An Electronic Tribute $2.53

About An Electronic Tribute

The Fixx began their career over 20 years ago in London when they were first discovered at the 101 Club; the club owner released their first single, "Lost Planes," in 1981 which led to their contract with MCA Records.

Producer Rupert Hine helped shape the band's sound on their first LP, Shuttered Room, in 1982. While success in their homeland was minimal, airplay on then-fledgling American cable network MTV of their videos for singles "Stand Or Fall," "Red Skies" and "Some People" set the wheels in motion for Stateside success. Arguably the band's masterpiece, their 1983 album Reach The Beach was a Platinum smash in the US, led by first single "Saved By Zero. " However, it was single #2, the energetic "One Thing Leads To Another," that made The Fixx household names that summer. The song is an enduring classic of the New Wave era, as it still gets regular airplay on radio and video networks, and is also featured on countless '80s compilations. Third single "The Sign Of Fire" continued their American invasion as it climbed the charts while the band opened for superstars The Police in arenas across the country.

The band never quite matched the sales success of that album, but artistically, they continued to move in interesting directions, creating compelling music that still holds up as the best of its era. Their 1984 album Phantoms features the hit "Are We Ourselves?" while their 1986 long player Walkabout contains "Secret Separation," one of the band's finest singles. Although the band took a few years off in the mid-'90s, they are still together today, playing incredible live shows and continuing to create music, most recently on the 2003 album Want That Life.

And so it is in 2004, well over 20 years since that fine first single, that a group of musicians from today decided to finally pay tribute to a band that truly defined not only New Wave music, but quality rock music that actually rises above any superfluous category created by the rock critic cognoscenti. A tribute album should serve a few purposes, most importantly as a show of respect to those who influenced the participants. It should also drive the listener to explore other music by the bands featured, while hopefully motivating all to go back and review the original works that inspired the tribute in the first place.

As the saying goes, "You can't know where you're going if you don't know where you've been." The Fixx took us to a higher plane with their music; now the musicians featured herein would like to give you the listener another view into that world. A perfect example of how one thing leads to another.