Description
Blue Pearl was a techno and house music duo consisting of American female singer Durga McBroom and British musician Youth (Martin Glover). Although they only charted two songs on the Hot Dance Club Play chart, both tracks are considered classic examples of early house music and they are still remixed and played in nightclubs today. Â Â “”Naked In The Rain”” was a #4 hit in the UK Singles Chart and a #5 dance hit in the U.S. in 1990. They also had a minor hit in the UK Singles Chart in November 1990 with the #31 hit, “”Little Brother””. Â Their records featured guest appearances from David Gilmour and Richard Wright of Pink Floyd, for whom McBroom had been a backing vocalist.
Album   Naked (1990) UK #58
Blue Pearl – Naked    MINT condition (visual inspection)
Label: Big Life
Catalog#: BLR LP4
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: UK
Released: 1990
Genre: Electronic,  House, Acid Jazz
Tracklist:
A1 Naked In The Rain
A2 Down To You
A3 Chemical Thing
A4 I Never Knew
A5 Running Up That Hill [Kate Bush cover]
B1 Little Brother
B2 Alive
B3 Rollover
B4 Without Love
B5 Over You
Singles
“”Naked In The Rain”” (1990) UK #4, U.S. Dance #5
“”Little Brother”” (1990) UK #31
“”Alive”” (1991)
Chances are that you have heard Blue Pearls brilliant debut single “”Naked In The Rain””, as it was a top ten dance hit on Billboards dance chart and a top ten pop hit in the UK and Australia. Its gurgling techno-house sound combined with Durga McBrooms deep and soulful vocals was one of the highlights of dance music in the early 1990s. McBroom an American singer whose biggest success was as a back-up singer for Pink Floyd, both on their later albums and on tour. She hooked up with famed Brit producer Youth (aka Martin Glover) who, up until then, had been part of Stock-Aitken-Waterman pop group Brilliant and had produced many artists, the most successful being Yazz. They originally released “”Naked In The Rain”” as Rubin Red, but soon changed their name to the more pleasing Blue Pearl. The success of the track led to a self-titled album, known as Naked in the UK, on Big Life (also Yazz’ label). Together they created a unique sound which incorporated the techno elements popular at the time, but was also infused with soul. Most of the tracks are mid-tempo and also utilize hip hop elements throughout, but there are also deep house moments, such as “”Naked In The Rain”” and their remake of Kate Bushs “”Running Up That Hill””.
Unfortunately the follow-up singles “”Little Brother”” and “”Alive””, and the album itself, failed on the charts, probably because they were much more downtempo than their exciting first single. All was not lost, however, as a brand new track, “”(Can You) Feel The Passion”” (which was basically a vocal version of the Bizarre Inc. techno rave hit “”Playing With Knives””) brought them to the top of the Billboard dance charts a year later. Only one more less successful single, “”Mother Dawn””, was released by the duo, however, and a second album never came out (although it was recorded). Other than that, McBroom used the name while doing lead vocals on track by Jungle High in 1993, and a successful remix of “”Naked In The Rain”” was released in 1998. Youth would go on to great success working with acts like The Orb, Bananarama, Billy Idol, Killing Joke and Client, while McBroom did some acting and continued to tour and record with Pink Floyd. The two briefly reformed as Blue Lotus in the late 1990s/early 2000s for a couple tracks, so perhaps we haven’t seen the end of this union quite yet…
UPDATE: Durga McBroom herself just wrote and schooled me on Blue Pearls history! Here is Durgas message:
“”This is Durga McBroom. While I appreciate the kudos, you have gotten a lot of this wrong. Allow me to make some clarifications.
1. Youth was originally known for being the bass player for Killing Joke, an influential punk band. Shortly thereafter he had a stint with Brilliant. This part is correct.
Where you got the idea we released “”Naked In The Rain”” initially as Rubin Red is baffling to me. I came up with the name Blue Pearl from my spiritual beliefs, and Youth agreed. I bought the rights to the name, which is why I can still use it. WAU Mr. Modo di put it out first, and then Big Life Records bought it.
The second album WAS recorded, and “”Can You Feel The Passion”” was intended to be the kick-off single. Due to artistic differences and budget restraints, the CD was never released. I asked for and was granted a release from my contract from Big Life.
Since then, I have done one film I think (Phoenix Point – small independent film), and I was the one who worked with Billy Idol on “”Cyberpunk””, including a duet of “”Mother Dawn””. I have since recorded new Blue Pearl tracks and expect to slam you with some blinding stuff this year (2011). Watch for a duet with me and Annabella Lwin (Bow Wow Wow), coming out SOON.””
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