b. September 1956, London, England, d. 3 April 2002, London, England. Leaving behind his somewhat self-destructive alter ego Fad Gadget, Tovey continued to release an eclectic selection of recordings on the Mute Records label. After attending London's St. Martin's School Of Art in 1974 he moved to Leeds Polytechnic, graduating in Fine Arts. Using the rising tide of electronic pop as a flag of convenience, Fad Gadget released four albums before their leader shed his skin and introduced himself as Tovey. Although the performance art was toned down, the melodrama of Tovey's soundscapes and lyrics was more familiar: "So meet me by the old bridge when the sun is setting low/There's a new gambling game they call the Lemming Show/I've got two tickets front row seats for the river side/We can take a picnic and watch suicides" (from early single "Bridge St. Shuffle', a testament to the madness of daily life in the UK's capital). By now Tovey had introduced many traditional rock elements to aid the electronic rhythms. This was much in evidence on Tovey's debut under his real name, 1985's Snakes & Ladders (an album with American conceptualist Boyd Rice had been released the previous year). Produced by Tovey and E.C. Radclife, who also featured as lead guitarist, its theme shifted to that of Spanish colonialism (British Imperialism had already been the subject of Fad Gadget's 1982 effort, Under The Flag). A further shift came with 1989"s Tyranny And The Hired Hand, whose songs were rooted in the traditions of acoustic folk and the blues. Tovey pursued this musical angle further by teaming up with the Pyros, Irish musicians Paul Rodden, John Cutliffe and Laurence Doherty, and recording the Grand Union and Worried Men In Second Hand Suits albums.
Tovey remained relatively inactive for the rest of the decade, during which Fad Gadget's reputation as a pioneering electronic act continued to grow. Fad Gadget's return to live performance, headlining Elektrofest 2001 at The Mean Fiddler in London with Austrian band Temple X, demonstrated that the years had not diminished Tovey's remarkable stage energy. His artistic renaissance was cruelly curtailed by his death from heart failure the following April.
