BACK BUT NOT BLACK

ALTHOUGH you might not recognise his name, you’ll certainly remember his voice.

Back in the ‘80s, Colin Vearncombe was the man behind Black, purveyors of finely crafted, bittersweet pop.
Now, after seven years hiatus, he’s back with a new album, Accused, and a tour.
So why has he dropped Black for his real name?
“It’s time to come out of the shadows really,” says the well-spoken Liverpudian. “The real problem with the name Black was that no-one remembered it. It’s a great name for a band – but there hasn’t been a band since 1983! Too generic a term I s’pose.
“In America they wouldn’t play a white guy with a name Black. I used to tell them that even the South Africans didn’t have a problem … Now, we’ll see if people can get used to the name. I can always go back if I feel like it.”
Scoring chart success with The Sweetest Smile and Coming Up Roses, his greatest hit was the classic Wonderful Life, a song of which people never seem to tire of.
“It was a hit in '87, and 13 years later, every week it’s still getting played somewhere in Europe, and more so in summer. It’s just been in the Top 5 in Holland, recorded by Matilde Santing. Then some Belgian Flemish charity people did it and that’s just gone to number one in Belgium. And last summer I got sent a Hungarian techno version – which was exactly what you’d expect. They just keep cropping up!”
And the song inspires some strange behaviour in its fans.
“A sushi chef who I made the acquaintance of made a whole C90 cassette of just that song and he used to play that for just the whole ninety minutes!
“Wonderful Life is one of that songs where your whole life has led up to that moment – you just take the parts, move them around a bit and there it is! You don’t get many of those sorts of songs.”
Colin’s new album, Accused, is a finely written collection of croonsome melodies including the forthcoming single, the lush Number One.
Despite it’s undeniable quality, the singer/songwriter is nonplussed about regaining the dizzy heights he previously attained.
“I’m under no illusions about my chances for chart success in this or any other country. It really doesn’t matter any more, I’m getting what I want from it. I just need to sell more copies so I can realise the other plans I have for the future,” he says.
“I’ve already got another album finished and start recording again in May. So there won’t be any more seven year gaps. Death would stop me. Bankruptcy would probably stop me for a while, but neither of those are predictable events given how things are at the moment, which is another way of saying how confident I am. I’m really happy for the first time in ages.”
Dave Freak, Go2Birmingham April 2000