The spectacular story of the rise, fall and most recently rise again of 80’s pop legend known as ‘Marilyn’ is one that if you didn’t hear first hand, you might actually think it was a tale of fiction.
He began his singing career whilst at school with ‘a really pure choir like type voice’, auditioning, unbeknownst to him for the St Paul’s Cathedral boys choir, but even then he had a determined and rebellious streak. ‘I was like 9 or something.
I didn’t know that what I was auditioning for, I just loved singing.’ Peter’s mum was mortified when he refused to sing any songs at the final audition, ‘When I realized that was what I was singing for, I thought, ‘No, it’s not what I signed up for… you can’t make me… bye’.
Peter ‘Marilyn’ Robinson, with a sense of adventure became a bona fide pop star in an era when stars created their own images, had a say in their musical direction and sometimes confronted their fans with decadent and questionable lifestyles. His fame began before all the pop hoo ha kicked in though.
Sade once asked him, ‘How come you’re more famous than [Boy] George?’ And it’s true, ‘Marilyn’, after appearing in Lyndall Hobbs’ cult short short ‘Steppin’ Out’ screened before ‘Aliens’ in 1979 became at once recognizable with a broader public than he could have ever imagined.
Peter or should I say ‘Marilyn’ was never one to shy away from the limelight, even at the tender age of 15 as he hotfooted up to the bright lights of central London from his suburban childhood home of Borehamwood. He became a clubland habitué with an image based on the original film star Marilyn.
Gorgeous, funny and quick of wit ‘Marilyn’ piled on the makeup, cinched in his waist and tottered around town dressed to kill. People often cite him as an original star of the New Romantic Blitz era club of ‘79 but he’s quick to point out that wasn’t the making of ‘Marilyn’, ‘I got a job there but the Blitz didn’t make me!’ He says laughing at the irony of it, ‘I came fully formed, we lived a lifestyle 24/7. We got up in the morning, dressed, we just were’, he remembers. ‘It drives me mad when people ask, ‘Did the Blitz make you?’… ‘I made me.’
Sure enough it was only a matter of time before ‘Marilyn’ would be noticed for his honeyed and soulful singing voice which to all intents and purposes was something he had hidden under a bushel until the time was right. It was while Marilyn decided to move to LA in 1980 invited by photographer Johnny Rozsa that friend and Hayzi Fantayzee manager Paul Caplan approached him, ‘We should do something together, when you come back call me.’
And sure enough he did, almost over night the pop career erupted. By ‘83 ‘Marilyn’ had begun to establish himself with a well considered series of chart topping singles and an image that triggered the publics imagination albeit with an element of confusion.
‘It was like boys wanted to fuck me, so did the girls, I was the unacceptable face of pop, it was too much. I think I was ahead of my time, I was too sexy… it was just too much for them.’ Nevertheless ‘Marilyn’ remained a glamorous enigma. Covers on magazines, countless interviews and a celeb lifestyle ensued, our ‘Marilyn’ played hard with the best of them that is until life on the fast lane caught up. ‘Hitting rock bottom, I’m not there any more so I don’t mind talking about it.
“It was like boys wanted to fuck me, so did the girls, I was the unacceptable face of pop, it was too much.”
I’d had enough, I didn’t trust anybody. People stole off me, told me they were looking after me…’ Marilyn’s struggle with an overwhelming drug addiction got the better of him, his gradual decline into a pit of despair is something he reflects upon with a profound mindset, ‘Of course I regret being stupid but I don’t let that affect how I am today. Acceptance of ones past, you can’t live in the present moment if you regret your past’.
How he ended up in his mother’s parlour for 20 years, looking forward to his next fix, is a tale of his own imprisonment that he readily acknowledges. Now 6 years in recovery (now in sobriety), ‘Marilyn’ is remarkable in that his quick wit remains intact.
He’s upbeat and philosophical and the first to point out where he went wrong, but doesn’t have a bitter bone in his body. 2015 has been a year of revelation for him, he’s virtually picked up where he left off and is continuing a music career he’s feeling very invigorated by.
Revisiting his classics such as ‘Calling Your Name’ and ‘Baby You Left me’ with new mixes, reacquainting himself with musicians he’s worked with in the past and creating new material rediscovering his distinctive melodic vocal talents. ‘I love doing what I’m doing at the moment… a couple remixes just to let people know I’m still alive, making new music and working with loads of young producers and writers’, adding, ‘a lot of it is autobiographical.’
Coming through a really dark chapter of his life, Marilyn’s attitude is inspiring with a sense of humour I find enlightening, ‘I think that’s what saved me! I was fucking mental…’ Nowadays Marilyn says, ‘I like to keep my expectations low and my gratitude high’.
For those of us following Marilyn’s cathartic stream of consciousness on social media he embraces all that life throws at him. ‘I’m me’, he says, ‘I’m Peter who is also named ‘Marilyn’, I know exactly who I am today and it’s alright.’
The future? Marilyn is firmly taking one day at a time and enjoying every moment as it comes, ‘I’ve got two decades to catch up on!’
