Chris Constantinou

Chris Constantinou is an English musician, best known as the bass guitarist and backing vocalist for Adam Ant.

Chris Constantinou
Background information
Also known asChris De Niro
OriginLondon, England
GenresRock
Instruments
  • Bass guitar
  • flute
  • guitar
  • harmonica
Labels
  • Ebony
  • RCA
  • Sony
  • Howl
  • Damaged Goods
  • Sony ATV
  • Universal
Associated acts
Websitechrisconstantinou.com

Childhood and early bands

Constantinou was born at Charing Cross Hospital in London and at the age of three he moved to Plymouth. He went to Plymouth College before a brief spell at Plymouth Art College. He performed with school and garage bands supporting 1970s artists such as King Crimson, Snafu, and Sassafras. His professional career started when he joined Diz Watson, the renowned exponent of New Orleans blues/Professor Longhair-style piano and barrel house blues, as bass player. In 1977, he formed the rock band The Drill. Acting as co-writer and bassist, they first signed to Ebony Records before moving to RCA Records for a string of singles, several of which were produced by Chas Chandler.[1][2][3][4]

Music career

1980s: Chris De Niro era

In 1982 Constantinou joined Adam Ant's live band as bass guitarist and backing vocalist in time for the Friend or Foe album tour and the video for the single Desperate But Not Serious. He also took a minor acting role as Toulouse Lautrec in the video for Ant's 1983 single Strip.[5] Ant later pared down his eight-piece touring outfit to a four piece which first appeared on TV performances of Ant's UK top 5 single "Puss 'N Boots" in late 1983 before becoming a full time touring/recording unit in mid 1984. Under the pseudonym Chris De Niro, Constantinou became an integral part of the mid-1980s "Ant/Marco/Wiczling/De Niro" line up which recorded the UK Top 20 single "Apollo 9" and parent album Vive Le Rock, both of which were produced by Tony Visconti. Constantinou's performances in Ant's band included Top of the Pops, Saturday Night Live, American Bandstand and, on stage, Radio City Music Hall and 1985's Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium. Parting with Ant in 1985, Constantinou spent time with SF Go, a Miles Copeland III-managed band he had formed with Danny Kustow (TRB, Glen Matlock).[2][6]

1990s: JackieOnAssid era

At the beginning of the 1990s, Constantinou formed a band with Bow Wow Wow's Annabella Lwin, fronted by Annabella with Chris as co-writer, bassist and backing vocalist. They built a substantial following hit singles like Do What You Do (Sony, 1994), a dancefloor hit thanks to remixes from Farley & Heller and Junior Vasquez. The project was produced by Steve Lironi (Fun Lovin' Criminals, Happy Mondays). In this period, Chris also had a songwriting partnership with Guy Chambers.[2][4][7]

Chris took centre stage to form post-punk outfit JackieOnAssid in 1996. As lead singer, songwriter and bassist, JackieOnAssid toured Europe three times, released two albums (2001's 4Play and 2002's Zip Me Up) and supported Iggy Pop. The videos for these singles were directed by award-winning British film maker Paul Hills. He later featured the band's Meditation Man single in his 2003 movie The Poet (Dougray Scott/Laura Elena Harring).[2][3][8]

2000s: The Wolfmen era

In 2004 Chris began work on his project, The Wolfmen for which he handled lead vocals, co-writing, bass and various other instruments. It saw him reunite with another former Ant, songwriter/guitarist Marco Pirroni, to blend a sound described by Mojo magazine as "exuberant filth... Chris and Marco do growing old disgracefully with style.”[9]

Constantinou played on The Slits' EP, Revenge of the Killer Slits in 2006 and co-wrote tracks "The Wolf Is Getting Married" (Single 2012) "I had a Baby" (Album track 2012) for Sinéad O'Connor's album, How About I Be Me (And You Be You)?, released in March 2012.[2][7][10][11]

A collaboration with Daler Mehndi in 2007 materialized in the Bhangra / rock single Two Eyes (Do Naina), which topped the BBC Asian Network charts.[12][13]

2010s: The Mutants era

In January 2013, Chris Constantinou developed in a discussion with Eugene Butcher, editor from the magazine Vive Le Rock, and Dave Collins the idea of an album set out to retrace the roots of punk, new wave and ska, featuring all-star punk musicians.[14] It materialized in the creation of the musical supergroup The Mutants, with Chris Constantinou and Paul Frazer as core members, later also joined by Rat Scabies. After a series of initial projects (like Nuclear Wasteland, made at the disaster site in Chernobyl),[2][15] the first album, Rhythm and Punk Review, was released in July 2014.[16] A subsequent album, Tokyo Nights, released in May 2015, had all the songs fronted by a rotating set of Japanese guest stars.[17] The third album, Your Desert My Mind (October 2016), is a collaboration with a series of guests from the Californian desert rock scene, among them David Catching from Eagles of Death Metal, Chris Goss from Masters of Reality, Brent DeBoer, Peter Holmström and Zia McCabe from The Dandy Warhols, Sean Wheeler from Throw Rag and Victoria Williams. The album was recorded at Rancho De La Luna in Joshua Tree, California.[18][19] In October 2016, The Mutants also went on a tour in California together with the guests Chris Goss, Sean Wheeler and Bingo Richey.[20][21]

As a guest musician, Chris played flute with The Dandy Warhols,[22] Holy Holy (the album The Man Who Sold the World Live in London),[23] Brant Bjork & Sean Wheeler, Andreas Grega (the albums Mikrouli Mou and Vallar Av Snö), and Nerina Pallot (the album Fires).[24] He also guested on bass in the 2016 UK Station to Station tour by Earl Slick and Bernard Fowler.[25][26]

In June 2016, he released with The Mutants the mini album Time For a Drink (post Production Courtney Taylor-Taylor & Brandon Eggleston).[27]

Discography

With Adam Ant

With Annabella Lwin

  • Car Sex (single, 1994)
  • Do What You Do (single, 1994)
  • Super Boom (album 2016)

With The Slits

  • Revenge of the Killer Slits (EP, 2006)

With The Wolfmen

  • The Wolfmen (EP, 2006)
  • Kama Sutra (single, 2006)
  • I Put A Spell on You (collaboration with Primal Scream, 2006)
  • Give Listen Help (Filter Magazine compilation album, 2007)
  • Two Eyes (Do Naina) (single with Daler Mehndi, 2007)
  • Thieves & Liars (single) (single with Daler Mehndi, 2007)
  • Cecilie (single, 2007)
  • Needle in the Camle's Eye (EP, 2008)
  • Chang Yare (Paradise Lost) (collaboration with Namgyal Lhamo, 2008)
  • Modernity Killed Every Night (album, 2008)
  • Better Days (single, 2008)
  • Little Steven's Underground Garage Presents... The Coolest Songs in the World Volume 6 (compilation album, 2009)
  • Jackie, is it my Birthday? (duet with Sinéad O'Connor (single, 2009) Produced by Steve Musters Post Production and Mix by Courtney Taylor-Taylor (single, 2010)
  • Take Refuge in Pleasure: The Songs of Roxy Music Revisited (compilation album, 2009)
  • 20 July Produced by Steve Musters Post Production by Courtney Taylor-Taylor (single, 2010)
  • Marilyn Monroe-Wam Bam JFK Produced by Steve Musters Post Production and Mix by Courtney Taylor-Taylor (single, 2010)
  • Married to the Eiffel Tower (Howl) (2011)

With SSG

  • Praise You (Single 2012)
  • Sugar, Salt & Glue (EP 2012)

With Sinéad O'Connor

  • The Wolf Is Getting Married (Single 2012)
  • I had a Baby (Album track 2012)

With Andreas Grega

  • Mikrouli Mou (Album 2012)
  • Vallar Av Snö (Album 2012)

With Anisa Arslanagic and Paul Frazer

  • Nuclear Wasteland (Album 2014)

With The Mutants

  • Rhythm and Punk Review (Album 2014)
  • Tokyo Nights (Album 2015)
  • Time For a Drink (Mini Album 2016, Post Production Courtney Taylor-Taylor & Brandon Eggleston)
  • Your Desert My Mind (Album 2016)

With Paul Frazer

  • Ghost Towns of the American West (Album 2016)
  • The New Psyche (Album 2016)
  • Taiko (Album 2016)
  • Tokyo Concrete (Album 2016)
  • Electronic India (Album 2016)


References
  1. Andy Gregory (2002). The International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002. Psychology Press. ISBN 9781857431612. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  2. John Earls, "The artist formerly known as Chris de Niro", Classic Pop magazine, p. 78-81, issue 19, October/November 2015
  3. "Chris Constantinou". Archived from the original on 20 September 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  4. "The Wolfmen". Damaged Goods. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  5. Liner notes, Adam Ant Hits VHS compilation, CBS Fox Video 649950, 1986
  6. Terry Lane (15 December 2010). "Interview with Marco Pirroni & Chris Constantinou – The Wolfmen". Buzzin Music. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  7. "Blushing God". Pop! The Question. 27 December 2011. Archived from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  8. Guy Sangster Adams. "The Wolfmen: Marco Pirroni & Chris Constantinou". Plectrum - The Cultural Pick. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  9. "The Wolfmen: Biography" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  10. Jon Blistein (19 October 2012). "Cornershop Featuring Sinead O'Connor and Chris Constantinou on 'Posing as an Angel' – Premiere". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  11. "The Wolfmen Interview". M Magazine. 6 April 2010. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  12. "The Wolfmen Interview". Music News. 10 May 2008. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  13. Stephen Pook. "Daler Mehndi & The Wolfmen at Raezor (documentary)". Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  14. "All Hail The Mutants!". Vive le Rock. August 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  15. "Mutants In Chernobyl". Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  16. "Punk rock supergroup THE MUTANTS are coming - are you ready to be mutated?". Über Röck. 8 April 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  17. "The Mutants – Tokyo Nights (Album Review)". Penny Black Music. 5 July 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  18. "The Mutants – Your Desert My Mind". MusicBrainz. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  19. Daniel Cressey (8 November 2016). "Review – The Mutants, Your Desert My Mind". PennyBlackMusic.co.uk. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  20. "The Mutants (Rat Scabies, Chris Constantinou & Paul Frazer) with special guests Chris Goss, Sean Wheeler & Bingo Richey". PennyBlackMusic.co.uk. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  21. "The Mutants with special guests Chris Goss, Sean Wheeler and Bingo Richey". Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  22. "The Dandy Warhols, Koko, London". The Independent. 23 August 2010. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  23. "Holy Holy: Live The Man Who Sold The World! – album review". Louder Than War. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  24. "Nerina Pallot – Fires". Discogs. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  25. "Earl Slick and Bernard Fowler perform David Bowies Station to Station". Colchester Arts Centre. 30 April 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  26. "Earl Slick performs David Bowie's Station to Station". David Bowie News. 7 March 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  27. "Time For a Drink". iTunes. 6 June 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
Preceded by
Gary Tibbs		 Adam Ant bassist
1982 - 1985		 Succeeded by
Bruce Witkin
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