Incontinence

There's a saying something to the effect of "You'll never be as good as your first album," and for Frank Tovey, his second Fad Gadget record doesn't make a good argument against that statement. In 1981, Tovey seems to have been trying to distance himself from the electro domination that prevailed throughout his first singles and much of Fireside Favourites. Depeche Mode were graduating from opening for Fad Gadget to headlining their own shows, and Mute was being recognized as a home to many synth-dominated acts. Tovey made choices that may have suited him right at the time but years later I don't think they hold up so well.

It's important to note that between Fireside Favourites and Incontinent came a single for "Make Room." It featured live drumming from Wire's (then ex-) drummer, Robert Gotobed, Wire friend Desmond Simmons on synth, and a slapping funk bass riff contributed by Pete Balmer. The song leaned more in the direction of electro-funk than that of synth-punk, and didn't leave nearly as much an impression on the fans, critics, and history as the B-side, the seminal "Lady Shave." "Lady Shave" was clearly the more bold side. It more closely resembled the early Fad singles, but, regardless of the instrumentation, the song was an attack: it was aggressive, dirty, catchy, and unavoidable. I mention the importance of this song as it seems like such a poor choice to relinquish such an awesome feat to the B-side. To me, this is the choice that sets Incontinent up for mediocrity.

One of the most unfortunate perils of British music is that the fickle press seems to have had an unfair influence on decisions of bands and record labels. Just as soon as acts like OMD, Human League, Gary Numan, or Soft Cell were "in" for being synth acts, they were "out," and most were changing their sound in the early '80s to either prove that they could create music by (needlessly) adding excessive amounts of more traditional rock instruments or cave in to record executives who wanted them to "update" their sound to a more commercially viable "pop." (This is a repeating cycle, see: the demise of shoegaze in the early '90s.)

"Blind Eyes" doesn't launch the album with a very bold statement. The funky bass, piano, hand claps, and live drums, are all mixed so homogenously dead centre, and Tovey's vocals blend in so much with the colourless tapestry that they too sound almost completely void of personality.  It certainly doesn't sound representative of the Fad Gadget who was introduced to the world, launching himself off bars and engaging everyone. Even the song "Swallow It," which is a fantastic song on paper (it's got a great riff and audacious lyrics), sounds rather flat.

"Saturday Night Special" is pure genius; however, it sounds unlike anything Tovey did before or after. The song, a waltz with harpsichord providing the bulk of the instrumentation, either gets its name from the common slang for a small, cheap handgun, or perhaps it is a nod to the Lynyrd Skynyrd song with the same title. It features some of the most memorable lyrics ever penned by Tovey and is this album's jab at America:

"Every man should have the right to own a gun
Every man should have the right to shoot someone.
Film stars and farmers still forcing opinions like TV politicians playing cowboys and Indians."

Despite the setback of having a somewhat flat production like the other songs, "Saturday Night Special" manages to be a breakthrough, as is the closer for side one of the LP, the instrumental title track. This electro gem features some delicious sequencing by Daniel Miller and probably would have made a great B-side to "Lady Shave," which should have not only been an A-side, but was damn good enough to make Incontinent a better record as side one song one. "Manual Dexterity," the instrumental song opening the record's side two, on the other hand, is forgettable enough to have been left as a B-side and off the album.

"King of the Flies," got a remix before being featured on a 7", making it more immediate and less bland, however it didn't make the song any less forgettable. "Diminished Responsibility," on the other hand, screams to be a full-album side, as the nearly six minute piece with drone waves and noises could easily last for another 15 minutes. The album's closer, "Plain Clothes," is almost unlistenable due to the painfully uncomfortably distorted guitar riffing.

Sure, Frank, too wanted to prove that he could record an album loaded with more traditional instrumentation, but it wasn't what he was good at, not at this point. What followed the next year, Under the Flag, thankfully more than made up for the poor decision making that went into Incontinent.

Back To Nature Again

For a musical act, the key to transcending the "dated" label is to possess the talent for creating exceptional songs. Forget the technology Frank Tovey employed, and accept that his first two singles, "Back To Nature" and "Ricky's Hand" had the perfect elements: driving rhythm, catchy riff, and unapologetic, non-cliché lyrics. Following the two singles, Tovey expanded his studio line-up and recorded this debut album with the power team of Eric Radcliffe, John Fryer, and Daniel Miller. Although an expanded cast of characters included more traditional instrumentation such as live drums, bass, and guitar, the sound remained faithful to what was established with the first singles.

It's important to note that while it wouldn't be uncommon to hear Fad Gadget music played in a set with Human League, Kraftwerk, or Gary Numan songs, however the sound is where the similarities end. Tovey's approach was different: he didn't incorporate technology in the same way. Frank Tovey used synthesizers because he found them to be his best resources as the one-man show he started out as. Frank started making music in the closet of his flat with a modified Grundig tape recorder. Even early on his music was characterized by creative percussion and unconventional instrumentation, mostly due to Tovey’s lack of formal training on any instrument and an admitted deficit of coordination. Frank’s technique of combining found sounds with primitive drums machine loops and socially aware lyrics carved out the niche for a new style of music.

 

It’s sad that Frank does not get more recognition for his music. You never see his name mentioned in reviews, being compared to musicians that have clearly built on his legacy.  He never gets radio airplay, not even on the little college radio programs broadcasting from under-funded studios at 3 a.m. Nobody ever thanks him in their liner notes, nobody ever covers his songs, nobody even seems to care that he laid the foundation for what has come to be known as “Industrial” music. Yet when people hear the term “Industrial Music” today they tend to think of bands like Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson and Ministry. Really these bands have nothing to do, sonically at least, with early “Industrial” bands like Throbbing Gristle. Their sound is much more indebted to Frank Tovey and the weird, dark electro-pop ditties he churned out as Fad Gadget in the early 80s.

Tovey developed the character of Fad Gadget during his live shows, using his experience as a mime and art student to create something both artistically informed and confrontational. The persona was something of an 80s version of Ziggy Stardust, with Tovey’s slim figure, dark mullet and pancake makeup visually echoing Bowie’s iconic character. During the course of a show Fad Gadget would taunt the audience, stage dive, cover himself in shaving cream, climb all over the equipment and generally cause a scene; often at the expense of his own body. Videos exist of Fad Gadget smashing himself in the face with a mic during a show and continuing on despite the blood dripping from him mouth. These antics resulted in him being largely known for giving an entertaining and in-your-face live show rather than the actual music he was playing.

Fad Gadget’s often overlooked studio albums are great founts of 80s “Industrial” goodness. His first album “Fireside Favourites” was released in 1980 and sounds like a blueprint for early Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson. It’s all synthesizers and drum machines with a pinch of funky bass and Frank Tovey’s monotonous growl rounding out, what was at the time, a distinctive sound. The album lists numerous strange “instruments” in its liner notes including an ashtray, a metal chair and “extra fingers.” Yet in a time where technology was making new forms of music possible, Frank Tovey chose to keep as much control over it, keeping it as human as possible. Those who still aren't convinced only need to look at the cover for Fireside Favourites, it's not a display of technology, it is a photo of Frank singing live! Additionally, his subject matter was clearly not a grim painting of a horrific science fiction future (note that his first single was titled "Back To Nature").

Sadly, Frank Tovey died of a heart attack in April 2002, his legacy largely ignored or unknown. If you are a fan of “Industrial” do yourself a favour and look into Fad Gadget. At his best he is danceable, dark, funny and intelligent, an uncoordinated idealist with a message. He is the sadomasochistic Ziggy Stardust that never quite found an audience and never gets the credit he deserves.