Vicious Pink

Their lone album was really a collection of singles and they only played one gig ever (1984 at the Ritz in NYC) but Vicious Pink holds a special place in many synth pop fans' hearts. The U.K.-based duo -- instrumentalist Brian Moss and vocalist Josephine Warden -- first started releasing 12"'s in 1982, sometimes as Vicious Pink Phenomena. Their combination of fluffy Euro-dance and spacey new wave failed to attract much attention until 1984's bubbly and stuttering single "Cccan't You See" was released. It wasn't a hit at first, but little by little, new wave-friendly DJs across the globe discovered it, many giving the B-side, "8:15 to Nowhere," an equal amount of dancefloor exposure. Record label Parlophone released at least ten different versions of the single and both sides became favorites of DJ-only remix services such as Razormaid. 1985's "Fetish" became another club hit, getting extra exposure on the HBO series Real Sex. By 1986 Moss and Warden had stopped the project but singles kept coming out with new remixes, often featuring former B-sides as A-sides. Parlophone released a self-titled full-length in 1986 in Canada, but pressings were always limited and hard to find. Numerous bootlegs collecting the band's singles sprouted up, mostly on CD, while Razormaid released the original Vicious Pink masters they received from Parlophone as Vicious Pink: Uncut (the DJ-only label announced a Vicious Pink: Uncut 2 in 2004). As fans scoured the Internet looking for Vicious Pink recordings, Moss continued working as a member of the alternative rock band Drug Free America until that band slowed down to a stop in 1999. In 2000, he announced a new project, Mirazma, with former Drug Free America vocalist Hayley Windsor. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide