Colin Vearncombe
| Black | |
|---|---|
Vearncombe in Birkenhead, March 2007
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Colin Vearncombe |
| Born | 26 May 1962 |
| Origin | Liverpool, England, UK |
| Died | 26 January 2016 (aged 53) Cork, Ireland |
| Genres | Pop,new wave |
| Years active | 1981–2016 |
| Labels |
WEA Records A&M Records Ugly Man Nero Schwarz Records |
Colin Vearncombe (26 May 1962 – 26 January 2016), known by his stage name Black, was an English singer-songwriter. He emerged from the punk rock music scene and achieved mainstream pop success in the late 1980s, most notably with the international hit single "Wonderful Life" in 1987.
William Ruhlmann of AllMusic described Vearncombe as a "smoky-voiced singer/songwriter, whose sophisticated jazz-pop songs and dramatic vocal delivery place him somewhere between Bryan Ferry and Morrissey". Michael Hann of The Guardian described his voice as a "slightly frayed baritone".
He was born in Liverpool and attended Prescot Grammar School. He then enrolled on an art foundation course at Liverpool Polytechnic. Colin first aspired to become a musician after seeing Elvis Presley in Jailhouse Rock.
Black's first release was the single "Human Features" on Rox Records in 1981. At this time, Black consisted of Vearncombe, Dane Goulding (formerly of Blazetroopers) on bass and Greg Leyland another school friend on drums. The single was followed by another independent release in 1982, "More than the Sun". It was then that Vearncombe formed a friendship with Dave "Dix" Dickie of the Last Chant and the two became musical collaborators and signed for WEA Records.
In 1982, Black played with the Thompson Twins on their 'Quick Step and Side Kick' tour and also supported Wah! on a UK tour. The live sound of synth/percussion/guitar and the use of reel-to-reel tapes got them noticed.
Black signed with WEA in 1984 and the next single was "Hey Presto" (1984), which got Vearncombe noticed outside the UK: the video for the song featured on the satellite music channel Music Box, and the single was also released in Australia. The second WEA single was a re-recording of "More than the Sun". After this, Black was dropped from the record label and Vearncombe and Dix went their separate ways.
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