Adamski - Career

Career

Tinley performed with his brother Mark Tinley, and Johnny Slut of the band Specimen, as Diskord Datkord. The band was signed to SOHO records and released one single. The brothers Tinley continued to work together even after the demise of Diskord Datkord. In the late 1980s, Adam Tinley adopted his stage name after the UFO enthusiast, George Adamski.

Adamski was discovered by entrepreneur Phil Smith who ran the 'Le Petit Prince' restaurant in London. He introduced Adamski's music to the 'rave scene' and got him a deal with MCA Records, producing the first rave record on MCA called Liveandirect. The artist enjoyed modest success with this first release, which was a collection of tracks recorded live at various venues in England and Ibiza. It contained a short, live version of his first single, "NRG", as well as "I Dream of You", which appeared on a free 4 track 7" vinyl single given away with the music paper, Record Mirror in 1989. The cover of the single "NRG" featured a mocked up Lucozade bottle with the 'Lucozade' word replaced with 'N-R-G'.

Commenting on the comparisons between rave culture and the earlier punk rock scene, Adamski said in 1990, "I liked the energy and the visual side of punk, but it was all just saying 'no, no, no, no,' whereas now everybody's saying 'yes, yes, yes.' I much prefer the positivity thing we have now, plus it's a much easier environment to score in."

Adamski toured many clubs with his portable keyboard set up, playing long sets, with an MC, Daddy Chester, and later with Seal. In front of his keyboard was a UK car number plate with the words 'ADAMSKI' on it. Early versions of future singles "Killer" and "Future Love Paradise" were played on some of the Seal dates. One date of particular note was at Cambridge Corn Exchange, in early 1990, when Seal leapt on to a smaller, lower catwalk stage, the coins in his pockets all spilled out, showering some of the front row with cash causing a fight.

Adamski played live at the opening party of Amnesia nightclub in Ibiza in 1989, with Ricardo Da Force MCing who later joined The KLF. Adamski continued to play at this club on and off throughout that summer including the closing party in October.

Adamski met Seal at the London nightclub, Solaris, and together they recorded "Killer". It crossed over into the mainstream music charts, becoming a worldwide hit. It is featured on the album Doctor Adamski's Musical Pharmacy which also contained the follow-up singles "The Space Jungle" and "Flashback Jack".

Adamski's third album was Naughty. It featured a collaboration with Nina Hagen on "Get Your Body!" and plenty of club tunes, expanding from the artist's acid house roots into the pop and rock genres. The cover art featured Tinley with his head shaven bare, hugging an umbrella. Commercially, this album was not a big success.

Adamski's next album was issued in late 1998 on the ZTT Records label. Its title was Adamski's Thing and the style followed the trend started with Naughty, with guitars, strings, raw vocals and introspective lyrics, but maintaining a rhythmic dance sensibility. The album spawned two singles, "Intravenous Venus" and "One Of the People".

In 2000, Tinley released his last single as Adamski Products Inc., "In the City." The song charted in Italy, but did little business elsewhere. In the early 2000s, Tinley decided to assume a new identity: For a while, he began to produce music as Adam Sky. As Adam Sky, his songs included collaborations with the musician Danny Williams. In 2007, he released a remake of The Pop Group's 1979 single "We Are All Prostitutes" with Mark Stewart which appeared on a number of compilations.

He currently lives in Berlin, Germany with his daughter, Bluebell Williams Tinley. Adamski has set up his own label (Prostitute Records). His single "ApeX" was released on Kitsuné Music in 2006. Recently, Adamski/Sky has been working closely with VJ Ladypat, and the London based rapper, Niyi. In 2009, Adamski began to release more material on Shir Khan's Exploited record label. Simultaneously, the label 'Do It Yourself Italy' released singles by "Adamski Products Inc".

Adamski released a new version of "Killer" on Rob Roar's Phonetic label in 2011. He is working on a project entitled Neo-Waltz, under the guise of Adamski. An album release, of his neo-waltz project, is expected December 2012 on Wall of Sound Records. He released 'I like it' on Continental records in May 2012, this one had much more of a house/disco house vibe to it.