text: Colin Vearncombe (26 May 1962 – 26 January 2016), known by his stage name Black, was an English singer-songwriter. He emerged from the punk rock music scene and achieved mainstream pop success in the late 1980s, most notably with the 1986 single "Wonderful Life", which was an international hit the next year.
  
  William Ruhlmann of AllMusic described Vearncombe as a "smoky-voiced singer/songwriter, whose sophisticated jazz-pop songs and dramatic vocal delivery place him somewhere between Bryan Ferry and Morrissey". Michael Hann of The Guardian described his voice as a "slightly frayed baritone".
  
  Early life
  Vearncombe was born in Liverpool and attended Prescot Grammar School. He then enrolled on an art foundation course at Liverpool Polytechnic. He first aspired to become a musician after seeing Elvis Presley in Jailhouse Rock.
  
  Career
  
  Black's first release was the single "Human Features" on Rox Records from Birkenhead in 1981. At this time the band also included Dane Goulding (formerly of Blazetroopers) on bass and Greg Leyland (another school-friend) on drums, with Vearncombe calling himself Black as he did not think his own surname would be remembered. The single was followed by another independent release, "More than the Sun", in 1982. It was then that Vearncombe formed a friendship with Dave "Dix" Dickie of the Last Chant, and the two became musical collaborators and signed for WEA Records.
  
  In 1982, Black played with the Thompson Twins on their 'Quick Step and Side Kick' tour and also supported Wah! on a UK tour. Black signed with WEA in 1984, and the next single was "Hey Presto", which got Vearncombe noticed outside the UK: the video for the song featured on the satellite channel Music Box, and the single was also released in Australia. The second WEA single was a re-recording of "More than the Sun". After this, Black was dropped from the record label, and Vearncombe and Dix went their separate ways.
  
  In 1985, Vearncombe wrote the minor key song "Wonderful Life". It was released independently through Ugly Man Records, and got Black noticed by A&M Records, who signed Vearncombe and launched his international career. Vearncombe said:
  
  By the end of 1985 I had been in a couple of car crashes, my mother had a serious illness, I had been dropped by a record company, my first marriage went belly-up and I was homeless. Then I sat down and wrote this song called 'Wonderful Life'. I was being sarcastic.
  
  The song reached number eight in the UK Singles Chart. "Wonderful Life" was later covered by singers including Kim Wilde and Tony Hadley. A version by Katie Melua was included on the BBC Radio 2's Sounds of the 80s compilation album, and was released as a single in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital and the Children's Hospital Charity. But its widespread popularity came from its use on several advertising commercials for brands that included Standard Life, Cadbury's chocolate and Fleury Michon. In 2015, Melua sang a version in an advertisement for Premier Inn. Vearncombe suffered from the feeling of being a one-hit wonder:
  
  Once you have had a hit, it's hard to write another song without having that in the back of your mind. For a long time, I would find myself hearing, 'I like it but it's not Wonderful Life'.
  
  At first, the single "Everything's Coming Up Roses" flopped, but the follow-up, "Sweetest Smile" became a UK top-10 hit. The third single, a re-release of "Wonderful Life", was a massive hit worldwide. The album of the same name, released in 1987, had similar success, reaping commercial and critical acclaim.
  
  Black sold over two million records worldwide with Comedy (1988) and Black (1991). Disillusioned with having to deal with a big record company, Vearncombe founded the independent label Nero Schwarz (which is the word "black" in Italian and in German, respectively), and released one album Are We Having Fun Yet? (1993).
  
  After a prolonged hiatus, Vearncombe returned in 1999 to release a string of recordings under his own name. Vearncombe returned to the name 'Black' to release the album Between Two Churches in November 2005. On this album, he included a song mocking the success of his hit "Wonderful Life", where he poignantly re-asked the question, ‘Are you having a wonderful life?’
  
  In 2009, he released two albums: The Given was issued on 4 July as a free download under Vearncombe's name; Water on Stone was released on 17 November as the first Black studio album in four years. In September 2011, the album Any Colour You Like was released through Black's website.
  
  In April 2014, Vearncombe started a pledge fund (via the dedicated music crowd-funding site PledgeMusic) for a new album, co-written with long-time friend and musical collaborator Calum MacColl. This was the first time he had participated in a crowd-funded project. The project significantly exceeded its funding goals, and he regularly expressed his surprise and gratefulness through video updates on the PledgeMusic site. His experience with the process also contributed to the name of the album, Blind Faith, was released on 13 April 2015. Several months later, he recorded a Catalan version of "Wonderful Life" as a fundraiser for the Catalan telethon La Marató de TV3. Vearncombe sang a Catalan translation of the original lyrics.
  
  Death
  On 10 January 2016, Vearncombe was involved in a car accident, near Cork Airport in Ireland, and placed in a medically-induced coma after sustaining serious head injuries. He died from his injuries at the intensive care unit of Cork University Hospital on 26 January 2016, at the age of 53. Vearncombe left a widow, Swedish opera singer and former One 2 Many singer Camilla Griehsel, and three children. His remains were cremated on 4 February 2016.
  
  Discography
  
   Wonderful Life (1987)
   Comedy (1988)
   Black (1991)
   Are We Having Fun Yet? (1993)
   The Accused (1999)
   Water on Snow (2000)
   Smoke Up Close (2002)
   Between Two Churches (2005)
   The Given (2009)
   Water on Stone (2009)
   Blind Faith (2015)
  
  References
  
  External links
  
   
   Single Black Spot
   colinvearncombe.nl – fansite
   Blogsite
   Colin Vearncombe didn't want to be defined by one song – and he shouldn't be at theguardian.com, published 27 January 2016
  
  1962 births
  2016 deaths
  English male singer-songwriters
  English new wave musicians
  English pop singers
  Male new wave singers
  Singers from Liverpool
  Road incident deaths in the Republic of Ireland
  20th-century English singers
  21st-century English singers
  20th-century British male singers
  21st-century British male singers
sentences: Colin Vearncombe (26 May 1962 – 26 January 2016), known by his stage name Black, was an English singer-songwriter. He emerged from the punk rock music scene and achieved mainstream pop success in the late 1980s, most notably with the 1986 single "Wonderful Life", which was an international hit the next year. William Ruhlmann of AllMusic described Vearncombe as a "smoky-voiced singer/songwriter, whose sophisticated jazz-pop songs and dramatic vocal delivery place him somewhere between Bryan Ferry and Morrissey". Michael Hann of The Guardian described his voice as a "slightly frayed baritone". Early life
  Vearncombe was born in Liverpool and attended Prescot Grammar School. He then enrolled on an art foundation course at Liverpool Polytechnic. He first aspired to become a musician after seeing Elvis Presley in Jailhouse Rock. Career
  
  Black's first release was the single "Human Features" on Rox Records from Birkenhead in 1981. At this time the band also included Dane Goulding (formerly of Blazetroopers) on bass and Greg Leyland (another school-friend) on drums, with Vearncombe calling himself Black as he did not think his own surname would be remembered. The single was followed by another independent release, "More than the Sun", in 1982. It was then that Vearncombe formed a friendship with Dave "Dix" Dickie of the Last Chant, and the two became musical collaborators and signed for WEA Records. In 1982, Black played with the Thompson Twins on their 'Quick Step and Side Kick' tour and also supported Wah! on a UK tour. Black signed with WEA in 1984, and the next single was "Hey Presto", which got Vearncombe noticed outside the UK: the video for the song featured on the satellite channel Music Box, and the single was also released in Australia. The second WEA single was a re-recording of "More than the Sun". After this, Black was dropped from the record label, and Vearncombe and Dix went their separate ways. In 1985, Vearncombe wrote the minor key song "Wonderful Life". It was released independently through Ugly Man Records, and got Black noticed by A&M Records, who signed Vearncombe and launched his international career. Vearncombe said:
  
  By the end of 1985 I had been in a couple of car crashes, my mother had a serious illness, I had been dropped by a record company, my first marriage went belly-up and I was homeless. Then I sat down and wrote this song called 'Wonderful Life'. I was being sarcastic. The song reached number eight in the UK Singles Chart. "Wonderful Life" was later covered by singers including Kim Wilde and Tony Hadley. A version by Katie Melua was included on the BBC Radio 2's Sounds of the 80s compilation album, and was released as a single in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital and the Children's Hospital Charity. But its widespread popularity came from its use on several advertising commercials for brands that included Standard Life, Cadbury's chocolate and Fleury Michon. In 2015, Melua sang a version in an advertisement for Premier Inn. Vearncombe suffered from the feeling of being a one-hit wonder:
  
  Once you have had a hit, it's hard to write another song without having that in the back of your mind. For a long time, I would find myself hearing, 'I like it but it's not Wonderful Life'. At first, the single "Everything's Coming Up Roses" flopped, but the follow-up, "Sweetest Smile" became a UK top-10 hit. The third single, a re-release of "Wonderful Life", was a massive hit worldwide. The album of the same name, released in 1987, had similar success, reaping commercial and critical acclaim. Black sold over two million records worldwide with Comedy (1988) and Black (1991). Disillusioned with having to deal with a big record company, Vearncombe founded the independent label Nero Schwarz (which is the word "black" in Italian and in German, respectively), and released one album Are We Having Fun Yet? (1993). After a prolonged hiatus, Vearncombe returned in 1999 to release a string of recordings under his own name. Vearncombe returned to the name 'Black' to release the album Between Two Churches in November 2005. On this album, he included a song mocking the success of his hit "Wonderful Life", where he poignantly re-asked the question, ‘Are you having a wonderful life?’
  
  In 2009, he released two albums: The Given was issued on 4 July as a free download under Vearncombe's name; Water on Stone was released on 17 November as the first Black studio album in four years. In September 2011, the album Any Colour You Like was released through Black's website. In April 2014, Vearncombe started a pledge fund (via the dedicated music crowd-funding site PledgeMusic) for a new album, co-written with long-time friend and musical collaborator Calum MacColl. This was the first time he had participated in a crowd-funded project. The project significantly exceeded its funding goals, and he regularly expressed his surprise and gratefulness through video updates on the PledgeMusic site. His experience with the process also contributed to the name of the album, Blind Faith, was released on 13 April 2015. Several months later, he recorded a Catalan version of "Wonderful Life" as a fundraiser for the Catalan telethon La Marató de TV3. Vearncombe sang a Catalan translation of the original lyrics. Death
  On 10 January 2016, Vearncombe was involved in a car accident, near Cork Airport in Ireland, and placed in a medically-induced coma after sustaining serious head injuries. He died from his injuries at the intensive care unit of Cork University Hospital on 26 January 2016, at the age of 53. Vearncombe left a widow, Swedish opera singer and former One 2 Many singer Camilla Griehsel, and three children. His remains were cremated on 4 February 2016. Discography
  
   Wonderful Life (1987)
   Comedy (1988)
   Black (1991)
   Are We Having Fun Yet? (1993)
   The Accused (1999)
   Water on Snow (2000)
   Smoke Up Close (2002)
   Between Two Churches (2005)
   The Given (2009)
   Water on Stone (2009)
   Blind Faith (2015)
  
  References
  
  External links
  
   
   Single Black Spot
   colinvearncombe.nl – fansite
   Blogsite
   Colin Vearncombe didn't want to be defined by one song – and he shouldn't be at theguardian.com, published 27 January 2016
  
  1962 births
  2016 deaths
  English male singer-songwriters
  English new wave musicians
  English pop singers
  Male new wave singers
  Singers from Liverpool
  Road incident deaths in the Republic of Ireland
  20th-century English singers
  21st-century English singers
  20th-century British male singers
  21st-century British male singers
paraphrased_sentences: Colin Vearncombe was known by his stage name Black. He achieved mainstream pop success in the late 1980s, most notably with the 1986 single "Wonderful Life", which was an international hit the next year. Vearncombe is described as a "smoky-voiced singer/songwriter, whose sophisticated jazz-pop songs and dramatic vocal delivery place him somewhere between Bryan Ferry and Morrissey". Michael Hann of The Guardian said his voice was a bit frayed. Vearncombe was born and raised in the city. He attended an art foundation course. He saw Elvis in Jailhouse Rock and wanted to be a musician. "Human Features" was Career Black's first release. Vearncombe called himself Black as he didn't think his own name would be remembered, and the band also included a bass player and a drummer. The second independent release was " More than the Sun" in 1982. Dave "Dix" Dickie of the Last Chant and Vearncombe formed a friendship and signed with WEA Records. Black played with the Thompson Twins on their 'Quick Step and Side Kick' tour in 1982. There is a UK tour. Black signed with WEA in 1984 and the next single was "Hey Presto", which got Vearncombe noticed outside the UK: the video for the song featured on the satellite channel Music Box, and the single was also released in Australia. The second WEA single was a re-recording of " More than the Sun". Black was dropped from the record label after this. "Wonderful Life" was written by Vearncombe in 1985. Black was noticed by A&M Records, who signed Vearncombe and launched his international career. By the end of 1985 I had been in a couple of car crashes, my mother had a serious illness, I had been dropped by a record company, and I was homeless. I wrote a song called 'Wonderful Life'. I was being sarcastic. The song made it to the UK Singles Chart. Kim Wilde and Tony Hadley covered "Wonderful Life". The single was released in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital and the Children's Hospital Charity, and was included on the Sounds of the 80s album. It was used in several advertising commercials for brands that included Standard Life, Cadbury's chocolate and Fleury Michon. Melua sang a song in an advertisement. It's hard to write another song without the feeling of being a one-hit wonder. I would hear "I like it but it's not wonderful life" for a long time. The single "everything's coming up roses" flopped, but the follow-up, "sweetest smile", became a UK top 10 hit. The re-release of "Wonderful Life" was a huge hit. The same album was released in 1987 and had similar success. Comedy and Black sold over two million records. Vearncombe didn't like dealing with a big record company so he founded an independent label and released an album called Are We Having Fun Yet? The year 1993 In 1999 Vearncombe released a string of recordings under his own name. The album Between Two Churches was released in November 2005. On this album, he included a song mocking the success of his hit "Wonderful Life", where he poignantly re-asked the question, "Are you having a wonderful life?" The album was released on Black's website. In April of last year, Vearncombe started a pledge fund for a new album, co-written with Calum MacColl. He had never participated in a crowd-funded project before. He expressed his surprise and gratitude through video updates on the PledgeMusic site, as the project significantly exceeded its funding goals. The name of the album, Blind Faith, was influenced by his experience with the process. He recorded a Catalan version of "Wonderful Life" in order to raise money for the La Marat de TV3. A Catalan translation of the original lyrics was sung by Vearncombe. Vearncombe was placed in a medically-induced coma after sustaining serious head injuries in a car accident near Cork Airport in Ireland. He died from his injuries on January 26, 2016 at the age of 53. A widow, Swedish opera singer and former One Many 2 singer are some of the people Vearncombe left behind. His remains were cremated. Black is a comedy about whether or not we are having fun yet. Colin Vearncombe didn't want to be defined by one song.
masked_text_original: Colin Vearncombe (26 May 1962 – 26 January 2016), known by his stage name <mask>, was an English singer-songwriter. He emerged from the punk rock music scene and achieved mainstream pop success in the late 1980s, most notably with the 1986 single "Wonderful Life", which was an international hit the next year. William Ruhlmann of AllMusic described Vearncombe as a "smoky-voiced singer/songwriter, whose sophisticated jazz-pop songs and dramatic vocal delivery place him somewhere between Bryan Ferry and Morrissey". Michael Hann of The Guardian described his voice as a "slightly frayed baritone". Early life
  Vearncombe was born in Liverpool and attended Prescot Grammar School. He then enrolled on an art foundation course at Liverpool Polytechnic. He first aspired to become a musician after seeing Elvis Presley in Jailhouse Rock.Career
  
  <mask>'s first release was the single "Human Features" on Rox Records from Birkenhead in 1981. At this time the band also included Dane Goulding (formerly of Blazetroopers) on bass and Greg Leyland (another school-friend) on drums, with Vearncombe calling himself <mask> as he did not think his own surname would be remembered. The single was followed by another independent release, "More than the Sun", in 1982. It was then that Vearncombe formed a friendship with Dave "Dix" Dickie of the Last Chant, and the two became musical collaborators and signed for WEA Records. In 1982, <mask> played with the Thompson Twins on their 'Quick Step and Side Kick' tour and also supported Wah! on a UK tour. <mask> signed with WEA in 1984, and the next single was "Hey Presto", which got Vearncombe noticed outside the UK: the video for the song featured on the satellite channel Music Box, and the single was also released in Australia.The second WEA single was a re-recording of "More than the Sun". After this, <mask> was dropped from the record label, and Vearncombe and Dix went their separate ways. In 1985, Vearncombe wrote the minor key song "Wonderful Life". It was released independently through Ugly Man Records, and got <mask> noticed by A&M Records, who signed Vearncombe and launched his international career. Vearncombe said:
  
  By the end of 1985 I had been in a couple of car crashes, my mother had a serious illness, I had been dropped by a record company, my first marriage went belly-up and I was homeless. Then I sat down and wrote this song called 'Wonderful Life'. I was being sarcastic.The song reached number eight in the UK Singles Chart. "Wonderful Life" was later covered by singers including Kim Wilde and Tony Hadley. A version by Katie Melua was included on the BBC Radio 2's Sounds of the 80s compilation album, and was released as a single in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital and the Children's Hospital Charity. But its widespread popularity came from its use on several advertising commercials for brands that included Standard Life, Cadbury's chocolate and Fleury Michon. In 2015, Melua sang a version in an advertisement for Premier Inn. Vearncombe suffered from the feeling of being a one-hit wonder:
  
  Once you have had a hit, it's hard to write another song without having that in the back of your mind. For a long time, I would find myself hearing, 'I like it but it's not Wonderful Life'.At first, the single "Everything's Coming Up Roses" flopped, but the follow-up, "Sweetest Smile" became a UK top-10 hit. The third single, a re-release of "Wonderful Life", was a massive hit worldwide. The album of the same name, released in 1987, had similar success, reaping commercial and critical acclaim. <mask> sold over two million records worldwide with Comedy (1988) and <mask> (1991). Disillusioned with having to deal with a big record company, Vearncombe founded the independent label Nero Schwarz (which is the word "black" in Italian and in German, respectively), and released one album Are We Having Fun Yet? (1993). After a prolonged hiatus, Vearncombe returned in 1999 to release a string of recordings under his own name.Vearncombe returned to the name '<mask>' to release the album Between Two Churches in November 2005. On this album, he included a song mocking the success of his hit "Wonderful Life", where he poignantly re-asked the question, ‘Are you having a wonderful life?’
  
  In 2009, he released two albums: The Given was issued on 4 July as a free download under Vearncombe's name; Water on Stone was released on 17 November as the first Black studio album in four years. In September 2011, the album Any Colour You Like was released through <mask>'s website. In April 2014, Vearncombe started a pledge fund (via the dedicated music crowd-funding site PledgeMusic) for a new album, co-written with long-time friend and musical collaborator Calum MacColl. This was the first time he had participated in a crowd-funded project. The project significantly exceeded its funding goals, and he regularly expressed his surprise and gratefulness through video updates on the PledgeMusic site. His experience with the process also contributed to the name of the album, Blind Faith, was released on 13 April 2015.Several months later, he recorded a Catalan version of "Wonderful Life" as a fundraiser for the Catalan telethon La Marató de TV3. Vearncombe sang a Catalan translation of the original lyrics. Death
  On 10 January 2016, Vearncombe was involved in a car accident, near Cork Airport in Ireland, and placed in a medically-induced coma after sustaining serious head injuries. He died from his injuries at the intensive care unit of Cork University Hospital on 26 January 2016, at the age of 53. Vearncombe left a widow, Swedish opera singer and former One 2 Many singer Camilla Griehsel, and three children. His remains were cremated on 4 February 2016. Discography
  
   Wonderful Life (1987)
   Comedy (1988)
   Black (1991)
   Are We Having Fun Yet?(1993)
   The Accused (1999)
   Water on Snow (2000)
   Smoke Up Close (2002)
   Between Two Churches (2005)
   The Given (2009)
   Water on Stone (2009)
   Blind Faith (2015)
  
  References
  
  External links
  
   
   Single Black Spot
   colinvearncombe.nl – fansite
   Blogsite
   Colin Vearncombe didn't want to be defined by one song – and he shouldn't be at theguardian.com, published 27 January 2016
  
  1962 births
  2016 deaths
  English male singer-songwriters
  English new wave musicians
  English pop singers
  Male new wave singers
  Singers from Liverpool
  Road incident deaths in the Republic of Ireland
  20th-century English singers
  21st-century English singers
  20th-century British male singers
  21st-century British male singers
masked_text_paraphrased: Colin Vearncombe was known by his stage name <mask>. He achieved mainstream pop success in the late 1980s, most notably with the 1986 single "Wonderful Life", which was an international hit the next year. Vearncombe is described as a "smoky-voiced singer/songwriter, whose sophisticated jazz-pop songs and dramatic vocal delivery place him somewhere between Bryan Ferry and Morrissey". Michael Hann of The Guardian said his voice was a bit frayed. Vearncombe was born and raised in the city. He attended an art foundation course. He saw Elvis in Jailhouse Rock and wanted to be a musician."Human Features" was <mask>'s first release. Vearncombe called himself <mask> as he didn't think his own name would be remembered, and the band also included a bass player and a drummer. The second independent release was " More than the Sun" in 1982. Dave "Dix" Dickie of the Last Chant and Vearncombe formed a friendship and signed with WEA Records. <mask> played with the Thompson Twins on their 'Quick Step and Side Kick' tour in 1982. There is a UK tour. <mask> signed with WEA in 1984 and the next single was "Hey Presto", which got Vearncombe noticed outside the UK: the video for the song featured on the satellite channel Music Box, and the single was also released in Australia.The second WEA single was a re-recording of " More than the Sun". <mask> was dropped from the record label after this. "Wonderful Life" was written by Vearncombe in 1985. <mask> was noticed by A&M Records, who signed Vearncombe and launched his international career. By the end of 1985 I had been in a couple of car crashes, my mother had a serious illness, I had been dropped by a record company, and I was homeless. I wrote a song called 'Wonderful Life'. I was being sarcastic.The song made it to the UK Singles Chart. Kim Wilde and Tony Hadley covered "Wonderful Life". The single was released in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital and the Children's Hospital Charity, and was included on the Sounds of the 80s album. It was used in several advertising commercials for brands that included Standard Life, Cadbury's chocolate and Fleury Michon. Melua sang a song in an advertisement. It's hard to write another song without the feeling of being a one-hit wonder. I would hear "I like it but it's not wonderful life" for a long time.The single "everything's coming up roses" flopped, but the follow-up, "sweetest smile", became a UK top 10 hit. The re-release of "Wonderful Life" was a huge hit. The same album was released in 1987 and had similar success. Comedy and Black sold over two million records. Vearncombe didn't like dealing with a big record company so he founded an independent label and released an album called Are We Having Fun Yet? The year 1993 In 1999 Vearncombe released a string of recordings under his own name.The album Between Two Churches was released in November 2005. On this album, he included a song mocking the success of his hit "Wonderful Life", where he poignantly re-asked the question, "Are you having a wonderful life?" The album was released on <mask>'s website. In April of last year, Vearncombe started a pledge fund for a new album, co-written with Calum MacColl. He had never participated in a crowd-funded project before. He expressed his surprise and gratitude through video updates on the PledgeMusic site, as the project significantly exceeded its funding goals. The name of the album, Blind Faith, was influenced by his experience with the process.He recorded a Catalan version of "Wonderful Life" in order to raise money for the La Marat de TV3. A Catalan translation of the original lyrics was sung by Vearncombe. Vearncombe was placed in a medically-induced coma after sustaining serious head injuries in a car accident near Cork Airport in Ireland. He died from his injuries on January 26, 2016 at the age of 53. A widow, Swedish opera singer and former One Many 2 singer are some of the people Vearncombe left behind. His remains were cremated. <mask> is a comedy about whether or not we are having fun yet.Colin Vearncombe didn't want to be defined by one song.