Stephen Luscombe

Stephen Luscombe (29 October 1954 – 13 September 2025) was an English instrumentalist and co-founder of the 1980s synth-pop band Blancmange.

Early life Luscombe was born in Hillingdon, Middlesex, England on 29 October 1954. He studied at the Harrow School of Art. When his music career took off, he was a longtime resident in London's Notting Hill.

Career In 1974, Luscombe joined an experimental orchestra named the Portsmouth Sinfonia. He played violin. Brian Eno played clarinet in the orchestra. The orchestra was founded by the composer Gavin Bryars at Portsmouth School of Art, who encouraged anyone to join, no matter their level of musicianship. The outfit recorded an album titled Portsmouth Sinfonia Plays The Popular Classics, produced by Brian Eno. They also performed a concert at London's Royal Albert Hall. The American conductor Leonard Bernstein was so enthusiastic about them, he invited them to perform at New York's Carnegie Hall. Subsequently, Arthur elected to continue recording and performing as Blancmange, with the assistance of session musicians.

In 1990, after Blancmange had disbanded, Luscombe collaborated with Boy George to create The West India Company, a music project that explored and fused traditional Indian music with Western pop. Some of the recordings notably feature the legendary Indian vocalist Asha Bhosle. The pair also recorded a version of the ABBA classic, "I Have A Dream", which was never commercially released.

Luscombe also worked on many projects with the famed percussionist Pandit Dinesh.

Film soundtracks Luscombe was the music arranger for the movie soundtrack of the 1998 Indian movie, Prem Aggan. He also contributed music for the soundtrack of the documentary, The Legend of Leigh Bowery (2002), and composed music for 3 episodes of the 2010 miniseries, Indian Hill Railway.

Luscombe/Blancmange songs featured in movie soundtracks include: "Lose Your Love" was featured in the movie soundtrack of Flight of the Navigator (1986). "Don't Tell Me" was featured in the movie soundtrack of No Man's Land (1987).

Luscombe died on 13 September 2025, at the age of 70. His fellow band member, Neil Arthur, and fans shared tributes on social media.