Brilliant (band)

Infobox musical artist
Name = Brilliant


Img_capt = Cover to Brilliant's 1986 album
"Kiss the Lips of Life"
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Landscape =
Background = group_or_band
Alias =
Origin = London, England
Genre = Rock
Years_active = 1983 - 1986
Label = Risk Records/Rough Trade
Food, WEA, Atlantic
Associated_acts = The KLF
Disco 2000
URL =
Current_members =
Past_members = Jimmy Cauty
June Montana
Youth
Ben Watkins
Marcus Myers
Guy Pratt
Stephane Holweck
Andy Anderson
Peter Ogi

Brilliant were a British pop/rock group active in the 1980s. Although not commercially successful and mauled by the critics, they remain notable because of the personnel involved - Martin Glover aka Youth, formerly of Killing Joke and subsequently a top producer/remixer; Jimmy Cauty, later to find fame and fortune as one half of The KLF; and (prior to the band signing with WEA) Ben Watkins aka Juno Reactor. Equally notable was their management (David Balfe), their record company A&R manager (Bill Drummond, the other member of The KLF), and songwriting and production team (Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman known as Stock Aitken Waterman).

Brilliant first came to life in 1982, as post-punk band Killing Joke was crumbling under internal conflicts. Unsatisfied with his bandmates' following of the occult lifestyle, Killing Joke's bass player Youth decided to call it quits and recorded an angry slandering song against his former bandmates. The song, "That's What Good Friends Are For...", an obvious mock of Killing Joke's second album "What's THIS for...!", was credited to "Brilliant", which was a name of a Killing Joke b-side and a general 1980s buzzword.

For the first incarnation of Brilliant as a full band, Youth recruited Marcus Myers on vocals and guitar, a second bass player Guy Pratt (who left for the Australian band Icehouse and was replaced by frenchman Stephane "Tin Tin" Holweck), and the two drummers Andy Anderson (The Cure) and Peter Ogi. They released one single, "Colours", through Rough Trade Records (with a sleeve by Mark Manning) and recorded a BBC session for John Peel [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/johnpeel/sessions/1980s/1982/Oct11brilliant/] . Overall through its four years of existence the band hosted a roster of roughly 30 players until reducing to the trio of Youth, Cauty and female vocalist June Montana.

The band released several singles and one album - "Kiss the Lips of Life" - before splitting up.

Reviews

"Trouser Press" reviewer Ira Robbins called "Kiss the Lips of Life" "dismal" and the band "cynical"Robbins, I., "Trouser Press" magazine (Youth and Ben Watkins) ( [http://trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=youth_and_ben_watkins link] ). Retrieved 4 September 2006.] and "wretched", adding that " [their] lasting cultural significance amounts to its inclusion of ex-Zodiac Mindwarp keyboardist/guitarist Jimmy Cauty, with whom [Bill] Drummond concocted the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu (JAMs)". [Robbins, I., "Trouser Press" magazine (The KLF) ( [http://trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=klf link] . Retrieved 4 September 2006.)]

Allmusic were a little more generous, calling Brilliant an initially "promising act: a more soulful take on the aggressive funk-rock of Killing Joke" but added that, after being teamed up with Stock, Aitken and Waterman, they "came up with a generic pop-dance album that fell well short of the original concept". Awarding "Kiss the Lips of Life" two stars out of five, they added that "What aggression there is comes courtesy of Jimmy Cauty's metallic guitar solos; the sterile synth whitewash of SAW dominates the rest of the mix, and vocalist June Montana isn't strong or distinctive enough to fight through it". [LeRoy, D., "Kiss The Lips Of Life" review, "Allmusic" ( [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:mu8m967o3ep8 link] )]

However, even Bill Drummond - the A&R man who had signed themLeRoy, D., Brilliant biography, "Allmusic" ( [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:gx6atr39kl5x~T1 link] )] - had harsh words to say about the project: "I signed a band called Brilliant, who I worked with, we worked together, and it was complete failure. Artistically bankrupt project. And financially deaf. We spent £300 000 on making an album that was useless. Useless artistically, useless... commercially." [Transcript of a Bill Drummond interview on "Bomlagadafshipoing" (Norwegian national radio house-music show), September 1991 ( [http://www.libraryofmu.org/display-resource.php?id=521 link] ).]

"We did a record with this band called Brilliant, the reviews were phenomenal and it got to 58 in the charts. I remember saying to the guys, fuck that for critically-acclaimed music, you can't pay the fucking rent with that." - Pete Waterman [ [http://arts.guardian.co.uk/critic/feature/0,,1656483,00.html The Guardian, December 3, 2005 - Return of the hitmen] ]

Discography

ingles

*"That's What Good Friends Are For..." (Brilliant) / "Push" (Brilliant), 1982 UK (Limelight Music Lime-7-001) (UK Indie #22)cite book |last=Lazell |first=Barry |title=Indie Hits 1980-1999 |year= 1997 |publisher=Cherry Red Books |isbn=0-9517206-9-4 ]
*"Colours" (A.Anderson/M.Glover/M.Myer/S.Holweck) / "Colours Monster Mix" - 1983 UK (Risk Records/Rough Trade, RTT105) (UK Indie #11)
*"Soul Murder", 1984 UK (Food Records) (UK Indie #14)
*"Wait For It", 1984 UK (WEA/Food Records)
*"It's A Man's Man's Man's World", 1985 UK (WEA/Food Records) (#58 UK)
*"Love Is War" (Youth/Montana/Cauty/Stock/Aitken/Waterman) / "The Red Red Groovy" (Youth/Montana/Cauty) / "Ruby Fruit Jungle" (Youth/Montana/Cauty/Holwick/Le Mesurier), 1986 UK (WEA/Food Records,FOOD6) (#64 UK)
*"Somebody", 1986 UK (WEA/Food Records) USA (Atlantic) (#67 UK)
*"The End Of The World", 1986 UK (WEA/Food Records)

Albums

*"Kiss The Lips Of Life", 1986 UK (WEA/Food Records) USA (Atlantic)

References

*Longmire, Ernie et al (2005). [http://www.klf.de/discography/ KLF discography] [Compiled by Ernie Longmire, this has been the authoritative KLF discography on the internet for some 10 years or more and has been the subject of long-term scrutiny and peer review by KLF fans and collectors. It is now maintained by the fan site klf.de.]

Footnotes

External Links

*Listen To It's A Man's Man's Man's World by Brilliant [http://www.iamnotthebeatles.com/?p=596]