Fad Gadget was the alter ego of British musician Frank Tovey, who was born on 08 September 1956 in London. At school he tried to learn many different musical instruments, but realised that he didn't have the co-ordination to be able to play any of them really well, so he drifted away from the idea of playing music, and began getting involved in other art forms instead. He later studied visual arts and mime at Leeds Polytechnic, but when he felt the need to give his mime act some sort of musical accompaniment, he went back to the idea of recording music, with the initial musical pieces being formed of sound manipulation using tape recorders. He began experimenting using an old Grundig tape recorder, and spent a lot of time building up sound collages, and in the mid seventies he managed to set up his own home studio. The initial equipment he used consisted mainly of his Grundig tape recorder, but he later added a Crumar Compac electric piano and a Korg Minipops drum machine, and finally a Korg synthesiser. He then began writing music seriously, and after sending a demo tape of 'Back To Nature' to Daniel Miller, he was signed as Fad Gadget to Daniel Miller's Mute Records, being the first artist to sign to Mute. 'Back To Nature' was re-recorded at RMS Studio in London, and was the second single on the label, after Miller's own effort as The Normal. 'Back To Nature' was a great success for Mute Records. so a follow-up record was produced, and 'Ricky's Hand' included Tovey's wife Barbara singing a vocal part near the end of the recording. Fad Gadget then went on to record an album for Mute Records, and 'Fireside Favourites' was recorded at Blackwing Studios in London without Daniel Miller's assistance, as Tovey felt it was important that he made all the decisions about recording the album himself. Live appearances reflected his days studying the visual arts, and often included dressing in theatrical costumes, and he quickly became known for his confrontational stage antics, such as covering himself in tar and feathers, swinging his microphone like a whip, leaping backwards into the audience, climbing up speakers, hanging from ceiling fixtures, pulling out his body hair, and playing instruments with his head.
Another one-off single on Mute was released in 1981, with 'Make Room' being backed with 'Lady Shave', which went on to become one of his most iconic tracks. Fad Gadget recorded two more albums for Mute Records at Blackwing Studios, using more complex recording equipment, and both 1981's 'Incontinent' and 1982's 'Under The Flag' showed a progressive change in his music, due to the technological advances in the equipment, and his own growing knowledge of recording techniques. The recording of 1984's 'Gag' was a turning point in his recording career, as it would be the first time he used a band of musicians to record an album, whereas before he had recorded most of the musical parts himself. It also saw a change in the recording location from London to Hansa Tonstudio in Berlin, as he wanted to utilise the recording equipment that was installed at Hansa at that time, including the computer controlled mixing desk. He found the new recording practices refreshing, having other people collaborating in the writing and recording process, and the recordings included many acoustic instruments, which veered away from the electronic instruments which had been used on previous recording sessions. During the recording of 'Gag', the German industrial band Einstürzende Neubauten were recording for Some Bizzare Records at Hansa, and Tovey liked their use of industrial equipment and found objects, so when he heard a large printing press nearby which had a distinctive rhythm, he got his engineer Gareth Jones to record it, and this was then looped and became the basis for his 12" single 'Collapsing New People', released on Mute in 1984. After releasing 'Gag' in 1984, Tovey began recording under his real name, moving toward acoustic instruments, which resulted in an album of protest and labour songs titled 'Tyranny And The Hired Hand', including such standards as 'Sixteen Tons'. This was followed by a couple of albums as Frank Tovey And The Pyros, but after touring in 1993, he withdrew from the music business. In his later years, he began to perform at festivals, and also supported his former colleagues and Mute label-mates, Depeche Mode, on their European tour. He was working on a new album at the time of his death, suffering a heart attack on 3 April 2002 at the age of 45. Despite a lack of commercial success, Fad Gadget was regarded as a pioneer in synth-pop, electro and industrial music, and influenced bands and artists such as Depeche Mode, Vince Clarke of Erasure, Skinny Puppy, Liars, and The Twilight Sad. As a reminder of his pioneering work in electronic/industrial music, here are all his non-album singles and b-sides as Fad Gadget, Frank Tovey, and with The Pyros.
Track listing
01 Back To Nature (single 1979)
02 Ricky's Hand (single 1980)
03 Handshake (b-side of 'Ricky's Hand')
04 Make Room (single 1981)
05 Lady Shave (b-side of 'Make Room')
06 4M (b-side of 'Life On The Line' 1982)
07 I Discover Love (single 1983)
08 Lemmings On Lovers' Rock (b-side of 'I Discover Love')
09 Spoil The Child (b-side of 'Collapsing New People' 1984)
10 Bed Of Nails (b-side of 'Luxury' by Frank Tovey 1985)
11 Clean This Act Up (b-side of 'Luddite Joe' by Frank Tovey 1986)
12 Victoria Falls (b-side of 'The Liberty Tree' by Frank Tovey And The Pyros 1991)
