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

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THE CHAMELEONS UK

 

The atmospheric pop band the Chameleons formed in Manchester, England, in 1981 from the ashes of a number of local groups: vocalist/bassist Mark Burgess began with the Cliches, guitarists Reg Smithies and Dave Fielding arrived from the Years, and drummer John Lever (who quickly replaced founding member Brian Schofield) originated with the Politicians. After establishing themselves with a series of high-profile BBC sessions, the Chameleons signed to Epic and debuted with the EP Nostalgia, a tense, moody set produced by Steve Lillywhite which featured the single "In Shreds."

 

The quartet was soon released from its contract with Epic, but then signed to Statik and returned in 1983 with the band's first full-length effort, Script of the Bridge. What Does Anything Mean? Basically followed in 1985, and with it came a new reliance on stylish production; following its release, the Chameleons signed to Geffen and emerged the following year with Strange Times. The dark, complex record proved to be the Chameleons' finale, however, when they split following the sudden death of manager Tony Fletcher; while Burgess and Lever continued on in the Sun & the Moon, Smithies and Fielding later reunited in the Reegs. The album also managed to chalk up a British hit and new wave hit "Tears" by 1987. In 1993, Burgess surfaced with his proper solo album Zima Junction. He and his band the Sons of God toured America the following year.

 

As the '90s came and went, the four members of the Chameleons UK continued to work on music and see one another on a personal basis. While their own musical projects kept them busy, a reunion was practically inevitable. The Chameleons reconnected in January 2000 to prep for three May dates in England. The acoustic-based, self-released Strip was available by showtime and for a limited time only. Additional European dates followed throughout the summer, and by fall the Chameleons UK played their first American shows in nearly 15 years. Several live efforts appeared shortly thereafter. Why Call It Anything? (2001) marked the Chameleons' first studio album since 1986's Strange Times. This Never Ending Now appeared two years later

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BON JOVI

 

Few bands embodied the era of pop-metal like Bon Jovi. By merging Def Leppard's loud but tuneful metal with Bruce Springsteen's working-class sensibilities, the New Jersey-based quintet developed an ingratiatingly melodic and professional variation of hard rock -- one that appealed as much to teenagers as to housewives. Bon Jovi skillfully employed professional songwriters to give their songs, especially their power ballads, an appropriately commercial sheen, inaugurating a trend that dominated mainstream hard rock and metal for the next decade. They also made simple performance videos that emphasized lead singer Jon Bon Jovi's photogenic good looks, and these clips helped propel 1986's Slippery When Wet and 1988's New Jersey into multi-platinum status around the world. Both records were criticized for being more pop than metal, as well as being targeted toward teenyboppers, yet the group managed to subtly change its image in the early '90s, moving away from metal and concentrating on straightforward arena rock and big ballads. The shift in style worked, and Bon Jovi were the only American pop-metal band of the '80s to retain a sizable audience in the '90s.

 

Jon Bongiovi spent most of his adolescence ditching school to play rock & roll, usually in local bands with his friend David Rashbaum. Bongiovi's cousin Tony owned the famous New York recording studio the Power Station, which was where Jon hung out. He was hired as a janitor, and soon he was recording demos at the Power Station with several famous musicians, including members of the E Street Band and Aldo Nova. One of these demos, "Runaway," became a hit on local New Jersey radio, and Bongiovi formed Bon Jovi to support the song, recruiting not only Rashbaum, but also guitarist Dave Sabo, bassist Alec John Such, and drummer Tico Torres. Soon, Bon Jovi was the subject of a major-label bidding war, and the group -- or, according to some reports, just Bongiovi -- signed to Polygram/Mercury in 1983. Upon signing, Jon changed his last name to Bon Jovi in order to de-emphasize his ethnic background, and Rashbaum adopted his middle name Bryan as his last name. Before the group entered the studio, Bon Jovi replaced Sabo with Richie Sambora.

 

Bon Jovi's eponymous debut album was released in 1984, and "Runaway" became a Top 40 hit. Following its success, Tony Bongiovi sued the band, claiming he developed their successful sound; the group settled out of court. The following year, 7800 Fahrenheit was released and went gold. Despite the band's respectable success, Bon Jovi weren't becoming the superstars they had hoped, and they changed their approach for their next album, Slippery When Wet. Hiring professional songwriter Desmond Child as a collaborator, the group wrote 30 songs and auditioned them for local New Jersey and New York teenagers, basing the album's running order on their opinions. After ditching the original cover of a busty woman in a wet T-shirt for the title traced in water on a garbage bag, Slippery When Wet was released in 1986. Supported by several appealing, straightforward videos that showcased the photogenic Jon, the album eventually sold nine million copies in the U.S. alone, helping usher in the era of pop-metal. Two songs, "You Give Love a Bad Name" and "Livin' on a Prayer," reached number one, while "Wanted Dead or Alive" reached the Top Ten, and Bon Jovi were established as superstars.

 

Bon Jovi replicated the Slippery When Wet formula for 1988's New Jersey, which shot to number one upon its release. New Jersey was only slightly less successful than its predecessor, selling five million copies and generating two number one singles, "Bad Medicine" and "I'll Be There for You," as well as the Top Ten hits "Born to Be My Baby," "Lay Your Hands on Me," and "Living in Sin." In 1989, the band supported Cher, who was then dating Sambora, on her Heart of Stone album, which was recorded while the group was in the midst of an 18-month international tour. Following the completion of the tour, the band went on hiatus. During their time off, Jon Bon Jovi wrote the soundtrack for Young Guns II, which was released in 1990 as the Blaze of Glory album. The record produced two hit singles in the number one title track and the number 12 "Miracle," as well as earning Grammy and Oscar nominations. The following year, Bon Jovi reunited to record their fifth album, Keep the Faith, which was released in the fall of 1992. While the album didn't match the blockbuster status of its predecessors, largely because musical tastes had shifted in the four years between New Jersey and Keep the Faith, it was nevertheless a big hit, and its more straightforward, anthemic sound produced the hit single "Bed of Roses." A hits collection, Cross Road, followed in 1994, and in the fall of 1995, they released These Days, which proved to be a bigger success in Europe than America. After appearing in the 1996 film Moonlight and Valentino, Jon Bon Jovi released his first official solo album in the summer of 1997. Three years later, Bon Jovi regrouped and released Crush. "It's My Life" and "Thank You for Loving Me" were a chart hits and Bon Jovi's star power soared beyond their wildest dreams. Crush eventually went double platinum in the U.S. and sold eight million copies worldwide, but Bon Jovi stayed focus. Within a year they returned with an eighth studio effort, Bounce, which appeared in fall 2002. Tours across the globe as well as dates with the Goo Goo Dolls fared well. In 2003 Bon Jovi re-recorded many of their most well-known songs for the release This Left Feels Right and followed it in 2004 with a DVD companion of the same title

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PAT BENETAR

 

Pat Benatar's polished mainstream pop/rock made her one of the more popular female vocalists of the early '80s. Although she came on like an arena rocker with her power chords, tough sexuality, and powerful vocals, her music was straight pop/rock underneath all the bluster. Born Patricia Andrzejewski on January 10, 1953, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, the singer was raised in the nearby town of Lindenhurst on Long Island, NY. Benatar began singing regularly in the New York City area by the '70s, where she was discovered at the Catch a Rising Star club and signed by Chrysalis Records. Backed by a stellar band led by guitarist Neil Geraldo (who the singer would later marry) that provided the perfect accompaniment that was able to effortlessly alternate between rockers and ballads. Benatar quickly established herself as one of rock's top vocalists, scoring a hit right of the bat with her debut album, 1979's In the Heat of the Night, which spawned such radio favorites as "Heartbreaker" and "I Need a Lover" (the latter of which was written by a then-unknown John Mellencamp).

 

Benatar's sophomore effort, 1980's Crimes of Passion, more than delivered on the debut's promise and it's often considered to be the finest recording of her career. Spurred on by such classic rock radio standards as "Hit Me With Your Best Shot," "Treat Me Right," and "You Better Run," the album was certified platinum shortly after its release and Benatar became a certified arena headliner in the U.S. Benatar also became one of the most-played artists during MTV's early days, received several Grammy Awards around this time, and continued to enjoy massive hits and sold-out tours throughout the early to mid-'80s, including such albums as 1981's Precious Time, 1982's Get Nervous, 1983's Live From Earth, 1984's Tropico, 1985's Seven the Hard Way, and 1988's Wide Awake in Dreamland, plus the singles "Fire & Ice," "Promises in the Dark," "Shadows of the Night," "Love Is a Battlefield," "We Belong," and "Invincible." But by the end of the decade, it appeared as though Benatar had fallen of the face of the Earth as the hits seemed to dry up.

 

Benatar opted to shift musical gears and issue an album of blues and R&B, 1991's True Love, which failed to return the singer back to the top of the charts. Benatar returned back to her patented arena rock sound with such further studio releases as 1993's Gravity's Rainbow and 1997's Innamorata (although the latter of which was largely acoustic-based) and while the albums didn't exactly measure up to her earlier releases, both were solid efforts. The late '90s saw a pair of live archival releases hit record store shelves, 1998's 8-15-80 and 1999's The King Biscuit Flower Hour Live, in addition to countless hits collections (although the best of the bunch proved to be 1989's Best Shots, which remains a steady seller to this day). The singer began touring again by the middle of the decade (after taking a five-year hiatus from the road), co-headlining shows with REO Speedwagon, Fleetwood Mac, the Steve Miller Band, and Styx. She also continued to dabble in acting, appearing in the ABC Afterschool Special Torn Between Two Fathers and on various sitcoms. In August 2003, Benatar returned to recording with Go (Vanguard), her first studio LP since '97's Innamorata. The LP revisited the arena rock/MOR sound that had defined Benatar's career, and was accompanied by an extensive tour

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Y&T

 

Y&T were within reach of the Grail of rock & roll stardom many times in their long career. Unfortunately for the group, the ultimate prize always seemed to elude them in the end due to a series of mistakes and sheer bad luck. A legendary live band, the group never managed to translate their electric on-stage intensity into the studio, and despite their 20 years of service, they have now become little more than a blot on the American hard rock canvas.

 

Taking their name from a Beatles album, Yesterday. . . and Today, Yesterday & Today formed in San Francisco around 1973 with Dave Meniketti on vocals and lead guitar, Phil Kennemore on bass and Leonard Haze on drums. After stealing rhythm guitarist Joey Alves from a rival band, the foursome began to gig constantly around the Bay Area, opening for such heavyweights as Journey and the Doobie Brothers. They were eventually picked up by London Records, which released their eponymous debut in 1976 and followed it with Struck Down two years later. Neither album ended up being successful, though, and after being dropped from the label, the band spent another two years struggling to stay alive.

 

Their perseverance finally paid off in early 1981, when they inked a long-term deal with A&M Records and shortened their name to Y&T in the process. Earthshaker, their first album for the label came out later that year and was a resounding success, earning the band a number of high-profile opening slots with AC/DC and Kiss. The group's newfound success culminated in a performance at the prestigious Monsters of Rock festival in Donington, England. An optimistic Y&T returned to England the following year to begin work on Earthshaker's follow-up, Black Tiger. But despite its strong material, the record was let down by an uncharacteristically lifeless production job from veteran Chris Tsangarides and failed to meet the lofty expectations of both the media and their label.

 

Inexplicably, the group reunited with Tsangarides for 1983's Mean Streak, obtaining equally disappointing results despite scoring a decent international hit with "Midnight in Tokyo" and "When Lightning Strikes." Subsequent releases such as In Rock We Trust (1984) and Down for the Count (1985) fared no better, and by the time they found redemption with the blistering power of their first live set, Open Fire, the band had been forgotten and surpassed by an entire generation of younger bands. The band's association with A&M finally came to an end later that year and was effectively buried with the obligatory greatest-hits set, Best of Y&T (1981-1985).

 

Y&T wasn't ready to give up yet, though. Signed to Geffen by A&R guru John Kalodner -- best known for resurrecting the career of Aerosmith -- the group decided to revamp their image in order to fit into the late-'80s hair band scene. Sadly, this image overhaul included the premature ejection of Haze in favor of the infinitely cuter yet equally competent Jimmy DeGrasso prior to 1987's Contagious. The album bombed, and a disgusted Alves would soon follow Haze into retirement, only to be replaced by Stef Burns for 1998's equally disastrous Ten. Thankfully, Meniketti and Kennemore also decided to call it quits soon after, and Yesterday & Today Live, taken from the band's farewell gig, provided the appropriate send-off. And while the final lineup would reconvene for 1995's Musically Incorrect and 1997's Endangered Species, continued indifference from consumers would make it a short-lived reunion. After the breakup, drummer DeGrasso went on to an extended journeyman career with the likes of Suicidal Tendencies and Megadeth while Meniketti issued his first solo album, On the Blue Side, in 1999.

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THE NUMBER 1 HITS OF 1985

 

Foreigner - I Want To Know What Love Is (February 2, 1985 - 2 weeks)

Wham! featuring George Michael - Careless Whisper (February 16, 1985 - 3 weeks)

REO Speedwagon - Can't Fight This Feeling (March 9, 1985 - 3 weeks)

Phil Collins - One More Night (March 30, 1985 - 2 weeks)

USA For Africa - We Are the World (April 13, 1985 - 4 weeks)

Madonna - Crazy For You (May 11, 1985 - 1 week)

Simple Minds - Don't You (Forget About Me) (May 18, 1985 - 1 week)

Wham! - Everything She Wants (May 25, 1985 - 2 weeks)

Tears For Fears - Everybody Wants To Rule the World (June 08, 1985 - 2 weeks)

Bryan Adams - Heaven (June 22, 1985 - 2 weeks)

Phil Collins - Sussudio (July 6, 1985 - 1 week)

Duran Duran - A View To a k*ll (July 13, 1985 - 2 weeks)

Paul Young - Every Time You Go Away (July 27, 1985 - 1 week)

Tears For Fears - Shout (August 3, 1985 - 3 weeks)

Huey Lewis & the News - The Power Of Love (August 24, 1985 - 2 weeks)

John Parr - St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion) (September 7, 1985 - 2 weeks)

Dire Straits - Money For Nothing (September 21, 1985 - 3 weeks)

Ready For the World - Oh Sheila (October 12, 1985 - 1 week)

a-ha - Take On Me (October 19, 1985 - 1 week)

Whitney Houston - Saving All My Love For You (October 26, 1985 - 1 week)

Stevie Wonder - Part-Time Lover (November 2, 1985 - 1 week)

Jan Hammer - Miami Vice Theme (November 9, 1985 - 1 week)

Starship - We Built This City (November 16, 1985 - 2 weeks)

Phil Collins & Marilyn Martin - Separate Lives (November 30, 1985 - 1 week)

Mr. Mister - Broken Wings (December 7, 1985 - 2 weeks)

Lionel Richie - Say You, Say Me (December 21, 1985 - 4 weeks)

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THE NUMBER 1 HITS OF 1986

 

Dionne & Friends - That's What Friends Are For (January 18, 1986 - 4 weeks)

Whitney Houston - How Will I Know (February 15, 1986 - 2 weeks)

Mr. Mister - Kyrie (March 1, 1986 - 2 weeks)

Starship - Sara (March 15, 1986 - 1 week)

Heart - These Dreams (March 22, 1986 - 1 week)

Falco - Rock Me Amadeus (March 29, 1986 - 3 weeks)

Prince & the Revolution - Kiss (April 19, 1986 - 2 weeks)

Robert Palmer - Addicted To Love (May 3, 1986 - 1 week)

Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls (May 10, 1986 - 1 week)

Whitney Houston - Greatest Love Of All (May 17, 1986 - 3 weeks)

Madonna - Live To Tell (June 7, 1986 - 1 week)

Patti LaBelle & Michael McDonald - On My Own (June 14, 1986 - 3 weeks)

Billy Ocean - There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry) (July 5, 1986 - 1 week)

Simply Red - Holding Back the Years (July 12, 1986 - 1 week)

Genesis - Invisible Touch (July 19, 1986 - 1 week)

Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer (July 26, 1986 - 1 week)

Peter Cetera - Glory Of Love (August 2, 1986 - 2 weeks)

Madonna - Papa Don't Preach (August 16, 1986 - 2 weeks)

Steve Winwood - Higher Love (August 30, 1986 - 1 week)

Bananarama - Venus (September 6, 1986 - 1 week)

Berlin - Take My Breath Away (September 13, 1986 - 1 week)

Huey Lewis & the News - Stuck With You (September 20, 1986 - 3 weeks)

Janet Jackson - When I Think Of You (October 11, 1986 - 2 weeks)

Cyndi Lauper - True Colors (October 25, 1986 - 2 weeks)

Boston - Amanda (November 8, 1986 - 2 weeks)

Human League - Human (November 22, 1986 - 1 week)

Bon Jovi - You Give Love a Bad Name (November 29, 1986 - 1 week)

Peter Cetera with Amy Grant - The Next Time I Fall (December 6, 1986 - 1 week)

Bruce Hornsby & the Range - The Way It Is (December 13, 1986 - 1 week)

The Bangles - Walk Like an Egyptian (December 20, 1986 - 4 weeks)

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THE NUMBER 1 HITS OF 1987

 

Gregory Abbott - Shake You Down (January 17, 1987 - 1 week)

Billy Vera & the Beaters - At This Moment (January 24, 1987 - 2 weeks)

Madonna - Open Your Heart (February 7, 1987 - 1 week)

Bon Jovi - Livin' On a Prayer (February 14, 1987 - 4 weeks)

Huey Lewis & the News - Jacob's Ladder (March 14, 1987 - 1 week)

Club Nouveau - Lean On Me (March 21, 1987 - 2 weeks)

Starship - Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now (April 4, 1987 - 2 weeks)

Aretha Franklin & George Michael - (I Know You Were Waiting (For Me) (April 18, 1987 - 2 weeks)

Cutting Crew - (I Just) Died In Your Arms (May 2, 1987 - 2 weeks)

U2 - With Or Without You (May 16, 1987 - 3 weeks)

Kim Wilde - You Keep Me Hanging On (June 6, 1987 - 1 week)

Atlantic Starr - Always (June 13, 1987 - 1 week)

Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam - Head To Toe (June 20, 1987 - 1 week)

Whitney Houston - I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) (June 27, 1987 - 2 weeks)

Heart - Alone (July 11, 1987 - 3 weeks)

Bob Seger - Shakedown (August 1, 1987 - 1 week)

U2 - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (August 8, 1987 - 2 weeks)

Madonna - Who's That Girl (August 22, 1987 - 1 week)

Los Lobos - La Bamba (August 29, 1987 - 3 weeks)

Michael Jackson with Siedah Garrett - I Just Can't Stop Loving You (September 19, 1987 - 1 week)

Whitney Houston - Didn't We Almost Have It All (September 26, 1987 - 2 weeks)

Whitesnake - Here I Go Again (October 10, 1987 - 1 week)

Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam - Lost In Emotion (October 17, 1987 - 1 week)

Michael Jackson - Bad (October 24, 1987 - 2 weeks)

Tiffany - I Think We're Alone Now (November 7, 1987 - 2 weeks)

Billy Idol - Mony Mony - Live (November 21, 1987 - 1 week)

Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes - (I've Had) The Time Of My Life (November 28, 1987 - 1 week)

Belinda Carlisle - Heaven Is a Place On Earth (December 5, 1987 - 1 week)

George Michael - Faith (December 12, 1987 - 4 weeks)

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THE NUMBER 1 HITS OF 1988

 

Whitney Houston - So Emotional (January 9, 1988 - 1 week)

George Harrison - Got My Mind Set On You (January 16, 1988 - 1 week)

Michael Jackson - The Way You Make Me Feel (January 23, 1988 - 1 week)

INXS - Need You Tonight (January 30, 1988 - 1 week)

Tiffany - Could've Been (February 6, 1988 - 2 weeks)

Expose - Seasons Change (February 20, 1988 - 1 week)

George Michael - Father Figure (February 27, 1988 - 2 weeks)

Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up (March 12, 1988 - 2 weeks)

Michael Jackson - Man In the Mirror (March 26, 1988 - 2 weeks)

Billy Ocean - Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car (April 9, 1988 - 2 weeks)

Whitney Houston - Where Do Broken Hearts Go (April 23, 1988 - 2 weeks)

Terence Trent D'Arby - Wishing Well (May 7, 1988 - 1 week)

Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine - Anything For You (May 14, 1988 - 2 weeks)

George Michael - One More Try (May 28, 1988 - 3 weeks)

Rick Astley - Together Forever (June 18, 1988 - 1 week)

Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat (June 25, 1988 - 1 week)

Michael Jackson - Dirty Diana (July 2, 1988 - 1 week)

Cheap Trick - The Flame (July 9, 1988 - 2 weeks)

Richard Marx - Hold On To the Nights (July 23, 1988 - 1 week)

Steve Winwood - Roll With It (July 30, 1988 - 4 weeks)

George Michael - Monkey (August 27, 1988 - 2 weeks)

Guns n' Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine (September 10, 1988 - 2 weeks)

Bobby McFerrin - Don't Worry Be Happy (September 24, 1988 - 2 weeks)

Def Leppard - Love Bites (October 8, 1988 - 1 week)

UB40 - Red Red Wine (October 15, 1988 - 1 week)

Phil Collins - Groovy Kind Of Love (October 22, 1988 - 2 weeks)

The Beach Boys - Kokomo (November 5, 1988 - 1 week)

The Escape Club - Wild, Wild West (November 12, 1988 - 1 week)

Bon Jovi - Bad Medicine (November 19, 1988 - 2 weeks)

Will To Power - Baby, I Love Your Way / Freebird Medley (Free Baby) (December 3, 1988 - 1 week)

Chicago - Look Away (December 10, 1988 - 2 weeks)

Poison - Every Rose Has Its Thorn (December 24, 1988 - 3 weeks)

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THE NUMBER 1 HITS OF 1989

 

Bobby Brown - My Prerogative (January 14, 1989 - 1 week)

Phil Collins - Two Hearts (January 21, 1989 - 2 weeks)

Sheriff - When I'm With You (February 4, 1989 - 1 week)

Paula Abdul - Straight Up (February 11, 1989 - 3 weeks)

Debbie Gibson - Lost In Your Eyes (March 4, 1989 - 3 weeks)

Mike & the Mechanics - The Living Years (March 25, 1989 - 1 week)

The Bangles - Eternal Flame (April 1, 1989 - 1 week)

Roxette - The Look (April 8, 1989 - 1 week)

Fine Young Cannibals - She Drives Me Crazy (April 15, 1989 - 1 week)

Madonna - Like a Prayer (April 22, 1989 - 3 weeks)

Bon Jovi - I'll Be There For You (May 13, 1989 - 1 week)

Paula Abdul - Forever Your Girl (May 20, 1989 - 2 weeks)

Michael Damian - Rock On (June 3, 1989 - 1 week)

Bette Midler - Wind Beneath My Wings (June 10, 1989 - 1 week)

New Kids On the Block - I'll Be Loving You (Forever) (June 17, 1989 - 1 week)

Richard Marx - Satisfied (June 24, 1989 - 1 week)

Milli Vanilli - Baby Don't Forget My Number (July 1, 1989 - 1 week)

Fine Young Cannibals - Good Thing (July 8, 1989 - 1 week)

Simply Red - If You Don't Know Me By Now (July 15, 1989 - 1 week)

Martika - Toy Soldiers (July 22, 1989 - 2 weeks)

Prince - Batdance (August 5, 1989 - 1 week)

Richard Marx - Right Here Waiting (August 12, 1989 - 3 weeks)

Paula Abdul - Cold Hearted (September 2, 1989 - 1 week)

New Kids On the Block - Hangin' Tough (September 9, 1989 - 1 week)

Gloria Estefan - Don't Wanna Lose You (September 16, 1989 - 1 week)

Milli Vanilli - Girl I'm Gonna Miss You (September 23, 1989 - 2 weeks)

Janet Jackson - Miss You Much (October 7, 1989 - 4 weeks)

Roxette - Listen To Your Heart (November 4, 1989 - 1 week)

Bad English - When I See You Smile (November 11, 1989 - 2 weeks)

Milli Vanilli - Blame It On the Rain (November 25, 1989 - 2 weeks)

Billy Joel - We Didn't Start the Fire (December 9, 1989 - 2 weeks)

Phil Collins - Another Day In Paradise (December 23, 1989 - 4 weeks)

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GUNS N' ROSES

 

At a time when pop was dominated by dance music and pop-metal, Guns N' Roses brought raw, ugly rock & roll crashing back into the charts. They were not nice boys; nice boys don't play rock & roll. They were ugly, misogynist, and violent; they were also funny, vulnerable, and occasionally sensitive, as their breakthrough hit, "Sweet Child O' Mine," showed. While Slash and Izzy Stradlin ferociously spit out dueling guitar riffs worthy of Aerosmith or the Stones, Axl Rose screeched out his tales of sex, drugs, and apathy in the big city. Meanwhile, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Steven Adler were a limber rhythm section who kept the music loose and powerful. Guns N' Roses' music was basic and gritty, with a solid hard, bluesy base; they were dark, sleazy, dirty, and honest -- everything that good hard rock and heavy metal should be. There was something refreshing about a band who could provoke everything from devotion to hatred, especially since both sides were equally right. There hadn't been a hard rock band this raw or talented in years, and they were given added weight by Axl Rose's primal rage, the sound of confused, frustrated white trash vying for his piece of the pie. As the '80s became the '90s, there simply wasn't a more interesting band around, but owing to intra-band friction and the emergence of alternative rock, Rose's supporting cast gradually disintegrated, as he spent several years in seclusion.

 

Guns N' Roses released their first EP in 1986, which led to a contract with Geffen; the following year, the band released their debut album, Appetite for Destruction. They started to build a following with their numerous live shows, but the album didn't start selling until almost a year later, when MTV started playing "Sweet Child o' Mine." Soon, both the album and single shot to number one, and Guns N' Roses became one of the biggest bands in the world. Their debut single, "Welcome to the Jungle," was re-released and shot into the Top Ten, and "Paradise City" followed in its footsteps. By the end of 1988, they released G N' R Lies, which paired four new, acoustic-based songs (including the Top Five hit "Patience") with their first EP. G N' R Lies' inflammatory closer, "One in a Million," sparked intense controversy, as Axl Rose slipped into misogyny, bigotry, and pure violence; essentially, he somehow managed to distill every form of prejudice and hatred into one five-minute tune.

 

 

Guns N' Roses began work on the long-awaited follow-up to Appetite for Destruction at the end of 1990. In October of that year, the band fired Adler, claiming that his drug dependency caused him to play poorly; he was replaced by Matt Sorum from the Cult. During recording, the band added Dizzy Reed on keyboards. By the time the sessions were finished, the new album had become two new albums. After being delayed for nearly a year, the albums Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II were released in September 1991. Messy but fascinating, the albums showcased a more ambitious band; while there were still a fair number of full-throttle guitar rockers, there were stabs at Elton John-style balladry, acoustic blues, horn sections, female backup singers, ten-minute art rock epics with several different sections, and a good number of introspective, soul-searching lyrics. In short, they were now making art; amazingly, they were successful at it. The albums sold very well initially, but while they had seemed destined to set the pace for the decade to come, that turned out not to be the case at all.

 

 

Nirvana's Nevermind hit number one in early 1992, suddenly making Guns N' Roses -- with all of their pretensions, impressionistic videos, models, and rock star excesses -- seem very uncool. Rose handled the change by becoming a dictator, or at least a petty tyrant; his in-concert temper tantrums became legendary, even going so far as to incite a riot in Montreal. Stradlin left by the end of 1991, and with his departure the band lost their best songwriter; he was replaced by ex-k*ll for Thrills guitarist Gilby Clarke. The band didn't fully grasp the shift in hard rock until 1993, when they released an album of punk covers, The Spaghetti Incident?; it received some good reviews, but the band failed to capture the reckless spirit of not only the original versions, but their own Appetite for Destruction. By the middle of 1994, there were rumors flying that the band was about to break up, since Rose wanted to pursue a new, more industrial direction and Slash wanted to stick with their blues-inflected hard rock. The band remained in limbo for several more years, and Slash resurfaced in 1995 with the side project Slash's Snakepit and an LP, It's Five O'Clock Somewhere.

 

 

Rose remained out of the spotlight, becoming a virtual recluse and doing nothing but tinkering in the studio; he also recruited various musicians -- including Dave Navarro, Tommy Stinson, and ex-Nine Inch Nails guitarist Robin Finck -- for informal jam sessions. Remaining members were infuriated by Rose's inclusion of childhood friend Paul Huge in the new sessions when both Stradlin and Clarke were excluded from rejoining the band. And a remake of the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil" was essentially the straw that broke the camel's back, as Rose cut out some of the other member's contributions and pasted Huge over the song without consulting anyone else. By 1996 Slash was officially out of Guns N' Roses, leaving Rose the lone remaining survivor from the group's heyday; rumors continued to swirl, and still no new material was forthcoming, though Rose did re-record Appetite for Destruction with a new lineup for rehearsal purposes. The first new original G N' R song in eight years, the industrial metal sludge of "Oh My God" finally appeared on the soundtrack to the 1999 Arnold Schwarzenegger film End of Days. Soon after, Geffen issued the two-disc Live Era 1987-1993.

 

 

2000 brought the addition of guitarists Robin Finck (of Nine Inch Nails) and Buckethead. 2001 was greeted with Guns N' Roses' first live dates in nearly seven years, as the band (who consisted of Rose plus guitarists Finck, Buckethead, bassist Stinson, former Primus drummer Brian Mantia, childhood friend and guitarist Paul Huge, and longtime G N' R keyboardist Dizzy Reed) played a show on New Years Eve 2000 in Las Vegas, playing as well at the mammoth Rock in Rio festival the following month. A new album was announced for a summer release, but the date came and went without any CDs hitting the shelves. A summer tour of Europe was planned, but before tickets could go on sale Rose announced that the tour was cancelled and the band went into seclusion until New Years Eve of 2001. They played almost the exact same set as the year before, but they still managed to brew up some news by not allowing any former members to watch the show. Slash tried to get onto the guest list, and even claims to have tried to sneak in through a security guard. Manager Doug Goldstein released a statement taking full responsibility for the banning of former members, claiming that he was not sure of their intentions and he wanted to avoid making Rose nervous.

 

 

2002 started with no new Axl news, instead seeing former members Slash, Duff, and Izzy work together on new material for Stradlin's new album. Rose eventually ended up in music news as he fired producer Roy Thomas Baker from the group's newest recording sessions, adding him to the superstar list of producers that had been attached to the project at various points (including Moby, Mike Clink, Youth, Bob Ezrin, and many others.) Slash's contributions to Izzy's album didn't make the final cut, but rumors of a new band featuring former members McKagan, Sorum, and Slash began circulating by the end of the spring. A slew of Japanese and British festival dates were set in the spring, but the mysterious new album continued to elude fans as the release date was pushed into the fall of 2002. Before those concert dates rolled around, guitarist Paul Huge left the group, quickly replaced by former Love Spit Love member Richard Fortus.

 

 

An appearance at MTV's annual Video Music Awards helped garner interest in the new lineup, but a rusty performance from Rose and an interview where he said his new album wasn't coming out anytime soon didn't do much to further their cause. That summer, the band started on their first tour in almost eight years, and they managed to fulfill all of their commitments in Europe in Asia. Sadly, they caused a violent and destructive riot in Vancouver when Rose failed to show up for the first date of their North American tour. Tour openers CKY were especially inconvenienced, as Rose had only asked them days before to reroute from California to Canada for the show. A few shows managed to come together, with Rose hitting the stage quite late at certain dates. But Rose didn't show up for a Philadelphia concert after allowing both opening acts to go on beforehand. The costly vandalism that followed the announcement was enough to convince tour backers Clear Channel to cut their ties with the group, ending the tour and convincing CKY to verbally thrash the group on their website. While he was up to his old shenanigans with the retooled lineup, former members Stradlin, Slash, Sorum and McKagan finally put an end to the rumors and announced that they were searching for a vocalist for a new, Axl-free band.

 

 

The years between albums have grown into a running joke in the music industry, Interscope's frustration with the millions dumped into the recording has become secondary to Rose's reclusive insistence to perfect his material. By leaving the industry on such a strong note, Rose's image has been frozen in time as the frustrating, angry, yet sensitive genius behind the microphone, an image he might not be ready to live up to as the years go by. Despite what happens to most groups that have stayed out of the limelight for ten years, the legend of Guns N' Roses continues to grow with each year. Whatever may happen with the new lineup, the five original members continue to enjoy celebrity status despite having their post-GN'R material show less than enthusiastic sales. By writing one of the most critical hard rock albums of all time, they have secured their status as the most vital force to hit the mainstream rock scene in the 80's.

[FriedchickeN]

ako trip kong sounds ng 80's e mga C86 music......outside london but within europe, indie/pop rock music tawag sa kanila......outside europe to the rest of the world, NEW WAVE. pero yung mga hindi basta-basta maririnig or mabibili sa mga suking tindahan na mga bands to the likes of Close Lobsters, Desert Wolves, Primal Scream, Balcony Dogs, The Weeping Meserchsmith, 1,000 Violins, Brilliant Corner, etc. etc. etc.......kung alam nyo itong mga bands na to at iba pang mga katulad nila, i'm sure nagagandahan rin kayo...kung hindi, hmmmmm....pwede ko kayong i-burn...Ang tanong eh, paano ang setup ng usapan diba?

 

PS

 

may Oi/Punk band rin ako named SAFETY FIRST......www.myspace.com/safety1st po ung site, check out our self-produced 2 demo songs na nandoo na rin.....Cheers!

[hitman531ph]

PRIMAL SCREAM

 

Primal Scream's career could in many ways be read as a microcosm of British indie rock in the '80s and '90s. Bobby Gillespie formed the band in the mid-'80s while drumming for goth-tinged noise rockers the Jesus and Mary Chain, who were the exact opposite of Primal Scream -- the latter specialized in infectious, jangly pop on its early records. After a brief detour to punky hard rock, the group reinvented itself as a dance band in the early '90s, following through on the pop and acid house fusions of the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays. With the assistance of producers Andrew Weatherall and Hugo Nicholson, Primal Scream created the ultimate indie pop and dance fusion album, Screamadelica, in 1991. Screamadelica broke down boundaries and changed the face of British pop music in the '90s, helping to make dance and techno acceptable to the rock mainstream. Instead of following through on the promise of the album, Primal Scream retreated to Stonesy boogie for their 1994 follow-up, Give Out but Don't Give Up. When that record was greeted with indifference, they returned to dance-rock fusions with 1997's Vanishing Point, which re-established the group as a major force in British rock.

 

Bobby Gillespie (vocals) formed Primal Scream in 1984, while still drumming for the Jesus and Mary Chain. On its initial releases, Primal Scream was a group of '60s revivalists, crafting hooky, guitar-driven pop songs. The band signed to Creation Records in 1985, and over the next year, they released a pair of singles. However, Primal Scream didn't really take off until the middle of 1986, when Gillespie left the Mary Chain and guitarists Andrew Innes and Robert Young joined the band. "Velocity Girl," a rush of jangly guitars, was a B-side that wound up on NME's C86 cassette compilation, a collection of underground pop groups that defined the U.K.'s mid-'80s indie pop scene. The band's debut, Sonic Flower Groove, fit into the C86 sound. After the band rejected the initial version recorded with Stephen Street, they re-recorded the album with Mayo Thompson, and the record was finally released in 1987 on the Creation subsidiary Elevation. The album was well received in the British indie community, as was its 1989 follow-up, Primal Scream, which demonstrated hard rock influences from the Rolling Stones and New York Dolls to the Stooges and MC5.

 

As the '80s drew to a close, Britain's underground music scene became dominated by the burgeoning acid house scene. Primal Scream became fascinated with the new dance music, and they asked a friend, a DJ named Andrew Weatherall, to remix a track from Primal Scream, "I'm Losing More Than I'll Ever Have." Weatherall completely reworked the song, adding a heavy bass groove echoing dub reggae, deleting most of the original instrumentation (even the layers of guitars), and interjecting layers of samples, including lines of Peter Fonda's dialogue from The Wild Angels. The new mix was retitled "Loaded," and it became a sensation, bringing rock & roll to the dancefloor and dance to rock & rollers. "Come Together," the first single from their forthcoming third album, was in much the same vein, and was similarly praised.

 

For their third album, Screamadelica, Primal Scream not only worked with Andrew Weatherall and Hugo Nicholson, the pair who essentially designed the sound of the album, but also the Orb and former Stones producer Jimmy Miller. The resulting album was a kaleidoscopic, neo-psychedelic fusion of dance, dub, techno, acid house, pop, and rock, and it was greeted with rapturous reviews in the U.K. Released in the spring of 1991, Screamadelica also marked an important moment in British pop in the '90s, helping to bring techno and house into the mainstream. The album was a massive success, winning the first Mercury Music Prize in 1992.

 

In the wake of the groundbreaking Screamadelica, most observers wondered what Primal Scream would do next, yet few would have predicted their retreat to '70s hard rock for Give Out but Don't Give Up. Released in 1994, the album was eagerly awaited, but its Stonesy hard rock was not well received, and it was a relative commercial failure. More importantly, it hurt the group's rep*tation as innovators, a situation they reacted to with the title track to the hit 1996 film Trainspotting. Primal Scream's contribution to the soundtrack was a return to the dance stylings of Screamadelica, only darker. The band continued to work on their next album, entitled Vanishing Point, over the course of 1996, finally releasing it to enthusiastic reviews in the summer of 1997. The ultra-aggressive XTRMNTR followed in the spring of 2000. Two years later Primal Scream released Evil Heat, a guest-laden (even supermodel Kate Moss makes an appearance) album in line and on par with XTRMNTR

[hitman531ph]

TIFFANY

 

In addition to scoring several big bubblegum pop hits in the late '80s, teen queen Tiffany also helped pave the way for the decade's ultimate (and most successful) teenybopper band, the New Kids on the Block. Born Tiffany Renee Darwish on October 2, 1971, in Oklahoma, Tiffany began singing at an early age, but it wasn't the light pop style that she would eventually become known for. The young singer started off performing country & western songs, eventually getting discovered by country music veterans Hoyt and Mae Axton during the early '80s, while performing at a country nightclub in Los Angeles. For the next few years, Tiffany appeared on TV (including an appearance on Ed McMahon's Star Search), continued to perform concerts (including opening a show for Jerry Lee Lewis and George Jones in Texas), and recorded several demos, in hope of landing a recording contract. In early 1986, Tiffany signed on with manager George Tobin, which would later lead to problems when it became known in later years that Tobin had "absolute control" over her career (since she was a minor at the time, Tiffany's mother signed for her, and later regretted having a divorce lawyer examine the papers instead of an entertainment lawyer). But Tobin did get the still-teenaged singer a recording contract with MCA, who issued Tiffany's self-titled debut in early 1987, and was promoted initially by a concert tour of U.S. malls.

 

But it wasn't until later in the year that the album began to catch on with the young pop audience, when MTV and radio latched on to a cover of "I Think We're Alone Now," which soon pushed the album to the number-one spot on the Billboard album charts (and in less than year, was certified quadruple platinum). A follow-up single, "Could've Been," proved to be just as successful, as it peaked at the top spot of the Billboard singles chart. But despite Tiffany's runaway success, this period proved to be troubling personally, as her mother filed a missing person's report for the singer, while Tiffany in return filed for legal emancipation (although Tiffany's mother claimed to be concerned about Tobin's "exploitative treatment" of Tiffany, Tiffany decided to stand by Tobin's side). A cover of the Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There" (reworked as "I Saw Him Standing There") proved to be Tiffany's last major hit, peaking at number seven in the spring of 1988, as the singer gave the opening spot on a U.S. tour to a then-unknown teeny band, the New Kids on the Block (supposedly after the group auditioned for Tiffany backstage one night prior to a show).

 

Tiffany's sophomore effort, 1988's Hold an Old Friend's Hand, was another hit (earning platinum certification), but didn't match the success of its predecessor, as it signaled that her audience was shifting their focus to other similarly styled bands (namely the New Kids on the Block). When her third release, New Inside, sunk from sight almost immediately after its release in 1990, it was clear that Tiffany's 15 minutes were up, as she faded from the public's view. Despite her much lower-profile, Tiffany continued to issue albums on a sporadic basis, including 1993's Dreams Never Die and 2000's The Color of Silence (while a collection, Greatest Hits, was released in 1996). Tiffany's public profile increased slightly around the dawn of the 21st century, as the singer was the subject of an episode of VH1's Behind the Music series (in which she disclosed a reconciliation with her mother) and, probably biggest of all, she posed for a 2002 issue of Playboy magazine

[hitman531ph]

JULIA FORDHAM

 

One time member of Mari Wilson's backing troupe the Wilsations, English songbird Julia Fordham finally realised her debut in 1988. Unimaginatively titled, Julia Fordham showed off Fordham's smoky jazz bar low dulcet voice and contained four singles: "The Comfort of Strangers," "Woman of the 80's," first hit"Happy Ever After," and "Where Does the Time Go" which missed the UK top 40 by the most slender margin peaking at 41.

 

The following year Porcelain consolidated her presence as a leading album artiste. Produced by Hugh Padgham, Grant Mitchell and Fordham herself, standout tracks include "Lock and Key"; tonally warm, its vocal delivery was likened to Joni Mitchell (with whom she'd be further linked in years to come). Porcelain guested Manu Katche and Pino Palladino among its high calibre line-up. More tales of hopelessness in the art of relationships were outlined in 1991's Swept which included the excellent "I Thought it Was You," however like another songstress Judy Tzuke, Fordham found her singles too classy for mainstream radio play and so it stalled mid sixties. A remix of the song came closer managing no. 45 in spring '92.

 

Fortunately, Fordham did enjoy some singles success courtesy of "(Love Moves in) Mysterious Ways." Taken from the film The Butcher's Wife, it climbed to no. 19 making it her biggest UK hit to date. Swept was quickly re-issued, this time, with the song part of the process. Re-locating to the States in the mid-nineties, Fordham began work on her fourth album with Larry Klein, then husband and producer of Joni Mitchell. He'd also been busy working with David Baerwald and The Innocence Mission, however he and Fordham's Falling Forward became another slice of technical accomplishment. Despite efforts to present her in more contemporary pop format ("Can't Help Myself" received a modest remix) the record was confounded. In 1997 East West portrayed Fordham on the cover in the most American of things - a yellow cab. For some reason it was granted release only in the States, a fate also bestowed on other British acts; Duran Duran and Wang Chung to name two. Canadian guitarist/ producer Michael Brook, renowned for his film work and experimental music affiliations, handled production. A solid greatest hits compilation released in 1999 and her last contractual effort for Virgin, the aptly titled Collection included updated versions of "Happy Ever After" and "Where Does the Time Go" as well as "Killing Me Slowly" from East West. She teamed up with Larry Klein once again during the new millennium, and a new deal with Division One/Atlantic prevailed in time for the 2002 release of Julia Fordham's sixth studio album, Concrete Love

[hitman531ph]

ART OF NOISE

 

Anne Dudley, Gary Langan, and Paul Morley were members of producer Trevor Horn's in-house studio band in the early '80s before they formed the Art of Noise, a techno-pop group whose music was an amalgam of studio gimmickry, tape splicing, and synthesized beats. The Art of Noise took material from a variety of sources: hip-hop, rock, jazz, R&B, traditional pop, found sounds, and noise all worked their way into the group's distinctly postmodern soundscapes.

 

Dudley was the center of the group, having arranged and produced material for Frankie Goes to Hollywood, ABC, and Paul McCartney before forming the Art of Noise. The trio signed with Trevor Horn's ZTT label, releasing their first EP, Into Battle With the Art of Noise, in 1983. The following year, the group released the full-length (Who's Afraid Of?) The Art of Noise!, which featured the hit single "Close (To the Edit)." Another single, "Moment of Love", became a cult hit.

 

After "Close (To the Edit)," the group parted ways with Horn and ZTT, releasing In Visible Silence in 1986; the album included the U.K. Top Ten hit "Peter Gunn," which featured Duane Eddy on guitar. Re-works of the Art of Noise, an album of remixes and live tracks, was released that same year. In No Sense? Nonsense!, released in 1987, saw the band experimenting with orchestras and choirs, as well as horns and rock bands. The next year, the Art of Noise released a greatest-hits collection, The Best of the Art of Noise, which featured their collaboration with Tom Jones on Prince's "Kiss."

 

Below the Waste (1990) captured the band experimenting with world music; it received a lukewarm critical and commercial reception. The following year, a low-key remix album directed by Killing Joke's Youth called The Ambient Collection appeared. Later in the year, the Art of Noise broke up. Dudley eventually worked with Killing Joke's Jaz Coleman and Phil Collins. Horn, Dudley, and Morley reunited in 1999 for a new album, The Seduction of Claude Debussy. Kevin Godley and Lol Creme were added to the lineup

[hitman531ph]

MIKE FRANCIS

 

Mike Francis was born Francesco Puccioni on April 26, 1961 in Florence, Italy. The choice of an English stage name comes from Mike's direct contact with American culture.

 

At the age of 14, he started taking guitar and piano, discovering a great talent. Identifying himself with the music played by foreign artists, he started listening regularly to all of their music. Subsequently he gave, with his American friends, small concerts in all American schools in Rome.

 

Right after High School, although he thought of going to university, he began writing seriously his first songs, studying contemporaneously composition and arrangement as a self-taught person.

 

From the time of his first album "Let's not talk about it", including the hit "Survivor", Mike carried through his activity as an author and composer with great success, other than for himself as in "Let Me In", for other artists, in this particular case for Amii Stewart in "Friends" (already on top of both Black American and English charts) and "Together", where he is again author-composer.

 

The year after, he came out with his second LP, "Features", which shows undoubtedly his musical evolution as well as particular artistic inspiration. Among the ten songs within the album, starting with a prelude, we suggest you listen to "Features of Love" and "You can't get out of my Heart" and "Let Me In" to better comprehend the progressive growth of his musical personality. This album includes also the hit "Together", and the remake of two old hits "I'm not in Love" by 10 CC and "Lovely Day" by Bill Withers.

 

The third album "Dreams of a Lifetime" shows clearly Mike's great musical evolution.

 

After listening to it, you can notice the accurate search of the sounds; and the arrangements as well have radically changed compared to the previous works, thanks to the contribution of a new collaborator, Davide Romani, already well-known in the music field for having signed important and famous international products, as songs from the group Change (first place in the American charts a few years back).

 

Chosen from the album, as first single, is "Good and Bad Times", for its involving rythm and catchy tune. This track came from the prolific musical vein of the artist Thoty, and sung together with Mike is no doubt the winning formula.

 

Another prominent song for its incredible atmosphere is "On and On". The particular care given to its arrangements, gives us a chance to appreciate a new sound technics and following with an excellent mixing is "Body Thrill" of only instrumental version.

 

In the album, among the other tunes, we find "Love Weekend", an instrumental track in which Davide Romani and Mike Francis have availed themselves of the performance of a great Italian musician, clarinetist Hengel Gualdi. Furthermore, to increase the classical and artistic value of the samer, they'e availed themselves of 21 elements of a real orchestra, arranged and directed by Renato Serio.

 

To the accomplishment of this record, the already faithful collaborators have participated: Agostino Marangolo, Alessandro Centofanti, Dino d'Autorio, Fabio Pignatelli, and, as in the previous album, the inseperable friend Amii Stewart.

[hitman531ph]

JAMES INGRAM

 

James Ingram began performing with the band Revelation Funk in the early '70s, moving from Akron, OH, to Los Angeles in 1973. During the '70s, Ingram supported Ray Charles on the road with backup vocals and piano, played keyboards behind the Coasters on Dick Clark's oldies revues, and was Leon Haywood's musical director. After hearing a demo of him singing "Just Once," Quincy Jones asked Ingram to perform on his new album. Released in 1980 on The Dude, the number 17 "Just Once" was Ingram's first success, resulting in three Grammy nominations -- Best New Artist, Best Pop Male Vocal, and Best R&B Vocal -- winning in the two latter categories. From the same album, James Ingram also did the vocals of "One Hundred Ways".

 

Throughout the '80s, Ingram had steady popular success singing duets. His duet with Patti Austin "Baby Come To Me" went to the top of the charts. His 1983 release of the album "It's Your Night" came up with the second duet with Patti Austin "How Do You Keep The Music Playing" only reached the bottom half of the Top 20. His duet with Michael McDonald "Yah Mo B There" received Grammy nominations but only reached #20 in the charts. Other songs, "There's No Easy Way" and "She Loves Me" only made it to the Soul/R&B charts. The album was moderately successful.

 

His next release in 1987 bombed out with two songs "Always" and "Another Way" (from Beverly Hills Cop 2) did not reach the Top 40.

 

In 1990 he scored his first solo #1 hit, "I Don't Have the Heart." The song came out as a previously unreleased recording included in his greatest hits compilation. No more chart hits followed.

[hitman531ph]

PEABO BRYSON

 

Vocalist Peabo Bryson was among the premier silky-voiced soul artists who emerged as the softer, more sophisticated urban contemporary sound became dominant in the '70s and '80s. Bryson, who was born in Greenville, SC, sang with Al Freeman & the Upsetters in 1965, and was in the group Moses Dillard & the Tex-Town Display from 1968 to 1973. He was a producer and composer for Atlanta's Bang Records in the early '70s, and sang in Michael Zager's Moon Band. His self-titled, debut LP and several singles were recorded for Bang's subsidiary company Bullet, among them "Do It With Feeling," "Underground Music," "It's Just a Matter of Time," "Just Another Day," and "I Can Make It Better." All were moderate R&B hits. Bryson moved to Capitol in 1978, where his first album, Reaching for the Sky, went gold, and the title track was a number six R&B hit. He remained in the Moon Band until 1979, departing after "I'm So Into You" spent two weeks as the nation's number-two R&B hit in 1978.

 

Bryson continued a prolific career as both lead act and duet participant. He made hit duets with Natalie Cole, Roberta Flack, Melissa Manchester, and Regina Belle. Bryson recorded for Capitol until 1984, when he switched to Elektra, and enjoyed more success with "If Ever You're in My Arms Again" which made it to the US Top 10. He scored another major hit with Regina Belle with "A Whole New World" from the Walt Disney animated movie "Aladdin." He moved to Columbia in 1991, issuing Can You Stop the Rain; subsequent efforts include 1994's Through the Fire and 1999's Unconditional Love

[hitman531ph]

WILLIE NELSON

 

As a songwriter and a performer, Willie Nelson played a vital role in post-rock & roll country music. Although he didn't become a star until the mid-'70s, Nelson spent the '60s writing songs that became hits for stars like Ray Price ("Night Life"), Patsy Cline ("Crazy"), Faron Young ("Hello Walls"), and Billy Walker ("Funny How Time Slips Away") as well as releasing a series of records on Liberty and RCA that earned him a small, but devoted, cult following. During the early '70s, Willie aligned himself with Waylon Jennings and the burgeoning outlaw country movement which made him into a star in 1975. Following the crossover success of that year's The Red Headed Stranger and "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain," Nelson was a genuine star, as recognizable in pop circles as he was to the country audience; in addition to recording, he also launched an acting career in the early '80s. Even when he was a star, Willie never played it safe musically. Instead, he borrowed from a wide variety of styles, including traditional pop, Western swing, jazz, traditional country, cowboy songs, honky tonk, rock & roll, folk, and the blues, creating a distinctive, elastic hybrid. Nelson remained at the top of the country charts until the mid-'80s, when his lifestyle -- which had always been close to the outlaw clichés his music flirted with -- began to spiral out of control, culminating in an infamous battle with the IRS in the late '80s. During the '90s, Nelson's sales never reached the heights that he had experienced a decade earlier, but he remained a vital icon in country music, having greatly influenced the new country, new traditionalist, and alternative country movements of the '80s and '90s as well as leaving behind a legacy of classic songs and recordings.

Nelson began performing music as a child growing up in Abbott, TX. After his father died and his mother ran away, Nelson and his sister Bobbie were raised by their grandparents, who encouraged both children to play instruments. Willie picked up the guitar, and by the time he was seven, he was already writing songs. Bobbie learned to play piano, eventually meeting -- and later marrying -- fiddler Bud Fletcher, who invited both of the siblings to join his band. Nelson had already played with Raychecks' Polka Band, but with Fletcher, he acted as the group's frontman. Willie stayed with Fletcher throughout high school. Upon his graduation, he joined the Air Force but had to leave shortly afterward, when he became plagued by back problems. Following his disenrollment from the service, he began looking for full-time work. After he worked several part-time jobs, he landed a job as a country DJ at Fort Worth's KCNC in 1954. Nelson continued to sing in honky tonks as he worked as a DJ, deciding to make a stab at recording career by 1956. That year, he headed to Vancouver, WA, where he recorded Leon Payne's "Lumberjack." At that time, Payne was a DJ and he plugged "Lumberjack" on the air, which eventually resulted in sales of 3,000 -- a respectable figure for an independent single, but not enough to gain much attention. For the next few years, Willie continued to DJ and sing in clubs. During this time, he sold "Family Bible" to a guitar instructor for 50 dollars, and when the song became a hit for Claude Gray in 1960, Nelson decided to move to Nashville the following year to try his luck. Though his nasal voice and jazzy, off-center phrasing didn't win him many friends -- several demos were made and then rejected by various labels -- his songwriting ability didn't go unnoticed, and soon Hank Cochran helped Willie land a publishing contract at Pamper Music. Ray Price, who co-owned Pamper Music, recorded Nelson's "Night Life" and invited him to join his touring band, the Cherokee Cowboys, as a bassist.

 

Arriving at the beginning of 1961, Price's invitation began a watershed year for Nelson. Not only did he play with Price -- eventually taking members of the Cherokee Cowboys to form his own touring band -- but his songs also provided major hits for several other artists. Faron Young took "Hello Walls" to number one for nine weeks, Billy Walker made "Funny How Time Slips Away" into a Top 40 country smash, and Patsy Cline made "Crazy" into a Top Ten pop crossover hit. Earlier in the year, he signed a contract with Liberty Records and began releasing a series of singles that were usually drenched in strings. "Willingly," a duet with his then-wife Shirley Collie, became a Top Ten hit for Nelson early in 1962, and it was followed by another Top Ten single, "Touch Me," later that year. Both singles made it seem like Nelson was primed to become a star, but his career stalled just as quickly as it had taken off, and he was soon charting in the lower regions of the Top 40. Liberty closed its country division in 1964, the same year Roy Orbison had a hit with "Pretty Paper."

 

When the Monument recordings failed to become hits, Nelson moved to RCA Records in 1965, the same year he became a member of the Grand Ole Opry. Over the next seven years, Willie had a steady stream of minor hits, highlighted by the number 13 hit "Bring Me Sunshine" in 1969. Toward the end of his stint with RCA, he had grown frustrated with the label, who had continually tried to shoehorn him into the heavily produced Nashville sound. By 1972, he wasn't even able to reach the country Top 40. Discouraged by his lack of success, Nelson decided to retire from country music, moving back to Austin, TX, after a brief and disastrous sojourn into pig farming. Once he arrived in Austin, Nelson realized that many young rock fans were listening to country music along with the traditional honky tonk audience. Spotting an opportunity, Willie began performing again, scrapping his pop-oriented Nashville sound and image for a rock- and folk-influenced redneck outlaw image. Soon, he earned a contract with Atlantic Records.

 

Shotgun Willie (1973), Nelson's first album for Atlantic, was evidence of the shift of his musical style, and although it initially didn't sell well, it earned good reviews and cultivated a dedicated cult following. By the fall of 1973, his version of Bob Wills' "Stay All Night (Stay a Little Longer)" had cracked the country Top 40. The following year, he delivered the concept album Phases and Stages, which increased his following even more with the hit singles "Bloody Mary Morning" and "After the Fire Is Gone." But the real commercial breakthrough didn't arrive until 1975, when he severed ties with Atlantic and signed to Columbia Records, who gave him complete creative control of his records. Willie's first album for Columbia, The Red Headed Stranger, was a spare concept album about a preacher, featuring only his guitar and his sister's piano. The label was reluctant to release with such stark arrangements, but they relented and it became a huge hit, thanks to Nelson's understated cover of Roy Acuff's "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain."

 

Following the breakthrough success of The Red Headed Stranger as well as Waylon Jennings' simultaneous success, outlaw country -- so named because it worked outside of the confines of the Nashville industry -- became a sensation, and RCA compiled the various-artists album Wanted: The Outlaws!, using material Nelson, Jennings, Tompall Glaser, and Jessi Colter had previously recorded for the label. The compilation boasted a number one single in the form of the newly recorded Jennings and Nelson duet "Good Hearted Woman," which was also named the Country Music Association's single of the year. For the next five years, Nelson consistently charted on both the country and pop charts, with "Remember Me," "If You've Got the Money I've Got the Time," and "Uncloudy Day" becoming Top Ten country singles in 1976; "I Love You a Thousand Ways" and the Mary Kay Place duet "Something to Brag About" were Top Ten country singles the following year.

 

Nelson enjoyed his most successful year to date in 1978, as he charted with two very dissimilar albums. Waylon and Willie, his first duet album with Jennings, was a major success early in the year, spawning the signature song "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys." Later in the year, he released Stardust, a string-augmented collection of pop standards produced by Booker T. Jones. Most observers believed that the unconventional album would derail Nelson's career, but it unexpectedly became one of the most successful records in his catalog, spending almost ten years in the country charts and eventually selling over four million copies. After the success of Stardust, Willie branched out into film, appearing in the Robert Redford movie The Electric Horseman in 1979 and starring in Honeysuckle Rose the following year. The latter spawned the hit "On the Road Again," which became another one of Nelson's signature songs.

 

Willie continued to have hits throughout the early '80s, when he had a major crossover success in 1982 with a cover of Elvis Presley's hit "Always on My Mind." The single spent two weeks at number one and crossed over to number five on the pop charts, sending the album of the same name to number two on the pop charts as well as quadruple-platinum status. Over the next two years, he had hit duet albums with Merle Haggard (1983's Poncho & Lefty) and Jennings (1982's WWII and 1983's Take It to the Limit), while "To All the Girls I've Loved Before," a duet with Latin pop star Julio Iglesias, became another major crossover success in 1984, peaking at number five on the pop charts and number one on the singles chart.

 

Following a string of number one singles in early 1985, including "Highwayman," the first single from the Highwaymen, a supergroup he formed with Jennings, Johnny Cash, and Kris Kristofferson, Nelson's popularity gradually began to erode. A new generation of artists had captured the attention of the country audience, which began to drastically cut into his own audience. For the remainder of the decade, he recorded less frequently and remained on the road; he also continued to do charity work, most notably Farm Aid, an annual concert that he founded in 1985 designed to provide aid to ailing farmers. While he career was declining, an old demon began to creep up on Willie -- the IRS. In November of 1990, he was given a bill for 16.7 million dollars in back taxes. During the following year, almost all of his assets -- including several houses, studios, farms, and various properties -- were taken away, and to help pay his bill, he released the double-album The IRS Tapes: Who'll Buy My Memories?. Originally released as two separate albums, the records were marketed through television commercials, and all the profits were directed to the IRS. By 1993 -- the year he turned 60 -- his debts had been paid off, and he relaunched his recording career with Across the Borderline, an ambitious album produced by Don Was and featuring cameos by Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, Paul Simon, Sinead O'Connor, David Crosby, and Kris Kristofferson. The record received strong reviews and became his first solo album to appear in the pop charts since 1985.

 

After the release of Across the Borderline, Nelson continued to work steadily, releasing at least one album a year and touring constantly. In 1993, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, but by that time, he had already become a living legend for all country music fans across the world. Signing to Island for 1996's Spirit, he resurfaced two years later with the critically acclaimed Teatro, produced by Daniel Lanois. Nelson followed up that success with the instrumental-oriented Night and Day a year later; Me and the Drummer and Milk Cow Blues followed in 2000. The Rainbow Connection, which featured an eclectic selection of old-time country favorites, appeared in spring 2001

[hitman531ph]

JULIO IGLESIAS

 

Julio Iglesias was the most popular Latin singer of the '70s and '80s, selling over 100 million albums around the world. Iglesias was a smooth, romantic crooner and his appeal translated to many different countries in many different languages.

 

Initially, Iglesias planned to be a lawyer. As he studied, he was a goalkeeper for the Real Madrid football team. His career as an athlete was ended after an automobile accident in the mid-'60s. While he was recovering, Iglesias started playing guitar and writing songs. Before he began a musical career, he finished his law studies at Cambridge University. In 1968, he was a contestant at the 1968 Spanish Song Festival at Benidorm, singing his original song "La Vida Sigue Igual." Iglesias won the first prize at the contest, which led to a record contract with Discos Columbia, an independent record label.

 

During the '70s, he toured Europe and Latin America, gaining a large fan base with hits like 1975's "Manuela." By the end of the decade, he was extremely popular -- so popular, CBS International sought out a contract with him. He signed with the label in 1978. Iglesias began to record not only in Spanish, but in Italian and French as well. At the turn of the decade, Julio Iglesias began to pursue the American and British markets by concentrating on his English recordings. His efforts began to pay off in 1981, when his cover of "Begin the Beguine" became a number one hit. It was quickly followed by the compilation record Julio, which became a big success in England and America. However, his major crossover success was 1984's 1100 Bel Air Place, a collection of duets. Featuring the Top Ten hit duet with Willie Nelson "To All the Girls I've Loved Before," the album sold over three million copies in America and peaked at number five on the pop charts; it also spawned "All of You," a hit duet with Diana Ross. Iglesias' popularity continued to grow throughout the '80s, although he only had one more pop crossover hit, 1988's "My Love," a duet with Stevie Wonder.

 

By the 1990s, he had stopped courting the English pop market and concentrated on recording mainly in Spanish, as well as a handful of other languages. His popularity did not diminish at all in his third decade of recordings -- he was still capable of selling millions of records and selling out concerts around the world

[hitman531ph]

DIANA ROSS

 

As a solo artist, Diana Ross is one of the most successful female singers of the rock era. If you factor in her work as the lead singer of the Supremes in the 1960s, she may be the most successful.

With her friends Mary Wilson, Florence Ballard, and Barbara Martin, Ross formed the Primettes vocal quartet in 1959. In 1960, they were signed to local Motown Records, changing their name to the Supremes in 1961. Martin then left, and the group continued as a trio. Over the next eight years, the Supremes (renamed "Diana Ross and the Supremes" in 1967, when Cindy Birdsong replaced Ballard) scored 12 number one pop hits. After the last one, "Someday We'll Be Together" (October 1969), Ross launched a solo career.

 

Motown initially paired her with writer/producers Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, who gave her four Top 40 pop hits, including the number one "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" (July 1970). Ross branched out into acting, starring in a film biography of Billie Holiday, Lady Sings the Blues (November 1972). The soundtrack went to number one, and Ross was nominated for an Academy Award.

 

She returned to record-making with the Top Ten album Touch Me in the Morning (June 1973) and its chart-topping title song. This was followed by a duet album with Marvin Gaye, Diana & Marvin (October 1973), that produced three chart hits. Ross acted in her second movie, Mahogany (October 1975), and it brought her another chart-topping single in the theme song, "Do You Know Where You're Going To." That and her next number one, the disco-oriented "Love Hangover" (March 1976), were featured on her second album to be titled simply Diana Ross (February 1976), which rose into the Top Ten.

 

Ross' third film role came in The Wiz (October 1978). The Boss (May 1979) was a gold-selling album, followed by the platinum-selling Diana (May 1980) (the second of her solo albums with that name, though the other, a 1971 TV soundtrack, had an exclamation mark). It featured the number one single "Upside Down" and the Top Ten hit "I'm Coming Out."

 

Ross scored a third Top Ten hit in 1980 singing the title theme from the movie It's My Turn. She then scored the biggest hit of her career with another movie theme, duetting with Lionel Richie on "Endless Love" (June 1981). It was her last big hit on Motown; after more than 20 years, she decamped for RCA. She was rewarded immediately with a million-selling album, titled after her remake of the old Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers hit, "Why Do Fools Fall in Love," which became her next Top Ten hit. The album also included the Top Ten hit "Mirror, Mirror."

 

Silk Electric (October 1982) was a gold-seller, featuring the Top Ten hit "Muscles," written and produced by Michael Jackson, and Swept Away (September 1984) was another successful album, containing the hit "Missing You," but Ross had trouble selling records in the second half of the 1980s. By 1989, she had returned to Motown, and by 1993 was turning more to pop standards, notably on the concert album Diana Ross Live: The Lady Sings...Jazz & Blues, Stolen Moments (April 1993).

 

Motown released a four-CD/cassette box set retrospective, Forever Diana, in October 1993, and the singer published her autobiography in 1994. Take Me Higher followed a year later, and in 1999 she returned with Every Day Is a New Day. 2000's Gift of Love was promoted by a concert tour featuring the Supremes, although neither Mary Wilson nor Cindy Byrdsong appeared -- their roles were instead assumed by singers Lynda Laurence and Scherrie Payne, neither of whom ever performed with Ross during the group's glory days

[hitman531ph]

ARETHA FRANKLIN

 

Aretha Franklin is one of the giants of soul music, and indeed of American pop as a whole. More than any other performer, she epitomized soul at its most gospel-charged. Her astonishing run of late-'60s hits with Atlantic Records -- "Respect," "I Never Loved a Man," "Chain of Fools," "Baby I Love You," "I Say a Little Prayer," "Think," "The House That Jack Built," and several others -- earned her the title "Lady Soul," which she has worn uncontested ever since. Yet as much of an international institution as she's become, much of her work -- outside of her recordings for Atlantic in the late '60s and early '70s -- is erratic and only fitfully inspired, making discretion a necessity when collecting her records.

Franklin's roots in gospel ran extremely deep. With her sisters Carolyn and Erma (both of whom would also have recording careers), she sang at the Detroit church of her father, Reverend C.L. Franklin, while growing up in the 1950s. In fact, she made her first recordings as a gospel artist at the age of 14. It has also been reported that Motown was interested in signing Aretha back in the days when it was a tiny start-up. Ultimately, however, Franklin ended up with Columbia, to which she was signed by the renowned talent scout John Hammond.

 

Franklin would record for Columbia constantly throughout the first half of the '60s, notching occasional R&B hits (and one Top 40 single, "Rock-a-bye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody") but never truly breaking out as a star. The Columbia period continues to generate considerable controversy among critics, many of whom feel that Aretha's true aspirations were being blunted by pop-oriented material and production. In fact, there's a reasonable amount of fine items to be found on the Columbia sides, including the occasional song ("Lee Cross," "Soulville") where she belts out soul with real gusto. It's undeniably true, though, that her work at Columbia was considerably tamer than what was to follow, and suffered in general from a lack of direction and an apparent emphasis on trying to develop her as an all-around entertainer, rather than as an R&B/soul singer.

 

When Franklin left Columbia for Atlantic, producer Jerry Wexler was determined to bring out her most soulful, fiery traits. As part of that plan, he had her record her first single, "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)," at Muscle Shoals in Alabama with esteemed Southern R&B musicians. In fact, that was to be her only session actually at Muscle Shoals, but much of the remainder of her '60s work would be recorded with the Muscle Shoals Sound Rhythm Section, although the sessions would actually take place in New York City. The combination was one of those magic instances of musical alchemy in pop: the backup musicians provided a much grittier, soulful, and R&B-based accompaniment for Aretha's voice, which soared with a passion and intensity suggesting a spirit that had been allowed to fly loose for the first time.

 

In the late '60s, Franklin became one of the biggest international recording stars in all of pop. Many also saw Franklin as a symbol of black America itself, reflecting the increased confidence and pride of African-Americans in the decade of the civil rights movements and other triumphs for the black community. The chart statistics are impressive in and of themselves: ten Top Ten hits in a roughly 18-month span between early 1967 and late 1968, for instance, and a steady stream of solid mid- to large-size hits for the next five years after that. Her Atlantic albums were also huge sellers, and far more consistent artistically than those of most soul stars of the era. Franklin was able to maintain creative momentum, in part, because of her eclectic choice of material, which encompassed first-class originals and gospel, blues, pop, and rock covers, from the Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel to Sam Cooke and the Drifters. She was also a fine, forceful, and somewhat underrated keyboardist.

 

Franklin's commercial and artistic success was unabated in the early '70s, during which she landed more huge hits with "Spanish Harlem," "Bridge Over Troubled Water," and "Day Dreaming." She also produced two of her most respected, and earthiest, album releases with Live at Fillmore West and Amazing Grace. The latter, a 1972 double LP, was a reinvestigation of her gospel roots, recorded with James Cleveland and the Southern California Community Choir. Remarkably, it made the Top Ten, counting as one of the greatest gospel-pop crossover smashes of all time.

 

Franklin had a few more hits over the next few years -- "Angel" and the Stevie Wonder cover "Until You Come Back to Me" being the most notable -- but generally her artistic inspiration seemed to be tapering off, and her focus drifting toward more pop-oriented material. Her Atlantic contract ended at the end of the 1970s. Aretha moved to Columbia Records and by 1985, she made a comeback with a new album "Who's Zooming Who." The album title track made it #16. Another song from the same album "Freeway of Love" made it to #3 and was used as a theme song for Coca-Cola commercial. The third hit was a duet with Annie Lennox, "Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves," made it to the Top 40. She released another album "Aretha" in late 1986 and made it to #1 "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)," a duet with George Michael and written by Simon Climie (who later formed Climie Fisher).

 

Many of her successes were duets, or crafted with the assistance of newer, glossier-minded contemporaries such as Luther Vandross. There was also another return to gospel in 1987 with One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism.

 

Critically, as is the case with many '60s rock legends, there have been mixed responses to her later work. Some view it as little more than a magnificent voice wasted on mediocre material and production. Others seem to grasp for any excuse they can to praise her whenever there seems to be some kind of resurgence of her soul leanings. Most would agree that her post-mid-'70s recordings are fairly inconsequential when judged against her prime Atlantic era. The blame is often laid at the hands of unsuitable material, but it should also be remembered that -- like Elvis Presley and Ray Charles -- Franklin never thought of herself as confined to one genre. She always loved to sing straight pop songs, even if her early Atlantic records gave one the impression that her true home was earthy soul music. If for some reason she returned to straight soul shouting in the future, it's doubtful that the phase would last for more than an album or two. In the meantime, despite her lukewarm recent sales record, she's an institution, assured of the ability to draw live audiences and immense respect for the rest of her lifetime, regardless of whether there are any more triumphs on record in store

[dxb96]

:thumbsupsmiley: ,i like 80s music , its still the best around , i have quite a collection from the cure , depeche mode , aztec camera ,,, is there any free site we can dowload some more mp3s

[hitman531ph]

:thumbsupsmiley: ,i like 80s music , its still the best around , i have quite a collection from the cure , depeche mode , aztec camera ,,, is there any free site we can dowload some more mp3s

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Try bearshare. It's P2P.

 

Depeche Mode eh? It was one of my favorites in the 80s.

 

The albums, Speak & Spell were very synth-pop. When Vince Clarke left the group, Martin Gore continued on. The second album departed from the highly synth-pop sound and moved to a darker type of sound beginning with A Broken Frame (1982), Construction Time Again (1983) and Some Great Reward (1984), which produced their first US hit "People are People". A greatest hits compilation came out called The Singles 81-85 in 1985 which included the 1983 non-album single Get the Balance Right, It's Called a Heart and the British #1 hit Shake the Disease. But the darkest-sounding DM album of the 80s was 1986's Black Celebration. 1987 saw the release of a less dark sound Music For The Masses which produced British and US Hits, "Never Let Me Down Again", "Strangelove" and "Behind the Wheel". DM closed out the decade with the release of their Pasadena concert performance, Depeche Mode 101.

[hitman531ph]

PET SHOP BOYS

 

Postmodern ironists cloaked behind a veil of buoyantly melodic and lushly romantic synth pop confections, the Pet Shop Boys' cheeky, smart, and utterly danceable music established them among the most commercially and critically successful groups of their era. Always remaining one step ahead of their contemporaries, the British duo navigated the constantly shifting landscape of modern dance-pop with rare grace and intelligence, moving easily from disco to house to techno with their own distinctive image remaining completely intact; satiric and irreverent -- yet somehow strangely affecting -- the Pet Shop Boys transcended the seeming disposability of their craft, offering wry and thoughtful cultural commentary communicated by the Morse code of au courant synth washes and drum-machine rhythms.

 

Pet Shop Boys formed in London in August 1981 when vocalist Neil Tennant (a former editor at Marvel Comics who later gained some notoriety as a journalist for Smash Hits magazine) first met keyboardist Chris Lowe (a onetime architecture student) at an electronics shop; discovering a shared passion for dance music and synthesizers, they immediately decided to start a band. Dubbing themselves the Pet Shop Boys in honor of friends who worked in such an establishment -- while also obliquely nodding to the sort of names prevalent among the New York City hip-hop culture of the early 1980s -- the duo's career first took flight in 1983, when Tennant met producer Bobby "O" Orlando while on a writing assigment. Orlando produced their first single, 1984's "West End Girls"; the song was a minor hit in the U.S. but went nowhere in Britain, and its follow-up, "One More Chance," was also unsuccessful.

 

Upon signing to EMI, the Pet Shop Boys issued 1985's biting "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)"; when it too failed to attract attention, the duo's future appeared grim, but they then released an evocative new Stephen Hague production of "West End Girls," which became an international chart-topper. Its massive success propelled the Pet Shop Boys' 1986 debut LP Please into the Top Ten, and when "Opportunities" was subsequently reissued, it too became a hit. Disco, a collection of dance remixes, was quickly rushed into stores, and in 1987 the duo resurfaced with the superb Actually, which launched three more Top Ten smashes -- "It's a Sin," a lovely cover of the perennial "Always on My Mind," and "What Have I Done to Deserve This?," a duet between Tennant and the great Dusty Springfield. A documentary film titled It Couldn't Happen Here was released the following year.

 

Also in 1988, Pet Shop Boys issued their third studio LP, the eclectic Introspective; the single "Domino Dancing" was their final Top 40 hit in the U.S. The following year, the duo collaborated with a variety of performers, most notably Liza Minnelli, for whom they produced the 1989 LP Results; they also produced material for Springfield, and Tennant joined New Order frontman Bernard Sumner and ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr in the group Electronic, scoring a hit with the single "Getting Away With It." The Pet Shop Boys reconvened in 1990 for the muted, downcast Behavior, produced by Harold Faltermeyer. 1991 saw the release of their hit medley of U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name" and Frankie Valli's "Can't Take My Eyes off You," and was followed in 1993 by Very, lauded among the duo's finest efforts to date. After a three-year absence, the Pet Shop Boys resurfaced with Bilingual, a fluid expansion into Latin rhythms. Nightlife followed in 1999 and sparked the dance club hit "New York City Boy." On the success of that, they also toured the U.S. for the first time in eight years. While on tour, Tennant and Lowe were also collaborating with playwright Jonathan Harvey. Since 1997, the three had been crafting a musical surrounding gay life and societal criticisms. Closer to Heaven made its West End debut in 2001 and had a successful run for most of the year. The Pet Shop Boys' score of the original cast recording, Closer to Heaven, was also a hit in the U.K. They still had time to make a record for themselves, too. In April 2002, Tennant and Lowe issued their follow-up to 1999's Nightlife, the vibrant album entitled Release. Sanctuary celebrated the Pet Shop Boys' lasting power, releasing the delectable Disco 3 compilation in February 2003. Disco 3, a sure collector's item for PSB loyalists, included various remixes and new cuts. Felix da Housecat's star-studded tweaking on "London" is brilliant and videos make this release a sure bonus