920 E ROOSEVELT RD WEST CHICAGO IL 60185
Hello , My Name is Neil
Neil Arthur
LIVE ENTERTAINMENT IN THE WESTERN BURBS !
SAT , MAY 04
SLAYER TRIBUTE REIGN IN BLOOD
MEGADETH TRIBUTE
LAST RITES
LAMB OF GOD TRIBUTE 11th HOUR
FRI , MAY 10 BOYS OF FALL
GREYWIND GOOD TERMS WHEN THE SUN SETS BLUPRINT
SUN , MAY 12
CASKEY
ANGEL HILL
WED , MAY 15
CABAL BORN A NEW
WED , MAY 22
ANGELO MOORE
of FISHBONE
SAT , JUNE 1
VIOLENT VIRA
TUE , MAY 07
LITTLE MISS NASTY
SAT , MAY 11
PSYCHOSTICK
ALL METAL BEE GEES TRIBUTE
TRAGEDY
MON , MAY 13
MAYLENE & THE SONS OF DISASTER
ISLANDER LIMBS SALTWOUND STOLEN SUN
SAT , MAY 18 CATTLE DECAPITATION CARNIFEX RIVERS OF NIHIL HUMANITY ’ S LAST BREATH + MORE
SAT , MAY 25
TONI ROMITI
FRI & SAT JUNE 7-8
PRIDE METAL FEST
S
Photo by Helen Kincaid
tay in show business long enough , and you might not end up wealthy . But you ’ ll certainly be rich in colorful , often star-studded stories . Or at least that ’ s how Neil Arthur sees it at a sage-like 65 . Via the bouncy British New Wave combo Blancmange that he formed with keyboardist Stephen Luscombe way back in ’ 79 — and addictive smash hits like “ Waves ,”
“ Blind Vision ,” “ Don ’ t Tell Me , “ and “ Living on the Ceiling ” — the vocalist has happily lived to tell , and can now rattle off amazing tales for riveting hours , as Blancmange resurfaces with a new career-covering anthology Everything is Connected — The Best of Blancmange 1979 — 2024 on its old imprint London Records . For instance , the day the group taped its first appearance on the UK TV countdown Top of the Pops , when the musicians heard someone in the stage shadows singing along with every last lyric of the then-hit " Living on the Ceiling ” through not one , but three pre-show rehearsals . When the studio lights came up , Arthur was dumbfounded to see no less than George Michael — who was also on that episode with Wham ! — he was the mystery crooner and apparently already a huge Blancmange fan . And that ’ s just for intriguing starters .
Although the team technically disbanded in 1986 , leaving Arthur to investigate other sonic outlets such as Fader , Near Future , and the Remainder , they reformed for a fourth Blancmange disc , Blanc Burn , in 2011 , and when Luscombe departed for medical reasons , Arthur soldiered on under the old group banner , leading to recent catalog additions like 2021 ’ s Commercial Break and 2022 ’ s Private View . The 38 “ Best Of ” tracks provide a candid portrait of a remarkable band life , taking into account the fact that the pair started with virtually nothing and had to jerry-rig instruments to capture the sounds it wanted as it went along . And the latest single , “ Again , I Wait For the World ,” is actually a ‘ 70s-vintage number that Arthur retooled for 2024 . And Blancmange is , he says , optimistically again still waiting to be a household name in our sad , somber , hope-bereft world . And hey — he can dream , can ’ t he ?
But as much as the frontman enjoys revisiting his own history , he adds , “ I ’ m not really one for nostalgia . I ’ m very proud of what I did years ago , but what I ’ m more interested in is what ’ s next and engaging in the creative process that can take me to that next stage .” Ergo , he says , he ’ s foreseeing more full-length outings from Fader , Near Future , and the Remainder , as well . “ And there are going to be a few more Blancmange albums because I ’ m writing them at the moment . And I ’ m even going out on tour with Blancmange over here , and The Remainder will be opening all 11 dates , so for me it ’ ll be a 22-date tour , and that ’ s a very exciting thing for me . “ So there are plenty more stories that I ’ m hoping for in the future , as well !”
IE : You recently turned 65 . How did it feel ? NEIL ARTHUR : Erm , nice , very nice , my 65th birthday . And I ’ m taking it as easy as possible . Butnow I don ’ t really think about it too much — I just get on , and I just go for another pint , have dinner , have a laugh , instead of spending too much time thinking about it . But I thought about my birthdays when I was 30 than when I turned 65 .
6 www . thewcsocialclub . com ★ facebook . com / TheWCSocialClub / illinoisentertainer . com may 2024
Continued on page 8