(Redirected from Marilyn (musician))
Marilyn
Peter Robinson (born November
3, 1962),
better known as Marilyn, is a cross-dressing
singer
who reached fame with his song "Calling Your Name" in the 1980s.
Marilyn was born in Kingston, Jamaica. He grew up in Hertfordshire,
England
as part of a musical family and was influenced by the songs of Barbra
Streisand, Motown
and gospel.
He became friends with Boy George who he squatted with
on Warren
Street in Soho.
They were soon chased out by the neighbour who tried to breakdown the
front door with an axe. This was because of Marilyn, who he assumed was
a woman and was attracted to, was actually a man. During his teenage
years and began experimenting with his sexuality and image, adopting
the blonde hair, makeup and movements of his idol Marilyn
Monroe, hence his stage name Marilyn. Coincidentally Monroe died the
same year Peter Robinson was born.
Marilyn was a part of the British new
romantic movement which emerged in the late 1970s and was popularised
in the early 1980s. Boy George and Marilyn were
regulars at 'The Blitz' (regulars being labelled as Blitz
Kids), a highly stylised nightclub in London run by Steve
Strange of the musical group Visage, and a place which spawned
many early 1980s pop stars such as Spandau
Ballet. Essentially the new romantics based their image on
the coolness of David Bowie and high fashion,
and the music of David Bowie,Kraftwerk, Marc
Bolan and post punk New Wave. The Blitz Kids had found
themselves bored with the whole punk genre and, in an effort to find
something new, took to wearing bizarre home-made costumes and clothing
and excessive amounts of make-up. They were often extremely androgynous
in nature.
While Boy George went on to form Culture
Club in 1981 and secure a recording deal with at first with Epic
Records, then Virgin Records, Marilyn was still
scouting for a recording contract. He teamed up with songwriter and pop
entrepreneur Paul Caplin, with whom he
co-wrote Calling Your Name, Cry and Be
Free, You Don't Love Me and other songs.
At this point Culture Club had made a commercial impact with their
debut album, and record companies were seriously looking for artists
with a similar cross-dressing image.
Following an appearance in the stylish video for Eurythmics
hit single Who's That Girl which garnered him
considerable press attention, Marilyn was signed to Phonogram
Records and released Calling Your Name in November
1983. The song was an immediate smash, reaching #4 on the UK charts, #3
in Australia,and #1 in Japan. The lyrics to the song are reportedly
based on an argument Marilyn had with Boy George. He also released Cry
and Be Free and You Don't Love Me in
1984, with varying success. During a controversial promotional visit to
Australia, Marilyn was involved in a fight in a Sydney pub and left the
country with a black eye, calling Australians "animals". In November
1984, he took part in the Band Aid charity record project "Do They Know It's
Christmas?" with various other musicians of the era.
Marilyn's debut album Despite Straight Lines
was released in June 1985, featuring his three previous hits and a new
single, "Baby U Left Me (In The Cold)". The new single and the album
were commercial failures in the UK, though found a modest audience in
other parts of the world.
Despite the initial collaborations between Boy George and
Marilyn, their on-and-off friendship became increasingly strained due
to fame and drug-related problems. On July 9, 1986, Marilyn along with Boy George's brother
Kevin O'Dowd were sentenced at Marylebone Magistrates Court on a charge
of possessing heroin. The resultant media fallout of Marilyn's drug
addiction and disputes with Boy George seriously damaged his public
career. While attempting to record a follow-up album to Despite
Straight Lines with famed producer Don Was in Detroit,
Michigan, with little record company support, Marilyn's finances were
drained to the point of having to work regular jobs outside of music.
He briefly retired from the industry until 2001, when he made a series of successful Club
PA's. He is still in demand for interviews and TV appearances.
The 2002 stage musical by Boy George, Taboo,
features Marilyn and other stars of the 1980s. The music was a West End
Smash before transferring to Broadway in NY produced by Rosie
O'Donnell
In 2006 Marilyn appeared in the UK Channel 4 documentary Whatever
happened to the Gender Benders?, in which he discussed his
current mental health, with his struggle with agoraphobia,
and his fight against drug abuse.
Discography
- Despite Straight Lines
(1985)
External links
