Brilliant (band)
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Brilliant were a British pop/rock group active in the 1980s. Although not commercially successful, they remain notable because of the personnel involved - Jimmy Cauty, later to find fame and fortune as one half of The KLF; June Montana, who later provided vocals for a KLF spin-off project, Disco 2000; Martin Glover aka Youth, formerly of Killing Joke and subsequently a top producer/remixer; and (prior to the band signing with WEA) Ben Watkins aka Juno Reactor. Equally notable was their management (David Balfe), their record company A&R manager (Bill Drummond, the other member of The KLF), and production team (Stock Aitken Waterman).
Reviews
Trouser Press reviewer Ira Robbins called Kiss the Lips of Life "dismal" and the band "cynical"[Trouserpress.com - Youth and Ben Watkins] and "wretched", adding that "[their] lasting cultural significance amounts to its inclusion of ex-Zodiac Mindwarp keyboardist/guitarist Jimmy Cauty, with whom [Bill] Drummond concocted the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu (JAMs)"[Trouserpress.com - The KLF].The All Music Guide were a little more generous, calling Brilliant an initially "promising act: a more soulful take on the aggressive funk-rock of Killing Joke" but added that, after being teamed up with Stock, Aitken and Waterman, they "came up with a generic pop-dance album that fell well short of the original concept". Awarding Kiss the Lips of Life two stars out of five, they added that "What aggression there is comes courtesy of Jimmy Cauty's metallic guitar solos; the sterile synth whitewash of SAW dominates the rest of the mix, and vocalist June Montana isn't strong or distinctive enough to fight through it"[Album review (AMG)].
However, even Bill Drummond - the A&R man who had signed them - had harsh words to say about the project: "I signed a band called Brilliant, who I worked with, we worked together, and it was complete failure. Artistically bankrupt project. And financially deaf. We spent £300 000 on making an album that was useless. Useless artistically, useless... commercially."Transcript of a Bill Drummond interview on "Bomlagadafshipoing" (Norwegian national radio house-music show), September 1991 ([link]).
Discography
Singles
- "Colours", 1983 UK (Risk Records/Rough Trade)
- "Soul Murder", 1984 UK (Food Records)
- "Wait For It", 1984 UK (WEA/Food Records)
- "It's A Man's Man's Man's World", 1985 UK (WEA/Food Records)
- "Love Is War", 1986 UK (WEA/Food Records)
- "Somebody", 1986 UK (WEA/Food Records) USA (Atlantic)
- "The End Of The World", 1986 UK (WEA/Food Records)
Albums
- Kiss The Lips Of Life, 1986 UK (WEA/Food Records) USA (Atlantic)
References
- Longmire, Ernie et al (2005). [KLF discography] Compiled by Ernie Longmire, this has been the authoratative KLF discography on the internet for some 10 years or more and has been the subject of long-term scrutiny and peer review by KLF fans and collectors. It is now maintained by the fan site klf.de.
Footnotes
External links
- [All Music Guide entry]
- [KLF discography] (includes Brilliant)
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