Origin: London (England)
FM
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| Pete Jupp - Chris Overland - Didge Digital - Steve Overland - Merv Goldsworthy |
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| Didge Digital - Pete Jupp - Steve Overland - Chris Overland - Merv Goldsworthy |
Discography:
Indiscreet - 1986 (with lyrics)
Tough it out -1989 (with lyrics)Notes:
- In the summer of 1984, over a few drinks in a London pub, FM was formed. Comprising the ex-Samson pair of bassist Merv Goldsworthy and drummer Pete Jupp, the formidable Overland brothers – vocalist/guitarist Steve and lead guitarist Chris (both formerly of Wildlife) - plus the keyboard talents of Philip Manchester (better known as sci-fi nutcase Didge Digital), the band wrote six songs. By December of that same year FM had secured a recording contract with the CBS/Portrait label and the band set off to join Meat Loaf for some shows in Germany.
The first public appearance of FM in the UK was on Valentine’s Day of 1985, attracting rave reviews. The début album INDISCREET wasn't far behind. A fully-fledged masterpiece, every track hit the spot and the mega-ballad ‘Frozen Heart’ caused lips to quiver and tear ducts to moisten whenever it was played.
"Frozen Heart" was heard in many venues during 1986 and FM hit the road in Europe supporting Tina Turner, Foreigner, Gary Moore, Status Quo and Magnum, also opening for REO Speedwagon at London’s Hammersmith Odeon. At the year’s end they were delighted to accept a spot with the white-hot Bon Jovi on the ‘Slippery When Wet’ tour.
It seemed that the roadwork was paying off handsomely. When CBS folded the Portrait label FM switched to Epic. The Overland brothers were flown to America to write with hitmaker Desmond Child, returning with a few great stories and the awesome hard rock anthem ‘Bad Luck’. Completing the jigsaw, Queensrÿche and Dokken producer Neil Kernon was engaged to oversee 1989’s TOUGH IT OUT, a harder-edged second album that saw FM at last realising the sound they had envisaged all along.
To promote TOUGH IT OUT the band set out on a gruelling 42-date UK tour that would see them returning to Hammersmith Odeon, this time as headliners (Romeo’s Daughter were the trek’s special guests). Soon afterwards, however, Chris Overland decided to leave FM, his final performance taking place at the sold-out Town & Country Club.
In his place, FM recruited Andy Barnett, a guitarist who had already been in a prototype line-up of the group (indeed, if you look closely, Barnett scored a co-writing credit for the INDISCREET song ‘That Girl’). The impish Londoner brought with him a harder guitar sound and his influence upon FM’s musical direction soon became evident. His début with the group, 1991’s TAKIN’ IT TO THE STREETS album, was a more than creditable achievement.
FM had moved on. There was a new record label, the well-regarded independent Music For Nations. The loud suits, flowing cloaks and bouffant hairstyles of the past were all conspicuous by their absence, likewise the fluffy keyboards (Didge Digital would parp his last with the band in late 1991). The quality of the songs more than compensated, and their reworking of Marvin Gaye’s ‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’ deserved to have been a hit single.
But TAKIN' IT TO THE STREETS didn’t prepare anyone for the following year’s APHRODISIAC, a collection of heart-wrenching ballads (‘Closer To Heaven’) and balls-out rockers (‘Breathe Fire’, ‘Blood And Gasoline’).
In undertaking a gigantic string of acoustic dates in the winter of 1992, FM would prove their rock ‘n’ roll credentials beyond all reasonable doubt. Combining an organic musical sound and the band’s unstoppable party attitude, the 40-odd dates they played crossed Europe, sweeping aside any preconceptions that might still have remained. The experience is still available if you pick up a copy of NO ELECTRICITY REQUIRED (also available on long-form video as LIVE ACOUSTICAL INTERCOURSE).
With Europe and the Far East opening up, a full-time keyboard appointment was made. The affable Jem Davis had played with Tobruk, Midnight Blue and UFO. Sadly, the arrangement was to prove short-lived. In the post-grunge fallout, bands like FM had become distinctly unfashionable. Under normal circumstances, the quintet wouldn’t have given a damn about such a predicament. They had begun to feel however, as though they were painting themselves into a corner with the aptly-titled DEAD MAN'S SHOES album. Shortly after its release in 1995, the band quietly slipped away to pursue a variety of other opportunities. -
- British AOR veterans FM were formed around the trio of Steve Overland, his brother Chris, and Pete Jupp. The three initially formed the band Wildlife in 1980 and recorded Burning for Chrysalis. Their second album, Wildlife, included drummer Simon Kirke (ex-Free, Bad Company) and was produced by Mick Ralphs. When Wildlife disbanded, the three original members continued with bass player Merv Goldsworthy (ex-Diamond Head) and keyboard player Didge Digital to become FM. The first FM album, Indiscreet, was released in 1986 and included the ballad "Frozen Heart," which was released as a single but failed to chart. FM's second release, Tough It Out (1989), was given an extra push by Epic Records, but the extracted single "Bad Luck" also fizzled. Many of the songs were co-written by well-known hitmaker Desmond Child. The band lost its contract with Sony and signed to Music for Nations to record Takin' It to the Streets; this shift to a more straightforward rock approach suited new guitarist Andy Barnett (ex- A.S.A.P.), who had been in a formative lineup of the group. FM's fourth album, Aphrodisiac, was acknowledged as their best work but was commercially unsuccessful. The band signed to the Raw Power label to record Dead Man's Shoes, which included new keyboard player Jem Davis. Upon disbanding, Barnett and Davis formed the Barnstormers, while Overland and Jupp formed So! and recorded Brass Monkey in 1998. In 2007 the band re-formed for Nottingham’s Fire Fest IV, a show that was eventually released on the DVD Back in the Saddle. Guitarist and Thea Gilmore collaborator Jim Kirkpatrick joined the band in 2009, before the following year's Metropolis became FM’s first album of new material in 15 years. -
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