Sigue Sigue Sputnik is a British Pop-cyberpunk band that achieved moderate … Read Full Bio ↴Sigue Sigue Sputnik is a British Pop-cyberpunk band that achieved moderate fame in the mid- to late 1980s, when the song Love Missile F1-11 hit the pop charts around the world. "Love Missile F1-11"'s success was due in part to the song's use in the hit movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Led by former Generation X bassist Tony James, the band created a unique style of new wave music by layering vocals, yelps, guitar riffs, electronic sound effects, and short samples over pulsating synthesizer bass lines.

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.

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DISCOGRAPHY

Dancerama
Sigue Sigue Sputnik Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Girls are alright
I said boys are alright
Lolita's alright
So seduce me tonight
Seduce me and
Chorus:
Dance dance dance everybody
C'mon everybody

Dance dance dance everybody
C'mon everybody dance
Sulka's alright
Sex is alright
Saturn's alright
Sex is alright all night so
Chorus
Eddie's alright
G-g-gene's alright
Buddie's alright
Elvis you made my night so
Chorus
Tonight
Forever my King Creole
My heart you stole
Forever to suck my soul
Tonite
Are you lonesome tonite?
Alright, alright, alright, all night, so
Chorus
Sex is alright
Freak so chic tonite
And Sulka's alright

Vive la shock tonight
Chorus x 6

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Sigue Sigue Sputnik's song Dancerama seem to be celebrating the different kinds of people and things that the singer finds attractive and alluring in a wild, hedonistic party atmosphere. The opening lines assert that both boys and girls are equally desirable, followed by a shout-out to Lolita, a perhaps unsettling literary reference to a young girl who is seduced by an older man. The singer then directly asks to be seduced, setting the stage for an invitation to dance that is repeated throughout the chorus.

As the song continues, more people and things are added to the list of what is "alright" - Sulka (presumably a person), the planet Saturn, and specific individuals such as Eddie, Gene, Buddie, and Elvis. The repeated chorus becomes more insistent and frantic, urging everyone to join in the dancing, which is equated with the pleasures of sex. The final lines of the song reference Elvis again, declaring him "King Creole" and pledging eternal devotion.

Overall, the lyrics of Dancerama are at once playful, provocative, and somewhat disturbing in their celebration of a bacchanalian culture. The song's incessant beat and repeated refrain create a hypnotic trance-like quality, inviting the listener to let go of inhibitions and join in the frenzy of the dance.

Line by Line Meaning

Girls are alright
Women are fine and acceptable to me

I said boys are alright
I affirm that men are also acceptable and alright

Lolita's alright
I see nothing wrong with engaging in romantic activities with younger girls

So seduce me tonight
I am open to being persuaded or enticed into having a sexual encounter tonight

Seduce me and
Entice or persuade me into having a sexual encounter

Chorus: Dance dance dance everybody C'mon everybody Dance dance dance everybody C'mon everybody dance
A repeated call for everyone to dance without any inhibitions

Sulka's alright
I approve of someone named Sulka

Sex is alright
Having sexual activity is not a problem or taboo for me

Saturn's alright
I find people associated with Saturn, such as space enthusiasts, acceptable

Sex is alright all night so
Having sexual encounters is permissible for an extended period of time

Eddie's alright
I like or approve of someone named Eddie

G-g-gene's alright
I like or approve of someone named Gene with an emphasis on the letter G

Buddie's alright
I find someone named Buddie agreeable

Elvis you made my night so
I had an enjoyable time and attribute it to Elvis Presley

Tonight Forever my King Creole My heart you stole Forever to suck my soul Tonite Are you lonesome tonite? Alright, alright, alright, all night, so
A combination of gratitude towards Elvis and a declaration of eternal devotion towards him, as well as an invitation for him to engage in sexual activities

Chorus Sex is alright Freak so chic tonite And Sulka's alright Vive la shock tonight Chorus x 6
A repeated affirmation that sexual activities are permissible, with additional comments about the stylishness of a person and a celebration of shock value

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: MARTIN DEGVILLE, NEAL WHITMORE, TONY JAMES

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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