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
Boom Boom Satellite
Sigue Sigue Sputnik Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's astro a go go
Bike boy, pocket boy
Interstellar superjet
Boom boom this is what you get
Going high crazy
A mile high crazy
You're big 'n' you're bad
Year you're big 'n' you're bad
Oh you you're beautiful
Year you're beautiful
Sky rape, moon rake
Mm bigger gets better
Chorus:
Satellite satellite satellite
Satellite satellite satellite
Into the endless night
Sci-fi, why? why?
You're the future looking vision
High rise, atom eyes
You love boys and I love your eyes
Imagine no wars
No bombs, no stars
No films, no sex
No drugs, no bars
So stop! Look! And listen!
What a bore
Chorus
Love walk
- Find a place in your heart now
Love walk, love talk
- Love sensor sends a song to my heart
Love bot, go-bot
Baby it's a wind up!
Chorus x 2
The overall meaning of the song "Boom Boom Satellite" by Sigue Sigue Sputnik is somewhat abstract, with various pop-culture references and a general sci-fi vibe. The opening lines of "Star wars, star whores, sex stars" could be interpreted as a commentary on the commercialization of media and the way in which sex and violence are often used to sell products. From there, the song launches into a celebration of interstellar travel and a desire to reach ever greater heights, with lines like "Going high crazy" and "A mile high crazy."
The chorus of the song focuses on the idea of satellites, which are satellites in space that are used for various purposes such as communication, navigation, and military surveillance. The repetition of the word "satellite" in the chorus emphasizes the idea of reaching out into the unknown and exploring new frontiers. There is a sense of excitement and wonder as the song describes a future vision in which technologies like high-rise buildings and futuristic robots are commonplace.
However, the song also has a somewhat melancholic undertone, as evidenced by the lines "Imagine no wars / No bombs, no stars / No films, no sex / No drugs, no bars." This suggests a yearning for a simpler, more peaceful world in which pop culture and commercial interests do not hold such sway. In the end, though, the song seems to embrace the excitement and possibilities of reaching for the stars, even if that means getting caught up in the dizzying rush of a "boom boom satellite."
Line by Line Meaning
Star wars, star whores, sex stars
This song is about futuristic technology and space travel with themes of sex and promiscuity.
It's astro a go go
This line is referencing the popular dance craze of the 1960s called the 'Go-Go'.
Bike boy, pocket boy, Interstellar superjet
The song references a futuristic mode of transportation that is portable yet able to travel through space.
Boom boom this is what you get, Going high crazy, A mile high crazy
This refers to the intense and exciting experience of space travel.
You're big 'n' you're bad, Oh you're beautiful
This line suggests that the subject of the song is powerful and alluring.
Year you're big 'n' you're bad, Oh you you're beautiful, Year you're beautiful
This line is a repeat of the previous line.
Sky rape, moon rake, Mm bigger gets better
This line references the idea that the further we explore space, the more we learn and the greater our understanding becomes.
Satellite satellite satellite, Into the endless night
This line suggests that the subject of the song is a satellite traveling into the vastness of space.
Sci-fi, why? why?, You're the future looking vision
This line suggests that science fiction can prophesize what the future will look like.
High rise, atom eyes, You love boys and I love your eyes
This line is somewhat ambiguous but suggests a relationship between two people.
Imagine no wars, No bombs, no stars, No films, no sex, No drugs, no bars, So stop! Look! And listen!, What a bore
This is a commentary on the concept of a utopian society without conflict or excitement, which is considered to be dull and uninteresting.
Love walk, Find a place in your heart now, Love walk, love talk, Love sensor sends a song to my heart, Love bot, go-bot, Baby it's a wind up!
This final section of the song is an introspective look at the nature of love and affection.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: MARTIN DEGVILLE, NEAL WHITMORE, TONY JAMES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@v-town1980
God, I miss those days. Bought my first SSS cassette around "88. Such a fun band! Great song!
@izzy_6283
I freakin' Love Sigue S. Sputnik! They deserve so much more recognition for all they created back then. Unfortunately their image overshadowed their musical abilities which i think were amazing. They had some really great albums!! IMO❤
@House0fwax
This track popped into my head on the way home from the pub. Had to call it up. Thanks for posting it. :)
@OLIPSIO
Fantastic!
@cypherist
Boom Boom Satellite made Boom Boom Satellites!!(I love satellite and satellites!!
@izzy_6283
Love this one! They have so many songs that i adore♡
@izzy_6283
Im always fascinated by Martin being able to sing as good as he did/does when he wasn't even a singer at all. He said he had zero vocal ability before SSS 😲
@user-nu4ch4ro7w
A super band too preceded in time
@JothaSousa2012
Muito! Muito! Muito bom!!!
@ronaldojacinto650
OK. muito. bom. !!!!!! sss