Early Years: Performing As Norman Iceberg
A graphic artist turned performance artist, Norman Bedard emerged from the Montreal underground music scene in the early-80s under the name Norman Iceberg. One of a handful of gender-bending new wave artists to come out following the success of artists like Duran Duran, Boy George, and Gary Numan, Bedard was recruited by music producer Tony Green, responsible for France Joli’s 1979 disco hit Come To Me.
Norman Bedard's experimental, minimal electro sound was therefore remodeled to cater to the dance club scene as evident on his debut, Be My Human Tonight (RCA). Person(a), released in 1987, was a conceptual collection of synthpop songs reflecting a young man’s own vision of life, and featuring keyboardists such as Lenny Pinkas (Men Without Hats), Mario Spezza (Rational Youth) and Mic Lussier. The cover photograph of him posing nude - pre-dating Prince’s Lovesexy by several months - stirred up controversy. A few selections taken from Person(a) were used for TVA’s Le Match de la Vie hosted by Quebec author and former politician Claude Charron.
On stage, careful attention was paid to set design and visual effects; Norman would then sometimes only be backed by a pre-recorded soundtrack and live vocalists such as Claudine Mercier and Louise Litsz, giving them entire freedom to use props and screens, a style made popular by American performance artist Laurie Anderson. 1988 saw the release of Gotta Move.
With its frenetic, energetic beat, 1989’s Kiss the Beauty was a favourite for months in night clubs. The title track's music video was directed by filmmaker Eric Canuel. A couple of years later, We Act got him a “Best Video” nomination at the Musique Plus (his native Quebec equivalent to MTV) Video Awards.
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