WARREN CUCCURULLO FAQ: MISCELLANEOUS PROJECTS
(for more information,
see the Discography)
Q:
What is TV Mania?
A: TV Mania: Bored with Prozac and the Internet, is a collaborative
effort between Warren Cuccurullo and Nick Rhodes. In the early & mid '90s, Warren
and Nick wrote and recorded over 60 songs that were not meant to be Duran Duran
songs...their side project was called "TV Mania." They talked in interviews about
this beginning in 1992, sometimes saying it was going to be worked into a Broadway
show, sometimes saying it was going to be a trilogy of albums with the first one
to be called "Bored With Prozac & The Internet," sometimes saying there were two
different projects and sometimes not. At the same time, they started shopping
around some of their songs to other groups & artists. TV Mania was musically written
and performed by Warren & Nick, with sound snippets from TV dropped in (as in
Duran's "Hothead"), or guest vocalists, including themselves. Nick wrote most
if not all of any lyrics that were used.
Here
are the titles of the songs on the first CD (as of 1996):
1. People Know
Your Name
2.
I Wanna Make Films
3. Beautiful, Beautiful Clothes
4. Using a Hidden Camera
5. Grab the Sun
6. You're Dreaming
7. Mirror, Mirror
8. Point
Ninety-Two
9. At the Paramount
10. Ultimately Signing Checks for Cash
11. Really Gotta Go
12. What About God?
Warren's
mother told me at one point that he had played one of the songs for her over the
phone, one on which he sang lead vocal, and that it was so beautiful that it was
beyond "Ordinary World" - of course, this was in 1996 and that song may have ended
up on one of the last 2 Duran albums...I don't know. One of their co-producers
put song snippets up on a website, and a lot of fans got hold of them before Warren
and/or Nick asked him to take them down. Some of the unused TV Mania material
was reworked to become Duran music for Medazzaland and Pop Trash, and during the
1997 tour, "Mirror Mirror" was used as the pre-show song for most of the shows
as the lights dimmed & the band prepared to go onstage. The only official release
of TV Mania-related material is on the Missing Persons "Remixed Hits" CD, which
has a "TV Mania Remix" of "Destination Unknown." We
also have some official releases of early versions in our Download
section.
Q: Now that Warren has left Duran Duran, what will happen
to TV Mania?
A: Hopefully the material will be released. Warren said that
he will still work with Nick in the future as producers for other bands, and that
a successful Duran Duran reunion could finance the release of TV Mania material.
Q:
I heard Warren and Nick were worked with Blondie & originally recorded "Pop
Trash Movie" with her. Is this true?
A: Yes. In the summer of 1996, Warren
and Nick wrote some songs with Blondie in mind, and in December, 1996, they met
with the newly reunited Blondie to record them. Warren and Nick wrote and produced
two songs, "Studio 54" and "Pop Trash Movie," and Warren did
some guitar work as well. The songs did not appear on the album that was eventually
released after many delays, and Duran Duran ended up using "Pop Trash Movie"
on their 2000 album, Pop Trash. You can find "Studio 54" and "Pop
Trash Movie" (Blondie versions) at the Plastic Girl/Electric Barbarella Mp3
page
Q. What happened with Meatloaf and Michael Jackson?
A. In both
cases, both of which took place in 1995, Warren went to the studio for a day and
came up with material, but it was not used. In the case of Michael Jackson, the
album was already almost ready for release and his tracks might be used in a future
project.
Q: What was his involvement with Tetsuya Komuro/TM Network?
A. Tetsuya is a very popular artist in Japan, both as a solo artist and as
part of TM Network. Tetsuya appeared with Duran Duran in their Feb 1989 Tokyo
concert, and in January 1990, he went on a solo tour in Japan, hiring Warren to
be his guitarist (and Sterling Campbell to be his drummer). There are 4 heavily
edited (performances from different nights edited into one performance) songs
on the videotape "Digitalien is Eating Breakfast" featuring Warren on
guitar. Warren also worked with Tetsuya's former band, TM Network and appeared
on two of their albums. See our Download
section for "21st Century Boy" for an awesome performance of Warren
and Tetsuya, with Warren on lead vocals!
Q.
What other artists has Warren worked with?
A: See his Discography
for more details.
Continue
to Part 7, Warren's Adult Material
(WARNING -
CONTAINS ADULT TEXT - 18+ ONLY)