Stranger Things 4 (Vol.1) didn't just introduce Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" to a new generation of music lovers. It also rediscovered a lost reggae gem by a forgotten artist - the flamboyant Dorian Zero.
At a certain point of "The Monster and The Superhero", Episode 3 of Stranger Things 4 (Vol.1), Argyle is driving on his pizza delivery van with Jonathan, Eleven, Mike and Will. In the distance, a reggae track can be heard. If you could hear the entire track, you'd realise it's a quirky one, a perfect summer anthem about sipping banana daiquiris while - well - "strange" things happen, including ships and planes disappearing and the odd spacecraft moving across the sky. The track is "In Transit to Bermuda" and it was recorded in 1975 by the forgotten artist Dorian Zero.
Kenneth Dorian Passante – aka Dorian or Dorian Zero (the name with different variations - such as Dorian & Zero or Dorian Zero Revue - was his band name, but also stuck to his own persona) – was a controversial character.
Born in 1948, Dorian remains a bit of a mystery: around the end of the '60s he appeared on an elusive 7" single released in 1969 by B.T.Puppy. Then, in the early '70s, he recorded a few singles produced by his father (Don Passante Associates).
He recorded "In Transit to Bermuda" and a blues track in 1975 (both totally different from his previous and subsequent musical output), followed by the "Dorian" LP (released in 1977, but probably recorded in 1973).
The album was supposed to launch him into glam rock stardom. Fame didn't happen, though, but his album cover featuring Dorian in a white top hat and marionette lines that extended from the corners of his mouth to his chin, may have been the inspiration for a track and a tour by Mott the Hoople.
Those who met Dorian called him "one of the strangest characters around": costumed wherever he went, he had painted fingernails and full-face makeup (he often resembled a mime) that created a striking look with his mop of dark hair. Though he never came out as gay officially, some of the tracks on his album tackled LGBTQ+ themes. As a singer he was a screamer, he was "total energy", according to those who knew him. A friend of Dee Dee Ramone, Jobriath and the New York Dolls' Jerry Nolan, he was often high on drugs or asking his wealthy parents to fuel his addiction.
The biggest myth about him is that he did a track with Bowie, or at least he claimed so in an interview published on Punk Magazine, but didn't want to be associated with him. The most bizarre anecdote is instead that Television actually opened for Dorian & Zero at New York's Hotel Diplomat.
Recorded at Electric Lady Studios by Eddie Kramer (Jimi Hendrix's producer), "In Transit to Bermuda" is part of the private collection of Italian label Kutmusic, that also curated the digital re-release of Dorian's eponymous album in 2021.
For his flamboyant costumes and bizarre life, Dorian is the sort of artist that may inspire a fashion collection à la Gucci by Alessandro Michele, will that happen? We'll see. In the meantime, there may be a docu-fiction in the works featuring Italian actor Flavio Sciolé. But, for the time being, you can just enjoy the track, maybe while sipping "banana daiquiris in the golden sun" or after watching Stranger Things 4 (Vol. 2) that has just been released on Netflix.
"In Transit to Bermuda" is available on all digital stores for download and streaming and it is part of the Stranger Things Official Playlist on Spotify.
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