‘I’m in Love with a German Film Star’: the best one hit wonder of the 1980s
During the tail-end of post-punk’s golden age, one of new wave‘s most shimmering and celestially perfect cuts of daydream longing floated into the UK charts in early 1981 with an enchanting slice of enveloping indie that lives on with timeless permanence over 40 years later. One exposure to The Passions’ ‘I’m in Love with a German Film Star’ is like being swaddled in a proto-shoegaze melody of sensual electricity, thrust right at the centre of singer Barbara Gogan’s wistful, romantic drama.
Formed in London punk’s squat culture in the late 1970s following the demise of “Trotskyist R&B band” The Derelicts, The Passions’ regular live fixture in the city’s pub and club circuit caught the attention of independent label Fiction’s A&R man, Chris Parry. He signed the band and issued 1980’s debut Michael & Miranda as well as organised a European tour with labelmates, The Cure. Following disappointing sales and the departure of founding bassist Claire Bidwell, The Passions were dropped by Fiction but absorbed by its umbrella Polydor, where they struck a fruitful relationship with the in-house producer and engineer Peter Wilson.
Jamming during rehearsals at Southwark’s Clink studios, drummer Richard Williams, second bassist David Agar and guitarist Clive Timperley allegedly idly stumbled upon their future hit by accident. “Clive and I were jamming a three-chord idea, more out of boredom than anything,” Agar recalled. “Richard was sitting at his drums smoking…Clive and I got bored of playing, but Barbara said she liked the chords and to keep on playing. Barbara wrote some words. ‘I’m in love with a German film star’, she said. Richard stopped smoking and looked very excited. ‘That’s a hit single’.”
Having jotted down the first verse the night before while chatting with Siouxsie and the Banshees‘ drummer Budgie at the Moonlight Club, the rest of the track reportedly came together lyrically and musically in a breezy 20 minutes during the Clink studio time. Cutting the track with Wilson and scheduled for a January 1981 release to “avoid competition”, Polydor had seriously underestimated its hit potential and only issued 150,000 copies in anticipation of low-level sales.
Dropped during a UK tour, word of mouth and steady radio play saw ‘I’m in Love with a German Film Star’ climb to number 25 on the UK Singles Chart and suddenly selling out their live dates, adding a headliner gig at The Lyceum, featuring a young Depeche Mode as support.
From the first brush of Timperley’s enveloping Echoplex guitar, ‘I’m in Love with a German Film Star’ works a perfectly sublime spell over its four radiant minutes, pulling you into an enchanting swirl of percolating percussion and hypnotic bass with otherworldly allure. Providing an engrossing lyrical vignette courtesy of Gogan’s diary reverie, The Passions deliver a snapshot of romantic craving effortlessly imbued with a deep, majestic yearning that ripples long after its done playing. It’s a remarkable piece of pop that should have spelt their dominance in the world of alternative 1980s.
Yet, due to the absence of a much-needed manager and the single’s stock well below demand, the track’s rushed Top of the Pops appearance and a frantic supply press up from Polydor couldn’t save The Passions’ mega-hit from losing momentum. Radio plays dried up, and nobody could get their hands on the 7″. Appearing on sophomore LP Thirty Thousand Feet Over China eight months later, its contrasting thin sound via Nigel Gray’s production further alienated what little following they had left. Some personnel changes and 1982’s Sanctuary followed, but in August 1983, they unknowingly played their final show in the Marquee Club, following which The Passions drifted apart for good.
Long the source of speculative intrigue as to the identity of the Deutscher filmstar, it was finally revealed to be The Clash and Sex Pistols’ roadie, Steve ‘Roadent’ Connelly, who had minor roles in several German films, plus the crime TV show, Das Ding. Perhaps it was better not to know? Still magic all these years later, The Passions’ ‘I’m in Love with a German Film Star’ is one of the decade’s finest hits to grace the pop charts with such captivating simplicity and a glittering new wave allure few have been able to touch.
