Biography
Emerging seemingly from nowhere in the late 1980s, the ensemble projected an aura as though blue-eyed soul had arrived to rescue rock & roll from another dimension. Contemporary outfits sharing a comparable sensibility—Johnny Hates Jazz, Waterfront, Living in a Box, and Curiosity Killed the Cat—surfaced and faded in unison. Among these, Curiosity Killed the Cat cultivated a stronger connection with teenage female listeners who decorated bedroom walls with Smash Hits posters. The group’s breezy funk grooves paired with striking visuals secured broad popularity throughout their home country of England, yet left American audiences unmoved.
The five musicians came together in 1984, consisting of Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot on vocals, Julian Godfrey Brookhouse on guitar, Nicholas Bernard Throp on bass, Michael Drummond on drums, and Toby Anderson on keyboards. During art school, Volpeliere-Pierrot encountered Throp, already performing in the post-punk outfit Twilight Children alongside the remaining musicians who would later form the band. After being asked to handle lead vocals, Volpeliere-Pierrot stepped into that role. The resulting recording of the song “Curiosity Killed the Cat” attracted the attention of entrepreneur Peter Rosengard, who adopted the track’s title as the group’s new name and took on management duties.
Phonogram offered the band a recording contract in 1985, prompting work on their debut album. When Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare were removed from production and replaced by Stewart Levine, completion of the project was postponed by nearly twelve months. Issued in July 1986, the buoyant single “Misfit” failed to register commercially. Visibility increased once Andy Warhol embraced the group and appeared in a cameo within the “Misfit” video. Early the following year, “Down to Earth” reached the U.K. Top Ten. Two years after that milestone, the ensemble abbreviated its name to Curiosity. The 1992 release “Hang On in There Baby” climbed to number three on the British charts. The act remained largely absent from the scene until participating in the 2001 Here and Now tour celebrating 1980s nostalgia.
The five musicians came together in 1984, consisting of Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot on vocals, Julian Godfrey Brookhouse on guitar, Nicholas Bernard Throp on bass, Michael Drummond on drums, and Toby Anderson on keyboards. During art school, Volpeliere-Pierrot encountered Throp, already performing in the post-punk outfit Twilight Children alongside the remaining musicians who would later form the band. After being asked to handle lead vocals, Volpeliere-Pierrot stepped into that role. The resulting recording of the song “Curiosity Killed the Cat” attracted the attention of entrepreneur Peter Rosengard, who adopted the track’s title as the group’s new name and took on management duties.
Phonogram offered the band a recording contract in 1985, prompting work on their debut album. When Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare were removed from production and replaced by Stewart Levine, completion of the project was postponed by nearly twelve months. Issued in July 1986, the buoyant single “Misfit” failed to register commercially. Visibility increased once Andy Warhol embraced the group and appeared in a cameo within the “Misfit” video. Early the following year, “Down to Earth” reached the U.K. Top Ten. Two years after that milestone, the ensemble abbreviated its name to Curiosity. The 1992 release “Hang On in There Baby” climbed to number three on the British charts. The act remained largely absent from the scene until participating in the 2001 Here and Now tour celebrating 1980s nostalgia.
Albums
