The Fixx

All Music Guide:

A London-based new wave group that managed to sustain a successful career in America for several years in the mid-'80s, the Fixx always flirted with the mainstream with their catchy, keyboard-driven pop. Formed by college friends vocalist/keyboardist Cy Curnin and drummer Adam Woods in the early '80s, the pair advertised in the music press for additional members; the remaining members of the group -- guitarist Jamie West-Oram, keyboardist Rupert Greenall, and bassist Charlie Barret -- all responded to the ad. Taking the name the Portraits, the band recorded a single for Ariola Records, "Hazards in the Home," which failed to gather much attention. Within a year, the band had changed their name to the Fixx and recorded "Lost Planes," the single that led to a record contract with MCA.

The Fixx released their debut album, the Rupert Hine-produced Shuttered Room, in 1982. The record spawned two minor U.K. hits, "Stand or Fall" and "Red Skies," and spent a short time in the charts. In America, none of the singles were hits, yet the album stayed on the charts for nearly a year. After Shuttered Room, Barret left the group and was replaced by Dan K. Brown. Reach the Beach, released in 1983, established them as a hit-making force in the U.S. The terse, pulsating "One Thing Leads to Another" became a number four hit, sending the album into the Top Ten. Reach the Beach would go platinum by the end of the year, launching two more Top 40 singles -- "Saved by Zero" and "Sign of Fire." Despite all of their American success, the Fixx failed to break back into the British charts with Reach the Beach; in fact, they never had another British hit in their career.

The Fixx returned in 1984 with Phantoms. While it performed well -- it peaked at number 19 and went gold -- it didn't match the success of Reach the Beach; after it launched the number 15 single "Are We Ourselves?" the record fell off the charts. Although their audience was shrinking, the band kept their basic, synth-driven sound intact for 1986's Walkabout, which featured the hit "Secret Separation." After Walkabout, the Fixx stopped working with producer Rupert Hine, which resulted in a harder, more guitar-oriented sound for 1988's Calm Animals. The album charted at number 72, but it spawned no hit singles. Ink (1991), the group's next album, didn't reverse their declining fortunes, even though they tried to update their sound with an emphasis on guitars and slick, dance-ready beats. After the record failed to recapture their mainstream audience, the Fixx seemed to fade away before resurfacing in 1998 with Elemental. A year later, they returned with 1011 Woodland, a collection of re-recordings of their greatest hits.

Wikipedia:

The Fixx is an English rock band formed in London in 1979. Their hits include "One Thing Leads to Another," "Red Skies," "Stand or Fall," "Saved by Zero," "Sign of Fire," "Are We Ourselves?," "Secret Separation," "Driven Out," "How Much Is Enough?," and "Deeper and Deeper," which was featured on the soundtrack of Streets of Fire.

Biography

Formation and early years as The Portraits and The Fix (1979-1981)

College friends Cy Curnin on vocals and Adam Woods on drums formed the group in London in 1979, initially calling themselves The Portraits. The pair placed an ad for additional members, and recruited keyboardist Rupert Greenall, guitarist Tony McGrail and bassist Charlie Barret. Under the name The Portraits the band issued two singles for Ariola Records: "Little Women" (1979), and "Hazards In The Home" (1980).

Later in 1980, McGrail left. At this point, the band added guitarist Jamie West-Oram (formerly of Phillip Rambow's band) and changed their name to The Fix. This iteration of the band recorded for 101 Records, releasing their first single ("Lost Planes") in February 1981. This track, along with several live tracks issued by 101 on various compilations, received some radio exposure on the BBC.

The Fix's raised profile eventually led to the group being offered a contract by MCA Records. Worried about the potential drug-user implication of the band's name, MCA insisted on a name change before signing them to the label. A compromise was reached as the band altered the spelling of their name to The Fixx, and a deal was duly inked.

The RCA and MCA years (1982-1991)

Barret left The Fixx just after the recording of their first album, Shuttered Room, in 1982. This album featured the band's initial hits, "Stand or Fall" and "Red Skies," both of which charted in the US and the UK. The band found particular success in Canada, where "Stand or Fall" was an immediate top 10 hit.

Barret was replaced on bass by Alfie Agius for the Shuttered Room tour. Agius' stay in the band was short-lived, though, as he left during the 1983 recording of their next album Reach the Beach, after having recorded four tracks. Agius is credited as co-writer on all the album's tracks, but the group for this album was officially credited as a quartet (Curnin, Greenall, West-Oram and Woods).

Reach the Beach became (and remains) the group's most commercially successful album. Agius' bass work is featured on the album's first two singles "Saved by Zero" and "One Thing Leads to Another." Both these singles cracked the US top 40, and "One Thing Leads To Another" became the band's biggest-ever hit (#3 Canada, #4 US). It was during these sessions that bassist Dan K. Brown joined the band. Brown played bass on the third single, "The Sign Of Fire" and continued with the band on its subsequent tour.

The 1984 album Phantoms contained the hits "Are We Ourselves" and "Sunshine In The Shade." Another song from the period, "Deeper And Deeper," was released as the B-side of "Are We Ourselves" (and also appeared in an edited version on the soundtrack for the film Streets of Fire). This track received substantial airplay on US modern rock radio stations.

In 1985 The Fixx recorded the song "A Letter to Both Sides" for the soundtrack of the film Fletch. The next year they released their fourth album Walkabout, containing "Secret Separation" (#1 on Billboard Magazine's "Album Rock" chart) and "Built for the Future." The 1987 album React, containing both live and new studio material, was the last for MCA Records.

1988 saw their return with a new album Calm Animals and a new label RCA Records. This album contained another U.S. hit "Driven Out" (another #1 on Billboard's "Album Rock" chart).

The band returned to MCA for their next album, 1991's Ink. The album featured "How Much Is Enough?" (#27 Canada, #35 US).

The post-major label years (1992-present)

Dan K. Brown left the band in 1994. Chris Tate was later hired to play the bass. This line up recorded 1998's Elemental and the 1999 album 1011 Woodland. This last album consisted of re-recordings of previous hits and album tracks.

In 2002, The Fixx performed a cover version of Nancy Sinatra's 1960s classic "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" for a special album called When Pigs Fly, which featured unique remakes of songs from the 1960s through the 1990s.

In 2003, the band released their ninth studio album, Want That Life, with Gary Tibbs, formerly a member of Roxy Music, The Vibrators and Adam and the Ants on bass, replacing Tate.

Long-time bassist Dan K. Brown re-joined the band in 2008. The Fixx regularly tour the U.S., and recently celebrated 25 years of making music together, accompanied by the release of the 2 CD set Twentyfifth Anniversary Anthology compilation.

With the classic lineup back intact, The Fixx are recording their 10th studio album "Beautiful Friction" due for release in July 2012.

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