Blanket of Secrecy
| Blanket of Secrecy | |
|---|---|
| Origin | England |
| Genres | New wave, pop rock, synthpop |
| Years active | 1982 |
| Labels | F-Beat, Warner Bros. |
| Past members |
Peter Marsh (aka Tinker) Roger Bechirian (aka Spy) Andy Howell (aka Tailor) |
Blanket of Secrecy (BoS) was a British new wave trio that existed for a short time in the early 1980s. The band is notable for the fact that the band members, true to their band name, were never officially identified, using only the pseudonyms Tinker, Tailor and Spy. This led to some speculation in the music press regarding their true identity; their identities were revealed after several decades to be Peter Marsh, Andy Howell and Roger Bechirian.
Their music was synthpop, similar to their contemporaries A Flock of Seagulls, although comparisons to The Attractions (Elvis Costello's backing band) were also made.
The band's lone LP was titled Walls Have Ears in the UK, and Ears Have Walls in the US. The group can been seen in shadow on the album's back cover, and more clearly in the video for the associated single "Say You Will". Released in 1982, the album and single received some airplay on both sides of the Atlantic.
At the time Ears Have Walls was recorded, BoS also reportedly recorded an entire second album, which has yet to see the light of day. The band broke up before the record could be released.
At the time of the group's one and only LP release, there were three main theories about the identity of the musicians involved with Blanket of Secrecy.
Extensive research by Blanket of Secrecy fan Gary L. Maher eventually identified the participants definitively as:
Jack Hues of Wang Chung also confirmed the identity of Peter Marsh in an interviewed by Russell A. Trunk for Exclusive Magazine.
Additionally, the single "Say You Will" bears a writing credit of Tinker/Spy. ASCAP has identified "Spy" as Phil McWalter. The song "Yo Yo" was credited to Tinker/Sailor, and Maher has identified "Sailor" as artist Ron Chadwick.
The Attractions connection trumpeted by some appears to be entirely incorrect, as no involvement by any of the Attractions in the Blanket of Secrecy project has yet come to light, although Pete Thomas played drums on two songs recorded for the second, never-released album. The song "Lovers", meanwhile, was written by Jack Hues and Nick Feldman (a.k.a. Nick De Spig) of Wang Chung, and arranged by Hues. One-time Wang Chung member "Hogg" (Dave Burnand) also appears on the album. The connection between the two bands is that Bechirian co-produced Wang Chung's first album, back when that group was known as Huang Chung.
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