Marilyn (musician)
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Peter Robinson (born 3 November 1962), better known as Marilyn, is an English singer. He is known for his 1983 hit " Calling Your Name" and his
androgynous Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex, gender identity, or gender expression. When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics i ...
appearance.


Early life

Robinson was born in Kingston, Jamaica. At age five, he moved with his mother to
Borehamwood Borehamwood (, historically also Boreham Wood) is a town in southern Hertfordshire, England, from Charing Cross. Borehamwood has a population of 31,074, and is within the London commuter belt. The town's film and TV studios are commonly known ...
, England. He left school at 15, and has stated that he was bullied at school for being feminine, and that he self-harmed.


The Marilyn persona

As a boy, Robinson loved Marilyn Monroe's image, and Marilyn became his school nickname. While the name originated from homophobic bullies at school, Robinson decided to appropriate it to his advantage. As a teenager, he was a regular nightclub-goer and wanted to look different, so he adopted a
Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...
image wearing vintage dresses with bleached blond hair. He became part of the British
New Romantic The New Romantic movement was an underground subculture movement that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The movement emerged from the nightclub scene in London and Birmingham at venues such as Billy's and The Blitz. The New ...
movement which emerged in the late 1970s club scene and was popularised in the early 1980s. Robinson was a regular at 'The Blitz' nightclub (regulars being labelled as
Blitz Kids The Blitz Kids were a group of people who frequented the Tuesday club-night at Blitz in Covent Garden, London in 1979-80, and are credited with launching the New Romantic subcultural movement. History Steve Strange and Rusty Egan co-hosted t ...
), a highly stylised club in London run by
Steve Strange Stephen John Harrington (28 May 1959 – 12 February 2015), known professionally as Steve Strange, was a Welsh singer. From the late 1970s he was a nightclub host and promoter. He became famous as the leader of the new wave synth-pop group ...
of the pop group Visage, and a place which spawned many early 1980s pop stars such as
Spandau Ballet Spandau Ballet () were an English new wave band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital's post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as the house band for the Blitz Kids, playing "European Da ...
. During this time, Robinson met
Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singe ...
(prior to his forming
Culture Club Culture Club are an English pop band formed in London in 1981. The band comprises Boy George (lead vocals), Roy Hay (guitar and keyboards), Mikey Craig (bass guitar) and formerly included Jon Moss (drums and percussion). Emerging in the New ...
), and the pair would later share a squat together. In 1979, Robinson appeared in the documentary ''Steppin' Out'' directed by
Lyndall Hobbs Lyndall Hobbs (born 1952) is an Australian film director and producer. Life and career Hobbs was born in Australia in 1952. She spent many years in the United Kingdom, during which time she directed the documentary film ''Steppin' Out'' (1979) ...
, which explored the fashionable nightclubs and the trendy pop culture scenes that were famous in London in the late '70s. It was shown as the support film to ''
Alien Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...
'' in British cinemas. Also in 1979, he appeared in the first segment of director
Derek Jarman Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman (31 January 1942 – 19 February 1994) was an English artist, film maker, costume designer, stage designer, writer, gardener and gay rights activist. Biography Jarman was born at the Royal Victoria Nursing Home ...
's 12-minute short film ''Broken English''. While Boy George went on to form
Culture Club Culture Club are an English pop band formed in London in 1981. The band comprises Boy George (lead vocals), Roy Hay (guitar and keyboards), Mikey Craig (bass guitar) and formerly included Jon Moss (drums and percussion). Emerging in the New ...
in 1981 and secured a recording deal with Virgin Records, Marilyn was still scouting for a recording contract and had relocated to Los Angeles for some time. There, he worked as a personal assistant to daytime soap star
Terry Lester Terry Lester (April 13, 1950 – November 28, 2003) was an American actor. His best known roles include Jack Abbott on ''The Young and the Restless'', Mason Capwell on '' Santa Barbara'' and Royce Keller on ''As the World Turns''. Early life ...
, and teamed up with songwriter and pop entrepreneur
Paul Caplin Paul Caplin (born 31 December 1954 in London, England) is an English businessman, musician, videographer and entrepreneur. Caplin studied as a mathematician at Imperial College, London and at Cambridge University. His career has spanned music, ...
who became his manager.


Career


Music career: 1980s

After Marilyn's friend Boy George had made a commercial impact with Culture Club, record companies were looking for other artists with a similar cross-dressing image. In 1983, following a high-profile appearance in the promo video for
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 ...
' hit single, " Who's That Girl?", Robinson signed his own recording contract as Marilyn with
Phonogram Records Phonogram Incorporated was started in 1970 as a successor to Philips Phonographic Industries, a unit of the Grammophon-Philips Group (GPG), a joint venture of Philips N.V. of the Netherlands and Siemens A.G. of Germany. Phonogram was the name ...
. Marilyn's first chart success came in late 1983 with his debut single " Calling Your Name" which reached the Top 5 in the UK and Australia, and number 1 in Japan. He had two further minor UK Top 40 hits in 1984 with "Cry and Be Free" and "You Don't Love Me" (the latter of which he performed at the Children's Royal Variety Performance held at
Her Majesty's Theatre Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, ...
, London, in the presence of
The Princess Anne Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of Ki ...
). In March 1984, Marilyn flew to Australia for a 10-day promotional tour and was besieged by fans who were waiting to greet him at Melbourne Airport. Film footage of his arrival was broadcast on that evening's television news. While in Australia, he was attacked and kicked in the face by a member of the public at the Exchange Hotel, a gay bar venue in Sydney, sustaining a bruised eye from the incident. In late 1984, Marilyn took part in the Band Aid charity single "
Do They Know It's Christmas "Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a charity song written in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. It was first recorded by Band Aid, a supergroup assembled by Geldof and Ure consisting of popu ...
" along with various other pop stars of the era. In early 1985, now facing financial difficulties and being forced to give up his London home, Phonogram Records dispatched him to Detroit, Michigan, to work with producer
Don Was Don Edward Fagenson (born September 13, 1952), known professionally as Don Was, is an American musician, record producer and record executive. Primarily a bass player, Was co-founded the funk-rock band Was (Not Was). In later years he produced s ...
. While in America, he cut his trademark long blonde hair short and ceased wearing make-up, abandoning the image that had brought him his initial success. After spending a week recording new material with Was, Marilyn was scheduled to perform live for the first time at New York's famed Area nightclub. The performance was intended to be filmed for use in the promo video for his new single, "Baby U Left Me", but the film crew were delayed, and although Marilyn proceeded to go onstage anyway, the performance was ruined by technical problems with the club's
PA system A public address system (or PA system) is an electronic system comprising microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, and related equipment. It increases the apparent volume (loudness) of a human voice, musical instrument, or other acoustic sound sou ...
. Midway through his first song, Marilyn abandoned the performance. In June 1985, Marilyn released his debut album, ''
Despite Straight Lines ''Despite Straight Lines'' is the only studio album by British singer-songwriter Marilyn, released in 1985. Overview Although Marilyn had scored three top 40 hits throughout the 1983–84 period, his debut album was not released until mid-1985 ...
''. Despite including his three earlier UK Top 40 hit singles, the album only charted in Australia. Further singles from the album, "Baby U Left Me" and "Pray for That Sunshine" were unsuccessful, although the former reached the top 40 in Australia. By this time, Robinson's drug addiction and his highly publicised disputes with Boy George damaged his public image. Public tastes were also changing, and his music career suffered. Despite the problems in New York the year before, Marilyn performed live once in December 1986 at the Mud Club in London, where he performed a cover version of "
Spirit in the Sky "Spirit in the Sky" is a song by American singer-songwriter Norman Greenbaum, originally written and recorded by Greenbaum and released in late 1969 from the album of the same name. The single became a gold record, selling two million copies f ...
" which was planned to be his new single but was never released. By 1989, Robinson had signed with the Interbeat label, though again no new recordings surfaced. He then dropped out of the public eye for the next decade, abandoning his music career.


Activities from late 1990s–2006

Robinson first reappeared in 1999 when he was interviewed on the
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
programme ''Top Ten New Romantics'', though he himself was not listed in the chart. In 2000, he attempted to relaunch his career and recorded a new single as Marilyn, a cover version of the
Dennis Brown Dennis Emmanuel Brown CD (1 February 1957 – 1 July 1999) was a Jamaican reggae singer. During his prolific career, which began in the late 1960s when he was aged eleven, he recorded more than 75 albums and was one of the major stars of l ...
song "How Could I Live?" for Desilu Records based in Jamaica. Robinson recorded the track in Jamaica and a few months later producer Nick Cabrera flew out there to supervise the final work on the track and its subsequent remixes. German producer Kinky Roland also made a remix of the track. Following disagreements with the label, Robinson refused to let the single be released, though some 12" promotional copies do exist. In 2001, Robinson appeared in the BBC documentary programme ''A Fine Romance: The Story of the New Romantics''. On 2 September 2001, Marilyn performed a live appearance at the ''Sound on Sunday'' club night in Leicester Square, London. It was his first live performance in over 14 years. To promote the gig, Robinson gave a series of magazine interviews. A 4-track self-released CD-R of older material was issued in 2003. The same year, Robinson appeared on the
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
television show '' The Salon'', a reality show based at a hairdressing salon where members of the public and several celebrities went for haircuts and beauty treatments. He also appeared in the TV documentary ''25 Years of Smash Hits'' that traced the influence of UK pop music. In 2006, Robinson was interviewed in the
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
TV documentary ''Whatever Happened to the Gender Benders?'', which reflected on the advent of the New Romantic movement of the early 1980s and the prominent roles that he, Boy George and Steve Strange played within it.


Career since 2013

On 16 May 2013, Robinson appeared on Birmingham's Switch Radio where he gave a 30-minute interview. The following month, he appeared on Kev Gurney's ''Club Tropicana'' radio show on Bolton 96.5 radio where he gave a 20-minute interview in which he speaks candidly about his life. During the interview, he revealed that he has been back in the recording studio and is currently working on four new tracks with a new production team, and suggested the possibility of live dates in the future. He appeared on an episode of ''
Celebrity Gogglebox ''Gogglebox'' is a British reality television series created by Stephen Lambert, Tania Alexander and Tim Harcourt, and broadcast on Channel 4. The series documents families and groups of friends around the United Kingdom who are filmed for thei ...
'' that aired on Channel 4 on 9 October 2015 as part of the channel's Stand Up to Cancer Charity Evening. Robinson began reporting on his Facebook page in Spring 2015 that he has been writing and recording some new material with Boy George as producer, and some re-recordings of his back catalogue. He spoke about the new recordings at length during a June 2016 interview. On 23 September 2016, Marilyn released his first new single in over 30 years, entitled "Love or Money". The same day, both he and Boy George appeared on the television show ''
BBC Breakfast ''BBC Breakfast'' is the BBC television Breakfast television, breakfast news programme. Produced by BBC News, the programme is broadcast on BBC One and the BBC News (TV channel), BBC News channel. The simulcast is presented live, originally from ...
'', which showed the promo video for the single. The pair were also interviewed on ''
Loose Women ''Loose Women'' (previously known as ''Live Talk'' from 2000 to 2001) is a British talk show that broadcasts on ITV1 weekdays from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. The show focuses on a panel of four female presenters who interview celebrities, talk about ...
'' on 26 September 2016.


Personal life

Robinson has been candid about the effect drug abuse has had on his life, and the physical and mental health problems he has suffered. In 1986, both he and Boy George were arrested in London on charges of drug possession. On 20 August 1986, at Marylebone Magistrates Court in London, a magistrate dismissed a heroin charge against Robinson because the prosecution offered no evidence. In a November 2014 interview with the ''Daily Mirror'', he said that he was a heroin addict from the mid-1980s to the mid-2000s. Robinson says he has been clear of all drugs since 2010, after a period in rehab prompted by some specific severe health problems. In his 1995 autobiography '' Take It Like a Man'', Boy George wrote that in the 1980s Robinson had a relationship with singer
Gavin Rossdale Gavin McGregor Rossdale (born 30 October 1965) is an English guitarist and actor, best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Bush. He helped form Bush in 1992; on the band's separation in 2002, he became the lead singer ...
. In a 1996 interview for ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'', Rossdale responded: "That's George's take – he doesn't know me. There's a queue of people going to their lawyers about stuff in his book. I hope he manages to sell some books by putting my name in there." Elsewhere both Rossdale and Robinson initially denied the story but in 2003 Robinson dedicated the Marilyn CD "Hold on Tight" to Rossdale, citing "the years of our passionate relationship" and featuring a photo of them together on the cover. Later, both men spoke more candidly about their relationship, with Robinson confirming in 2009 that they had been "together five years" in the 1980s while in 2010 Rossdale said the relationship with Robinson had been an experimentation and "part of growing up". Robinson said, "Gavin and Gwen tefani, Rossdale's then-wifeare perfect for each other, but he was the love of my life."


Depictions in culture and media

Exhibitions that have included material relating to Marilyn: Nicola Tyson's ''2013 Bowie Nights at Billy's Club, London, 1978'' Exhibition at Sadie Coles HQ Gallery, London W1 – 25 January – 23 February 2013 Marilyn modelled for several fashion designers including
Jean Paul Gaultier Jean Paul Gaultier (; born 24 April 1952) is a French haute couture and prêt-à-porter fashion designer. He is described as an "enfant terrible" of the fashion industry and is known for his unconventional designs with motifs including corsets, ...
and
Vivienne Westwood Dame Vivienne Isabel Westwood (née Swire; born 8 April 1941) is an English fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream. Westwood came to public notice when she m ...
. Several photographs of Marilyn are housed in London's National Portrait Gallery. Books that have included references to Marilyn include: ''We Can Be Heroes: Punks, Poseurs, Peacocks and People of a Particular Persuasion'' by Graham Smith, published by Unbound – 20 November 2012. ''Take It Like a Man: The Autobiography of Boy George'' (1995) – Marilyn features prominently in Boy George's autobiography, which reflects on their long friendship and years together from living in a London squat and working at the Blitz Club. In the book, George claims that while they were living in a squat together, they were chased out by a neighbour (male) who was attracted to Marilyn, but who then broke the door down with an axe when he discovered Marilyn was a man. He also claims Marilyn once tried to seduce
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 ...
at a London nightclub but was rebuffed. Marilyn has been portrayed in several productions, including Boy George's stage musical ''
Taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
'' which reflected on the
New Romantic The New Romantic movement was an underground subculture movement that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The movement emerged from the nightclub scene in London and Birmingham at venues such as Billy's and The Blitz. The New ...
scene of the early '80s. He was also portrayed by the actor Freddie Fox in the 2010 BBC television film ''
Worried About the Boy ''Worried About the Boy'' is a 2010 British biographical drama television film directed by Julian Jarrold and written by Tony Basgallop, based on the life of English singer Boy George. It stars Douglas Booth as Boy George and Mathew Horne as h ...
'', about the rise of Boy George in the early '80s.


Discography


Albums


Singles


References


External links


Marilyn
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Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

Marilyn
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Last.fm Last.fm is a music website founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. Using a music recommender system called "Audioscrobbler", Last.fm builds a detailed profile of each user's musical taste by recording details of the tracks the user listens to, e ...

Marilyn
at
IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
{{Authority control 1962 births 20th-century English singers 20th-century English male singers 21st-century English singers 21st-century English male singers English drag queens English new wave musicians English pop singers English male singer-songwriters English gay musicians LGBT singers from the United Kingdom LGBT songwriters Living people Male new wave singers Mercury Records artists People from Borehamwood Phonogram Inc. artists Singers from London Squatters 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people