rock groups Musical groups established in 1984 Musical groups disestablished in 1988 Epic Records artists Musical groups from North East England