WHO MADE U THE TWIN ? …THE BEGINNING OF OUR UNDERGROUND SECRET STAR…

It is hard to write something about "The Twin". It was, for George, in a career way, so much an underground project, that we had almost to dig out to find some information. And what kind of information ? Information more like « Yesterday, The Twin made an unplanned performance at… » or « That single has been shelved » or « Apparently there is a demo for that track », « there will be a lot of remixes on the DVD ». So, it is hard to make a complete text with exact dates because there is not so much data about it…

But anyway, The Twin was not a calculated or numbered thing (even not Nine Ki !). The words who could resume the best that project are obviously : art, creation, provocation and expression. So, forget the career-wise moves for that act, if you would have dared to ask the persona about a suggestion to have success, The Twin would probably replied you one of his usual « Fuck You ! ».

Now, that maybe that this project or that this « phase » is over (but who knows ? after all, who could have believe a Jesus Loves You single in 2005 ?), we can assume that this Twin era was mainly between 2002 and 2005.

But what could have been the influences and the motivations, to put George O'Dowd to transform himself in an incarnation like The Twin ? There are many hypothesis, some about his plans musically, and others about his artistic desires and aspirations.

Musically , the musician universally known as Boy George have of course always been into many areas of all kind of music. Few pop singers had adventures into reggae, dub, dance, jazz, acid-house, classical torch songs, glam rock, acoustic authentic songs and many other kinds of experimentation. But few would have predict in 1983 that this man would be into edgier electronic styles like electronica twenty years later.

Being a huge music fan, loving all musical styles, a project involving no musical barriers was probably very « yummy » for the man. And so he did, more than before, collaborate with very different acts such as Roland Faber (aka Kinky Roland) also known in electroclash productions as « The Replicant », Taboo co-writer Kevan Frost, the later's brother, Matt Frost, member of Dark Globe and who had also contributed even with Culture Club, long-time collaborator (almost 20 years) and sometimes drummer Richie Stevens (aka Drumhead from Dubversive), Alex Marsh and David Davis (known together as supalaska), collaborating with many others and even duetting with some very young acts like Avenue D, The Droyds and C33X.

 Artistically speaking, we are talking of a man who has often very outspoken and more than honest into his works, even putting his own sexuality in his texts since about ten years. But it went foward with The Twin. So, in a lyrical way, The Twin was, for George, an opportunity to sing (or to scream in some songs !) the things that could not come from the mouth of Boy George. So, no politically correct things for The Twin. Free and total expression was one of the main purposes of the project.

In that way of seeing things, we could assume that one of the first incarnations of The Twin was in the form of The Real Feminem. Yes, musically, it was a secret collaboration with the guys from Dark Globe (fresh from creating Auto-Erotic) and some other friends. Musically, it was the first track in which we cannot really hear Boy George sings but we can just hear a voice rapping adn shouting, sometimes in a theatrical way. Lyrically, it was very provocating and probably a disturbing affair for many ears, even die-hard Boy George fans. That pattern was used many time in the following years, as The Twin.

There are other similarities between The Real Feminem and The Twin. For the release of the track, it was first aired on the web (maybe at the demand of the artist) and released strictly on a very-limited vinyl-only release. So, forget the commercial desires here. No appearance of the Boy George name anywhere. Also, using a pseudonym as the artist name (although we had seen that in some events (Jesus Loves You, Shallow or Dubversive)

Lyrically also, it was a reaction to a very popular rapper at that time, Eminem. His comments and songs against homosexuals shocked many persons including George O'Dowd. So – in a twisting way – the artist replied to the rapper by some anti-homophobic messages and in reaction to the anti-gays, lyrics that were not just pro-gays but sometimes very-gay, in an sometimes aggressive way. That parody was not as original as The Twin proper recordings, but it was a kind of preface.

Another track that could be associated to Pre-Twin is Radio One. Realizing that his singing-career was blocked in the UK by a boycott by the principal radio of the country, George made a statement-song against the radio channel, proclaiming that someone should burn the building. In that song revealing things that should not be said (another Twin move), a desire for provocation could be perceived. Another « Twin » sign : that track was put on the web and George did announce that an electro remix will be coming very soon (of course, one of the many many shelved and unreleased ideas of The Twin). That track was also released in September 2002 with another pseudonym, The Hampstead Bowie Clone, inspired by bad-mouthed critics to himself. An humoring touch that was found in some Twin-related things.

So, doing that track, George knew his situation commercially. Knowing that, he was now free to do what he wanted, no major media would play him anyway. So, the way for The Twin was clearer… Also, we knew that George was a little more in electronic music than just the dancing music he was playing in his DJ sets... Not just dance-oriented like unreleased tracks at that time that were some collaborations, like You're Not The One with Kinky Roland, When The User Becomes The Loser, with T-Total, Poverty with Hi-Gate ,Who Am I Today, with Eric Morrillo or an unknown track with a band called Sounds From The Ground.

Another way to know that George was into electronic music, especially in electro-clash, an exploding genre in 2001-2002, was his weekly columns in the Daily Express. In some articles, he was showing the great sides of that emergent scene, including the clubs related to it (and we know how much the Nag Nag Nag venue did influence The Twin). Also, George did mention his admiration for such new artists like the group Fischerspooner and especially a girl who called herself Peaches, making addicted-electro mixed with punk attitude and nasty lyrics. If you dig a little that Canadian singer, you will find that in many aspects, The Twin is a masculine version of Peaches.

We also knew that there was recording sessions with George and Adam Sky (also known as Adamski). George said that one of the session went well and : « sounds like Bowie meets Al Green. How's that for a hybrid.» Only God (or G.O'D. !) knows how much tracks were produced in that session and in the entire Twin era, but the only track issued from that period, Don't Go Dragging Me Down, which was issued on a Nag Nag Nag promo cd, and performed with Adam Sky on October 9, 2002. Many fans had the chance to hear it first when George gave the track as a Christmas gift to the fans via the 100 % Boy site, which was probably the most popular George site at the time. One of George's first public comments about The Twin were found on the trustthedj. com site, where George was more involved in 2002. Here are the integral comments while presenting excerpts of Here Come The Girls and Electro Hetero (original versions)

 : « Last week I played at Nag under my Twin guide, with two members of my favorite girl group C33X [Oscar Wilde's prison number]. Becca played guitar and Cheska doubled up as my Kiki Dee on acid. The track 'Here Come The Girls' [below] is sung partly in German and was put together by my chum Kinky Rowland, under his guide of 'The Replicant'.

 'The Twin' is part me and part Leigh Bowery and will be more performance art in it's aspirations. This new guise allows me the freedom to hide behind copious quantities of make-up and to say stuff that wouldn't fit into my solo work or Culture Club get-togethers. and I am working on a handful of tracks to make up the first Twin EP, to be released soon. Other tracks recorded are 'Electro Hetero' , 'Nothing', and 'Bad At Maths'. With love, The Twin x x x »

Now, the story was more official for many of us. Now there was some explanations. Some tracks were named, including the mythical Bad At Maths (that a lot of us have never heard yet, if it is not a track that changed it's name…) We could understand what the goal was for George. We could understand his love for new musical acts. And of course, there was talk of an ep that could be released (If we knew then that the first vinyl would be out a year later, and the Yum Yum cd, more than 27 months later !). Then, we did not know yet that some fans would be disturbed by those edgy soundings, that some other fans would be crying by the lack of his « regular voice » and that some others would be just fascinated again !

Of course, the last influence that we could add here was one influence for the style and the attitude : Leigh Bowery, which George was doing time to time in the London production of Taboo that year. Incarnating a role for the first time, George found some unexpected freedom and pleasures… George could do a show with Taboo, keep his costume and go directly to a club, doing his new tracks, under his new disguise and with the Twin as a new guise. (Most of The Twin's make up was done by George's friend Christine Bateman, the sister of Nicola Bowery (and then future house-mate)). In fact, especially in some Twin performance, George used some of Leigh's classic phrases and even his accent. A text about the beginning of The Twin could not have been complete without Leigh Bowery of course.

In another attempt to put art in front of that project, another George's friend, Mike Nichols, put together video footage that could be used for some of the Twin performances and possibly on the future DVD, which was first mentioned in a press sheet for October 2002, right after the last of the four limited 7 inches singles. Let's not forget that those performances were in small venues, often clubs. It is another era when George did find some « club credibility » without mass appeal, just like around 82 with White Boy, or around 89-90 with Jesus Loves You and More Protein) So, that was, even if it was a little hard, the genesis of our secret phenomenon, The Twin. We could write another text about what happened when it was in it's peak, and another one about the slow and quiet ending of that « phase » if we can call it that way… I cannot assume anything 100 % sure here, I just tried to do my best in an humble way.

THANK YOU,

S.Q.

Promo only DVD features 5 The Twin songs performed live. This was the only US performance of The Twin in America. December 7th, 2003. It was a very cold snowy night. 

The erotic video clip that every Twin fan is talking about!  Now catch this promo VIDEO clip used to promote the erotic film for "Manhattan Heat"  by "Lucas Films". This is where this Twin track was used in this erotic X-rated clip. Just remember, you were all warned. This may shock some of you. But like the Boy George song it's the same thing in reverse, nothing better nothing worse. Click the link below to see this 1:06 clip used for "Here come the girls" This is X-rated. From Manhattan Heat. 

https://www.lucasstore.com/shop/cruising/manhattan_heat/

1.  Doris Alloy London Broil (3:33) 
2.  Cantankerous Aka Mc Kinky Night Shift (3:16)
3.  Kyle Zeto Screaming Donut (3:31) 
4.  Viktor Dreamy Eyes (2:04)
5.  White Sport, The Scag Lover (3:05)
6.  Kino Blah Blah Blah (3:33) 
7.  Syntax & Turbo Blut Es Im Schoe Featuring  Simon Bookish (3:53) 
8.  Lil Richard Rainbow (3:26) 
9.  Baxendale I Built This City (Radio Edit) (3:58)
10.  The Twin, Introducing C33X Here Come The Girls (3:53)
11.  Replicant Drama Addict Featuring  Princess Julia  (3:06)
12.  Superstüdio Fashion Kills (3:29)
13.  Silence Is Sexy Pioneer 10 (3:16)
14.  Breakfastaz, The London's Burning (3:42)
15.  Bishi Uniform & Armour (3:49) 
16.  Menthol Useless Riff (2:34)
17.  Most, The (2) Alco-Pop (1:55) 
18.  DJ Hair Explosion Speak Easy (Mixed Live @ Kash Point) (3:15)