Tuesday, February 09, 2010

21st century boy



A classic tv interview with Tony James of Sigue Sigue Sputnik from 1988.

Notice how no questions phase Tony, he know's exactly what Sputnik is about:

'If Elvis formed a band in 1990 (ie the future), this is that band'

With one eye on a transmedia future he also states that he wanted to create a band, from the outset, that worked on TV and film as well as in a rock'n'roll context.

'If the people look great, learning to play is easy, but you can't do it the other way round'

Tony understands the power of a great story (or myth).

'[An article] in the Herald Tribune about this Russian street gang...SIGUE SIGUE SPUTNIK..TJ calls everyone excited..brings home the piece torn out....somehow it captures the essence of the band..the idea of this fagin like group of money launderers in Moscow is soo right..the name makes a great story every time its printed.. like all great names.. so different.. even the Sputnik connection is great.. mans first object in space ..like some kind of man made god....'

'We sit around for weeks playing the demos in the shop at ear splitting volume, looking like stars and wearing our own T SHIRTS... it was our art, everyone special, individual.....it was my fanaticism, everything had to be special, exactly so... like making the band stay up till 3 in the morning the night before the first gig just to paint the flight cases red with the sss logo in Japanese along the side so we would look like a futuristic army arriving...!'


Then they built the music product to match the story.

Brand essence, brand personality, brand building, brand positioning, brand equity, are stuff we talk about every day, but in the end what connects is the brand story.

I doesn't even have to be true, as long as it's something that we want to believe.

Psycho maniac interblend, shoot it up.

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