Deep Blue Something
Many will remember American five-piece group Deep Blue Something for their global 1996 smash Breakfast at Tiffany’s, a song that has become the group’s calling card.
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While the group — led by two brothers, Todd Pipes (vocals and bass) and Toby Pipes (vocals and lead guitar) — went on to release two more albums, both failed to build upon the success of Tiffany’s.
In its aftermath, the group took a break in the early 2000s, before reuniting in 2014 for a series of live shows and an EP, Locust House, which appeared in 2020.
With renewed interest in touring and the band’s music, a new album, Lunar Phase, was recently released, which also appears on the vinyl format.
“The good thing about the label we’re on, is that they’re really into the vinyl thing,” Toby tells Musical Musings.
“One of the special releases for the vinyl will have liquid in it too, that when you hold it up, the liquid moves around, which is really cool.”
Looking back on the success of Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Toby says the group spent two and half years promoting the single, and the album Home, by touring endlessly.
Though by the time they came to record the follow-up album, 1998’s Byzantium, things had changed, causing a reversal of the band’s fortunes.
“I don’t think it was anybody’s fault, but I think with the next album, Interscope Records had a different vision for us than we had, and it wasn’t going to work out,” he says.
“So, because of that, Interscope didn’t release that second record in the United States.
“We had to do that through other ways.
“And without that machine behind it, we didn’t have a chance to do what we had before.
“Also, at the same time, Todd and I were getting into engineering and producing records and stuff, and it really took up a lot of our time.
“So, the band took a back seat as we were just interested in making records and not touring around.”
One of the misconceptions of Breakfast At Tiffany’s is that it’s based on the 1961 film of the same name, starring Audrey Hepburn.
“Todd, who wrote the song, was watching Audrey’s earlier film, 1953’s Roman Holiday, at the time,” says Toby.
“And so, the song is mainly about that, but Breakfast at Tiffany’s just fitted so much better in the lyrics.”
Having experienced both the highs and lows of the business, and looking back on his career, is there anything Toby would do differently?
“I really wish I’d drank more water during that time,” he says.
“When you’re only drinking beer and whiskey and stuff, and then you drink coffee in the morning, you don’t realise why you’re feeling feel like hell all the time.”
And what advice would he give young musicians who want to pursue a similar musical path?
“To not take yourself so seriously,” he says.
“It’s good to take what you’re doing seriously, but not yourself so seriously that you always have to be the coolest thing.”
For more on Deep Blue Something, check out: deepbluesomethingofficial.com
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Behind the album — Flesh + Blood – Roxy Music
Seventies art-rock group Roxy Music released their seventh album Flesh + Blood in May 1980, which topped the album chart in the UK and peaked at No 10 on the Australian chart.
The album showcased the group’s atmospheric synth-pop within more of a streamlined format.
Around the time of the recording, Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera had also just built Gallery Studio, which was used for some of the sessions for the album.
“We got used to having my studio as our base and using the equipment almost as new instruments” recalls Manzanera today.
“It became easier to experiment, and we could all play in the control room, which was enormous.
“As the Linn [drum machine] had just been invented, it helped with tracks too, as by then Paul [Thompson, the drummer] had left the band.”
Now down to the core trio of Manzanera, vocalist Bryan Ferry and saxophonist Andy Mackay, the trio built the songs from the ground up, pooling their ideas.
“It was a mixture of the same method of all the previous albums from Stranded onwards,” explains Manzanera.
“Andy and I had demos of music for Bryan to write his lyrics to.
“Bryan also had some with chords and an idea of a melody but no lyrics.
“We then built them up with session musicians playing bass and drums.
“Some were done in New York, and some were done at my new studio.”
Also included on the album were two covers; Wilson Pickett’s In The Midnight Hour and Eight Miles High, originally recorded by 1960s group The Byrds.
“In The Midnight Hour was my idea, so I chose that one,” says Manzanera.
“And Bryan suggested Eight Miles High, which was always one of my favourite songs and which showed the two sides of the Sixties that we loved.”
This week’s blues album global charts
USA Billboard Blues: No 1 — Sinners — Soundtrack
UK Official Jazz & Blues: No 1 — Black & Gold — Joanne Shaw Taylor
Australian ARIA Jazz & Blues: No 1 — Bewitched — Laufey
Fun fact
The famous whistling as heard in the outro of Otis Redding’s 1967 hit (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay was totally improvised, as while Redding was recording it, he couldn’t remember the lyrics so instead, began whistling.
Musical Musings columnist