Robert Marlow

Robert Marlow
Birth name	Robert Allen
Born	(1961-10-21)21 October 1961
Origin	Basildon, England
Died	22 September 2022(2022-09-22) (aged 60)
Genres	Synth-pop new wave electronic
Occupations	Singer songwriter musician music programmer
Instruments	Vocals keyboards synthesizer guitar
Years active	1978–1985 1999–2022
Labels	Reset RCA Energy Electro-Shock
Formerly of	The Vandals Film Noir Marlow

Robert Marlow (born Robert Allen, 21 October 1961 – 22 September 2022) was an English synth-pop singer, songwriter and musician.

Biography

Robert Marlow grew up in Basildon with future Depeche Mode members Vince Clarke, Martin Gore and Andy Fletcher (who died the same year as Marlow, and at the same age). He was also tied to Alison Moyet, with whom he had played in a band, the Vandals. He knew Fletcher and Clarke from the Basildon chapter of the Boys' Brigade. He and Clarke would occasionally get together to play music. Clarke on guitar, and Marlow on the church's piano. Like Clarke, he played in many local bands, and ended up playing in a band, with Clarke, called the Plan, and later French Look, with Gore and Paul Redmond.

After the release of "Calling All Destroyers", Marlow shifted between acting and bands.

Career

"The Face of Dorian Gray" (1981–1985)

Marlow recorded the studio album The Peter Pan Effect with his best friend Vince Clarke during 1982–1984. The project came around when Marlow was in a band called Film Noir, with future keyboardist and guitarist for the Cure, Perry Bamonte. The band supported Depeche Mode on one tour date in Basildon.

Sometime after Clarke left Depeche Mode, Marlow approached Clarke and persuaded him into some studio time at Blackwing Studios with him and Eric Radcliffe. He was offered one day, and decided to record "The Face of Dorian Gray", which then led to more studio time. Clarke suggested that he try to get record company interest. He ended up getting interest from RCA Records, but it was later decided to release the single on Clarke's own label, Reset Records. The single, however, did not get much radio airplay, peaking at number 93 on the UK Singles Chart. Marlow released three more singles—"I Just Want to Dance", "Claudette" and "Calling All Destroyers". The singles suffered the same fate as "The Face of Dorian Gray", and the album was later shelved due to the lack of chart success.

The Peter Pan Effect and Marlow (1999–2012)

The Peter Pan Effect was released in 1999 by Swedish label Energy Rekords, when Sonet manager, Rod Buckle, showed a demo tape to Energy Rekords. Radcliffe then went up into the bell tower of Blackwing Studios, formerly a church, and found the tapes. He then sent a CD to Energy Rekords, where it was remastered at Polar Studios. In the US, it was released as Erasure's Vince Clarke along with a copy of a Family Fantastic album.

Along with Gary Durant, Marlow formed the duo, Marlow. Durant, who played keyboards and provided backing vocals, had been a friend of Marlow for some time. In early 2006, the Energy Rekords guestbook announced a new album in the works. The duo has been active in live performances, including a Depeche Mode aftershow in February 2006, and various gigs around Europe, particularly in London and Sweden. Their only studio album, Inside/Outside, with the title track arranged and produced by Vince Clarke, who had also remixed a track on the album called "Home", was released on 29 January 2009.

At the end of 2011, Marlow had a second album, The Future, ready to be released. In April 2012, the duo's label placed an announcement that Marlow had decided to quit as a duo. Marlow and Durant broke up the duo in good terms.

The Blackwing Sessions and The Future (2012–2022)

After the split of the duo in spring 2012, Marlow once again performed as a solo artist. A new 7-track EP, The Blackwing Sessions, which contained demos and alternate versions of tracks from the 1982–1984 recording sessions, was released in a pre-sale session on 8 August 2012 by German label Electro-Shock-Records exclusively via the mailorder-shop POPoNAUT. The official release date of the limited edition (300 copies only) was 19 September 2012.

Marlow's second solo studio album, The Future, was released on 28 June 2013. It was followed by an accompanying remix album, The Future Remixes, on 20 September 2013.

Death

Marlow died after a short and unexpected illness on 22 September 2022, at the age of 60.

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Details
The Peter Pan Effect	Release date: 18 August 1999 Label: Energy Formats: CD
The Future	Release date: 28 June 2013 Label: Electro-Shock Formats: CD

Remix albums

Title	Details
The Future Remixes	Release date: 20 September 2013 Label: Electro-Shock Formats: CD

Extended plays

Title	Details
The Blackwing Sessions	Release date: 9 September 2012 Label: Electro-Shock Formats: CD, digital download

Singles

Title	Year	Peak chart positions	Album
		UK
"The Face of Dorian Gray"	1983	93	The Peter Pan Effect
"I Just Want to Dance"		—
"Claudette"	1984	—
"Calling All Destroyers"	1985	—
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

with Marlow

Studio albums

Title	Details
Inside/Outside	Release date: 29 January 2009 Label: Electro-Shock, Purple Nastee Formats: CD

Extended plays

Title	Details
My Teenage Dream	Release date: 2002 Label: Purple Nastee Formats: CD

References

Print references

• Miller, Jonathan, Stripped: The True Story of Depeche Mode, 2004, Omnibus Press, ISBN 1-84449-415-2

Online references

• Energy Rekords' artist page
• Interview for the official Erasure website

External links

• Robert Marlow at AllMusic
• Robert Marlow discography at Discogs