Norman Iceberg

Norman Iceberg (born Norman Joseph Bédard on July 30, 1962) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. A graphic artist turned performance artist, Norman Iceberg emerged from the Montreal underground music scene in the early-80s. One of a handful of cross-gender new wave artists to come out following the success of artists like Duran Duran, Boy George, and Gary Numan, Iceberg was recruited by music producer Tony Green, responsible for France Joli’s 1979 disco hit "Come To Me". Norman Iceberg’s experimental, minimal electro sound was therefore remodeled to cater to the dance club scene as evident on his debut, "Be My Human Tonight" (RCA). "Person(a)", released in 1987, was a conceptual collection of synthpop songs reflecting a young man’s own vision of life, and featuring keyboardists such as Lenny Pinkas (Men Without Hats), Mario Spezza (Rational Youth) and Mic Lussier. The cover photograph of him posing nude - pre-dating Prince’s "Lovesexy" by several months - stirred up controversy. A few selections taken from Iceberg’s "Person(a)" were used for TVA’s "Le Match de la Vie" hosted by Quebec author and former politician Claude Charron.

On stage, careful attention was paid to set design and visual effects; Norman would then sometimes only be backed by a pre-recorded soundtrack and live vocalists such as Claudine Mercier and Louise Litsz, giving them entire freedom to use props and screens, a style made popular by American performance artist Laurie Anderson. 1988 saw the release of "Gotta Move".

With its frenetic, energetic beat, 1989’s "Kiss the Beauty" was a favourite for months in night clubs. The title track's music video was directed by filmmaker Eric Canuel. A couple of years later, "We Act" got him a “Best Video” nomination at the Musique Plus (his native Quebec equivalent to MTV) Video Awards. In the early-90s, American music industry executives strongly advised him to change his name in order to avoid any confusion with new rap artists Ice-T, Ice Cube and Vanilla Ice. However, with a strong gay following, Norman decided to keep using his stage name, performing notably at the 1992 Los Angeles Gay Pride, the notorious Whisky A Go-Go, as well as Prince’s Glam Slam, backed by dancers Viktor Manoel (David Bowie’s "Glass Spider" tour), Luca Tommassini and Carrie Ann Inaba (Madonna’s "Girlie Show" tour). He also performed acoustic sets with American actor Robert Consoli on guitar. Ending a series of concerts with a five-piece rock band at The Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles, Norman Iceberg’s actual last appearance was on the Syndicated TV Show "Sheena Metal's Freakin' Rock Review" in 1993. He also recorded as Norman Joseph in 1994 before deciding to come back to Norman Bédard, his birth last name. Committed to his craft, and now on his own, Norman Bédard continued writing songs, working with collaborators such as Kevin Komoda (Rational Youth, Sarah McLachlan), and self-produced several albums revealing a more subdued side. Norman’s newer material - recorded in various studios including Men Without Hats’ home studio - offers the sound of a simple and mature man embracing life and savoring the chance to play another day. With his goal of easing our souls, he terms his music “zen pop”.

In November 2007, Norman confirmed via his website that a brand new album scheduled for release in 2008 is in the works.

External links

* [http://www.normanbedard.com Norman Bedard's Official Website]
* [http://www.normanbedard.com/music/audio_iceberg.html Norman Iceberg Sound Clips ]
* [http://www.collectionscanada.ca/wbin/resanet/resultsm/l=0/d=1/r=1/e=0/s=s/n=NK/h=10/t=1703368/u=Author=Iceberg,+Norman National Library of Canada]
* [http://search-recherche.collectionscanada.ca/amicus/searchResults.jsp?FormName=Fed+Simple+Search&SourceQuery=&PageNum=1&SortSpec=score+desc&soundex=on&QueryText=norman+iceberg&Language=eng&Sources=amicus&ResultCount=10&MaxDocs=12250 Library and Archives Canada/Bibliothèque et Archives Canada]
* [http://www.agq.qc.ca/pbhq/BHQ.TOUS.AV.HTML The Quebec Gay Archives/Archives gaies du Québec]
*Discogs artist|artist= Norman+Iceberg

Videos

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEyQtiBi1jI 'Kiss The Beauty' Music Video]