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Vocalist Lene Lovich doesn’t remember when she last played Portland. Considering she hasn’t done an extensive American tour since 1989, this is a rare opportunity to see and hear one of the most original artists to spring out of the U.K. New Wave scene. Her kooky blend of post-punk, cabaret, circus music, and pop has influenced artists from the Dresden Dolls to Madonna. Lovich plays the Alberta Rose Theatre on Monday, Oct. 13.
Born in Detroit, Lovich moved abroad early enough to pen lyrics for one of the biggest hits of the disco era. Chance connected her with French superstar producer Cerrone. As Lovich recalls to WW, “[Cerrone] was a very clever business guy, and he said, ‘The world has had enough of ‘sexy disco.’ Let’s do something different. But I’m in a hurry. So just write something, anything, but not sexy. Not the usual.’ So I thought, ‘Wow, this is my chance. I can really do something I care about.’”
The result was the forward-thinking “Supernature,” which pitted mutant underground creatures against failing future technology. Thanks to Lovich’s Island of Dr. Moreau-inspired lyrics and Cerrone’s use of the ARP Odyssey synthesizer, this dystopian space-disco jam became a No. 1 hit in 1978. The groundbreaking “Supernature” routinely crops up on lists of the greatest dance songs ever. Neither Bowie’s Berlin period nor Kraftwerk achieved the same impact at the time.
After such an auspicious entry into the major music business, Lovich and her life partner Les Chappell conceived a new sound based on her unique voice and vision. But she did not consider herself primarily a lyricist or even a proper musician.
“We didn’t say, ‘You write the lyrics and you write the music,’” she remembers. “It was just like, ‘You make a sound and I’ll think of what I feel about that,’ and then we just traded from one person to the next until the song had enough legs to stand on. And then the lyrics came at the very end.
“I mean, I might have had an idea of what the song should be about. But I didn’t write poetry. I didn’t write lyrics up front. It was always, when there was enough feeling and information and ambience about the song, then I knew what words to put to it.”
A cassette recording made it into the hands of de rigueur U.K. indie Stiff Records, and soon Lovich was on the label’s 1978 package tour. One of her songs, “Lucky Number,” went over particularly well at concerts, so it was issued as the first single and promptly charted at No. 3.
“That was a surprise. It was a surprise to the record company, too. They had a problem with ‘Lucky Number’ because they said it didn’t have a chorus. But I said, ‘It does have a chorus: ‘Ooh ooh uh ooh!’” Lovich sings and then laughs.
Those types of almost comedic, animalistic sounds echo throughout her catalog. Listen to the high-pitched vocalizations at the beginning of “Bird Song” (the lead track on her classic second album, Flex) and you’ll hear the sort of unearthly beauty she effortlessly conjures. “I just made sounds that I thought should be there,” she says in a voice that sounds as if Pat Benatar and Charo’s love child spoke with a mid-Atlantic accent.
Her black plaited hair, twisted wedding-dress chic, and gothic makeup style added to the character she created for the stage during an era when extreme fashion was not just a bonus but a requirement. Lovich made three classic albums for Stiff, which she pulls from for her current tour. If you’ve ever heard “New Toy” in the supermarket—a song penned by her old keyboardist Thomas Dolby—you’ll get to see it live Monday night.
After such a long time, it seemed Lovich might never return to the States. Then, a few months ago, the clouds parted and both Devo and The B-52s announced she would warm up at a number of big events the proudly oddball bands would co-headline. Taking the opportunity seriously, Lovich and her partners quickly added in weeks of club dates. On the Cosmic De-Evolution tour dates, she’s allotted 30 minutes. Portland will get a full headlining set.
Lovich gifted us not just with her music and stage presence, but her spiritual descendants as well. The Dresden Dolls were so enamored with her sound that the duo invited her to join them onstage at the Roundhouse in 2006. And if Madonna’s “Lucky Star” doesn’t sound enough like “Lucky Number,” then “Material Girl” most certainly does. Still, the superstar has struggled through Trump-era U.S. Customs.
“I have to say thank you to B-52s and Devo for the invitation because without that solid base, we wouldn’t have been able to do so much here,” she says. “With all the legal problems with immigration and getting work permits….It was never like that in the ’80s. You could come and go with great freedom. It’s so much more difficult and expensive now.”
Editor’s note: Nathan Carson was once Lene Lovich’s agent, but never booked a single show for her.
SEE IT: Lene Lovich at Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 NE Alberta St., 503-719-6055, albertarosetheatre.com. 8 pm Monday, Oct. 13. $45.50 advance. Minors allowed accompanied by a parent or guardian.
