Fad Gadget

Fad Gadget

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Real Name:
Francis John (Frank) Tovey
Profile:
Fad Gadget (Frank Tovey, born 8 September 1956, London) was the first artist signed to Mute Records. His groundbreaking 'Back To Nature' was released as Mute's second single, in October 1979. His live shows were known for being far more physical than those of many other electronic acts of the time, often featuring Tovey injuring himself. Following the album Gag in 1984, he dropped the stage name and in favour of his real name. The release of The Best of Fad Gadget in 2001 and his supporting Depeche Mode on their Exciter Tour looked set to help his relaunch as Fad Gadget, but he died, aged 45, of a heart attack on 3 April 2002, at his home in London.
Sites:
fadgadget.co.uk, franktovey.de, Wikipedia
Aliases:
Frank Tovey
Variations:
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Artist

Marketplace

4,063 For Sale
Vinyl and CD
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Albums
STUMM 3 Fireside Favourites — Fad Gadget Fad Gadget Fireside Favourites (Album) Mute STUMM 3 UK 1980 Sell This Version
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Stumm 6, INT 146.802 Incontinent — Fad Gadget Fad Gadget Incontinent (Album) Mute Stumm 6, INT 146.802 Germany 1981 Sell This Version
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INT 146.805, STUMM 8 Under The Flag — Fad Gadget Fad Gadget Under The Flag (Album) Mute INT 146.805, STUMM 8 Germany 1982 Sell This Version
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STUM 15 Gag — Fad Gadget Fad Gadget Gag (Album) Mute STUM 15 Canada 1984 Sell This Version
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Singles & EPs
MUTE 002 Back To Nature / The Box — Fad Gadget Fad Gadget Back To Nature / The Box (Single) Mute MUTE 002 UK 1979 Sell This Version
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MUTE 009 Fireside Favourite / Insecticide — Fad Gadget Fad Gadget Fireside Favourite / Insecticide (Single) Mute MUTE 009 UK 1980 Sell This Version
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MUTE 006 Ricky's Hand / Handshake — Fad Gadget Fad Gadget Ricky's Hand / Handshake (Single) Mute MUTE 006 UK 1980 Sell This Version
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502403 Make Room — Fad Gadget Fad Gadget Make Room (Single) Mute 502403 Portugal 1981 Sell This Version
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FLEXIPOP 011 Sometimes I Wish I Was Dead / King Of The Flies — Fad Gadget Depeche Mode / Fad Gadget Depeche Mode / Fad Gadget - Sometimes I Wish I Was Dead / King Of The Flies (EP) Flexipop FLEXIPOP 011 UK 1981 Sell This Version
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7 MUTE 026 For Whom The Bells Toll — Fad Gadget Fad Gadget For Whom The Bells Toll (Single) Mute 7 MUTE 026 UK 1982 Sell This Version
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SPBO-7304 Saturday Night Special — Fad Gadget Fad Gadget Saturday Night Special (Single) Mute, Mute SPBO-7304 Spain 1982 Sell This Version
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SPBO-7377 Life On The Line — Fad Gadget Fad Gadget Life On The Line (Single, Maxi) Mute SPBO-7377 Spain 1982 Sell This Version
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7 MUTE 021 King Of The Flies — Fad Gadget Fad Gadget King Of The Flies ‎(7", Single) Mute 7 MUTE 021 UK 1982 Sell This Version
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SPBO-7444 I Discover Love — Fad Gadget Fad Gadget I Discover Love (Single, Maxi) Mute SPBO-7444 Spain 1983 Sell This Version
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101869 Collapsing New People / Wanderin Stranger — Fad Gadget Fad Gadget / Lionel Richie Fad Gadget / Lionel Richie - Collapsing New People / Wanderin Stranger ‎(7", Single, Smplr, TP) Vogue 101869 France 1983 Sell This Version
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none Untitled / 'March Of The Iron Workers' — Fad Gadget Fad Gadget / Mecano (2) Fad Gadget / Mecano (2) - Untitled / 'March Of The Iron Workers' ‎(Flexi, 7") Vinyl (11) none Netherlands 1983 Sell This Version
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POW 0206 One Man's Meat — Fad Gadget Fad Gadget One Man's Meat (Single) Mute POW 0206 New Zealand 1984 Sell This Version
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311030 Collapsing New People — Fad Gadget Fad Gadget Collapsing New People (Single, Maxi) Mute 311030 France 1983 Sell This Version
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none Ricky's Hand — Fad Gadget Dr. Motte vs. Fad Gadget Dr. Motte vs. Fad Gadget - Ricky's Hand ‎(12", Num, W/Lbl) Mute none Germany 1999 Sell This Version
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12 MUTE 269, 12MUTE269 Fireside Favourite — Fad Gadget Fad Gadget Fireside Favourite ‎(12") Mute, Mute 12 MUTE 269, 12MUTE269 Europe 2001 Sell This Version
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Compilations
CDMUTEL7 The Best Of Fad Gadget — Fad Gadget Fad Gadget The Best Of Fad Gadget (Comp) Mute CDMUTEL7 UK 2001 Sell This Version
Image Title Label Catalog Number Year In Your Collection, Wantlist, or Inventory Actions
9336-2, 724596933626 Fad Gadget By Frank Tovey — Fad Gadget Fad Gadget / Frank Tovey Fad Gadget / Frank Tovey - Fad Gadget By Frank Tovey (Comp) Mute, Mute 9336-2, 724596933626 US 2006 Sell This Version
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none 3 Songs — Fad Gadget Fad Gadget 3 Songs ‎(CDr, Comp, Promo) Not On Label (Fad Gadget) none US Unknown Sell This Version

Reviews

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qlasse

qlasse

February 28, 2003
Fad Gadget, or Frank Tovey - which was his real name (born 1956 in London’s East End), was one of the groundbreaking artists in the electronic genre in the late 70’s/early 80’s.
He was the first signing on Mute Records, where he worked together with e.g. Daniel Miller and John Fryer.
Fad Gadget was known as an eccentric wild man live on stage, as he performed in weird outfits and often ending the shows by injuring himself (he once broke both his legs in a concert in Amsterdam).

Musical highlights were his two first singles "Back To Nature" (released in 1979) and "Ricky’s Hand" (1980), his debut album "Fireside Favourites" (1980) which is truly groundbreaking, and "Under The Flag" (1982), by many considered as his best album and has the great tunes "For Whom The Bells Toll" and "Love Parasite" on it.
Worth mentioning is also his collaboration with the German industrial band Einstürzende Neubauten that resulted in the brilliant song "Collapsing New People" in 1984.

In 1985 Tovey dropped the Fad Gadget name, and started to release records under his real name. Unfortunately he passed away in 2001, because of a heart failure.

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