The Fixx were a driving force in my youth, and they still matter to me today. After nearly 40 years of being their fan, I thought it was about time I explained why.

By Stacey Carmody

On my little black and white TV in my bedroom, I watched a syndicated music video show every night. My neighborhood had not yet been wired for cable tv, so no MTV for me. It was 1983, and I remember a video playing for a song called Saved by Zero by a group called The Fixx. It was unlike anything I’ve seen or heard before. At 14 years old, I found it mesmerizing, even though at the time I had no idea what the song even meant. The video took you through a skylight into an artist’s studio, where the rest of the story, rich with symbolism, unfolded.  It was surreal. I later I learned the video’s style was inspired by Citizen Kane.  The images coupled with the repetitive, haunting yet dreamy song had me intrigued. The double X spelling alone was smart looking, it was imposed to differ from the word fix, often associated with drug use. Later that year, I heard this unique chop-chop-chop synth beat in a song called One Thing Leads to Another. It grabbed my ear immediately and I just loved the sound of it. The radio DJ said that was The Fixx, and I was blown away as I knew that was the same group who created Saved by Zero. The song shot up the charts and put The Fixx on the map. And why wouldn’t it? The sound stood out, it had a catchphrase, and you could even dance to it. With my saved money, I bought their LP Reach the Beach– the first record album I ever bought on my own. I played it, absorbed it, danced to it, learned all the lyrics printed on the back cover, and was just incredibly drawn to it like a moth to a flame. The more I played it, the more I loved it.  I don’t think I’d ever felt this strongly about anything before, words can’t even describe it. It was almost otherworldly. My next purchase was Shuttered Room, their debut album. Though it had a different and harder sound than Reach the Beach, I loved it too.

I don’t think I’d ever felt this strongly about anything before, words can’t even describe it. It was almost otherworldly.

The Fixx were part of the “second British invasion”, an era in the 1980’s when you couldn’t turn on the radio without hearing a British act: Duran Duran, Billy Idol, Thompson Twins, Pet Shop Boys and more permeated the airwaves, along with the characteristic synth keyboard New Wave sound. Howard Jones, The Cure and The Smiths all became part of my record collection. My fascination with anything English was born and would continue throughout my life. I entered high school, and the imported music would become my soundtrack for the whole duration, with The Fixx being the top favorite.

But why? Yes, those unique synth sounds. But…those lyrics. There are 2 anti-war songs, Red Skies and Stand or Fall– on their first album. Growing up during the Cold War era when a fear of a nuclear end was very real, these resonated with me in a big way. I had a keen awareness of current events and politics from a young age and so the songs spoke to me. There was another one on Reach the Beach called Liner– and I knew right away that it was a protest song about the Falkland Islands War -an English war being protested by an English band. I appreciated that the music served two of my interests: the New Wave sound and current events.

By the time their third album called Phantoms was released in 1984, I was all in: a passionate fan that had their faces on my wall; I had the buttons, the t-shirts and so forth. I ate up every interview and magazine article about them.  An obsession? Likely so, but I don’t like the word obsession. It conjures up visions of someone who is deranged and removed from reality. I wasn’t that. I was completely in the real world and had found something to be excited about and identify with. There was nothing dark or disturbing about it, in fact, I’d describe it as light that made my life fuller.  A staple of being an 80’s teen was to wear your favorite band’s merchandise proudly and obsessively; it was an expression of your personality.  In those days before uniforms in public schools, we could really go all out.  I didn’t fit into any of the usual cliques in high school: I wasn’t a popular kid, nor a jock, nor an egghead, nor a tough kid and not talented enough for the performing arts crowd.  I was different. I didn’t know where to place myself. So, I created my own identity as an artsy New Waver who dressed the part.  I loved it.

Adolescence comes with drama, hell- it is a damn minefield, especially if you are a teen who is different. It only made sense that I would gravitate towards a band that was different.

People around me, however, did not know what to make of my zeal for this particular group instead of favoring one that was “cooler” and more popular with the masses. To be fair, I never really explained the reasons for my passion. For some reason, I could not articulate it well. When I tried to explain, it just came out wrong, or not at all.  Even now, I cannot summarize it into a few sentences that sound understandable, hence this long elaborate piece I am writing now.   I tried to introduce my inner circle to The Fixx, but they just weren’t interested, or didn’t “get it.” They just didn’t dig the Fixx sound, and that’s ok. Everyone is entitled to their tastes. A friend nicknamed me “Fixxy” and that’s as far as her interest went. The nickname was also a way of her saying that I was starting to get on her nerves. My fandom kind of annoyed people.  I even got bullied for it a few times. I remember that one girl in my class who was into metal bands who would look at my Fixx buttons and then at me with disgust, saying “Eeeww, The Fixx- they suck!!” I blew her off and told her that I didn’t care what she thought. Then there was a day when someone broke into my locker and ripped the Fixx pictures I had taped up inside. That was their only goal, as nothing else was disturbed nor stolen. I was terribly hurt by this; my personal space was violated and someone who knew me felt they had the right to destroy something that was dear to me. I still shake my head and think, “Why??”

Adolescence comes with drama, hell- it is a damn minefield, especially if you are a teen who is different. It only made sense that I would gravitate towards a band that was different.  In doing so, I had further affirmation that it was okay to be different. They weren’t into the flashy, glitzy polished image; the big hair and makeup that was almost mandatory of the 1980’s. Rather, they were more about messages: the media dubbed them the “thinking man’s band.”

Singer/songwriter/lyricist Cy Curnin was educated by Jesuits- a Catholic order known for its emphasis on academics, philosophy, and progressive thinking. The influence can be heard in the songs. The product of an Irish Roman Catholic father and Jewish mother, he ended up not practicing either faith. It so happens that I have the same history.  He was later influenced by Buddhism, – again the influences are apparent in the songs. What other rock groups ask questions like Are We Ourselves? Or write songs about the Aboriginal ritual called Walkabout? They took on other topics like materialism and the environmental crisis, and crafted them into catchy, striking tracks. At least, I thought highly of the songs, but the mainstream wouldn’t take to them.

For a teenager developing my personality, finding my way, learning what about what I stood for and thinking about what I was going to do with my life, their music was an ideal backdrop and inspiration.  At such a crucial time for personal growth, it was also a source of solace and support- it got me through some difficult times: heartbreak, disappointment, and all the usual teen angst. Their songs are not all doom and gloom, many mention light and hope: Sunshine in the Shade is one, I Will another hopeful track, lyrics of which I’d use as a quote beneath my yearbook picture.  Their fourth album, Walkabout, was released in 1986 as I began to enter my senior year. It didn’t disappoint, as it gave me more food for thought.  It began with a song about reincarnation and ended with a dreamy composition about the natural high you feel when you are surrounded by nature and “the paints of the gods color codes.” The CD had a “bonus secret song” called Peace on Earth (Do What You Can), a call for us to take action, make peace and right all the wrongs. This song would become important to me 30 years later, as I discerned a call to serve my faith community as ordained clergy. Do What You Can became a mantra for me, I even included it in one of my sermons. The song ends with the lines as it fades out: It’s not what we are, it’s what we do, it’s by what we do that we shall be remembered.

 I was beginning to think about spirituality at this time- in my late teens, though I discussed it with no one. I wouldn’t dare admit it out loud. I was maintaining an exterior of snubbing my nose and an “I’m too cool and non-conformist for that!” attitude.  Being the stubborn teen that I was, I wouldn’t have listened if an adult sat me down and talked to me about such matters. Music was really the only way to reach me.

I wouldn’t get to see them until 1991, when they toured to support their Ink album. By then, 80’s New Wave was starting to take a backseat to grunge and other styles, and their fan base was growing up. Their teen idol phase was fading out, and it was probably for the best. There’s something disjointed about screaming girls tossing underwear onstage while they are singing about the deep issues of the world. Drummer Adam Woods once quipped in a tv interview, “We have a wardrobe trunk full of bras…but none of them fit.” That captures the silliness of it all right there!

Being the stubborn teen that I was, I wouldn’t have listened if an adult sat me down and talked to me about such matters. Music was really the only way to reach me.

They’d appear May 10, 1991, in a small nightclub in Philadelphia, the Chestnut Cabaret- now long gone. The club was directly across the street from Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral- which, unbeknownst to me at the time, a place that would become very important in my life later. I was ecstatic to finally be in a room with them and like-minded people. The show was everything I’d imagined it would be, simply amazing. When it was over, part of the crowd moved outside to an area where they stood and waited. They seemed to know something that I didn’t. I waited too, and what transpired was a gathering by the tour bus- they came out to sign autographs and meet the fans. I immediately regretted not having a camera.

There were small posters around for us to take, I took one and they signed it and I still have it today. I was taken by how casual, and….well…normal it all was. By this, I mean that there was no entourage separating us and them, we were all there as if we were all friends getting together. I distinctly remember finding myself in front of guitarist Jamie West-Oram, and being in childlike awe, so much that I could barely get my words out. I knew from pictures that he was very tall and thin, with long hair past his shoulders, but of course, in person he was more striking. His demeanor seemed casual and relaxed.  I awkwardly got out a “Hello” and he said hello back, then unable to come up with anything clever, I said, “You look really cute in person.” (What a fangirl thing to say, jeez!) He deadpanned, “Thank you, you look cute in person too.” He signed my poster, and I shook his hand.  The whole encounter was probably only 10 seconds of my life, but it is a memory that would stay forever.

It would be 30 years until I saw them perform again.

Things happened in the next decades. Generation X was now out on their own, forging careers and doing things that are called “adulting” now. My body and my wardrobe underwent big changes. My concert t-shirts were replaced with “business casual” clothing as I became part of the workforce and started assuming various responsibilities. This New Waver was now grown up and looking more, well, dare I say, like a Yuppie.  My living quarters reflected the changes too.  Décor and framed art replaced my wall posters. Interests evolved, and while my musical tastes cycled through various phases, The Fixx never really fell off my radar completely. I bought their later albums, such as Elemental and 1011 Woodland. Their songs still hit a chord with me; Ocean Blue describes exactly how I feel about the ocean. As I went on, they were going through life changes too:  they had families to raise, solo projects to explore and there were wider spaces between albums and tours. They never formally broke up though, there was just a hiatus..or two.

Once in a while, when I’d go down memory lane with someone, they’d say, “I remember when you used to like The Fixx.” I’d usually nod and not bother to explain there was no “used to”. Just because I was no longer tacking their pictures to my walls and wearing pins didn’t mean I stopped being a fan.  “You were so into them.”, they’d say, as they dismissed it as a sort of teenage girl- rockstar idol- infatuation silly thing that faded out.  They couldn’t be more wrong. I was, and still am a fan- just in a more adult way, I suppose. I knew better than to idolize anyone. But they still didn’t get it, they did not understand just how deep and multifaceted my fandom was. And I still didn’t know any other fans.

Then along came the internet, and that changed everything.

I think it was in the end of the 1990’s when I joined the online message board community of Fixx fans. My posting name was R-We-R-Selves, a clever homage to their hit song from Phantoms. Fans from all over the world came to post messages, share memories and exchange merchandise. I was thrilled to engage in the conversation. “Why couldn’t this be a thing in the 80’s, when I was all alone?”, I thought! The Fixx resumed touring in the early 2000’s, and a select group of diehard fans were permitted into venues with their video cameras- usually banned otherwise, to film the shows. Remember, these were the days before smartphones. The result was a set of DVDs of concert footage entirely shot by fans, possibly a first of its kind. By today’s standards, it looks shaky and rough- remember the jerky camera work in the Blair Witch Project? It was that, but still had the charm of a home video, with the raw passion of the fans coming through.

By the end of the millennium’s first decade, message boards faded and gave way to social media giants Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The band set up official accounts on all three, while fans created their own communities, well ahead of the long awaited 2012 album, Beautiful Friction.  I began following and posting.

The comments from people blew me away.

I felt validated. I knew I couldn’t be the only one. But it is one thing to believe you are not the only one, and another thing when you see it laid out in black and white.

I’d say the sentiment that I read over and over again is that they are underrated, overlooked and “should have been bigger.”

There were numerous comments from musicians describing how they were influenced by the Fixx’s sound and style.

Then there were deeper statements, a mention of how their music was part of their youth and how important it was to their teen years. Others would talk about how a certain song got them through rough periods:  through bouts with cancer, or depression, or the death of a loved one. Shaman from the Beautiful Friction album seems to be very inspirational to many, with the lines your soldier of light and your armor is love.

Comments about the earlier songs are frequent too:

 I thought that the song “Read Between the Lines” was written just for me, was speaking to me. And I did… I took heart realizing that someone else was feeling the same as me and was singing about it!!!! This song got me thru some hard times.”

Another quoted Treasure It: “Think positive, leave the negs behind. Move easily don’t stack what you find. Breathe deeply, always look ahead. Wide open there’s a space… I say, wide open there’s a space time won’t touch. When you’re feeling insecure do you treasure it? I treasure it…”

This was not mine, but I could have written it myself:

I loved The FIXX from the 1st time I heard them and shortly thereafter they became my ‘favorite’ band. A few years later, around ’85, I realized why their music struck such a special cord with me as I became aware of what my Human experience was a part of- a spiritual awakening, I suppose. Cy(Curnin) was singing about those feelings, observations, realizations, and manifestations. This was before the internet, so I had no idea if there were others that were connecting to their music the same way I was, but now I see there are many, many others and it is really awesome!

There were, and still are, hundreds of comments like this.

The Grateful Dead had Deadheads. Jimmy Buffett has Parrotheads. The Fixx have Fixxtures.

I felt validated. I knew I couldn’t be the only one. But it is one thing to believe you are not the only one, and another thing when you see it laid out in black and white.  How great a thing it was that those who “get it” could come together this way?! I am not sure if The Fixx themselves knew how many people they deeply touched until social media came along. But now they knew.

The Grateful Dead had Deadheads. Jimmy Buffett has Parrotheads. The Fixx have Fixxtures.

The official Fixx Facebook page boasts over 75,000 followers, and another page that is solely run by fans: “a group by and for Fixxtures”, has over 4,000 members. It was in this group that I learned of the most die-hard of the die-hards: fans that have dozens of collectable Fixx merchandise and autographs, who affectionately call the band “the boys”, who cross state lines to see numerous Fixx shows- some have chalked up the number into the double digits. A very active group, there are several posts every day. Friendships have been forged and many have met each other in person. I have “friended” several of the members, and since we all seem to be around the same age, we have various experiences in common besides our Fixx passion. A few of them shared their music files with me, while another sent me the hard-to-find Stage Two -one of the DVDs of Fixx footage shot by fans.

The mass media and commercial radio was not too kind to the Fixx. After the 1980’s, outlets lost interest in them. MTV, which once had them in heavy rotation, ceased to play videos altogether. Still, their fans never forgot them. Achieving somewhat of a cult-following status, they play to fans in clubs and theaters rather than large arenas. The intimacy of the small venues works well. Fans get to see them up close, and the band members are able to meet and greet them after the shows- both achievements would be impossible in a large complex with thousands of people.

The anecdotes from the fans that tell of meeting the band could fill a book. Here are some:

I got to meet Cy (Curnin) a couple months ago in person…. I turned into my 15-year-old self and burst into tears!! How embarrassing. He was nothing less than completely cool about it…he gave me a hug.

After the show having beers outside, Dan (K. Brown), Adam(Woods), and Rupert(Greenall) joined us at our table and chatted with us for 20-30 minutes. This is a band that values their fans.

Back in 1998 I saw them at a bar in San Antonio Texas. After the show I was standing at the bar and turned to my right to see Jamie (West-Oram) standing next to me. I said hello and he asked me if I’d like to come backstage and “meet the blokes”. It was awesome. Such great guys.

Class guys all around! They make the time to meet their fans! I have seen them over 30x and have chatted with them the last 20x or so. They aren’t just great musicians but are friends!

He (Cy Curnin) is so nice. He once did myself and my future wife a huge favor! She was turned away in Reno (Reach the Beach tour) because she was two months short of her 21st birthday. We were behind the venue and he walks up to us.., we told him what happened. He told us to go back around front and try again. Ten minutes later we were led in like VIPs. It was a killer show. At one point late in the show he said “I would like to dedicate this next song to “Robin.” Then they proceeded to play the song “Outside!”

Dan (K. Brown) is so humble. When I asked for a photo, he said “I’m just the bass player”. We were dining at a table right next to him and didn’t even know it until Adam (Woods) walked by and waved to the people at the table. My gf leaned over and asked “Was that the Fixx drummer?” and the guy says “Yes, and the bass player is sitting next to me. ” And then offered to introduce him to us. Dan was and IS soooo cool!

Additionally, there are photos all over the internet of the guys signing merchandise and posing with arms around their cherished Fixxtures- all smiling.

Nothing would stop them from meeting their fans…. except for a pandemic.

With the whole world on lockdown, they were kept away from their audience as well as each other. Efforts were made to keep the communication going: Cy Curnin created music and streamed a solo concert from his home, and a series of videos called Ask the Fixx was created where they individually answered questions submitted by fans. They disclosed interesting tidbits in this series. Dan K. Brown was reading up on Mozart. Jamie West-Oram said his new pandemic hobby was going out with his wife to pick up rubbish off the street, because it made them feel good. Honestly, given his dry sense of humor, I wasn’t sure if he was joking or not. But it was true.

Yeah…I always knew this group with something special.

2021 was a year when we were all still reeling from the aftermath of a global pandemic while trying to regain our footing into some kind of “new normal” way of living. Social and entertaining activities resumed with some precautions in place. A tour commenced, at a perfect time when people were craving the fun that they have been deprived of, coupled with the longing by Generation X to hear their music again live and relive their childhood memories. The Fixx toured the US in the latter part of 2021. My first concert since the pandemic hit, I attended their show in Glenside, PA and was lucky to score second row seats. There was a celebratory feeling in the air- you can sense that people were happy to finally clap and cheer together: simple things we took for granted before COVID. Before the show, I looked around at the room. I came to the conclusion that we all look alike! 50somethings just have a certain look, and a great deal of us were using reading glasses (myself included). Some brought their children and it made me happy to see a new generation (or two) being exposed to Fixx music. The Fixx themselves who range in age from 64 to 73 seem to have aged like a fine wine- looking and sounding better than ever. When I watch their videos and concert footage from the 1980’s, they look so boyish to me now. It’s funny how age changes your perception. They played a set of their hits and other songs from their 10 studio albums, triggering memory after memory for me. It was almost like being reunited with old friends. It was exhilarating, they have said that they love playing live, and it comes through. They closed with the song Secret Separation, finishing with ad-libbed lyrics about making it through the darkness into the light. After the hell that was 2020, it certainly seemed that way. It was the most hopeful I felt after a year and a half. Shortly afterwards, I made it a point to get back to listening to music more often. I had developed a habit of streaming news instead of tunes and hadn’t even noticed the negative effect it was having on me. I did not like what I had become, and I changed my ways.

It was awesome to meet up with Fixxtures in person that I met on the Facebook group, also it was great fun to virtually follow the tour as fans posted photos and videos from each show around the country- an impossible feat years ago. With all the negativity that is said about social media, I prefer to celebrate how it can bring nice people and experiences together.

2022 brought an anticipated new album after a 10 year wait: Every Five Seconds, and new tour. The album has a track, Lonely As A Lighthouse, which has a deep history with the fans. Despite being performed live as long as 25 years ago but never officially recorded in the studio or anywhere else, its driving beat and nautical metaphors for love stuck with Fixxtures: they shared bootleg recordings and named an internet message board Lighthouse in homage to it and The Fixx. There was hope that it would someday appear on an album. In 2022, that hope was finally realized, issued as a way to thank the fans for their steadfast enthusiasm. The CD inner sleeve gives thanks to the fans as well.

The album is characteristic of The Fixx: it is filled with familar themes that speak to the troubling times, especially in Wake Up and Closer, other tracks speak to love (Woman of Flesh and Blood) and pain (Cold), but ends with a positive message of togetherness in Neverending: through thick and thin/we don’t give in/the life we weave/it’s neverending. The new tour has started, once again “the boys” are greeting their Fixxtures after shows (this practice was suspended in 2021 due to COVID precautions), new images of smiling faces are showing up online and all seems right with the world again. •

(Written July 4, 2022)

Post Script to the above : On August 26, 2022, I got to see the Fixx play at Keswick Theater, from the front row. It was amazing. They came out after show and I got to meet each one of them. This night was made of the stuff I would dream of when I was 15.

I got some great shots, like this one.

This is my friend Lisa and I with Jamie West-Oram. I went up to him, and he said, “Stacey!” Taken aback, I said, “Yeah! You know my name? Wow!” I was shocked and surprised that he knew my name. He said he recognized me from social media, as I’ve discussed the Fixx many times on Facebook and YouTube, but so do many other people. I was floored. This moment is right up there with the time Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori of the Episcopal Church took the time to put down her crosier to get a pen to sign my book. (I’ll elaborate more on that in a separate entry). His wife of 35plus years, Bibi, is an artist and posts her art on Instagram as do I. She has “liked” some of my work and that flatters me. She was present this night, but didn’t mingle with the fans. From a distance, I saw her and Jamie showing affection towards each other, a loving couple in a rock’n roll world.

Just a fun fact: we are all February babies: Jamie is Feb 19, Lisa is Feb 18, and I am Feb 11!

This is me, Lisa and Rupert Greenall