Thomas Dolby, real name Thomas Robertson, is an English artist whose stage name is actually a nickname given by his pals. A nickname that would refer to the principle of sound reduction used in particular for audio recordings. A nickname that also helped to avoid confusion with Tom Robinson, also a singer. But that will cause him a problem when the Dolby Laboratories sue him for misuse of this name. He won a lawsuit, allowing him to keep this surname.
His first single "Europa and the pirate twins" came out in 1981 and for a first try, it was rather successful. The title made a real worldwide hit and launched the artist's career, one could not better. A title taken from the album "The golden age of wireless" which was released in 1982.
Album which talks about radio technology, aircraft and submarines (!) and which will produce two other major titles which are "Radio silence" but also, and above all, the enormous "She blinded with science". Flagship title which remains to this day the biggest success of all the singer's discography. For a first album, it's a real master stroke !
At the same time, he is setting up what he calls the "Dolby's cube", a collaborative project with other artists and much more dance-oriented than his own creations. A first single "Get out of my mix" was released in 1983 and another "May the cube be with you" was released in 1985. Experiments with mixed success.
The year 1984 saw the release of the album "The flat earth", album which subtly mixes influences of jazzy, World music and electronic sounds. This is a new global success, notably thanks to the single "Hyperactive !". But as paradoxical as it may seem, it will be - already - his last notorious hit. Always taken from the same album, two other singles will be released, namely “I scare myself” and “Dissidents”. But that won't have the same level of success at all.
Small air gap for 4 years on the solo side. On the other hand, he multiplies the partnerships running 1986/1987 with artists like Cherry Bomb, Timothy Spall and other Ryuichi Sakamoto.
So we had to wait for the year 1988 to see the release of his new album "Aliens ate my Buick". An album much more dance-oriented than its predecessor and which will experience great success both across the Channel and in the USA. “Airhead” will be the main extract.
New hole at the turn of the decade and returned in 1992 with the album "Astronauts & heretics". The success of the album will be limited this time to the Old Continent. Despite the success of the single "Close but no cigar", the artist's decline is underway and irreversible. The 1990s saw him gradually disappear from radar like many colleagues...
To discover or rediscover.
Discography (among others ...) :
Urges 1981
Europa and the pirate twins 1981
Airwaves 1982
Windpower 1982
Radio silence 1982
She blinded me with science 1982
One of our submarines 1982
Get out of my mix 1983
Hyperactive! 1984
I scare myself 1984
Dissidents 1984
May the cube be with you 1985
Field work 1985
Howard the duck 1986
The devil is an englisman 1987
Airhead 1988
Hot sauce 1989
My brain is like a sieve 1989
Close but no cigar 1992
I love you goodbye 1992
Silk pyjamas 1992
Quantum mechanic 1995
Thomas Dolby live Mix 2002
Blinded by chemicals 2004
Spice train 2011
Nothing new under the sun 2011
Jealous thing called love 2011
The toadlickers 2011
I'm Thomas Dolby 2021
Clips :
1981...the very first steps. The sound is trendy, as is the style, but there is still work to be done to successfully tie it all together...
1981 ... first year on the circuit and already first global success, just that. This is called starting with a bang. HU-GE !
1982...surprisingly the young singer does not succeed in confirming all the good that one can think of him. And yet the quality is there...
1982 .... a look to say the least funny, a unique sound of its kind, in short, we are dealing with the alien of the first choice. Superior quality guaranteed !
1982 ... which will undoubtedly remain as one of his most emblematic titles. The artist's talent grows irreparably in power over the months and years and produces more and more elusive titles
1982 ... an absolutely exceptional year 1982 with this new title which will stay in history as the best ranked of all his discography. The artist becomes one of the biggest phenomena of the moment across the Channel, but also global. MAS-TER-FUL !
1982 ... a year 1982 which never ends and which sees scrolling an incredible number of extraordinary titles. Admittedly, this one will be the least well classified of all but when one sees the quality, one is largely satisfied with it !
1983...a title that will pass 'through' as they say. But given what is on the horizon, no reason to worry more than that at this stage...
1984 ... after a one-year parenthesis with his concept group Dolby's Cube, he's back in dazzling form. Race results : new planetary top hit !
1984 ... a paradoxical year 1984 with titles tailored for the general public and others intended for a much smaller audience. This title would rather be part of the 2nd category ...
1984 ... there is really everything in this year 1984. Frankly inspired, quirky Intimist and trendy strikethrough. I'll let you guess what category this song belongs to ...
1985 ... after several years of numerous releases, this year 1985 will be a single title. A slowdown in production which also rhymes with a decline in inspiration. It will take some getting used to ...
1985 ... when 2 big sizes, and especially 2 original of the moment come together, we can imagine that the result cannot be trivial. The proof !
1986...here he arrived in the soundtrack of the film 'Howard the duck'. A parenthesis that will not bring him more than that but still nice...
1987...new soundtrack this time for the film 'Gothic'. The only problem with these soundtracks is that they are not part of films that will unfortunately make a date, hence a very very limited success...
1988 ... the last notorious hit. It does not mean that the adventure is quite over but we are getting closer. Slowly but surely...
1989 ... the artist clings and really puts good will to the work. But goodwill is not always enough ...
1989...his last title of the decade. A decade which will have nevertheless consecrated him as one of the artists who will have marked his musical era. Isn't that the main thing...
1992 ... he will still have passed the course of the following decade. And we find him transformed, in a musical register that was not at all his until then. This allows him to temporarily return to success
1992 ... a year 1992 which allows the artist to end the adventure in style thanks to several pieces of certain quality. The circle is now closed ...
1992...an adventure that ends with success in the Charts but is far from over, that's clear. Because he still has things to say and especially to sing...
1995...we're not going to lie to each other, the best years are now behind him. But what he continues to offer is far from deserving and we will be satisfied with it...
2002...he will revisit here in a very surprising way his 1982 title. A title originally written in memory of a submariner uncle who died during the Second World War...
2004...we will lose sight of him for almost 9 years but here he is again. He won't let go until the end and especially as long as he has things to offer...
2011...the air holes follow the air holes but he comes back again and again. A desire to believe in it to the end which unquestionably commands respect...
2011 ... a return to the very beginning of the 2010 decade which will not go unnoticed since he will succeed in classifying this new opus. Not so bad for a ghost...
2011...you still have to remember that he started his career almost 30 years ago, which is not nothing. A longevity reserved as always for the best of their generation...
2011...a delirious title completely outside the musical standards of the moment. It is obvious that he is not likely to capture the younger generations with this kind of sound...
2021...and here he is starting his 5th decade of career, who would have thought that possible when he started his career in 1982 ? Not many people, that's for sure...
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Discography :
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