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Mark AlmondEnglish singer, musician
Date of Birth: 09.07.1957
Country:  Great Britain |
Content:
- Mark Almond: The English Torch Singer
- A Biographical Account of Mark Almond
- AB: He is our last decadent.
- * * *
- Mark Almond: The Difficult Artist
- Mark Almond: The Troubled Years
- Mark Almond: The Nightlife
- Mark Almond: Tainted Life
- AB: Which period in your career was the most difficult?
Mark Almond: The English Torch Singer
Mark Almond, the English singer and musician, has transformed the disco into a confessional. A cabaret sinner-saint, his songs embody the philosophy of the boudoir, with its wet truths and disco Venuses in fur. With his tattooed good looks, angels and demons battle vividly on his chest and arms. Almond's style is called "torch song" in England, literally meaning "song of the torch," but in essence, it is a "cruel romance." Very similar indeed.
A Biographical Account of Mark Almond
It is not easy to have dinner with someone whose songs have shaped your life, and not just one song, but many. As I awaited Mark Almond in the Italian restaurant "Paparazzi," I thought about how sometimes it is better not to meet your idols in person, so as not to be disappointed by the reality. But I knew - since we had already met a couple of years ago - that Mark is exactly how he should be. I mean, he is just as I had imagined him all these years, listening to his music. This doesn't always happen - when a person completely corresponds to their art. There is no division between the artist and the person in Almond; he has always sung as he lived. And that is why his live concerts are always special. Here he comes: Almond has changed very little externally. No, not since our last meeting, but throughout all these years of his turbulent and contradictory career. A cynical folk saying is true - a small dog is always a puppy. He is still like a little devil, just as we saw him in the early Soft Cell videos: 160 cm tall, with black as coal hair, and vulgar skull rings on his fingers. The only thing that has increased is the number of tattoos. It stood out when he took off his coat on stage at the Moscow Art Theatre named after Gorky and was left with a flamboyant shirt with what seemed to be flames. He believes in the occult significance of his tattoos, and the essence of his art is best reflected by two of them: an angel on his right shoulder and a demon on his left. I also noticed that Mark was wearing the same long black coat as the last time - perhaps he only wears it in cold Russia?
At what cost does he maintain eternal youth, just like his favorite character Dorian Gray? But no, wrinkles can't be hidden up close when you're only separated by a table. Andrey Bukharin: It's very nice that you have become a frequent guest in Russia. Do you feel any connection to our country?
Mark Almond: This is my third time in Russia, and I always receive a very warm welcome. (In his mouth, a diamond sparkles like a morning star embedded in a tooth. He has always loved stars - "Stars We Are," "Fantastic Star" - the names of his albums, "Blue Star Records" - the name of his label.) People here know almost all of my records. Every time I meet new fans, and every time I see how things are changing here. Every time it is a new experience for me to come here and perform concerts. Moscow has become one of my favorite cities in the world. AB: You come here despite all our calamities. Are you not afraid?
MA: No, I am not afraid at all. I'm from London, where terrorism is a common thing. For many years, bombs were exploding there because of the problems in Northern Ireland, or there were reports that they were supposedly planted. So, I think it would be foolish to be afraid that something could happen to me. When I was planning to come to Russia for the first time in 1993, people told me that I was probably crazy because the situation there was so unstable. But I was interested because it was a time of change. Since then, a lot has changed, and if I wasn't afraid to come then, why should I be afraid now? AB: Two Russian guys play on your latest album "Open All Night." Where did you find them?
MA: I accidentally found them in a café where they were playing. And I was just recording the song "Night And Dark," which, in my opinion, has a certain Russian feeling. You know, something like a violin, an accordion. So, I invited them to play on this song. AB: I find many elements of world music in your work: Arabic, Turkish, French, Spanish, Brazilian. Do you consider yourself a cosmopolitan?
MA: Yes, I feel like a very cosmopolitan person. I love to travel, and perhaps my music is partly an attempt to recreate this magical feeling of exoticism. I enjoy the influence of different places on my music. And I use the music of different cultures to recreate the colors, atmosphere, and mystery of these places in my songs. Russia, by the way, has a strong influence on me. People here give me recordings of Russian music, and I really like an old Russian singer named Alexander Vertinsky. Right? These are just wonderful songs, and I am close to their style.
AB: He is our last decadent.
MA: I would like someone to translate some of his songs for me.AB: Would you like to sing?
MA: Yes, you know, I have sung songs by Jacques Brel and other old artists, and I would like to include a Russian singer in my repertoire. That would be great.
* * *
The first time he sang a Jacques Brel song was in 1982 on the album of his radical project Marc And The Mambas. Then in 1988, Almond recorded an entire album of songs by the great chansonnier, titled "Jacques," which was praised by Brel's widow as the best interpretation of her late husband's work. In the 90s, he released a full French album titled "Absinthe" on a small label.
Mark Almond: The Difficult Artist
AB: Actually, as I understand it, it is bold to sing French songs in England.
MA: In a way, yes. The British don't really embrace French music. In the sense that the French are better at appreciating English music than the English are at appreciating French music. The British tend to be self-isolating, you know, that kind of attitude; British and only British. And that is why sometimes when my music includes influences from other cultures, the British simply don't understand it and even find it funny. But as for me, I am a citizen of the world, I would say - a multi-European, so it is natural for me to use foreign influences.
AB: You were supposed to release your latest masterpiece on the Echo Label a long time ago, but it only came out this year on your own label.
MA: Echo Label had serious financial troubles, and they hired a new director who wanted to make the label much more pop-oriented and mainstream. He told me that my album wasn't exactly the kind of music he wanted to release. So, I replied: then give me the album, and I will release it myself. He said he respected me as an artist, and he gave me the finished album because it didn't fit into the new stylistic concept of the label. That's how I got the opportunity to release it independently, which I am very happy about because I had full control over my recording for the first time. It was a new experience for me.
AB: You have a reputation as a "difficult artist" in the show business. Do you often clash with record companies?
MA: Only with those who treat me like an idiot. I have worked with many record companies that tried to influence me according to their own ideas of what I should be. They would sign a contract with Mark Almond but then try to turn me into someone else. It is only in such cases that conflicts arise. I have released many albums over 20 years, and I think I have earned the right to be treated with respect as an artist. I just always give people back what they bring to me. This bad reputation comes from my experience working with companies that treated me with no respect, as well as with musicians who tried to use me while working with me.
Mark Almond: The Troubled Years
Almond has worked with many record companies over the years: Mercury, Virgin, EMI, BMG... The same story always repeated: the majors (big corporations) were sold on his famous name, but Almond never sold enough records to satisfy their appetites. His punk spirit was too strong. Possessing all the characteristics of a big pop star, Almond was never one, even when his songs reached the top of the charts. Moreover, he always associated with the most questionable characters. During the time of the super popular Soft Cell (his duo with electronic musician Dave Ball), he embarked on a tour of America as part of the wild group The Immaculate Consumptive, which included Nick Cave, Lydia Lunch, and Jim Foetus. It was then that he recorded in several songs on the early albums of the occult Psychic TV and Coil. On the cover of his first album with The Mambas, he can be seen embracing Genesis P-Orridge, a man who was eventually expelled from England for his alleged involvement in Satanism. Mark and Dave were photographed in terrifying cracked masks amidst ashes, fake pearls, and bones gifted, by the way, by P-Orridge and David Tibet.
Mark Almond: The Nightlife
AB: Your latest album is very nocturnal in every sense. What does the night, the nightlife mean to you?
MA: I spend most of my life at night. When I finished school, I worked in clubs, bars, and similar places, and that's where I became familiar with the nightlife. It was a world that understood me because in ordinary life, I felt like a stranger, an outsider. So, I was drawn to a world that accepted me as an individual. I always felt that this nightlife was similar to real life with its own laws and rules. It is the world that I write my songs about and that I know very well. Nighttime is the time when we can embody our fantasies, it is the time when we are close to our loved ones, it is the time when we can be ourselves. I wanted this album to be a sensual accompaniment to the night, so that someone could listen to it at night with their loved one. An album under which you can make love.
Mark Almond: Tainted Life
AB: I know that you have just released your autobiography "Tainted Life." What made you pick up the pen - the need to look back and assess your life?
MA: There were many reasons. I had a very difficult, chaotic life, and this book became a way for me to bring some order to it. Yes, to assess and move on. After all, I have been involved in music for many years, given many interviews, answered many questions, and it was time to tell everything in my own words. To tell the truth about many myths circulating about me. And to honestly tell the truth about myself and all the problems I have faced. Problems with drugs, love, all the bad things that happened in my life. About what I have learned, about my life experiences. Also, a lot about the music business in all its madness, but from the perspective of someone who has always been an outsider in this business. Also, a lot about the times I grew up in, how times changed, and how I changed. The book contains a lot of darkness, but also a lot of humor. Because my view of the world is quite... well, maybe a bit cynical, but very cynically funny.
AB: I hope you didn't need a journalist assistant, as is usually the case with pop stars?
MA: I wrote most of the book myself, but I did work together with my good friend, my manager. He helped me organize my writings. You see, I have dyslexia (a condition where a person has difficulty with reading and writing). So, he helped me a lot with the structure of the book and the editing.
AB: Last time you told me that all your problems are in your songs. Is it the same with the book? From what I hear, it is very revealing. You write about spending huge amounts of money on drugs for many years.
MA: I think they are somewhat different things. My songs are medicine for my problems. They save me from them, while the book just tells the story. It has many difficult moments, about growing up with an alcoholic father, about drugs, problems with education. But it has a good ending because I reached a certain position. Maybe things will change in a year, but right now, I am happy with who I am and where I am. This book is a story of hitting rock bottom and how I resurfaced.
AB: Which period in your career was the most difficult?
MA: Most likely at the intersection of the 80s and 90s. I think that was when I faced the most problems, although I pretended that everything was okay. I worked, released records, but my life was actually falling apart. Even when I first came to Russia, it was a difficult time for me.
Also, when I first encountered fame - when "Tainted Love" reached the top of the charts. It was a shock to me. I wasn't prepared for it. And I dealt with fame in a completely wrong way.
