Influences:
- Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill, Serge Gainsbourg, Jacques Brel, Jake Thackray, Leonard Cohen, David Bowie, Magazine, Josef K, Pet Shop Boys
- Pulp, Belle and Sebastian, Vampire Weekend, Kirin J. Callinan
Momus (born Nicholas "Nick" Currie, 11 February 1960) is an... unusual Scottish songwriter and Indie Pop, Dark Cabaret and Synth-Pop musician, active since the early 80s. Momus initially had his start in music in the Post-Punk band The Happy Family, formed in 1981 along with some former members of the Postcard Records Post-Punk band Josef K, which released one album, 1982's The Man On Your Street, before starting a solo career after The Happy Family's 1983 breakup.
In addition to his main career in music, he is also a blogger, author, performance artist, and former journalist, and he's somewhat infamous for dealing with controversial and transgressive themes and concepts in his lyrics.
Momus has had a very prolific output over the years:
Discography:
- The Man On Your Street (1982) (The Happy Family)
- Circus Maximus (1986) (Debut Solo Album)
- The Poison Boyfriend (1987)
- Tender Pervert (1988)
- Don't Stop The Night (1989)
- Hippopotamomus (1991)
- The Ultraconformist (Live Whilst Out Of Fashion) (1992) (Live Album)
- Voyager (1992)
- Timelord (1993)
- Slender Sherbert (1995) (Album of acoustic versions of previously released songs)
- The Philosophy Of Momus (1995)
- 20 Vodka Jellies (1996) (B-Sides, outtakes, demos and rarities compilation with some new songs)
- Ping Pong (1997)
- The Little Red Songbook (1998)
- Stars Forever (1999)
- Folktronic (2001)
- Oskar Tennis Champion (2003)
- Summerisle (2004) (Collaboration with Anne Laplantine)
- Otto Spooky (2005)
- Ocky Milk (2006)
- Joemus (2008) (Collaboration with Joe Howe)
- Hypnoprism (2010)
- Thunderclown (2011) (Collaboration with John Henriksson)
- Bibliotek (2012)
- In Samoa (2012)
- Sunbutler (2012) (Collaboration with Joe Howe)
- MOMUSMCCLYMONT (2013) (Collaboration with David McClymont)
- Bambi (2013)
- MOMUSMCCLYMONT II (2014) (Collaboration with David McClymont)
- Turpsycore (2015) (Triple album featuring covers of songs by David Bowie and Howard Devoto)
- Glyptothek (2015)
- Scobberlotchers (2016)
- Pillycock (2017)
- Pantaloon (2018)
- Akkordion (2019)
- Vivid (2020)
- Athenian (2021)
- Smudger (2022)
- Issyvoo (2022)
- Krambambuli (2023)
- 20 Frisky Whiskies (2024) (Outtakes compilation)
The tropeness of things:
- Ambiguously Bi: Both the protagonist of the song "The Homosexual" and Momus himself.
- Black Comedy: All the time. It would be easier to list all the Momus songs that don't feature this in some form.
- Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Arguably averted, surprisingly enough. His eccentric subject matter, unusual stage name and habit of wearing an eyepatch (albeit that's due to an Eye Scream incident, but still) seem to mark him down as this, but in interviews he comes across as relatively level-headed.
- Concept Album: Momus intended Tender Pervert to be one about gay themes, which feature on nearly every song of the album, in response to the AIDS-fuelled homophobia of the US and UK governments of the time, namely the homophobic law "Section 28", then-recently passed by the UK government banning "the promotion of homosexuality in schools". In fact, the album's original title was going to be The Homosexual,
until his label forced him to change it. - Dodgy Toupee: Along with the eyepatch, he began to take to wearing these around the mid 2000s.
- Eye Scream: He is often seen in more recent music videos and photos to be wearing an eyepatch over his right eye. This is due to a 1997 contact lens incident where he contracted acanthamoeba keratitis, causing loss of vision in that side. While his vision recovered after surgery, he has suffered lingering effects since, hence being photographed wearing an eyepatch or dark glasses.
- Greatest Hits Album: The 2016 3-CD, three decade-spanning album Pubic Intellectual, released to celebrate 30 years since his debut album Circus Maximus.
- Iconic Item: His eyepatch.
- Intentionally Awkward Title: Tender Pervert, likely done in response to his label refusing to let him name the album The Homosexual.
- Intercourse with You: Frequently appears in his music.
- Meaningful Name: Momus takes his stage name from the god of satire and mockery in Greek mythology, and given the very nature of his lyrics, it's rather appropriate.
- Mistaken for Gay: The narrator of "The Homosexual". However, this being a Momus song, he is able to use this to his sexual advantage, allowing him to seduce homophobic guys' wives and girlfriends without fear of being caught out as revenge.
- New Sound Album: Every album he's done is radically different in sound and approach, some of the most notable include:
- Circus Maximus, a baroque-inspired acoustic album dealing with stories from the The Old Testament.
- Tender Pervert, where both synthesizers and the more transgressive lyrical themes began to play a prominent role in Momus's work.
- Hippopotamomus, a Trip Hop album which took the
squickier moments way up to eleven. - The Little Red Songbook, an "analogue baroque" album reliant on synthesized harpsichords and orchestral instruments.
- Folktronic, which is Exactly What It Says on the Tin.
- Oskar Tennis Champion, influenced by his move to Japan, marked an era in the 2000s that drew inspiration from and sampled Asian caberet and folk music.
- Bambi is lo-fi mixed with found sound elements.
- One-Word Title: Most of his albums, especially the later ones.
- Pun: He seems pretty fond of wordplay in his songs.
- Shout-Out: ''Timelord''
- In "The Hairstyle Of The Devil", Momus can be heard singing a snippet of "Sympathy For The Devil" at one point.
- Synth-Pop: His main genre, although he has dabbled in other genres, most notably Folk.
