The Band Fixx

[Blanchefle Strycker]

TheFixx are a rock band from London, England, founded in 1979. The band's hits include "One Thing Leads to Another", "Saved by Zero", "Are We Ourselves?", and "Secret Separation", each of which charted in the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100, as well as mainstream rock chart hits "Red Skies", "Stand or Fall", "Driven Out" and "Deeper and Deeper", which was featured on the soundtrack of the 1984 film Streets of Fire.

College friends Cy Curnin on vocals and Adam Woods on drums formed the group in London in 1979, initially calling themselves Portraits.[1] The pair placed an ad for additional members, and recruited keyboardist Rupert Greenall, guitarist Tony McGrail and bassist Russell Mckenzie, the last of whom was later replaced by Charlie Barrett.[2] Portraits issued two singles for Ariola Records: "Little Women" (1979), and "Hazards In The Home" (1980).[3]

Later in 1980, McGrail left. At this point, the band added guitarist Jamie West-Oram (formerly of Phillip Rambow's band) and changed their name to The Fix.[1] This version of the band recorded for 101 Records, releasing their first single ("Lost Planes") in February 1981.[2] This track, along with several live tracks issued by 101 on various compilations, received some radio exposure on the BBC. In these early days, West-Oram was billed simply as 'Jamie West'.

The Fix's raised profile eventually led to the group being offered a contract by MCA Records.[3] Worried about the potential drug-user implication of the band's name, MCA insisted on a name change before signing them to the label.[4] A compromise was reached as the band altered the spelling of their name to The Fixx, and a deal was duly inked.

Barrett left The Fixx just after the recording of their first album, Shuttered Room, in 1982.[2] This album featured the band's initial hits, "Stand or Fall" and "Red Skies", both of which charted in the US and the UK. The band found particular success in Canada, where "Stand or Fall" reached No. 37. "Stand or Fall" entered the charts in the US on 30 October 1982.

Barrett was replaced on bass by Alfie Agius for the Shuttered Room tour. Agius' stay in the band was short-lived, though, as he left during the 1983 recording of their next album Reach the Beach, after having recorded four tracks. Agius is credited as co-writer on all the album's tracks, but the group for this album was officially credited as a quartet (Curnin, Greenall, West-Oram and Woods). Agius went on to briefly tour with the hard rock/heavy metal band Fastway that same year.

Reach the Beach, produced by star producer Rupert Hine, became the group's most commercially successful album and was certified Platinum by the RIAA on 5 January 1984.[2] Agius' bass work is featured on the album's first two singles "Saved by Zero" and "One Thing Leads to Another."[5] Both these singles cracked the US top 40, and "One Thing Leads To Another" became the band's biggest-ever hit (No. 1 Canada, No. 4 US). It was during these sessions that bassist Dan K. Brown joined the band.[2] Brown played bass on the third top 40 single from the album, "The Sign Of Fire" and continued with the band on its subsequent tour. Brown became a full member of the band thereafter.

The 1984 album Phantoms contained the hits "Are We Ourselves?" (#29 Can.), the first video in which a mobile phone ever appeared (a modified Motorola KR999), and "Sunshine In The Shade." Another single, "Deeper And Deeper," was initially released as the B-side of "Are We Ourselves?" (and also appeared in an edited version on the soundtrack for the film Streets of Fire) as well as on the extended 12" version of "Less Cities, More Moving People" in the UK.[2] This track received substantial airplay on U.S. and Canadian modern rock radio stations.

In 1989, the Fixx released their first album in nearly three years and only release on RCA Records, Calm Animals, which contained another hit "Driven Out" (another No. 1 on Billboard's "Album Rock" chart).

Dan K. Brown took a hiatus from the band in 1994. He was not officially replaced, and the band used session musicians on bass in his stead, with Chris Tait playing bass on most recordings and live shows from 1995 through the early 2000s. The four-man line-up (with contributions from Tait and other sessioneers) recorded 1998's Elemental, as well as the 1999 album 1011 Woodland, on which they re-recorded a selection of previous hits and album tracks.

Long-time bassist Dan K. Brown rejoined the band in 2008, replacing Tibbs. They celebrated 25 years of making music together, with the release of the double-CD Twenty-fifth Anniversary Anthology compilation.

On 5 November 2021, The Fixx announced on their website a new single called "Wake Up". The song also featured on their most recent album, Every Five Seconds, released 3 June 2022. "Woman of Flesh and Blood" and "Closer" are two more singles from the album.[6]

College partners Cy Curnin (for the vocals) and Adam Woods (drums) got together and formed the group in 1979. At first the group called themselves the Portraits.[1] The pair were later joined by keyboardist Rupert Greenall, guitarist Tony McGrail and the bassist Russell Mckenzie. The last was replaced by Charlie Bennett. The Portraits issued two records under Ariola Records: "Little Women" (1979) and "Hazards in the Home" (1980).[2]

Later in 1980, McGrail left the band. At this point, the band adde guitarist Jamie West-Oram. The band then changed their name to The Fix. This version of the band recorded under 101 Records. They had their first single "Lost Planes" in February 1981. In those early days, West-Oram was simply billed as Jamie West.

The Fix's raised profile led to them being offered a contract by MCA Records. The record label, however, worried about the potential drug user implication of the group's name. MCA wanted a name change before signing them to the label.[3] A deal was then reached. The band changed the spelling of its name to The Fixx.

The group's second album Reach the Beach, was their most commercially successful album. It was certified Platinum by the RIAA. The singles "One Thing Leads to Another" and "Saved by Zero" were released off the album.[4] Both these singles hit the U.S. Top 40. "One Thing Leads to Another" was the band's biggest hit (#1 in Canada, #4 in the United States).

The same chain sold with the FIXX ID. Twenty seven inches of beaded stainless steel that can be trimmed to accommodate any neck. Also, to prevent choking, It's designed to break under 20 pounds of tension. Chain length 27 inches.

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NOTE: Our lifetime guarantee applies to the stainless steel ID plate only. The bands and straps that they are attached to are not covered for life. We do, however, offer low-cost replacement bands and straps for all of our IDs.

Adolescence comes with drama, hell- it is a damn minefield, especially if you are a teen who is different. It only made sense that I would gravitate towards a band that was different.

Then there were deeper statements, a mention of how their music was part of their youth and how important it was to their teen years. Others would talk about how a certain song got them through rough periods: through bouts with cancer, or depression, or the death of a loved one. Shaman from the Beautiful Friction album seems to be very inspirational to many, with the lines your soldier of light and your armor is love.

It was awesome to meet up with Fixxtures in person that I met on the Facebook group, also it was great fun to virtually follow the tour as fans posted photos and videos from each show around the country- an impossible feat years ago. With all the negativity that is said about social media, I prefer to celebrate how it can bring nice people and experiences together.

2022 brought an anticipated new album after a 10 year wait: Every Five Seconds, and new tour. The album has a track, Lonely As A Lighthouse, which has a deep history with the fans. Despite being performed live as long as 25 years ago but never officially recorded in the studio or anywhere else, its driving beat and nautical metaphors for love stuck with Fixxtures: they shared bootleg recordings and named an internet message board Lighthouse in homage to it and The Fixx. There was hope that it would someday appear on an album. In 2022, that hope was finally realized, issued as a way to thank the fans for their steadfast enthusiasm. The CD inner sleeve gives thanks to the fans as well.

Post Script to the above : On August 26, 2022, I got to see the Fixx play at Keswick Theater, from the front row. It was amazing. They came out after show and I got to meet each one of them. This night was made of the stuff I would dream of when I was 15.

In the early 80's, I thought a lot of fans of Duran Duran were probably also fans of The Fixx... The Fixx has had very little turnover in band members over the years and all core members are intact. They had a big span of hits from 1982-1985, then a minor hit with "Driven Out" in 1989. They put out a real nice (though maybe not as mass appeal as "Paper Gods") cd in 2012 with Beautiful Friction...

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