Martin Gordon

Martin Gordon was born in Ipswich, and grew up [|Hitchin], Hertfordshire. He studied piano and classical guitar as a child, attended summer schools hosted by the British National Jazz Youth Orchestra, where he took lessons from [(band)|Nucleus] bassist [Clyne|Jeff Clyne] and later studied harmony and counterpoint.

Gordon began his musical career in the 1970s with the Californian [music|pop] [|brothers] [Mael|Ron Mael] and [Mael|Russell Mael] in [(band)|Sparks], who were seeking a bassist after their relocation to the UK. Gordon played with Sparks on the album [My House|Kimono My House], which featured his trademark [4001|Rickenbacker 4001] bass. "[Town Ain't Big Enough for the Both of Us|This Town Ain't Big Enough for the Both of Us]" and "Amateur Hour" were UK [record|hits] from that album. "This Town..." made No. 2 in the [Singles Chart|UK Singles Chart] but, after one album, Gordon and Sparks parted company.

He then formed [(UK band)|Jet] (described by [|Allmusic] as "the first supergroup of [rock|glam]" and then [Stars|Radio Stars]. Both bands featured singer [Ellison|Andy Ellison], drummer [Townson|Chris Townson], and guitarist Ian Macleod. Jet's eponymous album was produced by [(band)|Queen] producer [Thomas Baker|Roy Thomas Baker]. Between the demise of Jet and its reincarnation as Radio Stars in 1976, he performed briefly with pioneer of American punk [North|Ian North]; along with drummer [Simon (UK)|Paul Simon], Gordon played a handful of dates with Ian's Radio before rejoining members of Jet to form Radio Stars.

Radio Stars achieved a modicum of success with a single 'Nervous Wreck' (which charted at #38) and two critically well-received albums Songs for Swinging Lovers and  Holiday Album. The band has been anthologised with Two Minutes Mr Smith (Moonlight Records) and Somewhere There's a Place For Us ([Records (UK)|Ace Records]). Ace Records re-released the Radio Stars catalogue on CD in 2003. In 2008, Radio Stars reformed for a gig at London's Blow Up Metro Club, to promote the release of live recordings from the 1970s entitled 'Something for the Weekend'. The performance featured original members Martin Gordon, Andy Ellison and Ian Macleod accompanied by drummer Steve Budney who performed on Gordon's 2007 solo debut in Boston, USA. The band also performed one-off gigs at the Rebellion festival in London (13 December 2008) and at London's [Club|100 Club] (22 January 2010). In 2017, the 4-CD box set Thinking Inside the Box was released by Cherry Red/Anagram Records, featuring the band's entire recorded output, BBC sessions and rarities.

Session musician
Following the end of Radio Stars in 1979, Gordon moved to Paris, France, where he worked as house producer for Barclay Records, and played bass with the Rolling Stones during the recording of 'Emotional Rescue'. He returned to the UK at the beginning of the 80s, and worked as producer and in other capacities with such musicians as [Michael|George Michael], [George|Boy George], [(band)|Blur], [Scream|Primal Scream], [Minogue|Kylie Minogue], [|S'Express], [Tiger Lillies|Tiger Lillies] and [Palmer (singer)|Robert Palmer], as well as a host of minor talents.

World music
At the beginning of the 1990s, [music|world music] took Gordon initially to [|Bombay] with [Bhosle|Asha Bhosle] and [George|Boy George], and subsequently to [|Pakistan], [|Morocco], [|Egypt], [|Ghana] and [Gambia|The Gambia]. After studying gamelan in [|Bali] on a Darmasiswa scholarship, he formed the Mira ensemble with journalist Peter Culshaw in 1995, releasing an album 'New Hope For the Dead'. They created an elaborate theatrical presentation, which delivered two performances at the Place Theatre, in London and an appearance at the [Jazz Festival|Montreux Jazz Festival] in 1997. He was a member of the [University of London|SOAS]-based (Balinese) Gamelan Kembang Kirang and the South Bank-based (Javanese) New Music Group between 1996–1997. Gordon performs with Berlin-based (Indonesian [|gamelan] group) Lindhu Raras.

Solo
Following the recording of an album in [|Istanbul] with Turkish [|diva] [Aksu|Sezen Aksu], Gordon played bass on Aksu's subsequent European tour (2002). This prompted his return to his pop music roots in 2003, via his own label [Future Records|Radiant Future Records].

He has seven solo albums to his credit, most [recording and reproduction|recorded] in collaboration with Swedish vocalist Pelle Almgren. The first three solo releases were collected in a box-set titled The Mammal Trilogy (2006). Allmusic noted that 'any release that reminds the world of the brilliance of Gordon's first three 21st century solo albums can only be applauded'. His solo albums also feature a selection of [|Lennon–McCartney] and [& Sullivan|Gilbert & Sullivan] tunes alongside Gordon originals. In 2007 Gordon made his live debut as a solo performer in [|Boston], United States.

The fourth album God is on His Lunchbreak was accompanied by a book detailing the origins of the material, lyrics and assorted musing entitled The Illustrated and Annotated 'God's on His Lunchbreak, Please Call Back Companion Volume, with [|illustrations] by drummer [Townson|Chris Townson]. The fifth album Time Gentlemen Please was accompanied by the album Time Gentlemen Please – Demos, featuring Gordon's original demos of the material (available only via his website).

Gordon and vocalist Almgren made appearances in 2011 and 2012 as part of the Swedish garage-punk outfit 70-5, and various performances are to be found on YouTube. The sixth and final installment of the Mammal Trilogy was entitled 'Include Me Out'; released in August 2013, it was recorded in Berlin, Germany and Gnesta, Sweden and was accompanied by Words in Your Shell-Like, a book of Gordon's lyrics from Jet to the Mammal Trilogy. This brought the Trilogy to completion.

An album of [and Sullivan|Gilbert and Sullivan] compositions Gilbert Gordon & Sullivan was released by Radiant Future Records in April 2016, as well as two singles, Dump the Trump in October 2016 and Idiots in March 2017. In 2019, he released the album Thanks For All the Fish