Hard Corps
Hard Corps
Hard Corps were not French, they were actually from Brixton, South London. Hugh Ashton, Robert Doran and Clive Pierce, were introduced to chanteuse Regine Fetet, who, having never sung before had an enigmatic, fragile, human voice which, quite by fluke of nature, mated perfectly with the sound the three British sound engineers were creating. Working in unison with a heavily accentuated French vocal, the result was magnificent and unique.
A 12"white label, released by Survival Records, containing the hammering rhythmic attack of Dirty and the softer, melodic, pulse of Respirer (To Breathe) was circulated around London’s dance floors. In no time a wave of attention hit them and throughout 1984 and into 1985 they dominated the independent pop charts.
John Peel championed them on his infamous late night Radio One show and they headlined at his ICA Rock Week in the Mall, London. By 1985 Hard Corps had signed with major label giants Polydor. This enabled the band to work with a couple of their favoured and respected producers, Martin Rushent (known mostly for his exceptional work with the Human League) and Depeche Mode producer and Mute Records supremo, Daniel Miller. These sessions provided the public with just one single due to the labels non-promotion, Je Suis Passee, a sweeping arrangement of breathtaking beauty, combining pumping sequences and sheer power of emotion of Regine’s voice.
The band went on a major tour with The Cure in 1985 and Depeche Mode in 1988, before finally disintegrating. A compilation of their work, Metal and Flesh was released on Concrete Productions label in 1991.