Claudine and Gemini became close after a traffic accident tragedy in which one had lost both of her parents, while the other one's father was left paralyzed, and mother died of lung infection. Wow, what an imaginative narrative. Besides strong effect of performing and taking photos in women's clothes, their two gorgeous instrumental albums Silence & Wisdom and Double Happiness had left a striking emotional impression. Colin noted how their peculiar image shaped the listener's perception of their music. Apotheosis of critics was inexorable. Their drag experiment was compared to imaginary collaboration between Brian Eno and The Durutti Column. Deux Filles records were predominantly dreamy instrumentals intermittently flavored with exotic particles (She Slides, Our English Friends) or their trademark black humor (Tongues). Who Art In Heaven is my favorite, a claustrophobic, filtered dialogue of two typical British housewives that sounds like an eerie conversation of two serial killers over a cup of tea.
After two albums and numerous live performances, two mysterious girls go to India in search of spiritual meaning. As a best ramification of their existence, Jeremy's Secret will emerge. While they drew attention with their femininity, Jeremy's Secret was an instantly hyped with explosive single that promoted same sex love. One of the NME writers gave a review by "burning" the single, and was accused for homophobia. The cover of The Key To Jeremy's Secret revealed that the boys have replaced drag with nudism. Considering the fact that they were both naked on the single cover, it comes as no surprise that they were persistently rejected by record labels and distributors. Everyone called them "a famous duo without a hit". The album was a departure from Colin's and Turner's melancholic instrumental in favor of conventional structure, although there were still traces of Deux Filles. In 1984, duo reinvents themselves once again by dropping a rock album The Snowball Effect. In the opening theme Keyfob, the duo replied to the public's controversial reaction to their nudism. The Snowball Effect was a raw rock format with healthy dose of neuroticism and deviant rhetoric. Dreamy messages were often interrupted by outbursts of irony. Chasing The Dragon was relying on making fun of drug abuse, while Mother's Lover held an unusual discourse about a boy who constantly finds lovers in the closet of his promiscuous mother. Take me, feel me, touch me, squeeze me, my mother's lover. Lol. The record also included a cover of Lou Reed's Some Kinda Love.
By the end of the 80s, Colin materialized another solo single, permeated with rebellious experimentalism and adult pop tendencies. A more specific solo album titled Mindbox saw collaborations with the producer of The Joshua Tree, Mark Wallis. Next couple of years brought hiatus. Meanwhile, destiny arranged that he meets Johnny Marr and it was only a matter of weeks before they started their project Heat. Due to series of unfortunate coincidences, the project was never brought to life. At the same time, Colin joined The The for the recording of their glorious album Mind Bomb. He was also without a record deal, but nonetheless made one of the best albums of his career. Remarkable was an acoustic album with confusingly optimistic content. It was released in the 90s under Hamburg records, which was the same label that released Deux Filles records. Want to know what came after? Well, my songbirds, stream this magnificent artist and find out yourself. In the great tradition of SundaySpotlight, my mission is to tease you with an artist and the rest is on you to explore. I can promise you one thing - Colin Lloyd Tucker is totally worth your time.
