Lene Lovich

Among the quirkiest figures in new wave, Lene Lovich spliced off-kilter art sensibilities with a fondness for pop hooks -- a combination that brought her to Stiff Records, a label that specialized in such oddities. Stiff helped Lovich's percolating "Lucky Number" become an unexpected Top Ten hit in the U.K. in 1979, a success that helped keep the singer on the lower reaches of the charts through the earliest years of the '80s. By the start of the '90s, Lovich had retired from music, but she launched the occasional comeback in the ensuing decades, including releasing the Shadows and Dust album in 2005. Born on March 30, 1949, in Detroit, Michigan, Lene Lovich spent her first 13 years in the United States. Her mother moved her and her three siblings to Hull, England in 1962. Shortly afterward, Lovich met Les Chappell, a guitarist who would become her collaborator and partner. The pair moved to London in 1968, attending art school and becoming further entrenched in a bohemian lifestyle. Spending time wandering through Europe, working as a dancer and busking on the streets, Lovich also appeared in experimental theater. She'd later marshal all these interests in her music, but first she spent some time playing in the Diversions, a group that folded after releasing an album on Polydor. Lovich released a cover of "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" on Polydor in 1976, then collaborated with French dance artist Cerrone on the single "Supernature." Lovich and Chappell reinterpreted Tommy James & the Shondells' "I Think We're Alone Now" in 1978 in a cover that led Dave Robinson to sign the singer to Stiff. After re-releasing the cover on Stiff, the label issued "Lucky Number," which shot to number three on the U.K. charts. In the wake of the success of "Lucky Number," Lovich appeared on the Be Stiff Route 78 tour as she rushed out her debut, Stateless. "Say When," a single pulled from Stateless, reached 19. Flex, her second album, appeared in 1979, accompanied by the single "Bird Song," and the New Toy EP from 1981 had its Thomas Dolby-written title track turn into a dance hit in the U.S. No Man's Land closed out her hot streak in 1982, charting in the lower reaches of Billboard in the U.S. but not making it onto the U.K. charts. Lovich next surfaced in 1987 with "Don't Kill the Animals," a collaboration with Nina Hagen that appeared on WaxTrax's PETA benefit album Don't Kill the Animals. Two years later, she released March on Pathfinder Records, then headed into retirement. After 16 years, Lovich returned in 2005 with Shadows and Dust. Around the time of its release, she started making live performances, appearing on-stage with both Hawkwind and the Dresden Dolls. She continued performing into the early 2010s, forming the Lene Lovich Band with Subterraneans guitarist Jude Rawlins in 2012. The pair also reissued Lovich's Stiff catalog on Flex Music during this period. Ten years later, that same material appeared on Cherry Red's four-disc box Toy Box: The Stiff Years 1978-1983. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi