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All Music Guide:
Recruiting a bevy of oddball-celebrity sidemen and guest vocalists -- sampled or otherwise -- somewhat blurred the backbone of the group, but David Barker and Simon Leonard recorded several albums of inspired ambient-techno as Fortran 5. Indebted to such culprits of British whimsy as Syd Barrett and Monty Python, the duo usually recorded with samplers blazing, the unholy result of which included bizarre pop collisions like Donna Summer and the Pretenders or the Champs' "Tequila" and thrash-metal. With roots in the Mute Records artists I Start Counting, the pair debuted with 1990's "Crazy Earth," a dreamy acid-house track counting Barrett among its sample victims. Several singles followed during 1990-1991, including "Heart on the Line" with (live) vocals by Miranda Sex Garden.
The debut Fortran 5 LP was Blues, released in 1991; it included contributions from Can's Holger Hiller, Orb's Kris Weston (aka Thrash), and noted DJ Colin Faver. The weirdest collaboration, however, was a cover of Syd Barrett's "Bike," with vocals obtained by posthumously sampling various lines from legendary comedian and Carry On film star Sid James; the group was perhaps saved from a court case since producer on the session was Sid James' son Steve. Following the LP were several high-profile singles, including "Look to the Future" (with live vocals by Sly Stone alumnus Larry Graham) and "Persian Blues" (with Neil Arthur of Blancmange).
The sampling shenanigans continued on Fortran 5's second full-length, Bad Head Park. The "Sid Sings Syd" theme was resurrected, with celebrated British actor Derek Nimmo unwittingly lending his vocals to a cover of Derek & the Dominos' "Layla," while Barker and Leonard also called upon John Barry and media coverage of the Gulf War to enhance their compositions. The duo featured no collaborators and few samples on their third, the 1995 concept album Avocado Suite. Fortran 5 also remixed Erasure, Inspiral Carpets, Miranda Sex Garden, and Laibach.
Wikipedia:
Fortran 5 was an electronic music band recording music during the 1990s.
Background
The band were made up of members David Baker and Simon Leonard, who had previously worked together on the music project known as I Start Counting. Around 1990 they had begun recording new material, and realised that the new music had a different sound compared to their previous electropop style. They decided to rename their project Fortran 5 in order to give their new dance/techno style a fresh start. The new project also involved the duo collaborating and working with a number of other artists. These included Kris Weston of The Orb, and Rod Slater from Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. The band's final album was titled Avocado Suite and was their most experimental work, this was far removed from their early electropop sound. Fortran 5 also remixed songs from artists such as Inspiral Carpets, Erasure and Laibach.
Simon Leonard also wrote a book called Fortran 5, which was published by Malice Aforethought Press.
