Four decades after Terri Nunn famously sang, “Am I bi?” in notorious hit “Sex (I’m A…),” queer fans continue to “feel the love” from Berlin‘s frontwoman.
The sexy line from the second single off the synth-pop group’s breakthrough album, 1982’s Pleasure Victim, was more than a provocation. It underscored Nunn, bassist John Crawford, and keyboardist David Diamond‘s early commitment to the LGBTQ community.
No one felt the love more than Diamond, who remembers how the band—which found fame with dance hits “The Metro” and “No More Words,” and the Oscar-winning, chart-topping ballad “Take My Breath Away” from Top Gun—embraced him when he first came out to them early on.
“There was never any issue with that,” says the founding keyboardist and longtime San Francisco resident, who’s since moved east to Truckee. “They shared that concern about not being sure how others would take this, but the gay community embraced us and we amassed a much bigger following. Back then, few artists were out. Some might have said, “Oh, I’m bi,” because they thought that was fashionable. But the band has always been supportive.”
I spoke to Diamond, who next appears with Berlin, Howard Jones, and Culture Club for the LGBTQ-friendly “Letting It Go Show” at Toyota Pavilion in Concord (Sun/20) about the 40th anniversary of their debut EP, Pleasure Victim, the legacy of “Take My Breath Away,” and crushing on Tom Cruise.
48 HILLS What does it mean to you to be touring with Culture Club and Howard Jones?
DAVID DIAMOND Well, we’ve done a few random shows with both. I think it’s great from the audience’s perspective because they think back to the ‘80s and their favorite bands—and it’s like, “Oh, these three are all still together and doing stuff.”
For me personally, I came out as a gay man when I was a teenager, in the early days of Berlin. In those days, it wasn’t a sure thing how people would react. So when I would see someone like Boy George out there, it was good. It meant something more than just that Culture Club’s music was phenomenal. I just really liked the risks that Boy George was taking at that time. And as a young gay man, coming out, it just meant a lot to me.
48 HILLS With the 40th anniversary of Pleasure Victim upon us, give me the inside scoop on the recording of that album.
DAVID DIAMOND: When we recorded Pleasure Victim, we weren’t even recording an album. We were recording a demo. The idea was that our manager at the time would take that tape around to get a record deal. It was an interesting experience because when I did all my synth tracks, I hadn’t even met Terri. So we were doing this piecemeal approach to this thing.
Then, a few weeks later, I met Terri when she came in to do some vocal stuff with John. So it’s weird for me when I listen back to Pleasure Victim now and listen to the keyboard parts. I think, “God, I didn’t even know Terri when I recorded these keyboard parts.” After the demo was done, our manager shopped it around to the record labels in LA and Europe but no one wanted it.
Then we got into a conversation with a local label in LA called Enigma Records. Alan Niven, who ran Enigma, had a good ear for picking out things that would work well. So we signed with them, thinking we might as well just put it out and see what happens.
They pressed 30,000 copies, and then a radio station in LA called KROQ decided to start playing one of the tracks from the record. Then, the 30,000 copies flew off the record store shelves. It created a bit of a Berlin frenzy in LA that turned into a bidding war between Capitol, Geffen, and Elektra to sign a contract with us. We went with Geffen, and the whole thing happened so quickly that we were all in awe.
48 HILLS Speaking of KROQ, I read there’s a biopic in development about Terri and Richard Blade’s romance. What can you tell me about it?
DAVID DIAMOND I know nothing more about that project than you because I haven’t spoken to anybody about that. I did joke with Richard Blade about who they would get to play me in it, and I suggested Henry Cavill. Why not? I look in the mirror, and I see Henry Cavill. [Laughs]
I can’t speak to the biopic, but I can speak to Richard’s connection to the band. He was like family to us. Even before KROQ picked us up, Richard played a Berlin track on a radio station in Long Beach called KNAC. He supported the band from the get-go and every opportunity he had, he helped promote us. We owe so much of the band’s success to his efforts. He continues to do this to this day. Whenever he can come to a show, he comes, and it’s like seeing an old friend. We just love Richard.
48 HILLS I thought about your band when Top Gun: Maverick came out last year since, of course, “Take My Breath Away,” flew to the top of the charts and won the Oscar after it was featured in the original Top Gun. How do you look back on that song now?
DAVID DIAMOND “Take My Breath Away” is most likely why Berlin continues to be popular today. So we have to appreciate that.
For some of us, it didn’t feel like Berlin. So when we talk to die-hard Berlin fans, it’s interesting because those that loved Pleasure Victim and Love Life don’t take “Take My Breath Away” too seriously. And then, people who love “Take My Breath Away” don’t know there are other records. So it’s a different version of Berlin, but we must appreciate the song.
My favorite version that we get to do occasionally is where Terri sings and I play an acoustic guitar. It just feels more intimate—and I like it a lot.
48 HILLS In the song’s heyday, in the mid-’80s, a reporter asked you what you’d like inscribed on your tombstone, and you said: “Here lies David Diamond…underneath Tom Cruise.” What did you mean by that?
DAVID DIAMOND Geez, you’re a great researcher. I didn’t even realize that was still out there. Yes, I had a crush on Tom Cruise, but you, Tom, and everybody else will be glad to know I got over it.
BOY GEORGE & CULTURE CLUB: THE LETTING IT GO SHOW with Berlin and Howard Jones, Sun/20, Toyota Pavilion at Concord, Concord. $20-$249.95. Tickets and more info here.
