“Mick Ronson was the guitarist prior to me. He was one of my heroes, so when I joined that band I had some pretty big shoes to fill”: The Fixx’s Jamie West-Oram on his journey from distorted rocker to new wave guitar hero – and why he's big on Suhr

Jamie West-Oram onstage playing a green Stratocaster
(Image credit: Scott Legato/Getty Images)

Four decades ago, the British new wave band the Fixx were having their moment in the sun. Hooky, slick and multi-textured hits such as Red Skies, Saved by Zero, Stand or Fall, One Thing Leads to Another and Deeper and Deeper turned the group into radio and MTV darlings.

By the degree that success in the music industry is measured (platinum sales for 1983’s Reach the Beach and gold for its 1984 follow-up, Phantoms), it appeared as if the Fixx had it all nailed down.

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