Dolby promoted himself as a kind of mad scientist, an egghead that had successfully harnessed the power of synthesizers and samplers, using them to make catchy pop and electro-funk. Before he launched his solo career, Dolby had already worked as a studio musician, technician, and songwriter. After starting out as a teenaged live sound man, mixing The Fall, The Members and others using a PA he built himself, he formed the arty post-punk band Camera Club (also known as Bruce Woolley & the Camera Club) with Bruce Woolley, Geoff Downes, Trevor Horn and Matthew Seligman. Within a year, he had left the group and joined Lene Lovich’s backing band and gave her his song "New Toy", which became a British hit in 1981. That same year, he released his first solo single, "Urges", on the English independent label Armageddon. By the autumn, he had signed with Parlophone and released "Europa and the Pirate Twins", which nearly cracked the UK Top 40.
Dolby started playing synthesizer on sessions for other artists in 1982. That year, he played keyboards on Def Leppard’s Pyromania and Joan Armatrading’s Walk Under Ladders. His most distinctive session credit is that keyboard line after the chorus on Foreigner’s "Waiting for a Girl Like You". In that eventful summer, Dolby also collaborating with New York rappers Whodini to create "Magic’s Wand" – a pivotal early hip hop track (the first rap single to shift 1 million copies), and it also single-handedly started the new jack swing movement.
Even with all of these achievements, 1982 was most noteworthy for the release of Dolby’s first solo album, The Golden Age of Wireless, in the summer of 1982, the landmark album reaching number 13. "Windpower", the first single from the record, became his first Top 40 UK hit in the late summer. Other cuts from the album include "The Airwaves", and "One of Our Submarines", a meditation on the futility of empire.
In January of 1983, Dolby released an EP, Blinded by Science, which includes what would become his most well-known track, "She Blinded Me with Science" featuring a cameo vocal appearance by the notorious British eccentric Magnus Pike, who also appeared in the song’s video. "She Blinded Me with Science" was a minor hit in England, but the EP and the single became a major American hit in 1983, thanks to MTV’s heavy airplay of the video. Eventually, the song reached number five on the US charts and it was included on a resequenced and reissued version of The Golden Age of Wireless, which peaked at number 13 in America.
The Flat Earth, Dolby's second album, appeared in early 1984, and harkens back to a time when songs mattered more than the video, even as MTV was discovering its strength. Opening with "Dissidents", conjuring up images of blacklisted authors and ugly snow, gray from oppression, with Matthew Seligman’s bass at the fore, lavish, growling, popping through octaves, funk-a-fied and twinkling with harmonics throughout the album. The title track is an R&B daydream of piano and Motown stabs of rhythm guitar. "Screen Kiss" has a similarly ethereal quality, and the lyrics are lush with imagery. The cover of Dan Hicks’ 1967 "I Scare Myself" is a balmy jazz club cocktail – faithfully nostalgic, right down to a bittersweet trombone solo from Peter Thomas. "Hyperactive" is one part bizarre to two parts infectious; guest vocalist Adele Bertei fuels the fire to what was already destined to be a memorable diversion beyond the reach of Top 40. The single became Thomas’ biggest UK hit, peaking at number 17.
During 1985, Dolby collaborated with artists including Stevie Wonder, Dusty Springfield and Herbie Hancock; and notched up some more high-concept production credits. George Clinton's Some of My Best Jokes Are Friends, Prefab Sprout’s Steve McQueen, and Joni Mitchell’s Dog Eat Dog were all midwifed by Dolby, who also was musical director for David Bowie at Live Aid. Also in 1985, he began composing film scores, starting with Fever Pitch. In 1986, he composed the scores for Gothic and Howard the Duck, for which he credited himself as Dolby's Cube. (That credit led to a lawsuit from the Dolby Labs, who eventually prohibited the musician from using the name "Dolby" in conjunction with any other name than "Thomas.")
Aliens Ate My Buick, Dolby's long-delayed third album, appeared in 1988 to a mixed reaction, although "Airhead" became a minor British hit. That same year, Dolby married actress Kathleen Beller. For the rest of the late 80s and early 90s, Dolby continued to score films, producing and building his own computer equipment.
1992’s Astronauts and Heretics, features guest stars such as Eddie Van Halen, Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir and Ofra Haza. The album opens with "I Love You Goodbye", one of Thomas’ most evocative songs, and ends with "Beauty of a Dream" which is also a contender for that honour. Highlights found inbetween include "Cruel" (a duet with Fairground Attraction’s Eddie Reader), "I Live in a Suitcase" and "Close But No Cigar".
The following year, Dolby founded the computer software company Headspace in Silicon Valley, releasing The Virtual String Quartet as its first program, and also pioneered technology for music on mobile phones. For the rest of the 90s, Headspace occupied most of Dolby's time and energy. In 1994, he released The Gate to the Mind’s Eye, a soundtrack to the animated short film Mind’s Eye. Also that year, Capitol released the greatest-hits collection, Retrospectacle.
Thirteen years after Astronauts and Heretics, Dolby returned to live performance in 2006 with his solo Sole Inhabitant tour, which covered North America and the UK, with Thomas recreating the highlights of his earlier work from scratch, with a camera mounted like a miner’s lamp on his head, and a big screen showing the view from the artist, turning what would be a fairly dull one-man-and-a-rack-of-synths into a fascinating audio visual experience and an unintended masterclass for music technology students.
UK indie label Invisible Hands Music released a CD and DVD box set recorded on the Sole Inhabitant tour. These fresh and modern reinterpretations of Thomas’ work to date precedes a new studio album due in 2008, which is as-yet untitled, but does include a song about Britney’s ex Kevin Federline (“K-Fed”) who used an uncleared sample from "She Blinded Me with Science" and did not respond to legal approaches until a ‘cease-and-desist’ was posted in the comments field of his MySpace page. That song is called "My Karma Hit Your Dogma", and bodes well for a mighty return to form, combining Thomas’ humour and intelligence with a unique musical vision.
2011 saw Dolby get busy by returning with a new studio album A Map of the Floating City on 29 October. The album is broken down into three genres of Urbanoia's tales of city experiences; Amerikana as Dolby's take on his years living in America and it's roots music; and Oceanea: songs of life by the sea in his home country of England. The music was debuted first as download EPs to Dolby's online community and then previewed by a transmedia interactive game also called the FloatingCity.com.
Thomas Dolby is taking the music back on tour as a solo artist and with varying line-ups of bands, doing two tours of the UK in 2011, and has his first trip to Australia in February 2012 followed by dates in Japan. In March Dolby kicks off the Time-Capsule.tv tour at the SxSW Festival in Austin playing dates in USA and Canada through April. He will have a trailer parked at venues on his tour where you can produce a 30 second video offering words of wisdom to whoever will be walking the earth in the future. Dolby wants to give people a chance to “explain to an alien visitor what went wrong with our civilization. Our species may not be around on this planet much longer, so you might as well leave a welcome message for the next guys.”
Pedestrian Walkway
Thomas Dolby Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Pedestrian walkway
Pedestrian walkway
Pedestrian walkway
Un mot sage passe
At Park Avenue
And the new Kings Road
We call in the park
We move in the dark
On a pedestrian walkway
Ralf and Judy, Dawn and Jules
With the new hairdos in the latest style
Over cars and gabardines
We pass the shops and magasins
Our scent is in the air, we move as one
Pedestrian walkway
Pedestrian walkway
Pedestrian walkway
Pedestrian walkway
The song "Pedestrian Walkway" by Thomas Dolby is a celebratory ode to the urban walkway, which transcends borders and cultures. The lyrics beginning with "Un mot sage passe/At Park Avenue/And the new Kings Road/And the Champs-Elysées" evoke the message that the pedestrian walkway is not just a feature of western cultures, but something to be found across the world. The French phrase "Un mot sage passe" translates roughly to "a wise word passed," which perhaps implies a message to be found in the communal, slow-paced nature of walking instead of driving or taking public transport. The song then shifts to a more personal note with the lyrics "We call in the park/We move in the dark/On a pedestrian walkway" - here, the idea of the pedestrian walkway as a space of belonging, of community, is emphasised.
The final verse talks of friends passing along the walkway, mimicking the diverse range of people and cultures to be found in urban spaces. The lyrics "With the new hairdos in the latest style/Over cars and gabardines/We pass the shops and magasins/Our scent is in the air, we move as one" further emphasise the community aspect, as well as the sensory pleasures of walking. The song’s repetitive use of the line "Pedestrian walkway" is a reminder of the song’s main focus. Overall, the song's theme of community and belonging is conveyed through the celebration of the pedestrian walkway.
Line by Line Meaning
Pedestrian walkway
Repeating the title of the song, inviting attention to the concept of pedestrian walkways.
Pedestrian walkway
Repeating the title of the song, emphasizing the importance of pedestrian walkways.
Pedestrian walkway
Repeating the title of the song, stressing the significance of pedestrian walkways.
Pedestrian walkway
Repeating the title of the song, establishing the focus on pedestrian walkways.
Un mot sage passe
A wise word is passed, signifying the start of the adventure.
At Park Avenue
At Park Avenue, indicating a specific location on the pedestrian walkway.
And the new Kings Road
And the new Kings Road, revealing another specific location on the pedestrian walkway.
And the Champs-Elysées
And the Champs-Elysées, revealing yet another specific location on the pedestrian walkway.
We call in the park
We call in the park, suggesting a gathering of people on the pedestrian walkway.
We move in the dark
We move in the dark, hinting at the mystery and intrigue of the pedestrian walkway.
On a pedestrian walkway
On a pedestrian walkway, emphasizing the location and setting of the adventure.
Ralf and Judy, Dawn and Jules
Ralf and Judy, Dawn and Jules, introducing characters on the pedestrian walkway.
With the new hairdos in the latest style
With the new hairdos in the latest style, emphasizing fashion and individuality on the pedestrian walkway.
Over cars and gabardines
Over cars and gabardines, highlighting obstacles on the pedestrian walkway.
We pass the shops and magasins
We pass the shops and magasins, suggesting the pedestrian walkway is lined with stores and boutiques.
Our scent is in the air, we move as one
Our scent is in the air, we move as one, evoking a sense of unity and purpose among the characters on the pedestrian walkway.
Contributed by Olivia I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@PSimonAjantaMusic
Paul Simon of The Fallout Club. There is am official release of this track on all digital outlets via Dangerous Friends, The Fallout Club Album. see www.ajantamusic.com
@paulnewcombe3373
The Yanks didnt get Punk !
@alternative80spodcast78
Some of us did!