Colin Newman: reviews, works, bio

Colin Newman

Musician

Forfans of wire, post-punk explorers, and listeners curious about 80s electronic-tinged art rock.
2 Reviews 2 Definitions 1 Charts

The Profile

English musician, singer and guitarist best known as the lead vocalist of Wire. He began a parallel solo career with A-Z (1980) and continued through the 1980s with electronics-forward releases including Commercial Suicide (1986).

Frontman of Wire; solo debut A-Z (1980, produced by Mike Thorne); Commercial Suicide released in 1986.

Two reviews trace Colin Newman’s leap from Wire’s post‑punk edge to solo terrains. A‑Z (1980) is portrayed as dark, modernist and electronics‑led. Commercial Suicide (1986) is praised for elegant 80s textures, careful production, and standout tracks like Feigned Hearing. Both pieces connect his voice and ideas back to Wire while underlining distinct solo ambitions.

Notable Quotes

❝ After finishing his adventure with Wire, Colin Newman made his solo debut in 1980 with “A-Z”, under the production of Mike Thorne.

❝ Commercial Suicide is a beautiful production, with a care for sounds that deserves to be known and appreciated, while Colin Newman’s voice, at times, retains that “dirty” and atonal singing of the past, delivering itself in softer tracks to a cleaner and more elegant voice, enriched by strings and counterpoints; something that, in songs like “But I...” may remind you of what XTC’s Apple Venus will be.