Fad Gadget was the pseudonym used by musician, synthesizer pioneer, and performance artist Frank Tovey (September 8, 1956 - April 3, 2002), an influential electronic music/New Wave artist, in his early and very late career. A pseudonym is a fictitious name used by an individual as an alternative to their legal name (whereas an allonym is the name of another actual person assumed by one person in authorship of a work of art; e. ... A classic FM synthesizer, the Yamaha DX7. ... September 8 is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years). ... 1956 was a leap year starting on Sunday. ... April 3 is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 272 days remaining. ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Electronic music - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... The New Wave was a movement in American, Australian and British popular music, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, growing out of the New York City musical scene centered around the club CBGB. The term itself is a source of much confusion. ...

The songs of his early career (under the pseudonym) all feature synthesizers plus, sometimes, machine sounds like that of an electric razor or of an electric drill. Almost all songs create a dark, mystical atmosphere, with Gadget's voice hovering monotonously over then unheard of, groundbreaking and still brilliant synthesizer sound effects. The lyrics are either very earnest, discussing subjects like guilt or life and death, or convey a black, sarcastic humour. (The song Collapsing New People is exemplary in many ways: (1) The title is a reference to the band, Einstürzende Neubauten (the English translation of the German band's name is collapsing new buildings), (2) whose members perform as guests on the line-up for the song, and the lyrics speak of the appearances of so many adherers of (3) New Wave at that time who all looked (4) so frail and ethereal as if about to collapse. Back To Nature, performed with synthesizer and drum machine, satirizes a well-known topic. It somehow doesn't quite get you there (back to nature), but still manages to invoke the right pictures...) The collections The Fad Gadget Singles and The Best Of Fad Gadget probably provide the most accessible introduction to Fad Gadget's music for new listeners. Occams Razor or Hanlons razor A razor is a an edge tool (primarily, used in shaving). ... An electric drill A drill is a tool with a rotary drill bit used to bore holes through material. ... Lyrics are the written words in a song. ... Einstürzende Neubauten is an ever changing band originally from West Berlin that was formed in 1980 as part of a modern folk music movement. ...

Hits included "Back To Nature", "Ricky's Hand" and "Collapsing New People". Fad Gadget was the first artist signed to the then-fledgling Mute label and released four full-length albums, Fireside Favourites (1980), Incontinent (1981), Under The Flag (1982) and Gag (1984). After Gag, Tovey released a compilation (The Fad Gadget Singles) and recorded five more albums under his own name, whose styles ranged from semi-industrial electronic ballads to folk-oriented protest songs. He last appeared on a European tour supporting his latest album in 1993 and then virtually disappeared for some eight years. Mute Records is a record label formed in 1980 by Daniel Miller primarily to release his own single, Warm Leatherette, under the moniker The Normal. ...

In 2001 Tovey resurfaced with a comeback appearance and subsequently supported Depeche Mode on the Exciter tour later that year, again under his pseudonym Fad Gadget and backed by members of Temple-X, whose album he had been producing. (Depeche Mode cite Tovey/Gadget as an icon and a paragon, and it shows in their music.) Tovey died of a heart attack on 3 April, 2002, aged 45. The bandmembers of Depeche Mode circa 1993. ... Exciter is Depeche Modes tenth full-length album, which was released on May 15, 2001. ... A myocardial infarction occurs when an atherosclerotic plaque slowly builds up in the inner lining of a coronary artery and then suddenly ruptures, totally occluding the artery and preventing blood flow downstream. ...

Discography

Albums

under the name Fad Gadget

• Fireside Favourites (1980)
• Incontinent (1981)
• Under The Flag (1982)
• Gag (1984)
• The Fad Gadget Singles (1986)
• The Best Of Fad Gadget (2001)

under the name Frank Tovey 1980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... 1981 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... 1982 is a number and represents a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar Events January-February January 6 - William Bonin is convicted of being the freeway killer. January 8 - AT&T agrees to divest itself of twenty-two subdivisions January 11 - Mark Thatcher, son of the British... 1984 is a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1986 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2001 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

• Snakes And Ladders (1986)
• Civilian (1988)
• Tyranny & The Hired Hand (1989)
• Grand Union (1991)
• Worried Men In Second Hand Suits (1992)

1986 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1991 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1992 is a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• http://www.fadgadget.co.uk/ - official website
• http://www.franktovey.de/ - unofficial fan website