Marilyn (singer)

Peter Antony Robinson (born 3 November 1962),^[3] better known as Marilyn, is an English singer known for his androgynous appearance. He was one of Britain's most successful gender bending musical artists in the 1980s. First becoming a noted figure on the London club scene, Marilyn topped the European, Japanese and Australian charts with his 1983 hit "Calling Your Name". The song was later included on his 1985 debut album Despite Straight Lines.^[4]

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Quick Facts Born, Nationality ...

Marilyn
Marilyn in 1984
Born	Peter Antony Robinson (1962-11-03) 3 November 1962 (age 62) Kingston, Jamaica
Nationality	Jamaican British[1]
Occupations	Singer songwriter
Years active	1983–1985; 1989; 2000–2003; 2016
Musical career
Genres	New wave[2] pop
Labels	Phonogram (1983–1985) Interbeat (1989) Desilu Records (2000)

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Marilyn also contributed to the Christmas number one Band Aid song, "Do They Know It's Christmas?"^[5] He has modelled for several fashion designers including Jean Paul Gaultier and Vivienne Westwood.^[6] Photographs of him are housed in London's National Portrait Gallery.^[7] Marilyn has been portrayed in several productions, including Boy George's stage musical Taboo which reflected on the New Romantic scene,^[8] and by the actor Freddie Fox in the 2010 BBC television film Worried About the Boy.^[9]

Robinson was born in Kingston, Jamaica.^[3] At age 5, he moved with his mother to Borehamwood.^[10] He left school at 15, and has stated that he was bullied at school for being feminine, and that he self-harmed.^[11] As a boy, Robinson loved Marilyn Monroe's image, and Marilyn became his school nickname. While the name originated from homophobic bullies at school, Robinson decided to appropriate it to his advantage.^[12] As a teenager, he was a regular nightclub-goer and wanted to look different, so he adopted a Marilyn Monroe image wearing vintage dresses with bleached blond hair. He became part of the British New Romantic movement which emerged in the late-1970s club scene.^[13]

Robinson was a regular at the Blitz nightclub (regulars being labelled as Blitz Kids), a highly stylised club in London run by Steve Strange of the pop group Visage,^[14] and a place which spawned many early 1980s pop stars such as Spandau Ballet.^[15] During this time, Robinson met Boy George (prior to his forming Culture Club). Marilyn features prominently in George's autobiography, Take It Like a Man. In the book, George claimed that while they were living in a squat together, they were chased out by a male neighbour who was attracted to Marilyn, but who then broke the door down with an axe when he discovered Marilyn was a man. He also claimed Marilyn once tried to seduce David Bowie at a London nightclub.^[16]

In 1979, Robinson appeared in the documentary Steppin' Out directed by Lyndall Hobbs, which explored the fashionable nightclubs and the trendy pop culture scenes that were famous in London at the time. It was shown as the support film to Alien in British cinemas.^[12] That year, he also appeared in the first segment of director Derek Jarman's 12-minute short film Broken English. While Boy George went on to form Culture Club in 1981 and secured a recording deal with Virgin Records, Marilyn was still scouting for a recording contract and had relocated to Los Angeles. There, he worked as a personal assistant to daytime soap star Terry Lester,^[17] and teamed up with songwriter and pop entrepreneur Paul Caplin who became his manager.^[18]

In 1986, Robinson was arrested during a series of police raids on persons believed to be supplying Boy George with heroin.^[43] On 20 August 1986, at Marylebone Magistrates Court in London, a magistrate dismissed a heroin charge against Robinson because the prosecution offered no evidence.^[43] "It was not what I expected–I am ecstatic and I am very happy," said Marilyn.^[43] In a November 2014 interview with the Daily Mirror, Robinson said that he had been a heroin addict from the mid-1980s to the mid-2000s.^[44]

In his 1995 autobiography Take It Like a Man, Boy George wrote that Robinson had a relationship with singer Gavin Rossdale in the 1980s. In a 1996 interview for Rolling Stone, Rossdale responded, "That's George's take – he doesn't know me. There's a queue of people going to their lawyers about stuff in his book. I hope he manages to sell some books by putting my name in there."^[45] Elsewhere, both Rossdale and Robinson initially denied the story;^[46][47] however, in 2003, Robinson dedicated the Marilyn single "Hold on Tight" to Rossdale, citing "the years of [their] passionate relationship" and featuring a photo of him and Rossdale on the cover.^[48] In 2009, Robinson confirmed that he and Rossdale had been "together [for] five years" in the 1980s.^[47] In 2010, Rossdale acknowledged having a liaison with Robinson, describing it as experimentation and "part of growing up".^[49][50] Robinson later called Rossdale "the love of my life".^[47]

Nicola Tyson's 2013 Bowie Nights at Billy's Club, London, 1978 Exhibition at Sadie Coles HQ Gallery, London W1 – 25 January – 23 February 2013.^[57][58][59]

We Can Be Heroes: Punks, Poseurs, Peacocks and People of a Particular Persuasion by Graham Smith, published by Unbound – 20 November 2012.^[60][61][62]