Recruiting a bevy of oddball-celebrity sidemen and guest vocalists -- sampled or otherwise -- somewhat blurred the backbone of the group, but
David Barker and
Simon Leonard recorded several albums of inspired ambient-techno as
Fortran 5. Indebted to such culprits of British whimsy as
Syd Barrett and
Monty Python, the duo usually recorded with samplers blazing, the unholy result of which included bizarre pop collisions like
Donna Summer and
the Pretenders or
the Champs' "Tequila" and thrash-metal. With roots in the Mute Records artists
I Start Counting, the pair debuted with 1990's "Crazy Earth," a dreamy acid-house track counting
Barrett among its sample victims. Several singles followed during 1990-1991, including "Heart on the Line" with (live) vocals by
Miranda Sex Garden.
The debut
Fortran 5 LP was
Blues, released in 1991; it included contributions from Can's
Holger Hiller, Orb's
Kris Weston (aka
Thrash), and noted DJ
Colin Faver. The weirdest collaboration, however, was a cover of
Syd Barrett's "Bike," with vocals obtained by posthumously sampling various lines from legendary comedian and Carry On film star Sid James; the group was perhaps saved from a court case since producer on the session was Sid James' son
Steve. Following the LP were several high-profile singles, including "Look to the Future" (with live vocals by Sly Stone alumnus
Larry Graham) and "Persian Blues" (with
Neil Arthur of
Blancmange).
The sampling shenanigans continued on Fortran 5's second full-length,
Bad Head Park. The "Sid Sings Syd" theme was resurrected, with celebrated British actor
Derek Nimmo unwittingly lending his vocals to a cover of Derek & the Dominos' "Layla," while
Barker and
Leonard also called upon
John Barry and media coverage of the Gulf War to enhance their compositions. The duo featured no collaborators and few samples on their third, the 1995 concept album
Avocado Suite.
Fortran 5 also remixed
Erasure,
Inspiral Carpets,
Miranda Sex Garden, and
Laibach.
–
John Bush, Rovi