WHAT'S THE LATIN FOR "LET THERE BE LIGHT"? A: FIAT LUX - Smash Hits (??/??/84) by Ian Birch
And - would you believe! - Ian Birch
thought it was something to do with Italian sports cars.
We want to become internationally acclaimed megastars and live on Mars." cackles Ian Nelson, younger brother of Bill (that veteran musician who has helped out the likes of Mick Karn, Gary Numan and a Flock Of Seagulls) and one third of Fiat Lux.
"No really," he continues, sounding perilously like a starchy Channel 4 presenter. "The general consensus is that we're difficult to categorise. We cover a lot of ground stylistically - from dance to ballad to avant-garde. If it's a valid form, why should we keep our hands off it?"
Actually everything about Fiat Lux is rather Channel 4. Ian, David Crickmore and Steve Wright (absolutely no relation to that Radio 1 DJ) look very 'modern' with their radical clothes and pots of hair-gel.
For the last two years they've been playing music that's wispy and well-meaning as their three singles ("Feels Like Winter", "Secrets" and now "Blue Emotion") show. They've toured with Blancmange and Howard Jones and
We want to become internationally acclaimed megastars and live on Mars." cackles Ian Nelson, younger brother of Bill (that veteran musician who has helped out the likes of Mick Karn, Gary Numan and a Flock Of Seagulls) and one third of Fiat Lux.
"No really," he continues, sounding perilously like a starchy Channel 4 presenter. "The general consensus is that we're difficult to categorise. We cover a lot of ground stylistically - from dance to ballad to avant-garde. If it's a valid form, why should we keep our hands off it?"
Actually everything about Fiat Lux is rather Channel 4. Ian, David Crickmore and Steve Wright (absolutely no relation to that Radio 1 DJ) look very 'modern' with their radical clothes and pots of hair-gel.
For the last two years they've been playing music that's wispy and well-meaning as their three singles ("Feels Like Winter", "Secrets" and now "Blue Emotion") show. They've toured with Blancmange and Howard Jones and
are big favourites of Peter Powell.
They even have a name that is Latin for "Let there be light". Ian cackles again. "Everyone asks us why. But the sentiment just seemed appropriate. It's the first thing that's said in the Bible. Not many people realise that God spoke in Latin! And it doesn't date easily. It doesn't belong to punk or post-punk and it rolls off the tongue easily. Not like Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark."
They also drop in the odd cheeky detail like the one on the front cover of "Secrets".
"Look at the bottom right hand corner" tempts Ian.
"What for?" I ask.
"A picture."
Blowed if I can see anything. What's there?
"Now that would be telling..."
They even have a name that is Latin for "Let there be light". Ian cackles again. "Everyone asks us why. But the sentiment just seemed appropriate. It's the first thing that's said in the Bible. Not many people realise that God spoke in Latin! And it doesn't date easily. It doesn't belong to punk or post-punk and it rolls off the tongue easily. Not like Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark."
They also drop in the odd cheeky detail like the one on the front cover of "Secrets".
"Look at the bottom right hand corner" tempts Ian.
"What for?" I ask.
"A picture."
Blowed if I can see anything. What's there?
"Now that would be telling..."