Facade

### Genres

Heavy metal (1971-1973), rock and roll (1974-1982, 1989-1994, 2007) and electronic music (1989-1994)

### Past members

Paul Melvin, John Christian

**Facade** are an English rock band formed in Liverpool in England in 1971. Their classic line up was Paul Melvin (lead vocals, guitars), George David (backing vocals, drums) and John Christian (bass guitar). Their earliest stuff was heavy metal, then they ventured into rock from 1974 to 1982 and then from 1989 they did experimental music. They were originally a flop with the release of their first album *Facade* but became popular in the UK with their second album *Facade II*. They reached international stardom with *Facade III* in 1973. In 1974, they released *The Concert Night*which contained "But I'm Not Telling You", one of the most successful songs of all time.

The band's 1976 album *A Day Of Confusion*contained the double A-side single "The Races" and "The Concert" which have become anthems at races and concerts respectively. In 1994, Paul Melvin died due to AIDS. George David and John Christian collaborated for one more song by Facade in 1996: "Paulie (You're Free Now)" which they co-wrote. Christian then retired. George David announced that Facade was still an active concept and Justin Timberlake joined the band in 1998. Facade still tours today with Timberlake having replaced Paul Melvin on lead vocals, something John Christian has scathed. David and Timberlake wrote a lot of songs in 2007 and released an album under the Facade name: *At the Arcade*. Christian was asked to play bass on the album, but called it a pure insult to the memory of Paul Melvin.

## History

### 1995-1996: "Paulie (You're Free Now)" and John Christian's departure

In 1995, George David announced that Facade had not split up, saying: "John and I are preparing material, perhaps an album." In 1996, Facade released what John Christian thought to be their final single, "Paulie (You're Free Now)". He then announced to David that Facade was over. Press went mad with headlines like: "FACADE SPLITS; JOHN CHRISTIAN CALLS IT DISRESPECTFUL TO PAUL MELVIN'S MEMORY".

Soon after, in early 1997, George David announced that Facade was still an active concept and material and a tour with a singer may come. He was criticised for his comments.

### 1998-present: Facade revived with Justin Timberlake

In mid-1998, Justin Timberlake joined Facade. The Sun interviewed John Christian who said that it was terrible, that he hated George David, and it was disrespectful to Melvin's memory. David announced there may be material soon but said a tour would happen first.

In November 1998, David and Timberlake embarked on their first tour: Return of Facade. Soon after they announced there may be some material, possibly in 2000. In 2003, they embarked on their second tour: Facade at the Concert. In 2006, David and Timberlake announced they were recording material. They released an album in 2007: *At the Arcade*. They said that it would be followed up soon enough. In 2010, Timberlake announced that they had written more material and may go to the studio soon.

In 2012, David and Timberlake went on the Facade Is In The Twenty-First Century tour, which John Christian criticised. In 2014, Timberlake said there would be no material or a tour for a while but Facade is not ending.

In 2016, David and Timberlake went on their most recent tour to date: Facade - Disrespect, which was a reference to Christian. In September 2018, Timberlake announced there would be an album in 2019 and a tour in 2020.

## Band members

**Current members**

* George David - backing vocals, drums, guitars, bass, keyboards (1971-present)
* Justin Timberlake - lead vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards (1998-present)

**Past members**

* Paul Melvin - lead vocals, guitars, keyboards (1971-1994; his death)
* John Christian - bass guitar, guitars, keyboards (1971-1996)

**Timeline**

 George David | Vocals, drums (1971-present); guitars, bass and keyboards (1998-present)
 John Christian | Bass (1971-1996); guitars and keyboards (1989-1994)
 Justin Timberlake