Tuxedomoon \ Short Biography
Left-field American new wave band Tuxedomoon formed in San Francisco in June 1977, initially around a creative nucleus of multi-instrumentalists Steven Brown and Blaine Reininger. The duo were later joined by bassist Peter 'Principle' Dachert and a flexible cast of associate members, notably vocalist Winston Tong, guitarist Michael Belfer and film-maker Bruce Geduldig.
After signing with the cryptic Ralph label, home to The Residents, Tuxedomoon recorded a string of seminal albums including Half Mute (1980) and Desire (1981), before electing to relocate to Europe in order to pursue a more overtly avant-garde agenda. A busy gig and recording schedule between March 1981 and April 1983 resulted in four important recordings, beginning with Divine, a ballet score for Maurice Bejart, Suite En Sous-Sol and a trio of classic singles for Les Disques du Crépuscule: Ninotchka, Time To Lose and The Cage. The most ambitious project from 1982, an 'opera without words' called The Ghost Sonata, was performed in Italy in July, but remained unreleased until 1990.
Blaine Reininger left the band in 1983, leaving Brown, Principle, Tong and Geduldig to consider their next move. Joined by versatile Dutch trumpet player Luc van Lieshout, the album Holy Wars emerged in 1985, after which Tong left for good. For Ship of Fools (1986) and You (1987) the group were joined by Ivan Georgiev.
The core trio of Brown, Reininger and Principle reunited for a successful world tour in 1988, and with Luc van Lieshout have continued to record and perform as Tuxedomoon since then. Unfortunately band members Bruce Geduldig and Peter Principle passed away in 2016 and 2017 respectively.