The themes and imagery in the band's songs were often influenced by futuristic, dystopian, or post-apocalyptic films such as A Clockwork Orange, The Terminator, Blade Runner, and the Mad Max trilogy. The band's music and image also mashed together a range of other pop culture influences, including the New York electronica duo Suicide, Marc Bolan's T-Rex, and the swagger and sex appeal of Eddie Cochran, Elvis Presley, and glam rock.
The original line-up also featured Martin Degville, Neal X (Whitmore), Chris Kavanagh, and Ray Mayhew. Tony James' friend Mick Jones, a former member of The Clash, gave James advice about starting the band and selecting musicians. While searching for members, in 1983 Tony James tried out Andrew Eldritch from The Sisters of Mercy and, on Mick Jones' suggestion, auditioned the then-unknown Annie Lennox. As well, Jones gave James a Roland G-707 synth guitar, which at the time was a new and rarely-used device. The futuristic, electronic sounds of the synth guitar helped James to create Sputnik's new wave-cyberpunk sound.
The band took its name from a Moscow street gang called Sigue Sigue Sputnik, which means "Burn, burn, satellite." Their outlandish appearance and image, which included towering, multicoloured mohawk hairstyles, wigs, makeup, and multiple piercings, and gender-bending fetish clothing (plastic, rubber, or leather outfits, fishnet stockings, and stiletto heels) garnered a great deal of attention from the media. While these styles have since been used by a number of gothic or glam bands, in the mid-1980s, Sigue Sigue band members' appearance was unique and startling.
The "packaging" of the band's appearance and presentation was carefully considered well before the band ever performed in public. Inspired by the Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren's unorthodox methods of promoting a band, Tony James generated a great deal of hype about Sigue Sigue Sputnik, while wisely not allowing anyone from the music industry a chance to hear the band. James famously showed record executives a short video collage of futuristic and science-fiction movie clips as a "demo tape" of the band. The buzz became a frenzy as several record labels began a bidding war to sign Sigue Sigue Sputnik. James finally settled on EMI, which was rumored to have given the band a £1 million advance.
The group split soon after the release of their second album, Dress for Excess (the initial single from which, Success, was produced by British hitmakers Stock Aitken Waterman). Tony James stated that the band "...couldn't sustain this pretend bastardized version of Sputnik." James also blamed the media for the band's fall from grace. When Sputnik's first singles were released, the media and James' promotional efforts worked symbiotically, sharing the mutual benefits of the band's hype and shock value. Once the initial shock and tabloid outrage over the band's unusual image and appearance had worn off, media coverage became dismissive, criticizing the band's focus on image and style.
The band was reformed once in the 1990s (featuring Tomoyasu Hotei on guitar and Christopher Novak singing) releasing Sputnik: The Next Generation and once again in 2001 with Martin Degville and Neal X, which resulted in the release of Piratespace. The reformed Sigue Sigue Sputnik continues to play live, and it has also produced a number of remixes of other artists' work. In 2004, lead singer Martin Degville left the band to pursue a solo career.
http://www.sputnikworld.com
http://www.sputnik2.com
DISCOGRAPHY
Albinoni vs. Stars Wars
Sigue Sigue Sputnik Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Now come on baby 'n' feel the heat
My love machine ain't shootin' blanks
I'm just a sucker
For your teenage anguish
Chorus:
The Ayatollah's got the blues
Star wars on an acid cruise
Albinoni's blown a fuse
Let's dance
With digital technology
An IBM for company
Disco trash and D.A.T.
Here comes another robbery
Chorus
It's revolution No. 10
Here comes thje stun guitar again
So watch out baby Zeppelin
Cos I'm the classic hooligan
Well Mozart said he stole the lot
And Verdi said he wrote a flop
Yeah, T. Rex and a drum machine
That's all
I need to smash that scene
Let's dance, let's dance
Let's dance
Let's dance (to end)
The lyrics to Sigue Sigue Sputnik's "Albinoni vs Star Wars" are an eclectic mix of references to popular culture, technology, and rebellion. The lines "Shake your body to the beat / Now come on baby 'n' feel the heat / My love machine ain't shootin' blanks / I'm just a sucker / For your teenage anguish" refer to the pleasure-seeking culture of the 80s, with an allusion to male sexual virility.
The chorus "The Ayatollah's got the blues / Star wars on an acid cruise / A supersonic super groove / Albinoni's blown a fuse" seems to juxtapose religious and political tensions with themes from science fiction, music, and technology. The image of the Ayatollah having the blues reflects the geopolitical climate of the time, while Star Wars and Albinoni represent artistic works that are being disrupted in some way. The use of "an acid cruise" and "supersonic super groove" creates an atmosphere of frenzied ecstasy that could represent the feeling of rebellion.
The verses "With digital technology / An IBM for company / Disco trash and D.A.T. / Here comes another robbery" seem to deride the commercialism of modern music production. This is further emphasized in the lines "Well Mozart said he stole the lot / And Verdi said he wrote a flop / Yeah, T. Rex and a drum machine / That's all / I need to smash that scene", which suggest that musicians today are capable of creating hits without the talent of their classical predecessors.
Overall, the lyrics to "Albinoni vs Star Wars" are a celebration of technology, rebellion, and the pleasure-seeking culture of the 80s.
Line by Line Meaning
Shake your body to the beat
Get up and dance! Follow the rhythm!
Now come on baby 'n' feel the heat
Join in and feel the passion
My love machine ain't shootin' blanks
My love-making skills are on point, I never miss.
I'm just a sucker
For your teenage anguish
I am indulging in your young and wild spirit.
Chorus:
The Ayatollah's got the blues
Star wars on an acid cruise
A supersonic super groove
Albinoni's blown a fuse
Let's dance
This world is a mess and everyone's going crazy. Time for us to dance and forget all of it.
With digital technology
An IBM for company
Disco trash and D.A.T.
Here comes another robbery
We are surrounded by technology and the corporate world. It's all so fake and robotic.
Chorus
Same as before.
It's revolution No. 10
Here comes thje stun guitar again
So watch out baby Zeppelin
Cos I'm the classic hooligan
I am part of the revolution and I am here to make a statement. I am the bad boy with my electric guitar, about to show off my skills.
Well Mozart said he stole the lot
And Verdi said he wrote a flop
Yeah, T. Rex and a drum machine
That's all
I need to smash that scene
Even the most successful artists have doubts and failures. But for me, all I need is a drum machine and a bit of T.Rextasy (energy) to take over.
Let's dance, let's dance
Let's dance
Let's dance (to end)
One last call to dance before the song ends.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Martin Degville, Neal Whitmore, Stephen Hague, Tony James, Stephen Eric Hague
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jonathanparrott6281
They were so ahead of their time, the sounds, the cool, I've seen these guys live and i love em they are a work of originality, a futuristic symphonic rocking space age sound of the future
@krishnamurti2996
1:28 still my favourite musical transition of all time
@wendybritz7850
still the best techno band I grew up with them still love there music I'm in my ooh 40ts
@dariowestern
They weren't strictly techno, more cyberpunk. But they still rocked! :)
@marcobaiocchi3837
sigue sigue sputnik 🔥
forever🔥!
Time will prove us right🎶!
@04opocin
Released as a single in the UK in May 1989.
@gustavorivashellwig3241
Love this guys until today!!!!
@noserialkiller3596
One of the best songs on the album! These guys r our biggest musical influence. No Serial Killer.
@montgomerydenzer8805
On the beach with the Rolls Royce seats   cool
@House0fwax
'On the beach with a Rolls Royce each.' :)