The "group" were publicised as a quartet with members named Darryl, Jacki, Paul and Diane, but in reality these individuals did not exist and for media interviews their parts were played by actors, with the band's lead singer Darryl portrayed by musician Frank Tovey.[1] Tovey did not perform on any Silicon Teens recordings; all vocals and instrumentation were actually provided by Daniel Miller. Miller also produced the recordings under the pseudonym "Larry Least", a play on the name of 1960s pop producer Mickie Most.[2]
The project was launched in 1979 with the single "Memphis Tennessee", a cover of the Chuck Berry song. Two other singles followed; these were, along with other tracks, assembled into the 1980 album Music for Parties, a collection mostly comprising rock and roll standards from the 1950s and 1960s, played in an upbeat synthpop style. There were three original compositions on the album, one featuring a vocal ("TV Playtime") and two instrumentals ("Chip 'n' Roll", "State of Shock (Part 2)"). An additional original, "Sun Flight", appeared as a single B-side and was subsequently added to the CD reissue of the album. The video for the 1979 single "Memphis Tennessee" centres on the Sinking of the RMS Titanic.[3]
