Dalek I Love You were a synthpop group from the Wirral, England. At various points in their existence, the band was also known as Dalek I. Record executives at

Phonogram Phonogram may refer to: * A sound recording – see Geneva Phonograms Convention * ''Phonogram'' (comics), a comic book by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie * Phonogram (linguistics), a grapheme which represents a phoneme or a combination of phone ...

shortened the band's name without telling them for the "Freedom Fighters" single.

History

Roots: Mr. McKenzie and Radio Blank

By the mid-1970s,

David Balfe David Balfe (born 1958 in Carlisle, Cumberland) is a musician and record company executive, most notable for playing keyboards with the Teardrop Explodes, founding the Zoo and Food independent record labels, signing Blur and for being the subj ...

Alan Gill Alan David Gill is an English vocalist, guitarist and songwriter, who formed part of the synthpop band Dalek I Love You and the post-punk/neo-psychedelic band the Teardrop Explodes. Biography Early career Living in Thingwall, Wirral, he form ...

and Keith Hartley, three residents of

Thingwall Thingwall is a village on the Wirral Peninsula, in Merseyside, England. The village is situated approximately to the south west of Birkenhead and north east of Heswall. Historically part of Cheshire, the area is within the Pensby and Thingwal ...

on the

Wirral Peninsula Wirral (; ), known locally as The Wirral, is a peninsula in North West England. The roughly rectangular peninsula is about long and wide and is bounded by the River Dee to the west (forming the boundary with Wales), the River Mersey to ...

, had formed a band called Mr. McKenzie. In November 1976, as

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

was emerging and influencing them, the group changed their name to Radio Blank, composed of Balfe (bass and keyboards), Gill (guitar and vocals) and Hartley (lead vocals and guitar) as well as Stephen Brick (drums). They played their own material and also some covers, such as "

You Really Got Me "You Really Got Me" is a song written by Ray Davies for English rock band the Kinks. The song, originally performed in a more blues-oriented style, was inspired by artists such as Lead Belly and Big Bill Broonzy. Two versions of the song were ...

" and "

Peaches The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-fu ...

". Five of their 15 live gigs were at Eric's Club in Liverpool. Balfe and Gill lost interest in punk during 1977, and dissolved the band in October 1977 to form a more experimental project.

First years (1977–1980)

In December 1977, Balfe and Gill, influenced by Kraftwerk, formed Dalek I Love You. The name was a compromise: Balfe wanted to call the band the

Dalek The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrials in fiction, extraterrestrial race of mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction on television, science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by write ...

s (after the '' Doctor Who'' villains), while Gill wanted to call the band Darling, I Love You. The other two founding members were Dave Hughes (keyboards) and

Chris Teepee Chris Shaw, also known as Chris Teepee (a name which originated during his 'Teachers Practice'), is an English musician from Upton on the Wirral. Shaw is a drummer, synthesizer player and guitarist who has played with various Wirral and Liverp ...

(rhythm unit and tapes). In 1978, Balfe left the group to manage other bands, and eventually joined Big in Japan and later

the Teardrop Explodes The Teardrop Explodes were an English post-punk/neo-psychedelic band formed in Liverpool in 1978. Best known for their Top Ten UK single " Reward", the group originated as a key band in the emerging Liverpool post-punk scene of the late 1970s. ...

. In August 1978, the band were joined by Martin Cooper (saxophone),

Andy McCluskey George Andrew McCluskey (born 24 June 1959) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. He is best known as the lead singer and bass guitarist of the electronic band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), which he founded a ...

(lead vocals and bass, who was previously in the Id) and Kenny Peers (drums), along with poets Gordon Hon (aka "The Worm") and Max the Actor. In September, McCluskey quit to rejoin a former Id bandmate,

Paul Humphreys Paul David Humphreys (born 27 February 1960) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who is best known for his contributions to Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), a new wave band which he founded alongside Andy McCluskey in 1978. ...

, to form

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English electronic band formed in Wirral, Merseyside, in 1978. The group consists of co-founders Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboards, vocals), along with Martin Co ...

, and by October 1978, only Gill and Hughes remained in the band. As a duo, they signed to Inevitable Records. A demo of "Freedom Fighters" attracted the interest of Phonogram Records, who then signed them. However, Phonogram shortened the name of the band to Dalek I for the initial releases, and wanted to change the chords of "Freedom Fighters". On 16 July 1979, Dalek I released their first single, "Freedom Fighters", on Phonogram's

Vertigo Records Vertigo Records is a record company with United Kingdom origins. It was a subsidiary of the Philips/Phonogram record label, launched in 1969 to specialise in progressive rock and other non-mainstream musical styles. Today, it is operated by Uni ...

subsidiary, containing the eponymous song and B-side "Two Chameleons". It was followed by "The World" (2 October 1979) on Vertigo, and "Dalek I Love You (Destiny)" (1 May 1980), on the Back Door subsidiary, founded by the Blitz Brothers. The latter duo, composed of

Chris Hughes Chris Hughes (born November 26, 1983) is an American entrepreneur and author who co-founded and served as spokesman for the online social directory and networking site Facebook until 2007. He was the publisher and editor-in-chief of ''The New R ...

and Paul Collister (OMD's then-manager), produced the singles under that name. Dalek I's debut album, '' Compass Kumpas'' (stylized as ''Compass kum'pəs''), was released 24 May 1980 on Back Door/Phonogram. It was critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful. By the time of the album's release, Gill was the only remaining member, maintaining the Dalek I Love You name (Dave Hughes having left to join OMD, and then forming the duo Godot with Hartley). The project soon went on hiatus and Gill joined the Teardrop Explodes in July 1980, replacing Mick Finkler. Gill contributed two important things to the band: their most successful single, " Reward", which he co-wrote, and

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...

, which he introduced to frontman Julian Cope. His stay with the band was short-lived, however.

Reformation

By 1981, Gill had reformed Dalek I Love You, with himself as the sole member. He was augmented by Hugh Jones and Chuca Russo on vocal harmonies, and

on drums for the recording of a single, "Heartbeat", released on 28 February 1981 by Back Door. By 1983, the band consisted of Gill and returning members Hartley, Hon and Peers, with backing vocalists Chuca Russo, Heather Balshaw and Amanda Hon (née Hawkins). They released an eponymously titled

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

in November 1983 on the Korova label. Hon left for London to study fine art. Gill continued making and recording music with local artists, starting his own cassette-only label, Bop a Dub. In 1985, the band released the cassette-only '' Naive'' and effectively disbanded shortly afterwards. The band's first two albums were reissued in the UK on

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Oc ...

, ''Compass Kumpas'' in 1989 by Fontana Records (with four bonus tracks), and ''Dalek I Love You'' in 2007 by Korova (in a remastered and expanded edition).

Legacy

The band inspired the title of '' Dalek I Love You,'' a

radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

which premiered on the British digital radio station

BBC 7 BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British digital radio station from the BBC, broadcasting archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes nationally, 24 hours a day. It is the sister station of BBC Radio 4 and the p ...

on 11 February 2006. The story centred on a man obsessed with '' Doctor Who'' who falls in love at a

science fiction convention Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of the speculative fiction genre, science fiction. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expre ...

. A sequel was produced in 2008 entitled Dalek, I Love You Too. The band also inspired the title of ''Dalek I Loved You'', an autobiography by the journalist Nick Griffiths about his life as a ''Doctor Who'' fan, published in 2007.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Compass Kumpas'' (1980, Back Door/

) UK No. 54 * '' Dalek I Love You'' (1983, Korova) * '' Naive'' cassette only (1985, Bop a Dub)

Singles

* "Freedom Fighters" () ** 7": Vertigo/Phonogram DALEK 1 * "The World" () ** 7": Vertigo/Phonogram DALEK 2 * "Dalek I Love You (Destiny)" () ** 7": Back Door/Phonogram DOOR 005 * "Heartbeat" () ** 7": Back Door/Phonogram DOOR 10 ** 12": Back Door/Phonogram DOOR 10-12 * "Holiday in Disneyland" () ** 7": Korova/WEA KOW 25 ** 12": Korova/WEA KOW 25T * "Ambition" () ** 7": Korova/WEA KOW 29 ** 12": Korova/WEA KOW 29T * "Horrorscope" () ** 7": Korova/WEA KOW 31 ** 12": Korova/WEA KOW 31T

Compilation appearances

* "Dalek I Love You (Destiny)" on ''Machines'' (1980,

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

) * "Dalek I Love You", "Freedom Fighters" and "The World" on ''Thru' the Back Door'' (1980, Mercury) * "A Suicide" on ''To the Shores Of Lake Placid'' (1982, Zoo) * "Freedom Fighters" (demo version) on ''Small Hits & Near Misses/The Inevitable Compilation'' (1984, Inevitable/

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

) * "Everything I Do" on '' Liverpool...All of This & Heaven Too'' (1990, Homar) * "Holiday in Disneyland" on ''North by North West - Departure 1976 Arrival 1984'' (2006, Korova)

References

External links

Dalekiloveyou.com - fansite

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dalek I Love You English post-punk music groups English new wave musical groups Musical groups from Merseyside British synth-pop new wave groups Phonogram Inc. artists Vertigo Records artists English synth-pop groups