The Music Of The 80s - Favorites, Classics And Rarities

[shodandille]

just listen to 1985 (BOWLING FOR SOUP)

 

"Bruce Springstein, Madonna

way before Nirvana

there was U2 and Blondie

and music still on MTV

her two kids in high school

they tell her that she’s uncool

but she still preoccupies

with 19, 19, 1985"

 

i LOOOOVE 1980s music. especially the love songs... they're quite timeless...

[hitman531ph]

BLONDIE

 

Blondie was the most commercially successful band to emerge from the much-vaunted punk/new wave movement of the late '70s. The group was formed in New York City in August 1974 by singer Deborah Harry (b. July 1, 1945, Miami), formerly of Wind in the Willows, and guitarist Chris Stein (b. January 5, 1950, Brooklyn) out of the remnants of Harry's previous group, the Stilettos. The lineup fluctuated over the next year. Drummer Clement Burke (b. November 24, 1955, New York) joined in May 1975. Bassist Gary Valentine joined in August. In October, keyboard player James Destri (b. April 13, 1954) joined, to complete the initial permanent lineup. They released their first album, Blondie, on Private Stock Records in December 1976. In July 1977, Valentine was replaced by Frank Infante.

In August, Chrysalis Records bought their contract from Private Stock and in October reissued Blondie and released the second album, Plastic Letters. Blondie expanded to a sextet in November with the addition of bassist Nigel Harrison (born in Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire, England), as Infante switched to guitar. Blondie broke commercially in the U.K. in March 1978, when their cover of Randy and the Rainbows' 1963 hit "Denise," renamed "Denis," became a Top Ten hit, as did Plastic Letters, followed by a second U.K. Top Ten, "(I'm Always Touched By Your) Presence, Dear." Blondie turned to U.K. producer/songwriter Mike Chapman for their third album, Parallel Lines, which was released in September 1978 and eventually broke them worldwide. "Picture This" became a U.K. Top 40 hit, and "Hanging on the Telephone" made the U.K. Top Ten, but it was the album's third single, the disco-influenced "Heart of Glass," that took Blondie to number one in both the U.K. and the U.S. "Sunday Girl" hit number one in the U.K. in May, and "One Way or Another" hit the U.S. Top 40 in August. Blondie followed with their fourth album, Eat to the Beat, in October. Its first single, "Dreaming," went Top Ten in the U.K., Top 40 in the U.S. The second U.K. single, "Union City Blue," went Top 40. In March 1980, the third U.K. single from Eat to the Beat, "Atomic," became the group's third British number one. (It later made the U.S. Top 40.)

 

Meanwhile, Harry was collaborating with German disco producer Giorgio Moroder on "Call Me," the theme from the movie American Gigolo. It became Blondie's second transatlantic chart-topper. Blondie's fifth album, Autoamerican, was released in November 1980, and its first single was the reggaeish tune "The Tide Is High," which went to number one in the U.S. and U.K. The second single was the rap-oriented "Rapture," which topped the U.S. pop charts and went Top Ten in the U.K. But the band's eclectic style reflected a diminished participation by its members -- Infante sued, charging that he wasn't being used on the records, though he settled and stayed in the lineup. But in 1981, the members of Blondie worked on individual projects, notably Harry's gold-selling solo album, KooKoo. The Best of Blondie was released in the fall of the year. The Hunter, Blondie's sixth and last new album, was released in May 1982, preceded by the single "Island of Lost Souls," a Top 40 hit in the U.S. and U.K. "War Child" also became a Top 40 hit in the U.K., but The Hunter was a commercial disappointment. At the same time, Stein became seriously ill with the genetic disease pemphigus. As a result, Blondie broke up in October 1982, with Deborah Harry launching a part-time solo career while caring for Stein, who eventually recovered. In 1998, the original lineup of Harry, Stein, Destri, and Burke reunited to tour Europe, their first series of dates in 16 years; a new LP, No Exit, followed early the next year.

Edited October 31, 2005 by hitman531ph

[hitman531ph]

THE B-52's

 

 

The first of many acts to cement the college town of Athens, GA, as a hotbed of alternative music, the B-52's took their name from the Southern slang for the mile-high bouffant wigs sported by singers Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson, a look emblematic of the band's campy, thrift-store aesthetic. The five-piece group, which also included founding members Fred Schneider, guitarist Ricky Wilson (Cindy's older brother), and drummer Keith Strickland, formed in the mid-'70s after a drunken evening at a Chinese restaurant; the bandmembers had little or no previous musical experience, and performed most of their earliest shows with taped guitar and percussion accompaniment.

After pressing up a few thousand copies of the single "Rock Lobster," the B-52's traveled to the famed Max's Kansas City club for their first paying gig. Subsequent appearances at CBGB's brought the group to the attention of the New York press, and in 1979, they issued their self-titled debut album, a collection of manic, bizarre, and eminently danceable songs which scored an underground club hit with a reworked version of "Rock Lobster." The following year, they issued Wild Planet, which reached the Top 20 on the U.S. album charts; Party Mix!, an EP's worth of reworked material from the band's first two proper outings, appeared in 1981.

 

1982's Mesopotamia arose out of a series of aborted sessions with producer David Byrne which saw the B-52's largely abandon their trademark sense of humor, a situation rectified by the next year's Whammy!, a move into electronic territory. After a Schneider solo LP, 1984's Fred Schneider & the Shake Society, the group returned to the studio to record 1986's Bouncing Off the Satellites. On October 12, 1985, however, Ricky Wilson died; though originally his death was attributed to natural causes, it was later revealed that he had succumbed to AIDS. In light of Wilson's death, the group found it impossible to promote the new album, and they spent the next several years in seclusion.

 

In 1989, the B-52's finally returned with Cosmic Thing, their most commercially successful effort to date. Marked by Strickland's move from drums to guitar and club-friendly production from Don Was and Nile Rodgers, the album launched several hit singles, including the party smash "Love Shack," "Roam," and "Deadbeat Club." In 1990, Cindy Wilson retired from active duty, leaving the remaining trio to soldier on for 1992's Good Stuff. A year later, dubbed the BC-52's, they performed the theme song for Steven Spielberg's live-action feature The Flintsones. Wilson returned to the group for a tour supporting the release of 1998's hits collection Time Capsule

Edited October 31, 2005 by hitman531ph

[hitman531ph]

SQUEEZE

 

As one of the most traditional pop bands of the new wave, Squeeze provided one of the links between classic British guitar pop and post-punk. Inspired heavily by the Beatles and the Kinks, Squeeze was the vehicle for the songwriting of Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, who were hailed as the heirs to Lennon and McCartney's throne during their heyday in the early '80s. Unlike Lennon and McCartney, the partnership between Difford and Tilbrook was a genuine collaboration, with the former writing the lyrics and the latter providing the music. Squeeze never came close to matching the popularity of the Beatles, but the reason for that is part of their charm. Difford and Tilbrook were wry, subtle songwriters that subscribed to traditional pop songwriting values, but subverted them with literate lyrics and clever musical references. While their native Britain warmed to Squeeze immediately, sending singles like "Take Me I'm Yours" and "Up the Junction" into the Top Ten, the band had a difficult time gaining a foothold in the states; they didn't have a U.S. Top 40 hit until 1987, nearly a decade after their debut album. Even if the group never had a hit in the U.S., Squeeze built a dedicated following that stayed with them into the late '90s, and many of their songs -- "Another Nail In My Heart," "Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)," "Tempted," "Black Coffee In Bed" -- became pop classics of the new wave era, as the platinum status of their compilation Singles 45's and Under indicates.

Chris Difford (b. April 11, 1954; guitar, vocals) and Glenn Tilbrook (b. August 31, 1957; vocals, guitar) formed Squeeze in 1974. Tilbrook answered an advertisement Difford had placed in a store window, and the pair began writing songs. By the spring of 1974, the duo had recruited pianist Jools Holland (b. Julian Holland, January 24, 1958) and drummer Paul Gunn, and had named themselves Squeeze, after the disowned Velvet Underground album that featured none of the group's original members. Squeeze began playing the thriving pub rock circuit, although their songs were quirkier and more pop-oriented than many of their peers. By 1976, the band had added bassist Harry Kakoulli and replaced Gunn with Gilson Lavis (b. June 27, 1951), a former tour manager and drummer for Chuck Berry. They had also signed a contract with Miles Copeland's burgeoning BTM record label and management company. Squeeze had already recorded several tracks for RCA, including two cuts with Muff Winwood, that the label rejected. BTM went bankrupt before it could release the band's debut single, "Take Me I'm Yours" in early 1977, but Squeeze was able to work with John Cale on their debut EP, due to a contract Copeland had arranged with Cale.

 

Squeeze released their debut EP, Packet of Three, on Deptford Fun City Records, in the summer of 1977 and soon arranged an international contract with A&M Records, becoming the label's first new wave act since their disastrous signing of the Sex Pistols. The band entered the studio with producer Cale later that year to work on their debut album, provisionally titled Gay Guys by the group's producer. Cale had the group throw out most of their standard material, forcing them to write new material; consequently, the record wasn't necessarily a good representation of the band's early sound. By the time the album was released in the spring of 1978, the group and A&M had abandoned the record's working title, and it was released as Squeeze. In America, the band and album had to change their name to UK Squeeze, in order to avoid confusion with an American band called Tight Squeeze; by the end of the year, they had reverted back to Squeeze in the U.S.. Preceded by the hit single "Take Me I'm Yours," the album became a moderate success, but the group's true British breakthrough arrived in 1979, when they released their second album, Cool for Cats. More representative of the band's sound than their debut, Cool for Cats generated two number two singles in the title track and "Up the Junction." Later in 1978, the EP 6 Squeeze Songs Crammed Into One Ten-Inch Record EP was released. Squeeze tried for a seasonal hit that year with "Christmas Day," but the single failed to chart. Kakoulli was fired from the band after the release of Cool for Cats and was replaced by John Bentley.

 

Released in the spring of 1980, Argybargy received the strongest reviews of any Squeeze album to date, and produced moderate U.K. hits with "Another Nail In My Heart" and "Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)." Both songs, plus "If I Didn't Love You," became hits on college radio and new wave clubs in America, increasing the band's profile considerably; it was the first Squeeze album to chart in America, reaching number 71. Jools Holland, whose fascination with boogie-woogie piano was beginning to sit uncomfortably with Difford and Tilbrook's increasingly sophisticated compositions, left the band in late 1980 to form the Millionaires; he was replaced by Paul Carrack, formerly of the pub rock band Ace. Following Argybargy, critics in both the U.K. and U.S. were calling Difford and Tillbrook "the new Lennon and McCartney," and in order to consolidate their growing rep*tation, Squeeze made an attempt at their own Sgt. Pepper with 1981's East Side Story. Initially, the album was to be produced by Dave Edmunds, but the group scrapped those sessions to work with Elvis Costello and Roger Bechirian. Upon its summer release, East Side Story was hailed with excellent reviews, but it didn't become a huge hit as expected. Nevertheless, it found an audience, peaking at number 19 in the U.K. and number 44 on the U.S. charts. The soulful, Carrack-sung "Tempted" failed to reach the U.K. Top 40, but it did become the group's first charting U.S. single, reaching the Top 50. The country-tinged "Labelled With Love" became the group's third, and last, British Top Ten hit that fall. Carrack left at the end of 1981 to join Carlene Carter's backing band; he was replaced with Don Snow, a classically trained pianist who formerly played with the Sinceros.

 

Ever since the release of their debut, Squeeze had been touring and recording without break, and signs of weariness were evident on Sweets From a Stranger. Though it was the group's highest-charting U.S. album, reaching number 32 shortly after its spring release, Sweets From a Stranger was uneven. In the U,K,, it was a considerable disappointment, reaching number 37, with its single "Black Coffee in Bed" stalling at number 51. Nevertheless, the band had earned a considerable fan base, and were able to play Madison Square Garden that summer. Tired of touring and its frustrating commercial fortunes, Difford and Tilbrook decided to disband Squeeze late in 1982, releasing the compilation Singles -- 45's and Under, shortly after its announcement. Ironically, Singles peaked at number three on the British charts; it would later go platinum in the U.S..

 

Though they had disbanded Squeeze, Difford and Tilbrook had no intention of ending their collaboration -- they simply wanted to pursue other projects. In particular, they saw themselves as songwriters in the classic tradition of Tin Pan Alley or the Brill Building, and began writing for Helen Shapiro, Paul Young, Billy Bremner and Jools Holland. They also worked on Labelled With Love, a musical based on their songs, which played briefly in Deptford, England early in 1983. The duo released an eponymous album in the summer of 1984, showcasing a sophisticated new sound, as well as long, flowing haircuts and coats. The record was a moderate success, but the duo already were thinking of re-forming Squeeze. Early in 1985, the band reunited to play a charity gig, which prompted Difford, Tilbrook, Holland, and Lavis (who had been driving a cab) to permanently re-form, adding bassist Keith Wilkinson. Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti was released in the fall of 1985 to positive reviews and moderately successful sales. During 1986, Andy Metcalfe, a member of Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians, joined the band as a second keyboardist. Babylon and On followed in the fall of 1987, and the album became a surprise hit, reaching number 14 in the U.K. and generating their biggest American hits -- "Hourglass," which reached number 15 on the strength of MTV's heavy rotation of the song's inventive video, and the Top 40 "853-5937." After completing an international tour, which featured another concert at Madison Square Garden and a headlining spot at the Reading Festival, Metcalfe left the band; he was not replaced.

 

Babylon and On may have been a hit, but Squeeze's renewed success wasn't long-lasting. The group's next album, Frank, was released in the fall of 1989 and it wasn't given much a promotional push by A&M. Consequently, it flopped in both the U.S. and the U.K.. During the supporting tour for Frank, A&M dropped Squeeze, leaving the band in the cold. Following the tour, Holland left the band to concentrate on his career as a recording artist, as well as a television host for the BBC. Squeeze released a live album, A Round and a Bout, on I.R.S. in the spring of 1990. Early in 1991, the band signed with Reprise Records and began recording a new album, hiring Steve Nieve, Bruce Hornsby and Matt Irving as session keyboardists. The resulting album, Play, was released in the fall of 1991 to little attention, partially because it received no support from the label. During the Play tour, the band hired Don Snow and Carol Isaacs as keyboardists. Over the course of 1992, Difford & Tilbrook began to play the occasional acoustic concert, as Squeeze revamped its touring lineup again, hiring Steve Nieve as their touring keyboardist. Longtime drummer Gilson Lavis left the band later that year to play in Jools Holland's big band; he was replaced by Pete Thomas who, like Nieve, was a member of the Attractions.

 

Squeeze resigned from A&M Records in early 1993 and recorded their new album, Some Fantastic Place, with Thomas on drums and Paul Carrack on keyboards. Released in the September of 1993, the album became a moderate British hit, debuting at number 26; it was ignored in the U.S.. During 1994, Thomas left the band to join the reunited Attractions; by the end of the year, the group had replaced him with Andy Newmark. Prior to the recording of 1995's Ridiculous, Kevin Wilkinson -- no relation to bassist Keith Wilkinson -- became the group's drummer. Released in the U.K. in the fall of 1995, Ridiculous became a moderate hit, generating the hits "This Summer" and "Electric Trains." The album was released in America in the spring of 1996 on I.R.S. Records. Under the name John Savannah, Don Snow contributed keyboards on Ridiculous and the album's supporting tour.

 

During 1996, Squeeze released two compilations, the single-disc Piccadilly Collection in the U.S. and the double-disc Excess Moderation in the U.K.. The following year, A&M U.K. issued the box set Six of One..., which contained remastered versions of their first six albums, plus two bonus tracks on each disc. A second box, covering the second six albums, was scheduled for release in 1998, but it was canceled after the label folded. By that time, Squeeze had finished their contractual obligation for new studio albums with the label. They signed with independent Quixotic Records, releasing a new album, Domino, in November of 1998. Domino was recorded with a new lineup, featuring Difford and Tilbrook, plus Jools Holland's brother Chris Holland on keyboards, bassist Hilaire Penda and drummer Ashley Soan, a former member of Del Amitri.

Edited October 31, 2005 by hitman531ph

[hitman531ph]

JOE JACKSON

 

In his 1999 memoir, A Cure for Gravity: A Musical Pilgrimage, Joe Jackson writes approvingly of George Gershwin as a musician who kept one foot in the popular and one in the classical realms of music. Like Gershwin, Jackson possesses a restless musical imagination that has found him straddling musical genres unapologetically, disinclined to pick one style and stick to it. The word "chameleon" often crops up in descriptions of him, but Jackson prefers to be though of as "eclectic." Is he the Joe Jackson he appeared to be upon his popular emergence in 1979, a new wave singer/songwriter with a belligerent attitude derisively asking, "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" The reggae-influenced Joe Jackson of 1980's Beat Crazy? The jump blues revivalist of 1981's Joe Jackson's Jumpin' Jive? The New York salsa-styled singer of 1982's "Steppin' Out"? The R&B/jazz-inflected Jackson of 1984's Body & Soul? Or is he David Ian Jackson, L.R.A.M. (Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music), who composes and conducts instrumental albums of contemporary classical music such as 1987's Will Power and 1999's Grammy-winning Symphony No. 1? He is all of these, Jackson himself no doubt would reply, and a few others besides.

The roots of that eclecticism lie in the conflicts of his youth. He was born David Ian Jackson on August 11, 1954 (not 1955, as some references mistakenly state) in Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England. His parents had met when his father was in the Navy and his mother was working in her family's pub in Portsmouth on the south coast of England. They initially settled in his father's hometown, Swadlincote, on the border of Staffordshire and Derbyshire, but when Jackson was a year old, they moved back to his mother's hometown, and he was raised in Portsmouth and nearby Gosport. His father, Ronald Jackson, became a plasterer.

 

Growing up in working-class poverty, Jackson was a sickly child, afflicted with asthma, first diagnosed when he was three and producing attacks that lasted into his twenties. Prevented from playing sports, he turned to books and eventually music. At 11, he began taking violin lessons, later studying timpani and oboe at school. His parents got him a secondhand piano when he was in his early teens, and he began taking lessons, soon deciding that he wanted to be a composer when he grew up. He played percussion in a citywide student orchestra. But his social milieu was more accepting of different forms of popular music than it was of the classics, and he developed a taste for that, too. Becoming interested in jazz, he formed a trio and, at the age of 16, began playing piano in a pub, his first professional gig.

 

By the early '70s, Jackson, who had paid little attention to rock before, became a fan of progressive rock, notably such British groups as the Soft Machine. Meanwhile, in 1972, he passed an advanced "S" level exam in music that entitled him to a grant to study music, and he was accepted at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Rather than moving to the city, he spent his grant money on equipment and commuted several days a week to attend classes while continuing to live at home and play pop music locally. He switched from writing classical compositions to pop songs. Invited to join an established band called the Misty Set, he sang his first lead vocal on-stage. He moved to another established band called Edward Bear (the name taken from a character in Winnie the Pooh; not to be confused with the Canadian band of the same name that recorded for Capitol Records in the early '70s). Deciding that he resembled the title character on a television puppet show called Joe 90, his bandmates began calling him "Joe," and it stuck. After six months, the two principals in Edward Bear decided to retire from music, and with their permission he took over the name and the group's bookings and brought in a couple of his friends, lead singer/guitarist Mark Andrews (later of Mark Andrews & the Gents) and bassist Graham Maby.

 

Jackson continued to attend the Royal Academy, where he studied composition, orchestration, and piano while majoring in percussion. He also occasionally played piano in the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. He graduated from the academy after three years in 1975. By then, Edward Bear (forced to change its name to Edwin Bear because of the more successful Canadian band, and then to Arms & Legs) was attracting more attention and acquired management, which in turn signed the band to MAM Records. In April 1976, MAM released the first Arms & Legs single, with Andrews' "Janie" on the A-side and Jackson's "She'll Surprise You" on the B-side. Second and third singles followed in August and February 1977, but the records did not sell. Meanwhile, in October 1976, Jackson quit the band to become pianist and musical director at the Playboy Club in Portsmouth. He was determined to save enough money to record his own album and release it himself. In August 1977, he played his first gigs as the leader of the Joe Jackson Band, singing and playing keyboards, backed by Andrews (sitting in temporarily and soon replaced by Gary Sanford), Maby, and drummer Dave Houghton. At the same time, he quit the Playboy Club job to become pianist/musical director for a cabaret act, Koffee 'n' Kream, that was beginning a national tour in the wake of their triumph on the TV amateur show Opportunity Knocks.

 

Jackson toured with Koffee 'n' Kream from the fall of 1977 to the spring of 1978, and the money he made enabled him to move to London in January 1978 and continue recording his album in a Portsmouth studio. He began shopping demo tapes to record labels in London without success until he was heard by American producer David Kershenbaum. Kershenbaum was scouting for talent on behalf of A&M Records, and he arranged for Jackson to be signed to A&M on August 9, 1978, after which they immediately re-recorded Jackson's album. They completed it quickly, and at the end of the month the Joe Jackson Band embarked on an extensive national tour.

 

Despite his classical education and background playing many types of pop music in pubs and clubs, Jackson had become genuinely enamored of the punk/new wave movement of the late '70s in England, especially attracted by the energy and simplicity of the music and the angry, aggressive tone of the lyrics. He had no trouble incorporating these elements into his own music, and if he was, to an extent, using the new wave label as a flag of convenience, the style nevertheless was a valid vehicle of expression for him. Of course, first impressions can be lasting, and to many people he would, ever after, be an angry new wave singer/songwriter, no matter what else he did.

 

In October 1978, A&M released the first Joe Jackson single, "Is She Really Going Out With Him?," a rhythmic ballad in which the singer ponders why "pretty women" are attracted to "gorillas" and worries about his own inadequacy. The record failed to chart, but Jackson and his band continued to tour around the U.K. and began to attract press attention. Look Sharp!, his debut album, followed in January 1979, again, to no significant sales at first. The LP contained more songs in the vein of "Is She Really Going Out With Him?," many of them uptempo rockers with strong melodies and lyrics full of romantic disappointment and social criticism, bitterly expressed and with more than a touch of self-deprecation. (One, "Got the Time," was sufficiently raucous to be covered by heavy metal band Anthrax in essentially the same arrangement on its Persistence of Time album in 1990.) A&M released "Sunday Papers," an attack on the salaciousness of tabloid newspapers, as a single in February, again without reaction. But in March, Look Sharp! finally broke into the charts, eventually peaking at the bottom of the Top 40. The same month, A&M released the album in the U.S., and it quickly charted, reaching the Top 20 after "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" was released as a single in May (while Jackson toured North America) and became a Top 40 hit; in September, the LP was certified gold in the U.S. In the U.K., "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" was re-released in July and charted in August, making the Top 20. Jackson was nominated for a 1979 Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male, for the single.

 

Meanwhile, Jackson toured more or less continually, playing dates in Continental Europe in June and then back in the U.K. through August before returning to North America. But he had found the time and inspiration to craft a quick follow-up to Look Sharp!, and his second LP, I'm the Man, was released on October 5. That was a little too soon for the U.S. market, where Look Sharp! had not yet exhausted its run, and while the album made the Top 40, it was a relative sales disappointment, with the single "It's Different for Girls" failing to enter the Hot 100. The story was different in the U.K., however, where I'm the Man made the Top 20 and "It's Different for Girls" reached the Top Five. Critically, the album was considered a continuation of Look Sharp!, an opinion shared by Jackson himself. The first blush of his emergence fading, Jackson was beginning to be viewed by critics as the third in a line of angry British singer/songwriters starting with Graham Parker and continuing with Elvis Costello, and his commercial success created resentment, especially because he was not as forthcoming with the media as the garrulous Costello.

 

The U.S. tour ran into November, followed by more shows in the U.K. in November and December. Jackson went back on the road in February 1980 with a few U.S. dates, followed by some U.K. shows and a European tour that ran from March to May. Like other punk/new wave acts, he had used reggae rhythms on occasion, notably on "Fools in Love" on Look Sharp! and "Geraldine and John" on I'm the Man. In May, he released an EP in the U.K. including a cover of Jimmy Cliff's "The Harder They Come." In acknowledgement of his group's importance to his sound, the disc was billed to the Joe Jackson Band. After dates in the U.K. in May and June, the group returned to North America for a tour that lasted into August; they finally took a break after a few more shows at the end of the month.

 

Beat Crazy, released in October, also was billed to the Joe Jackson Band. The album featured less of the frantic punk sound of its predecessors, instead absorbing the dub-reggae and ska influences that were topping the British charts just then in the music of bands like the Specials and the English Beat. But it was a relative disappointment commercially, peaking in the 40s in both the U.S. and U.K., with its singles failing to chart. One reason for the reduced sales in America may have been that the group did not tour to support it there. The Joe Jackson Band played a monthlong tour from October to November in the U.K., followed by a month in Europe from November to December, after which it split up, according to Jackson because Houghton no longer wanted to tour. Sanford became a session musician, while Maby stuck with Jackson.

 

Jackson, in ill health following more than two years of continual touring, retreated to his family home, where he became increasingly immersed in the jump blues of 1940s star Louis Jordan. He organized a new band in the style of Jordan's Tympany 5 featuring three horn players (Pete Thomas on alto saxophone, Raul Oliveria on trumpet, and David Bitelli on tenor saxophone and clarinet) along with pianist Nick Weldon and drummer Larry Tolfree, plus Maby and Jackson himself, who played vibes and sang. The group, dubbed Joe Jackson's Jumpin' Jive, played a collection of swing and jump blues standards such as "Jumpin' With Symphony Sid," "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby," and "Tuxedo Junction." The resulting Joe Jackson's Jumpin' Jive LP, released in June 1981, was a hit in Britain, where it reached the Top 20. In the U.S., the album was not so much 35 years behind the times as 15 years ahead of them; had it appeared in the mid-'90s, it would have fit right in with releases by the Brian Setzer Orchestra and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy as part of the neo-swing movement. As it was, America circa 1981 was baffled, but Jackson's core audience was sufficiently curious to push the album into the Top 50 while he toured the country with the band in July in between British dates in June and from August to September.

 

Jackson went through more personal changes over the next year. He and his wife divorced, and he moved to New York City, where, true to form, he began to immerse himself in new musical genres, particularly attracted to salsa and the classic songwriting styles of Gershwin and Cole Porter. The result was Night and Day, released in June 1982, Jackson's first album to put his keyboard playing at the center of his music, with percussionist Sue Hadjopoulas also given prominence. Jackson seemed to have abandoned new wave rock for a catchy pop-jazz-salsa-dance hybrid, and he backed the release with a yearlong world tour as A&M put considerable promotional muscle behind the LP. "Steppin' Out" became a multi-format hit, earning airplay on album-oriented rock (AOR) radio before spreading to the pop and adult contemporary charts, placing in the Top Ten all around and eventually earning Grammy nominations for Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male. With that stimulus, the album reached the Top Ten and went gold, spawning a second Top 20 single in "Breaking Us in Two."

 

Jackson finished the Night and Day tour in May 1983. He had been asked to contribute a song to Mike's Murder, a film written and directed by James Bridges (The China Syndrome, Urban Cowboy) and starring Debra Winger (Urban Cowboy, An Officer and a Gentleman). He ended up writing both a handful of songs and a few instrumental pieces that were released on a soundtrack album in September. Unfortunately, the film itself was not ready for release then, since it was the subject of a dispute between Bridges and the movie studio that had financed it, the result being reshooting and reediting, such that the film did not open until March 1984, by which time it had a score by John Barry and only a little of Jackson's music remaining, and then it earned only one million dollars during a few weeks of theatrical showings, making it a disastrous flop. The orphaned soundtrack album, however, managed to get into the Top 100 and even spawned a chart single in the Jackson composition "Memphis," while "Breakdown" earned a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Instrumental Performance.

 

Jackson returned to the studio and emerged in March 1984 with Body & Soul, an album with a cover photograph showing him clutching a saxophone in the style of the 1950s LP covers of Blue Note Records. The disc inside was a follow-up to Night and Day in style, however, with a bit more of an R&B tilt, and it was another commercial success, if a more modest one, reaching the Top 20 and spawning a Top 20 single in "You Can't Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want)" and "Be My Number Two". After the four-month Body & Soul world tour concluded in July 1984, Jackson retreated. The tour had been, he later wrote, "the hardest I ever did; it came too soon after the last one, and by the end of it I was so burned out I swore I'd never tour again." He re-emerged after 18 months in January 1986 for a series of live recording sessions at the Roundabout Theatre in New York conducted for his next album. Audiences were invited to attend, but instructed to hold their applause as the performances were cut direct to a two-track tape recorder. The resulting album, Big World, released in March, had a one-hour running time, making it an ideal length for the new CD format, though it had to be pressed on two LPs with the second side of the second LP left blank. Press reaction to these two aspects of the album tended to overshadow consideration of the material, which ranged from politically charged rockers like "Right or Wrong," a direct challenge to the Reagan administration, to heartfelt ballads like "Home Town," a reflection on memory and loss. Jackson undertook another extensive tour lasting from May to December (one he reported enjoying much more than the last one), and the album spent six months in the charts, but only peaked in the Top 40.

 

In the winter of 1985, Jackson had been commissioned to write a 20-minute score for a Japanese film, Shijin No Ie (House of the Poet), and the orchestral piece was recorded with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. He adapted it into "Symphony in One Movement" and added a few other instrumental pieces to create his next album, Will Power, his first disc to reflect his classical background. A&M gave the LP a surprising promotional push that included releasing the title track as a single, and Jackson fans were sufficiently intrigued to push the album into the lower reaches of the pop chart upon release in April 1987. But his increasing desire to include classical elements in his popular work and to issue outright "serious" compositions tended to put him in a no man's land where reviewers were concerned, since rock critics were for the most part incapable of judging such works and preferred that he stick to rock-based music, while classical critics simply ignored him. Had they been paying attention, however, they might not have approved of what they heard, anyway. An unrepentant Beethoven fan, Jackson had disliked his exposure to serial music and other contemporary trends in classical music when he encountered them in college; his serious compositions tended to reflect his taste for conventional concert music of the romantic and classical periods.

 

While staying off the road, Jackson had two albums in release in 1988. In May, he issued the double-disc set Live 1980/86, chronicling his tours over the years. It reached the Top 100. In August came his swing-styled soundtrack to the Francis Ford Coppola film Tucker: The Man and His Dream, an effort that probably would have attracted more attention if the film had been more successful (it grossed less than $20 million). Nevertheless, the album earned a Grammy nomination for Best Album of Original Instrumental Background Score Written for a Motion Picture or TV. His next LP, released in April 1989, was Blaze of Glory, another modest seller with a peak only in the Top 100 despite radio play for the single "Nineteen Forever." Jackson, who felt the album was one of his best efforts and toured to support it with an 11-piece band in the U.S. and Europe from June to November, was disappointed with both the commercial reaction and his record company's lack of support. He parted ways with A&M, which promptly released the 1990 compilation Steppin' Out: The Very Best of Joe Jackson, a Top Ten hit in the U.K.

 

Jackson wrote his third movie score for 1991's Queens Logic; no soundtrack album was issued. Signing to Virgin Records, he released his next album, Laughter & Lust, in April 1991. Here, he expressed some of his frustration with the record business in the appropriately catchy, '60s-styled "Hit Single," while the socially conscious "Obvious Song" and a percussion-filled cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Oh Well" attracted radio attention. But the album continued his gradual sales decline, failing to reach the Top 100 in the U.S. Another world tour stretched from May to September, after which Jackson was not heard from on record for three years. In the interim, he wrote music for two movies, the interactive film I'm Your Man (1992) and the feature Three of Hearts (1993), neither of which produced soundtrack albums featuring his music. He reappeared in record stores in October 1994 with Night Music, a low-key album that attempted to fuse his pop and classical styles, including instrumentals and guest vocals by Máire Brennan of Clannad. The album, which did not chart, was supported with a world tour that ran from November to May 1995. After it, Jackson left Virgin and signed to Sony Classical, a label more accepting of his musical ambitions. In September 1997, it released Heaven & Hell, a song cycle depicting the seven deadly sins, billed to Joe Jackson & Friends; the friends included such guest vocalists as folk-pop singers Jane Siberry and Suzanne Vega and opera singer Dawn Upshaw. The album reached number three in Billboard's Classical Crossover chart. A tour ran from November to April 1998.

 

Jackson worked on two projects in the late '90s, both of which appeared in October 1999. Sony Classical issued his Symphony No. 1, which was played not by an orchestra, but by a band of jazz and rock musicians including guitarist Steve Vai and trumpeter Terence Blanchard, and it won the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album. And publishers PublicAffairs came out with Jackson's book, A Cure for Gravity: A Musical Pilgrimage, in which he wrote about his love of all kinds of music and recounted his life from his birth up to the point of his emergence as a public figure in the late '70s. Bringing his story up to date, he wrote, "So I'm still making music, no longer a pop star -- if I ever really was -- but just a composer, which is what I wanted to be in the first place."

 

Having released only semi-classical works on his last three recordings, Jackson was thought to have abandoned pop/rock music completely, but that proved not to be true. The early years of the 21st century found him in a flurry of activity, much of it returning him to the pop music realm. In June 2000, Sony Classical, through Jackson's imprint, Manticore, issued Summer in the City: Live in New York, an album drawn from an August 1999 concert that featured him playing piano and singing, backed only by Maby and drummer Gary Burke, performing some of his old songs along with covers of tunes by the Lovin' Spoonful, Duke Ellington, and the Beatles, among others. Four months later came Night and Day II, a new set of songs in the spirit of his most popular recording. Touring to promote the album in Europe and North America from November to April 2001, Jackson recorded the concert CD Two Rainy Nights: Live in the Northwest (The Official Bootleg), released in January 2002 on his own Great Big Island label through his website, www.joejackson.com. (The album was reissued to retail by Koch in 2004.)

 

Later in 2002, Jackson surprised longtime fans by reuniting with the original members of the Joe Jackson Band, Graham Maby, Gary Sanford, and Dave Houghton, to record a new studio album, Volume 4 (the first three volumes having been Look Sharp!, I'm the Man, and Beat Crazy), released by Restless/Rykodisc in March 2003, and go out on a world tour running through September 2003 that resulted in the live album Afterlife, issued in March 2004. As he made television appearances to promote the latter, he insisted that the reunion had been a one-time thing. Meanwhile, his recording of "Steppin' Out" was being used in a television commercial for Lincoln Mercury automobiles, and he was preparing to score his next film, The Greatest Game Ever Played, for a 2005 release

Edited October 31, 2005 by hitman531ph

[hitman531ph]

HAROLD FALTERMEYER

 

Although best known for his mid-'80s instrumental smash "Axel F.," Harold Faltermeyer was also a notable producer and session player. His career began with work as an arranger on Giorgio Moroder's soundtrack to the 1978 film Midnight Express, the first in a long series of film-related projects; from there, Faltermeyer moved on to play synthesizer on Donna Summer's 1979 classic Bad Girls before reuniting with Moroder to co-produce Sparks' Terminal Jive. His breakthrough came in 1984 when he worked on the smash feature comedy Beverly Hills Cop; Faltermeyer's instrumental theme "Axel F." became an unexpected pop hit, and he was soon contracted to work on movies including the 1986 blockbusters Top Gun and The Running Man. In 1990, he also co-produced the Pet Shop Boys' Behavior album, but as the decade progressed -- and his signature synth-pop sound fell out of commercial favor -- Faltermeyer's profile began to diminish

Edited October 31, 2005 by hitman531ph

[hitman531ph]

GIORGIO MORODER

 

One of the principal architects of the disco sound, producer and composer Giorgio Moroder was born in Ortisei, Italy, on April 26, 1940. Upon relocating to Munich, Germany, he established his own studio, Musicland, and recorded his debut single "Looky, Looky" in 1969; his first LP, Son of My Father, was released in early 1972. Around that time Moroder was introduced to fellow aspiring musician Pete Bellotte, with whom he formed a production partnership; in collaboration with singer Donna Summer, the duo was to become one of the most powerful forces in '70s-era dance music, their success beginning with the release of 1974's Lady of the Night. Summer's Love to Love You Baby followed in 1975; the title track, clocking in at close to 17 minutes in length, was an international smash, its shimmering sound and sensual attitude much copied in the years to follow.

At their mid-'70s peak, Moroder, Bellotte, and Summer were extraordinarily prolific, releasing new albums about once every six months. Concept records like 1976's A Love Trilogy and Four Seasons of Love culminated with the release of 1977's I Remember Yesterday, a trip through time which climaxed with the smash "I Feel Love." With its galloping bass line and futuristic, computerized sheen, the single was among the watershed hits of the disco era, and helped propel Summer to new prominence as the reigning diva of the dancefloor.

 

In 1978, Moroder made his initial foray into film music, winning an Academy Award for his score to Alan Parker's Midnight Express. Summer's double-LP Bad Girls followed in 1979, becoming a massive hit and spawning such chart-topping singles as "Hot Stuff" and the title cut. After one final studio LP, 1980's The Wanderer, the Moroder/Bellotte/Summer team disbanded, and the disco era began drawing to a close.

 

In the early '80s, Moroder focused primarily on films; after producing the soundtracks for pictures including American Gigolo and Cat People, he turned to 1983's Flashdance, earning his second Oscar for the hit "Flashdance...What a Feeling," performed by Irene Cara. In 1984, Moroder courted controversy from film purists for his contemporary electro-pop score to the restored release of Fritz Lang's silent-era masterpiece Metropolis. Also in 1984, he produced a soundtrack for Electric Dreams which produced a UK Top 10 hit, Together in Electric Dreams with Philip Oakey (of Human League) on vocals. After contributing to the soundtrack of the 1986 hit Top Gun, he turned increasingly away from dance music to focus on rock, producing the album Flaunt It, the debut from the heavily hyped British flash-in-the-pan Sigue Sigue Sputnik. In the years to follow, Moroder kept a low profile on the pop charts, although he remained a fixture on film soundtracks. In the 1990s, he also turned to remixing, debuting with a reworking of Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" and going on to tackle material from Heaven 17 and others

Edited October 31, 2005 by hitman531ph

[hitman531ph]

STYX

 

Although they began as an artsy prog-rock band, Styx would eventually transform into the virtual arena rock prototype by the late '70s and early '80s, due to a fondness for bombastic rockers and soaring power ballads. The seeds for the band were planted in another Chicago band during the late '60s, the Tradewinds, which featured brothers Chuck and John Panozzo (who played bass and drums, respectively), as well as acquaintance Dennis DeYoung (vocals, keyboards). By the dawn of the '70s, the group had changed their name to TW4, and welcomed aboard a pair of guitarists/vocalists, James "JY" Young and John Curulewski -- securing a recording contract in 1972 with Wooden Nickel Records (a subsidiary of RCA). Soon after, the group opted to change their name once more, this time to Styx, named after a river from Greek mythology that ran through the 'land of the dead' in the underworld.

Early on, Styx's music reflected such then-current prog rockers as Emerson, Lake & Palmer and the Moody Blues, as evidenced by such releases as 1972's self-titled debut, 1973's Styx II, 1974's The Serpent Is Rising, and 1975's Man of Miracles. While the albums (as well as non-stop touring) helped the group build a substantial following locally, Styx failed to break through to the mainstream, until a track originally from their second album, "Lady" started to get substantial airplay in late '74 on the Chicago radio station WLS-FM. The song was soon issued as a single nationwide, and quickly shot to number six on the singles chart, as Styx II was certified gold. By this time, however, the group had grown disenchanted with their record label, and opted to sign on with A&M for their fifth release overall, 1975's Equinox (their former label would issue countless compilations over the years, culled from tracks off their early releases). On the eve of the tour in support of the album, Curulewski abruptly left the band, and was replaced by Tommy Shaw (sadly, Curulewski would pass away from an aneurysm in 1988). Shaw proved to be the missing piece of the puzzle for Styx, as most of their subsequent releases throughout the late '70s earned at least platinum certification (1976's Crystal Ball, 1977's The Grand Illusion, 1978's Pieces of Eight, and 1979's Cornerstone), and spawned such hit singles and classic rock radio standards as "Come Sail Away," "Renegade," "Blue Collar Man," "Fooling Yourself," and the power ballad "Babe."

 

Despite the enormous success of "Babe," it caused tension within the group -- specifically between Shaw and DeYoung (the latter of which was the song's author), as the guitarist wanted Styx to continue in a more hard rock-based direction, while DeYoung sought to pursue more melodic and theatrically-based works. This led to DeYoung being briefly ousted from the group (although it was kept completely hush-hush at the time), before a reconciliation was met. The band decided that their first release of the '80s would be a concept album, 1981's Paradise Theater, which was loosely based on the rise and fall of a once-beautiful theater (which was supposedly used as a metaphor for the state of the U.S. at the time -- the Iranian hostage situation, the Cold War, Reagan, etc.). Paradise Theater became Styx's biggest hit of their career (selling over three million copies in a three-year period), as they became one of the U.S. top rock acts due to such big hit singles as "Too Much Time on My Hands" and "The Best of Times." But the behind-the-scenes bickering only intensified in the wake of the album's success, as DeYoung was now convinced that a more theatrical approach was the future direction for Styx. Shaw and the rest of the group begrudgingly went along, and while the resulting follow-up was another hit, 1983's sci-fi based Kilroy Was Here (which told the story of a future where rock & roll was outlawed, almost a carbon copy of the story line of Rush's 2112), the album would eventually lead to the group's breakup -- as the ensuing prop-heavy tour seemed to focus more on scripted dialogue and lengthy films than good old rock & roll. The album spawned the #3 hit "Mr. Roboto" and a Top 40 hit "Don't Let It End".

 

A forgettable live album, Caught in the Act, was issued in 1984, before Styx went on hiatus, and the majority of its members pursued solo projects throughout the remainder of the decade. The album managed to have one single "Music Time" reach #40 in the US charts. DeYoung issued 1984's Desert Moon (which spawned a moderate hit single with its reflective title track), 1986's Back to the World, and 1988's Boomchild, Young released 1986's City Slicker, while Shaw put forth several solo sets -- 1984's Girls With Guns, 1985's What If?, 1986's Live in Japan, and 1987's Ambition. Shaw then formed Damn Yankees along with former Night Ranger bassist/singer Jack Blades, guitarist Ted Nugent, and drummer Michael Cartellone, a group who enjoyed commercial success right off the bat with their self-titled debut in 1990 (due to the hit power ballad "High Enough"), before issuing an unsuccessful sophomore effort two years later, Don't Tread. During Shaw's tenure with Damn Yankees, Styx had re-formed with newcomer Glen Burtnik taking the place of Shaw -- issuing a new studio album in 1990, Edge of the Century, which spawned yet another hit power ballad, "Show Me the Way." But the Styx reunion was a fleeting one, as its members went their separate ways shortly thereafter -- with DeYoung going on to play Pontius Pilate in a revival of Jesus Christ Superstar (and issuing an album of Broadway show tunes, 1994's 10 on Broadway), while Young issued a pair of solo discs (1994's Out on a Day Pass and 1995's Raised by Wolves), and Shaw teamed up with Jack Blades for the short-lived outfit, Shaw Blades (issuing a lone recording in '95, Hallucination).

 

A re-recording of their early hit, "Lady" (titled "Lady" '95"), for a Greatest Hits compilation, finally united Shaw with his former Styx bandmates, which led to a full-on reunion tour in 1996. But drummer John Panozzo fell seriously ill at the time (due to a long struggle with alcoholism), which prevented him from joining the proceedings -- as he passed away in July of the same year. Although grief-stricken, Styx persevered with new drummer Todd Sucherman taking the place of Panozzo, as the Styx reunion tour became a surprise sold-out success, resulting in the release of a live album/video, 1997's "Return to Paradise," while a whole new generation of rock fans were introduced to the grandiose sounds of Styx via a humorous car ad which used the track "Mr. Roboto," as well as songs used in such TV shows as South Park and Freaks & Geeks. The group even stuck around long enough to issue a new studio album, 1999's Brave New World, before friction between bandmembers set in once again. With the other Styx members wanting to soldier on with further albums and tours, DeYoung was forced to take a break when he developed an uncommon viral ailment, which made the singer extremely sensitive to light. DeYoung was able to eventually overcome his disorder, but not before Shaw and Young opted to enlist new singer Lawrence Gowan and issuing a pair of live releases in the early 21st century -- 2000's Arch Allies: Live at Riverport (split 50-50 between Styx and REO Speedwagon) and 2001's Styx World: Live 2001. DeYoung began touring as a solo artist at the same time, and eventually attempted to sue Shaw and Young over the use of the name Styx (the lawsuit was eventually settled in late 2001). Around the same time, Chuck Panozzo confirmed rumors that he had contracted AIDS (but was battling the virus successfully), while the turbulent career of Styx was told in an entertaining episode of VH1's Behind the Music.

 

In the spring of 2003, a new studio album featuring Gowan arrived in stores. For Cyclorama, Styx consisted of Shaw, Young, Burtnik, Sucherman and Gowan. It also featured guest appearances from John Waite, Brian Wilson, and actor Billy Bob Thornton

Edited October 31, 2005 by hitman531ph

[hitman531ph]

VAN HALEN

 

With their 1978 eponymous debut, Van Halen simultaneously rewrote the rules of rock guitar and hard rock in general. Guitarist Eddie Van Halen redefined what electric guitar could do, developing a blindingly fast technique with a variety of self-taught two-handed tapping, hammer-ons, pull-offs, and effects that mimicked the sounds of machines and animals. It was wildly inventive and over the top, equaled only by vocalist David Lee Roth, who brought the role of a metal singer to near-performance art standards. Roth wasn't blessed with great technique, unlike Eddie, but he had a flair for showmanship that was derived as much from lounge performers as Robert Plant. Together, they made Van Halen into the most popular American rock & roll band of the late '70s and early '80s, and in the process set the template for hard rock and heavy metal for the '80s. Throughout the '80s, it was impossible not to hear Van Halen's instrumental technique on records that ranged from the heaviest metal to soft pop. Furthermore, Roth's irony-drenched antics were copied by singers who took everything literally. One of these was Sammy Hagar, an arena rock veteran from the '70s who replaced Roth after the vocalist had a falling out with Van Halen in 1985. Hagar stayed with the band longer than Roth, helping the group top the charts through the late '80s and early '90s. However, the group's sales began to slide in the mid-'90s, just as tensions between Hagar and Eddie began to arise. In one of the most disastrous publicity stunts in rock history, Hagar was fired (or quit) and Roth was brought back on, seemingly as a permanent member, but only for two songs on a greatest-hits album. He was subsequently replaced by Gary Cherone, a former member of Extreme. Through all the upheaval over lead vocalists, Eddie Van Halen and his prodigious talent remained the core of Van Halen. The son of a Dutch bandleader, Eddie and his family moved from the Netherlands to Pasadena, CA, in 1967, when he was 12 years old and his older brother, Alex, was 14. As their father supported the family by playing in wedding bands, Eddie and Alex continued their classical piano training. Soon, both boys were enraptured by rock & roll. Eddie learned how to play drums and Alex took up the guitar, eventually switching instruments. The brothers began a hard rock band called Mammoth and began playing around Pasadena, eventually meeting David Lee Roth. At the time, Roth, who had been raised in a wealthy Californian family, was singing in Redball Jet. Impressed by the Van Halen brothers, he joined forces with the group. Shortly afterward, bassist Michael Anthony, who was singing with Snake, became a member of Mammoth. After discovering that another band had the rights to the name Mammoth, the group decided to call themselves Van Halen in 1974, rejecting the proposed Rat Salade. For the next three years, Van Halen played throughout Pasadena, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles, playing both clubs and hotel bars. The band's repertoire covered everything from pop and rock to disco, but they eventually worked in their own original material. Within a few years, they had become the most popular local band in Los Angeles, and Eddie became well known for his groundbreaking technique. In 1977, Kiss' Gene Simmons financed a demo recording session for Van Halen after seeing them at the Starwood Club. On the strength of Simmons' recommendation, Mo Ostin and Ted Templeman signed Van Halen to Warner Bros., releasing the band's debut the following year. Van Halen became a hit due to strong word of mouth, constant touring, and support from AOR radio. Within three months the album had gone gold, and five months later it went platinum. It would eventually sell over six million copies, thanks to the album rock staples "You Really Got Me," "Jamie's Cryin'," and "Runnin' With the Devil." Van Halen II, released in 1979, continued the band's success, as "Dance the Night Away" became their first Top 20 single. Women and Children First (1980) didn't have any charting singles, but was a success on the album charts, reaching number six. The band supported the album with their first headlining, international arena tour, and the group was quickly on their way to being superstars. Released in 1981, Fair Warning wasn't quite as popular as their previous records, yet it still peaked at number six. Diver Down, released in 1982, was a huge hit, spawning a number 12 cover of Roy Orbison's "(Oh) Pretty Woman" and reaching number three. While all of their previous albums were successful, Van Halen didn't become superstars until 1984, when their album 1984 became an across-the-board smash. Released on New Year's Day, 1984 rocketed to number two on the strength of the number one single "Jump." Like many songs on the album, "Jump" was driven by Eddie's new synthesizer, and while Roth was initially reluctant to use electronics, the expansion of the group's sound was widely praised. Throughout 1984, Van Halen gained steam, as "I'll Wait" and "Panama" became Top 15 singles and "Hot for Teacher" became a radio and MTV staple. Despite the band's breakthrough success, things were not well within the band. During their 1984 tour, each member played separate solo sets and were physically separated on the stage. Roth was unhappy with Eddie's appearance on Michael Jackson's 1983 hit "Beat It," and Van Halen grew tired of the comic antics of Roth. In 1985, Roth released a solo EP, Crazy From the Heat, which spawned hit covers of "California Girls" and "Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody." When Roth delayed the recording of Van Halen's follow-up to 1984, he was fired from the band. Most observers were taken by surprise when Van Halen named Sammy Hagar as Roth's replacement. The former lead singer of Montrose, Hagar's solo career had been sporadically successful, highlighted by such arena metal hits as "Three-Lock Box" and "I Can't Drive 55." Though many critics suspected Hagar wouldn't be able to sustain Van Halen's remarkable success, his first album with the band, 1986's 5150, was a huge hit, reaching number one and spawning the hit singles "Why Can't This Be Love," "Dreams," and "Love Walks In." Released in 1988, OU812 was just as successful, earning stronger reviews than its predecessor and generating the hits "When It's Love" and "Finish What You Started." For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, released in 1991, was another number one hit, partially due to the hit MTV video for "Right Now." Van Halen followed the album with their first live record, the double album Van Halen Live: Right Here, Right Now in 1993. By the spring 1995 release of Balance, tensions between Eddie Van Halen and Sammy Hagar had grown considerably. Eddie Van Halen had recently undergone well-publicized treatment for alcoholism, and Hagar was notorious for his party-hearty ways, even writing a paean to Amsterdam's hash bars with "Amsterdam" on Balance. Furthermore, the band had become subject to criticism that they simply repeated a formula. While Balance was successful, entering the charts at number one and selling two million copies shortly after its release, it stalled quickly afterward. The band wanted to release a greatest-hits collection, but Hagar balked at the idea, escalating tensions even further. Following a skirmish in 1996 over the recording of a song for the Twister soundtrack, Eddie decided to make a change by switching singers. Van Halen began recording new material with Roth without informing Hagar, who went ballistic upon learning of the group's reunion. According to Hagar, Eddie fired him shortly afterward; Van Halen claimed Hagar quit. Roth proceeded to record two new songs for Van Halen's Best Of, Vol. 1, and once the reunion became public, the rock media reacted positively to the news; MTV began airing a welcome back commercial days after the announcement. However, the reunion was not to be. Following an appearance at the MTV Music Awards, Van Halen fired Roth from the band, claiming that he was only on board to record two new songs. Roth said that he was duped into recording the songs, believing that the reunion was permanent. Former Extreme vocalist Gary Cherone was announced as the band's new lead singer. Though the resulting Best Of, Vol. 1 was a success, Eddie Van Halen's rep*tation as a nice guy was tarnished once the entire affair was over. Cherone's long-awaited debut with Van Halen, entitled Van Halen III, was finally released in March of 1998. Although the album debuted high on the charts, crashing in at number three, it quickly slipped down the charts, since the reception to the album from fans, critics, and radio was mixed.

After Van Halen III proved to be the worst-selling album of Van Halen's long and illustrious career (the ensuing world tour was poorly attended as well), Cherone was dismissed from V.H. in 1999. Immediately, rumors began to swirl once more of an impending David Lee Roth/Van Halen reunion. Things were kept completely hush-hush in the V.H. camp until early 2001, when David Lee Roth went public on his website with an update, confirming that he had recorded several new songs with the band (tracks that Roth described as amazing, phenomenal, and astonishing), but hadn't heard back from them since the previous summer. Only a few days after Roth's news, Eddie Van Halen admitted to the public that he was battling cancer, but was told by his doctors that chances were good for a complete recovery. In the summer of 2001, Eddie told MTV News that V.H.'s remaining members had penned a total of three albums worth of new material and that they were still unsure of who their next singer would be. Months later, fans were shocked to hear that the band parted ways with Warner Brothers, their label since 1979. The band blamed the label for promoting younger bands, while also admitting that they had not yet found Cherone's replacement and were no longer considering Roth

 

Photos below:

 

Left: Van Halen with Sammy Hagar

Right: Van Halen with David Lee Roth

Edited October 31, 2005 by hitman531ph

[MTBCommuter]

Nice topics boss,

I like the music of Van Halen

[hitman531ph]

VAN STEPHENSON

 

Former Blackhawk guitar player Van Stephenson died in his Nashville home yesterday (April 9, 2001) morning of cancer. He was 47.

 

Stephenson, who was a founding member of the Arista recording group, left the band in 1999 after under going surgery for skin cancer to fight the disease and spend time with his family. Unlike most country stars, Stephenson grew up in Nashville, having moved from Ohio with his family as a pre-teen. As a teenager, Stephenson began writing songs; and before forming Blackhawk with Henry Paul and Dave Robbins, he had written songs for Crystal Gayle and Restless Heart, among others. In the mid-'80s, Stephenson recorded a pop album, charting a small-time hit, "Modern Day Delilah," in 1984.

Edited November 1, 2005 by hitman531ph

[hitman531ph]

DWIGHT TWILLEY

 

Though the Dwight Twilley Band only had one hit (Twilley had another on his own), Twilley and partner Phil Seymour created an enduring and highly memorable brand of power-pop that blended Beatlesque pop and Sun rockabilly "slapback" echo. Only a fraction of the band's early output was made available at the time, but these records are highly revered by power-pop aficionados.

According to the legend, Dwight Twilley met Phil Seymour in 1967 at a theater where they had gone to see the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night. After the film they immediately went to Twilley's house to start writing and recording. The two continued the partnership over the next several years, calling themselves Oister and recruiting another part-time member, Bill Pitcock on lead guitar. After developing their sound in their homemade studio, "The Shop," they decided to take a stab at professional recording and headed out to Nashville, though they ended up stopping first at the legendary Sun Studios. Jerry Philips (Sam's son) was impressed enough to team them up former Sun artist Ray Harris, who introduced them to the "Sun Sound," roughing up their Beatles-obsessed style a bit and creating a unique and endearing sound.

 

The two signed to Shelter Records in 1974. Their first single, "I'm on Fire," became a national hit in 1975, peaking at number 16, with relatively no promotion. During an appearance on American Bandstand, the band previewed what was to be the follow-up single, "Shark," an equally infectious, hit-worthy rocker. The success of the film Jaws caused the label to reject the single, however, to keep them from becoming perceived as a cash-in novelty act. This was just the beginning of bad luck that would plague the group from that point on. Their follow-up single and completed album went unreleased for 18 months due to label problems and a second album recorded in England was left unreleased altogether, creating a myth around the band in some circles while the general public quickly lost interest. The belated follow-up single, "You Were So Warm," ended up failing due to distribution problems. Predictably, when the album Sincerely was finally released it failed as well. Seymour and Twilley befriended the like-minded Tom Petty and contributed backing vocals on several tracks. Petty repaid the favor for their second album, Twilley Don't Mind for Arista in 1977. Despite the once again unquestionably high quality of songs, the album stiffed as well. Seymour left the band the following year, pursuing a brief solo career before lymphoma cut his life short in 1993.

 

Twilley carried on as a solo act, releasing Twilley for Arista in 1979, Scuba Divers for EMI in 1982, and found success again with Jungle in 1984, when he scored his second hit with "Girls." His final album, Wild Dogs went unnoticed on its 1986 release. In addition, he recorded an album in 1980, Blueprint that remains unreleased and contributed one track to the Wayne's World soundtrack, "Why You Want to Break My Heart." Two newly recorded songs appeared on the best-of collection XXI and he released an album titled The Luck in 2001. The Great Lost Twilley Album collects a fraction of the "hundreds" of unreleased songs Twilley and Seymour recorded in the early, ill-fated days

Edited November 1, 2005 by hitman531ph

[hitman531ph]

MOTLEY CRUE

 

With a gritty rep*tation that was arguably equaled only by Guns N' Roses, Mötley Crüe's infamous antics made them a force to be reckoned with in the '80s. As one of the first and most influential hair metal bands of the '80s, Mötley Crüe had a series of hit albums, the biggest and most noteworthy being 1989's Dr. Feelgood. The band continued to court controversy into the next decade, even when their recording career took a downturn through a series of well-publicized mishaps and run-ins with the law. Mötley Crüe's beginning can be traced back to 1981, when bassist Nikki Sixx (born Frank Ferrana) and drummer "Tommy Lee" Bass decided to leave the bands they were in at the time and pursue a new project together. Bob "Mick Mars" Deal was hired to play guitar and "Vince Neil" Wharton was added as vocalist. The band went through several name changes before Mars presented them with Mottley Krue, recalling a time when his previous band was described as a "motley looking crew." After agreeing on this name and altering the spelling somewhat, the newly formed group began to play at local clubs and soon became cult favorites, known for their unique stage theatrics.

The band soon met up with Allan Coffman, who financed their first album, Too Fast for Love, on their own small, independent Lethur Records label; the record sold a surprising 20,000 copies. After signing to Elektra Records, the band released Shout at the Devil in 1983, which featured the hit video "Looks That k*ll." The record went platinum, but the band's success was temporarily brought to a halt when Neil was involved in a deadly automobile accident on August 12. Driving under the influence of alcohol, Neil crashed into another car, killing his good friend and passenger Nicholas Dingley of Hanoi Rocks; the other victims emerged with broken bones and brain damage. Neil was found guilty of vehicular manslaughter and driving while intoxicated, and was incarcerated for 30 days in 1985, in addition to performing community service and paying a large cash settlement. By the time Neil had been sentenced, however, the band's newest record, Theatre of Pain, had already been released and soared up the charts, making the band stars and producing their first Top 40 hit with a cover of Brownsville Station's "Smokin' in the Boys' Room."

 

After a short hiatus, the band regrouped with Neil to film a music video for "Home Sweet Home"; the first hit power ballad to be aired on MTV, it became their most requested music video for four months straight. A 44-minute home video cassette, Uncensored, was released in 1986, containing rare live footage and interviews; meanwhile, Lee married actress Heather Locklear. A year later, Mötley Crüe released their fourth album, Girls Girls Girls. The uncensored video for the popular title track was immediately banned from television, not airing until a slightly cleaned-up version was released. The group finally embarked on their own tour, but the European dates were canceled when Sixx suffered a drug overdose and nearly lost his life. Over the next year, all four members sought out drug rehabilitation and Mötley Crüe remained out of the spotlight. They returned, clean and sober, in 1989 with Dr. Feelgood, which hit number one on the Billboard charts due to the strong singles "Kickstart My Heart," "Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)," "Without You," and the infamous title-track, which became their first Top Ten single.

 

After another worldwide tour, they released a compilation album, Decade of Decadence, in 1991. The album opened at number two, and a home video of the same name was released shortly afterwards. The group created their own record label, Mötley Records, and signed a new contract with Elektra for $25 million. Unfortunately by this time, the music industry that made them famous was beginning to change, and the pressure to keep pace with the times began to take its toll on the bandmembers' camaraderie. In 1992, sessions for Mötley Crüe's next album turned ugly, and Neil was fired and replaced with vocalist John Corabi, formerly of the Scream. The 1994 product was Mötley Crüe, which peaked at number seven in the U.S. and eventually went gold, but was ultimately a commercial disappointment (as was a supporting tour). In early 1997, Corabi was fired and Neil rehired for the much-hyped Generation Swine. (Corabi resurfaced alongside former Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick in the group Union.) Though Generation Swine opened at number four, it was sharply criticized and fell off the charts before long. In 1998, the band released Greatest Hits, but shortly after the supporting tour, Lee was arrested for spousal abuse against wife Pamela Anderson and sentenced to jail time for most of the year. Meanwhile, the group's deal with Elektra fell apart, and Mötley Records switched its affiliation to the Beyond label, with the band acquiring the rights to its back catalog.

 

After numerous bitter encounters with Neil, Tommy Lee left the band in 1999 to form Methods of Mayhem, who released their self-titled debut late that year; he was replaced with Ozzy Osbourne drummer Randy Castillo. That year, the revamped Crüe issued remastered editions of all their studio albums (complete with bonus tracks) plus the rarities collection Supersonic and Demonic Relics. An album of all new material, New Tattoo, appeared in the summer of 2000. Also in 2000, Sixx found time to launch a side project, 58. On the eve of the Crüe's tour in support of New Tattoo, Castillo was stricken with an undisclosed illness and sat out the tour to recuperate. Instead of canceling the tour, the Crüe temporarily enlisted Hole drummer (and lifelong Crüe fan) Samantha Maloney.

 

In May of 2001, the band issued an over-the-top, tell-all biography, The Dirt (which even included input from former drummer Lee), that quickly became a best-seller. Around the same time, Neil embarked on a brief solo tour of U.S. clubs and looked for a new solo record deal, but remained adamant that he was still a member of Motley Crüe. Sixx used the downtime to write material for other bands, including Tantric, Meatloaf, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, and James Michael. Sadly, Castillo passed away in the spring of 2002, and the band announced their hiatus would probably last into the next year. Sixx also began talking about reuniting the original lineup for a farewell tour, but Tommy Lee quickly went to the press and told them that his relationship with Vince Neil was simply too poor for that to happen. Controversy surrounded the band again as former producer Tom Werman sued the band for unpaid royalties, Neil's former wife Heidi Mark publicly accused him of physical abuse, and Neil was kicked off a nationally syndicated radio show for being too drunk to maintain an interview. Tour drummer Samantha Maloney was also mixed up in things as Sixx decided to write a mean-spirited posting on his website in retaliation for the public acknowledgement of a feud between her and his wife due to his infidelity during their 2000 tour. Rumors of a reunion continued to swirl during 2003-04, even as Mötley Crüe members stayed busy with individual projects. Both Tommy Lee and Vince Neil participated in celebrity shows, Lee as the focus of a half-hour show on NBC featuring the rock star attending college classes and Neil in the first season of The Surreal Life. Sixx toured and released an album with his new band, Brides of Destruction. The reunion rumors finally came true in late 2004 when the four original members announced dates for a full tour in 2005, their first in more than six years. The tour coincided with the February release of the band’s double-disc greatest hits collection, Red, White & Crüe.

Edited November 1, 2005 by hitman531ph

[hitman531ph]

SKID ROW

 

Skid Row was one of the last hair metal bands to hit the mainstream before grunge took over in the early '90s. They were also arguably the last of such bands to have any originality. While their 1989 self-titled release used standard pop-metal riffs and contained a handful of generic lyrics, 1991's Slave to the Grind and 1995's Subhuman Race broke away from the pop-metal mold with uncharacteristically hard, thrashy guitars and more unique songwriting while still relying on varying '80s metal formulas. Though personal differences and changing trends would eventually tear the band apart by 1996, Skid Row showed a tremendous amount of promise during their short run in the mainstream.

 

Skid Row was formed in 1986 by bassist Rachel Bolan and former Bon Jovi guitarist Dave "the Snake" Sabo. The pair added guitarist Scotti Hill, drummer Rob Affuso, and vocalist Sebastian Bach to the lineup by early 1987 and the band spent the next year and a half playing a series of local clubs in the eastern U.S. Still in connection with Jon Bon Jovi, Sabo convinced the established rock star to land Skid Row a record deal with Mercury. In 1989, the band released their first album, Skid Row, which went multi-platinum on the strength of the Top 40 singles "18 and Life" and "I Remember You." Success was not without backlash, however -- the band had naively signed away much of their royalties and Sebastian Bach's childlike behavior would land the group in additional trouble. During the subsequent tour, Bach received harsh criticism for a T-shirt he publicly sported displaying the message: AIDS KILLS FAGS DEAD. Suits were also filed against Bach after a concert during the supporting tour, where the singer allegedly threw a glass bottle into the crowd, injuring a young female fan. Nonetheless, Skid Row retained a devoted audience -- 1991's Slave to the Grind debuted at number one on the Billboard Charts, an unprecedented accomplishment for a metal band. While the album did not chart any real radio hits, Grind received stronger critical praise and would eventually reach platinum status. Like so many of their peers, Skid Row lost much of their fan base during the grunge phase of the '90s. As Nirvana stormed the scene in 1992, Skid Row took a hiatus, waiting out the grunge period and pondering breakups (ironically, Nirvana had once gone under the name Skid Row in the '80s). Skid Row returned in 1995 with Subhuman Race, which surprisingly charted in the Top 40 but otherwise did not attract any real attention. During the supporting tour, tensions between the group members ran high and Skid Row disbanded shortly afterwards. Bach went on to form the Last Hard Men with Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, but the group broke up after recording a cover of Alice Cooper's "School's Out" for the Scream soundtrack in 1996. Plans to record new songs for the Skid Row greatest hits album, 1998's Forty Seasons, fell through, as Bach went on to form a solo project and portray the title role in the Broadway musical Jeckyll and Hyde. In mid-2000, Skid Row reformed with new singer Johnny Solinger and toured as the opening band for KISS' Farewell Tour.

Edited November 1, 2005 by hitman531ph

[hitman531ph]

JULIAN LENNON

 

Today, praise and respect is lavished on music's second-generation darlings--Jakob Dylan, Rufus Wainwright, Eagle-Eye Cherry, Emma Townshend, Chris Stills, Adam Cohen, Sean Lennon--but Sean's half-brother Julian, the elder son of the late Beatle John Lennon, didn't have it quite so easy. When he debuted at age 20 with the slick, commercial pop album Valotte in 1985--just five years after his father's death--critics slagged him mercilessly, unfairly comparing him to dear old Dad. When Julian attempted to go a more eclectic and adventurous route with his third album, Mr. Jordan, he was not only again lambasted (this time for "trying too hard"), he also alienated much of his Beatle-obsessed fanbase. After his fourth release, Help Yourself, failed to make a dent in America (though it charted in other countries), a frustrated Julian heeded the advice of that album's title and took a much-needed seven-year sabbatical from music; when he eventually returned in 1998, it was a delightful surprise. His beautifully crafted, singer-songwriter-esque fifth album, 1998's Photograph Smile--full of lush ballads and smart, snappy pop tunes--finally established the 35-year-old Julian as a true talent in his own right, and garnered him the most favorable reviews of his career.

Although Julian Lennon bears his father's famous name and face--his resemblance to John is uncanny--he actually had very little contact with his father while growing up. Julian was born just as extreme Beatlemania was sweeping the globe, so John was often away from home. Furthermore, for a while Julian and his mother, Cynthia, were kept secret from the public, because Beatles manager Brian Epstein felt John would be more appealing to (female) fans if he was believed to be single and available. Julian was only a small boy when John and Cynthia divorced, after which John was busy living in the U.S. with new wife Yoko Ono and new son Sean, so Julian only saw his father a handful of times between the ages of six and 16. (Julian has been vocal about his resentment of his father's absence, and of Yoko for coming between them, but has also said that he and John were growing closer towards the end of John's life.)

 

But still, music was in Julian blood, and so, with little guidance from his father, he started playing guitar and writing songs on his own; by age 19 he had a record deal with Atlantic. But shady, opportunistic music business types, eager to take advantage of the marketing possibilities of Julian's famous family connections, manhandled his career from the very beginning, entangling him in dubious contracts and dictating the type of widely accessible pop music he should record. Julian, having not grown up in the music business due to his lack of contact with his father, was as naïve as any 19-year-old developing artist, and as a result, never really had control of his career.

 

Although Valotte was a commercial, if not critical, success--yielding the hit singles "Valotte" and "Too Late For Goodbyes"--the sophomore jinx hit with the sales disappointment The Secret Value Of Daydreaming, and the two albums that followed (Mr. Jordan and Help Yourself) were even less successful, thus seemingly cementing Julian's rep*tation as a second-rate Lennon knockoff. This rep*tation still dogged him years later, as his own record label Music From Another Room released Photograph Smile in Europe, because Sean Lennon's much-anticipated debut, Into The Sun, came out on the same day; the two albums were often compared in the English press via a petty, mocking "which Lennon is better?" debate.

 

But Julian had the last laugh, as Photograph Smile received high praise from critics. This time he was creating music and doing business on his own terms, and truly proving himself as an artist. It took 15 years and a close brush with permanent retirement for it to happen, but finally, Julian Lennon had arrived.

Edited November 1, 2005 by hitman531ph

[hitman531ph]

SLADE

 

Slade may have never truly caught on with American audiences (often narrow-mindedly deemed "too British-sounding"), but the group became a sensation in their homeland with their anthemic brand of glam rock in the early '70s, as they scored a staggering 11 Top Five hits in a four-year span from 1971 to 1974 (five of which topped the charts). Comprised of singer/guitarist Noddy Holder (born Neville Holder, June 15, 1946 in Walsall, West Midlands, England), guitarist Dave Hill (born April 4, 1946, in Fleet Castle, Devon, England), bassist Jimmy Lea (born June 14, 1949, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England), and drummer Don Powell (born September 10, 1946, Bilston, West Midlands, England), the group originally formed in the spring of 1966 under the name the In-Be-Tweens, playing out regularly with a mixture of soul and rock tracks. But besides a lone obscure single, "You Better Run" (penned by future Runaways svengali Kim Fowley), the band never issued any other recordings. By the end of '60s, the group had changed their name to Ambrose Slade and signed on with the Fontana label. Soon after, the quartet hooked up with Animals bass player-turned-manager Chas Chandler (who had discovered Jimi Hendrix a few years prior), who promptly suggested the group shorten the name to just Slade and assume a "skinhead" look (Dr. Martin boots, shaved heads) as a gimmick.

After several albums featuring few original compositions from the quartet came and went (1969's Beginnings, 1970's Play It Loud), the group began to write their own tunes, grew their hair long, and assumed the look of the then-burgeoning glam movement, joining the same cause championed by such fellow Brits as David Bowie and T. Rex. This new direction paid off in 1971 with the number 16 U.K. single "Get Down and Get With It," which soon touched off a string of classic singles and led to Slade becoming one of the most beloved party bands back home. Slade also utilized another gimmick, humorously misspelled song titles, as evidenced by such singles as "Coz I Luv You," "Look Wot You Dun," "Take Me Bak 'Ome," "Mama Weer All Crazee Now," "Gudbuy t'Jane," "Cum on Feel the Noize," "Skweeze Me, Pleeze Me," and "Merry Xmas Everybody" (the latter of which re-entered the charts every holiday season for years afterward). Several attempts at cracking the U.S. market came up empty (with track listings between their U.K. and U.S. full-lengths differing), although such albums as Slade Alive! and Slayed? are considered to be some of the finest albums of the glam era.

 

Slade continued to score further hit singles back home, including such correctly spelled tracks as "My Friend Stan," "Everyday," "Bangin' Man," "Far Far Away," "How Does it Feel," and "In for a Penny," but with glam rock's dissolution and punk's emergence by the mid-'70s, the hits eventually dried up for the quartet. Despite the change in musical climate, Slade stuck to their guns and kept touring and releasing albums, as the title to their 1977 album, Whatever Happened to Slade?, proved that the group's humor remained intact despite their fall from the top of the charts. A large, dedicated following still supported the group as they offered a performance at the 1980 Reading Festival that was considered one of the day's best, resulting in sudden renewed interest in the group back home and Slade scored their first true hit singles in six years with 1981's "We'll Bring the House Down" and "Lock up Your Daughters."

 

Slade received a boost stateside around this time as well, courtesy of the U.S. pop-metal outfit Quiet Riot, who made a smash hit out of "Cum on Feel the Noize" in 1983 that resulted in a strong chart showing for Slade's 1984 release Keep Your Hands Off My Power Supply (issued as The Amazing Kamikaze Syndrome in the U.K. a year earlier). Slade then enjoyed a pair of U.S. MTV/radio hits, "Run Runaway" and "My Oh My." Holder and Lea also tried their hand at producing another artist around this time as well, as they manned the boards for Girlschool's 1983 release Play Dirty. Despite another all-new studio release, Rogues Gallery, and Quiet Riot covering another classic Slade tune ("Mama Weer All Crazee Now"), Slade was unable to retain their newfound American audience or rekindled British following and they eventually faded from sight once more, this time without a comeback waiting around the corner. During the '90s, a truncated version of the group dubbed Slade II was formed (without Holder or Lea in attendance), while Holder became a popular U.K. television personality as well as the host of his own '70s rock radio show. A 21-track singles compilation, Feel the Noize: The Very Best of Slade, was issued in 1997 (re-released under the simple title of Greatest Hits a couple of years later), which proved to be a popular release in England.

Edited November 1, 2005 by hitman531ph

[hitman531ph]

ALISON MOYET

 

Alison Moyet, a British pop singer with a remarkably bluesy voice, began her professional career with synth pop duo Yazoo (Yaz in the U.S.) in the early '80s. In 1983, Moyet began a solo career, releasing her debut album, Alf, the following year. Alf was a major success in Britain, hitting number one on the charts and launching the hit singles "Invisible," "All Cried Out," and "Love Resurrection"; it was a minor hit in the U.S., with "Invisible" cracking the Top 40. During 1985, Moyet toured with a jazz band led by John Altman; the group recorded a version of Billie Holiday's "That Ole Devil Called Love," which became her biggest British hit, even though the group received poor reviews.

In 1986, Moyet had another major U.K. hit with "Is This Love?," which was released while she was recording her second solo album. Raindancing appeared in 1987 and it was another big British hit, peaking at number two and featuring the Top Ten hits "Weak in the Presence of Beauty" and "Love Letters." The record wasn't quite as successful in the U.S., peaking at number 94. In 1991, she released her third album, Hoodoo, which was her most musically ambitious collection to date. However, it didn't match the commercial success of her previous albums, failing to chart in America. Essex, her fourth album, appeared in 1994 and she released a greatest-hits collection, Singles, the following year

Edited November 1, 2005 by hitman531ph

[hitman531ph]

GO WEST

 

The duo of Peter Cox and Richard Drummie first appeared in 1985 when their debut album GO WEST was warmly received in the dancefloor as well as pop radio. Their first hits, WE CLOSE OUR EYES, CALL ME, EYE TO EYE and DON'T LOOK DOWN made their mark in music history. Their second release was BANGS AND CRASHES which contained remix editions of their hits from their debut album since their songs were well-received at the dance floor.

 

They contributed a song called ONE WAY STREET to the soundtrack of ROCKY IV in 1986. Their 1987 release DANCING ON THE COUCH, however, bombed out and failed to sell well. It was a case of the sophomore blues, as the music industry people put it. The question was, with the failure of DANCING ON THE COUCH, can GO WEST return and revive their faltering career?

 

In 1990, the duo returned to the charts and went on to hit the Top 10 with KING OF WISHFUL THINKING, a contribution to the soundtrack of PRETTY WOMAN which starred Richard Gere and Julia Roberts. Taking this cue, the duo recorded more material and released the album INDIAN SUMMER by 1992. It contained their previous hit, KING OF WISHFUL THINKING. However, their new material FAITHFUL charted in the Top 10 as well.

 

Meanwhile, the duo admitted that they were at first reluctant to do a cover of a song which has been covered by other artists. They were more bent into recording their own compositions. However, after studio executives and producers persuasions, the duo agreed to record a cover song which became their next Top 10 hit from the INDIAN SUMMER album WHAT YOU WON'T DO FOR LOVE. It was a Bobby Caldwell original but many say that the version of GO WEST is the best version so far.

 

By 1993, GO WEST released ACES AND KINGS: THE BEST OF GO WEST. Included in the album was a previously unreleased song which is also a cover song TRACKS OF MY TEARS. The song went to the Top 20 in 1993.

 

After 1993, GO WEST has not come up with another hit or album.

Edited November 1, 2005 by hitman531ph

[hitman531ph]

KAJAGOOGOO

 

Kajagoogoo's light synth pop and pretty, photogenic look made the group an instant sensation in the early days of MTV. Led by vocalist Limahl (born Chris Hamill), the group also featured Steve Askew (guitar), Nick Beggs (vocals, bass), and Stuart Crawford (vocals, synthesizer). Produced by Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes, Kajagoogoo's debut single "Too Shy" hit number one in the U.K. in early 1983; it peaked at number five in the U.S. "Too Shy" and the following album White Feathers proved the band may have shared some similarities with Duran Duran and Naked Eyes -- they were pretty and played immediately accessible, polished pop -- yet Kajagoogoo was essentially a synth pop variation of a bubblegum group. Like a bubblegum group, they were destined to have only one big hit; "Ooh to Be Ah" and "Hang on Now" both were Top 15 U.K. hits, yet neither made an impact in the U.S. At the end of the 1983, Limahl left for a solo career. Kajagoogoo continued with Nick Beggs as the lead vocalist, releasing Islands in 1984; it disappeared from the charts quickly. Meanwhile, Limahl scored a hit with the theme song from The Neverending Story. Perhaps in an attempt to gain some credibility, the group shortened their name to Kaja and released Crazy People's Right to Speak. It had a minor hit called "Shouldn't Do That". Overall, the album was a sales disaster and the band broke up the following year. Limahl continued to record, albeit without much chart success; eventually, his records were not released in either the U.S. or the U.K. -- his last album, 1992's Love Is Blind, was only released in Germany

Edited November 1, 2005 by hitman531ph

[hitman531ph]

POISON

 

In a decade fueled by party anthems and power ballads, Poison found a high amount of popularity, with only Bon Jovi and Def Leppard outselling them. While the group had a long string of hits, they soon became just as renowned for their stage show, and continued to be a major attraction over the course of their first three albums. Although their success was rather short-lived, one cannot deny the major effect that Poison had on the music industry during their career.

Formerly known as Paris, Poison was formed in 1984 by singer Bret Michaels, bassist Bobby Dall, and drummer Rikki Rockett. After traveling from Harrisburg, PA, to Los Angeles, CA, the band added guitarist C.C. Deville to their lineup. The group was signed to Enigma Records in 1986, where they released their first album, Look What the Cat Dragged In. The record, spawning the Top Ten hits "I Want Action," "Talk Dirty to Me," and "I Won't Forget You," was a surprise success, selling two-million copies within a year following its release.

 

While the band was already quite popular by the end of 1987, 1988's Open Up & Say...Ahhh! was their commercial breakthrough, due to the massive hits "Fallen Angel," "Nothin' But a Good Time," and "Every Rose Has Its Thorn." After a prosperous tour with David Lee Roth, the group returned to the studio to record Flesh and Blood in 1990. The album, which included the upbeat "Unskinny Bop" and the sentimental "Something to Believe In," was another major success. The dynamic tour supporting the record brought on the release of Swallow This Live, a double-disc set which included live versions of their biggest hits, along with four new studio tracks. The band was secretly falling apart, as an infamous appearance on MTV showed Deville perform nearly half of "Talk Dirty to Me" with his guitar unplugged. The band broke into a brawl backstage after the disastrous performance.

 

Shortly after the release of Swallow This Live, Poison fired Deville due to his increasing addiction to drugs and alcohol. His replacement, Richie Kotzen, made his commercial debut with the band on the 1993 Native Tongue album, which, despite some strong reviews and a hit single, "Stand," was a commercial disappointment. Kotzen was fired during the subsequent tour, and Blues Saraceno became Poison's third guitarist. The band recorded their fifth studio album, Crack a Smile, for release in 1996, but the record was shelved and replaced with the Greatest Hits: 1986-1996 disc. Toward the end of 1996, Saraceno left and Deville returned to the band, which eventually resulted in a successful reunion tour in the summer of 1999; the Crack a Smile sessions were finally released the following spring, soon followed by the mostly live Power to the People. Another tour was cut short by an accident that left Dall with serious back surgery and at least a six-month break from the band. By the time he got back into shape, the band stepped into the studio and recorded Hollyweird, which was released in the summer of 2002. The following tour was promoted as a nostalgia experience and was funded by VH1

Edited November 2, 2005 by hitman531ph

[bullseye2x]

i go for The Colourfield, Depeche Mode and The Cure ... :cool: :cool:

[hitman531ph]

THE COLOURFIELD

 

By the summer of 1983, the Fun Boy Three were peaking in popularity and Terry Hall disbanded the group. Hooking up with ex-Swinging Cats members Toby Lyons and Karl Shale, Hall moved to Manchester and formed the Colourfield, a more lush and melodic outfit than the Fun Boy Three. In January of 1984, the band released their first single, "The Colourfield," which just missed the Top 40. It was followed later that summer with "Take," which didn't even come close to the Top 40. The Colourfield had its first hit in January of 1985, when "Thinking of You" reached number 12. It was followed by "Castles in the Air," another failed single that preceded the release of their debut album, Virgins and Philistines, by just a few weeks. Like the band's singles, Virgins and Philistines failed to gain a large audience for the Colourfield. The band released a second album, Deception, in the spring of 1987. During the sessions, Lyons left the band, leaving Hall to finish the album by himself; to complete the album, Hall hired Raquel Welch's band. The Deception album spawned a single "Running Away" which featured Tears For Fears' Roland Orzabal on guitars, entered the Top 40. The other two singles From Dawn to Distraction and the tile track Deception were minor pop hits but new wavers enjoyed them.

 

No Colourfield album followed thereafter.

Edited November 3, 2005 by hitman531ph

[hitman531ph]

PREFAB SPROUT

 

One of the most beloved British pop bands of the '80s and '90s, Prefab Sprout has had a minimum of chart success in the United States, where they're all but unknown outside of their devoted cult following, but singer/songwriter Paddy McAloon is regularly hailed as one of the great songwriters of his era. Critics regularly compare McAloon favorably to Elvis Costello, Paul McCartney, and even Cole Porter, but the self-effacing and publicity-shy performer modestly prefers to let his increasingly rare albums speak for themselves.

Prefab Sprout was formed in Newcastle, England, in 1977 by McAloon (who sings and plays guitar and piano) and his bass-playing younger brother Martin. In the group's early days, McAloon spun several fanciful tales about the origin of their odd name (one favorite was that the young McAloon had misheard the line "hotter than a pepper sprout" in Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood's "Jackson"), but the prosaic truth is that an adolescent McAloon had devised the meaningless name in homage to the longwinded and equally silly band names of his late-'60s/early-'70s youth. Drafting an early fan, Wendy Smith, into the lineup to sing helium-register backing vocals, the trio released their first single, "Lions in My Own Garden (Exit Someone)," on their own Candle label in July 1982. Written for a girlfriend who had left Newcastle to study in Limoges, France (check the acronym of the title), the song was exceedingly clever but obviously heartfelt. The single's warm reception, including many plays on John Peel's radio show, led to the Sprout's signing to CBS subsidiary Kitchenware Records, which reissued the single in April 1983. Another single, "The Devil Has All the Best Tunes," followed later that year.

 

Prefab Sprout's first album, Swoon, was released in March 1984. Containing neither of the first two singles (but leading off with the delightful "Don't Sing," their third), Swoon is in retrospect a surprisingly brittle record, full of difficult songs that take unexpected left turns and have all but impenetrable lyrics. That said, there are more ideas per bar in Swoon than in any chart record released in 1984, and the songs' charms reveal themselves after a few listens. Shortly after Swoon's release, drummer Neil Conti joined the group, and in a rather brilliant move, Thomas Dolby was tapped to produce the second Prefab Sprout album, 1985's Steve McQueen (retitled Two Wheels Good in the U.S. due to litigation from the late actor's estate). Dolby smoothes out the kinks a bit, and his keyboards help enrich the album's sound; it also helps that the songs are much better, lyrically opaque but not impenetrable and melodically satisfying.

 

Prefab Sprout returned to the studio without Dolby in the summer of 1985 and quickly recorded an album's worth of material that was initially meant to be released in a limited edition as a tour souvenir. However, several months after Steve McQueen was released, its song "When Love Breaks Down" (which had been released as a single four different times in the U.K. without chart success) finally became a hit, and CBS feared a new album would hurt its predecessor's sales, so the project was shelved.

 

The "proper" follow-up to Steve McQueen was 1988's From Langley Park to Memphis. Although it was their biggest hit, thanks to the massive U.K. chart success of "The King of Rock and Roll" (about a one-hit wonder stuck performing his silly novelty song on the nostalgia circuit forever; ironically, it was the band's sole U.K. Top Ten hit and remains their best-known song) and the U.S. college radio success of the genial Bruce Springsteen parody "Cars and Girls," many Prefab Sprout fans consider this the group's weakest album due to the too-slick production and a few subpar tunes. Following that chart action, CBS dusted off the shelved acoustic project from 1985 and released it (in the U.K. only) under the title Protest Songs in June 1989.

 

1990's Jordan: The Comeback, which McAloon describes as a concept album about Jesse James and Elvis Presley, was released to enormous critical acclaim in late 1990, but unfortunately, its ornate, lush production and suite-like structure doomed it to commercial failure in the U.S., though it was another big hit in the U.K. A fine but unimaginative best-of, A Life of Surprises, met similar respective fates in the summer of 1992.

 

Many thought Prefab Sprout disbanded at that point, and indeed, Conti did leave the band at some point in the '90s. However, McAloon had written (and in some cases, recorded) several albums' worth of material during the first half of the decade, abandoning them all before finally releasing the crystalline Andromeda Heights in 1997. The album wasn't even released in the U.S., but it was another deserved U.K. hit. An album of subtle beauty, Andromeda Heights shows how far McAloon had come as a songwriter and singer since Swoon.

 

A much-improved two-disc anthology, The 38-Carat Collection was released by CBS in 1999 as the group was leaving the label. (Unexpectedly, the group's U.S. label, Epic, belatedly reissued this set as The Collection in early 2001.) Smith left the group during this period, after the birth of her first child. Prefab Sprout, by this point consisting solely of the McAloon brothers, signed to EMI in late 2000 and delivered their Western-themed concept album, The Gunman and Other Stories, in early 2001. Unfortunately, the album's release was delayed several months when Paddy McAloon was diagnosed with a medical disorder rendering him partially blind.

Edited November 3, 2005 by hitman531ph

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GENE LOVES JEZEBEL

 

Twin brothers Jay and Michael Aston began playing music in 1980 when they formed Slav Arian with guitarist Ian Hudson and a drum machine. Though the Astons grew up in Porthcawl, South Wales, they moved to London in 1981 and renamed the goth-influenced group Gene Loves Jezebel. The trio played several live shows and was quickly signed by Situation 2. In May 1982, the label released Gene Loves Jezebel's demo single "Shavin' My Neck." The band then added bassist Julianne Regan and drummer Dick Hawkins. Regan left soon after to form All About Eve, leaving Ian Hudson and Michael Aston to alternate on bass until Peter Rizzo joined in 1984. Hawkins also split for a time -- replaced by John Murphy and later Steve Goulding -- but returned in 1983.

Gene Loves Jezebel released two more singles in 1983 before their debut album Promise hit number one in the U.K.'s indie charts. In 1984, the group recorded a John Peel radio session for BBC and toured America with John Cale. After returning to England, Gene Loves Jezebel released the singles "Influenza (Relapse)" and "Shame (Whole Heart Howl)," but then waited a full year before second album Immigrant appeared in mid-1985. (It's not very surprising that the album was recorded with a lineup change, this time drummer Marcus Gilvear instead of Dick Hawkins.) Immigrant also hit number one on the indie charts, but during a tortured American tour, founding member Hudson left, and was replaced by former Generation X guitarist James Stevenson.

 

The year 1986 brought a contract with Beggar's Banquet and, subsequently, popular-chart success for the group. "Desire (Come and Get It)" became a dancefloor hit among new wavers. "The Sweetest Thing" hit the Top 75 in England, and the resulting album Discover (which included a limited-edition live album called Glad to Be Alive) reached the expected indie-chart top spot and also did well with college radio in America. Chris Bell became the band's fifth drummer later that year, and Gene Loves Jezebel's fourth album The House of Dolls was released late in 1987, yielding a single, "The Motion of Love," that grazed the U.S. charts. The Astons turned their attention to dance with the single "Heartache," but Michael decided to leave the band by mid-1989.

 

In a small twist of fate, Gene Loves Jezebel gained its highest-charting American single the following year, when "Jealous," the major single from Kiss of Life, reached number 68 in August 1990. Two years later, Jay Aston and co. released Heavenly Bodies, which did well in Europe and on American college radio; the group's American label folded one year later though, and after a few sporadic live shows, Gene Loves Jezebel called it quits.

 

As early as 1992, Michael Aston had been working with a new band called the Immigrants. Two years later, he re-formed the band as Edith Grove and released a self-titled album. Michael and Jay began working together again that same year, and later recorded two songs with Stevenson, Bell and Rizzo for a GLJ best-of compilation, released in September 1995. While Jay performed occasional acoustic shows under his own name, Michael played with members of Scenic and released a solo album, Why Me, Why This, Why Now, in 1995. Gene Loves Jezebel reformed in 1998 for VII, released in 1999 on Robinson Records. It was followed that same year by both Love Lies Bleeding and Live in Voodoo City. Giving Up the Ghost appeared in early 2001.

Edited November 3, 2005 by hitman531ph

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SEONA DANCING

 

The British band probably would've never made it into any history book outside of the Philippines if its former lead singer hadn't become an awardwinning TV star. Seona Dancing formed in Reading, England in the early '80s with vocalist Ricky Gervais and keyboardist Bill Macrae. Inspired by the New Romantic sounds of Japan and Ultravox, Seona Dancing recorded two singles for London Records that failed to break into the U.K. Top 40. Released in 1983, "More to Lose" and "Bitter Heart" may have been flops in England, but they found new life in the Philippines two years later. It all began in 1985, when the New Waveleaning pop station 99.5RT FM in Manila started spinning a dreamy ballad called "Fade," by Medium. The song title and artist name were completely bogus, created so that their competitors wouldn't be able to find the record and play it themselves; a station I.D. was even inserted midway through the track, making it impossible for other DJs to record it and spin it on their own stations. A year later, its true identity was revealed on Manila's nowlegendary New Wave powerhouse DWXB102: It was none other than Seona Dancing's "More to Lose." Ignored in the U.K., "More to Lose" became the theme song of angst-ridden New Wave youths in the Philippines in the '80s; with its brooding, Michael Hutchence like vocals and jumpy percussion, it swept the clubs as well. Ironically, this was oblivious to the duo; when "More to Lose" started its rise to never-ending airplay on Manila FM stations in the mid'80s, Seona Dancing wasn't even together anymore. The group's lack of success in their native land discouraged them from continuing. Gervais remained in the music industry only to manage Suede, and DJ on London's XFM. In 2004, Gervais won a Golden Globe for his role as David Brent in the BBC comedy The Office

Edited November 3, 2005 by hitman531ph