The Flying Lizards

British experimental new wave band The Flying Lizards formed in 1976 around producer David Cunningham, bringing together avant-garde personalities such as Steve Beresford and David Toop. Also featuring three female singers and other musicians, the minimalist synth pop outfit made a name for itself with its iconoclastic cover of Barrett Strong's R&B track "Money", originally released on the Tamla label twenty years earlier. Released in July 1979 by Virgin, this reworking proved a surprise hit at #5 in the UK and #50 in the US, following a first attempt at Eddie Cochran's rock'n'roll classic, "Summertime Blues". The first album of the same name, unveiled in February 1980, also included original compositions, as did the second album Fourth Wall (1981), which was critically acclaimed but not commercially successful. Signed to Statik Records, The Flying Lizards devoted their 3rd Top Ten album of 1984 to covers, including James Brown's "Sex Machine", Larry Williams' "Dizzy Miss Lizzie", popularized by The Beatles, and Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne". In addition to electronic sounds, the band also dabbled in dub, and it is in this style that the album The Secret Dub Life of the Flying Lizards, recorded in 1978 and released in 1995, is dedicated.

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