The Go-Go's - Vacation
The Go-Go's - Vacation (Official Music Video)
"Vacation"
Can't seem to get my mind off of you
Back here at home there's nothin' to do
Now that I'm away
I wish I'd stayed
Tomorrow's a day of mine
That you won't be in
When you looked at me
I should've run
But I thought it was just for fun
I see I was wrong
And I'm not so strong
I should've known all along
That time would tell
A week without you
Thought I'd forget
Two weeks without you and I
Still haven't gotten over you yet
Vacation
All I ever wanted
Vacation
Had to get away
Vacation
Meant to be spent alone
Vacation
All I ever wanted
Vacation
Had to get away
Vacation
Meant to be spent alone
[Instrumental Interlude]
A week without you
Thought I'd forget
Two weeks without you and I
Still haven't gotten over you yet
Vacation
All I ever wanted
Vacation
Had to get away
Vacation
Meant to be spent alone
Vacation
All I ever wanted
Vacation
Had to get away
Vacation
Meant to be spent alone
Vacation
All I ever wanted
Vacation
Had to get away
Vacation
Meant to be spent alone
From their halcyon days as America’s sweethearts to their current status as superstars who pioneered a genre, The Go-Go’s preside over an amazing three-decade reign as high pop priestesses. The internationally-loved pop hitmakers helped cement the foundation of the early 80’s pop-rock sound without the aid of outside composers, session players or, most importantly, creative compromise. From their very first show, The Go-Go’s sang and played their own songs, offering five feisty role models for a generation of ready-to-rock girls and good, hooky fun for pop-loving guys.
Their story truly is a punk version of the American Dream. They came, they saw and they conquered the charts, the airwaves and, with their kicky kitsch appeal, pop culture in general. For a while, the band was virtually inescapable: TV guest shots, magazine covers, high-profile concert tours and movie offers turned Belinda Carlisle, Jane Wiedlin, Charlotte Caffey, Gina Schock and Kathy Valentine into certified rock stars. Their sparking California pop appealed to an astonishingly wide cross-section of music fans.
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Because of — or maybe in spite of — all this attention, they soared to become a pop phenomenon while having a lot of fun and blazing a brand-new trail — for the DIY ethic in general, and women in music in particular. Their self-contained battle cry was a string of irresistibly catchy, self-penned pop singles featuring Carlisle’s infectious vocals, with Caffey and Wiedlin’s loud, punk rock guitars and sweet backing vocals, all slammed home with Valentine’s throbbing bass and Schock’s big 60s beat. Sure, before the Go-Go’s debuted in May of ’78, there were other all-female bands, but to a man (ahem, or in this case, woman) there was usually a seedy, cigar-chompin’ guy lurking just behind the curtain, pulling strings, writing songs and shaping the image as his gals danced on his string. But The Go-Go’s didn’t need a doctor in their house. No Phil Spector, Kim Fowley or Sonny Bono plotted their moves. It was their baby right from the start and they nursed the bouncing infant on a diet of non-stop nocturnal nourishment in dank clubs all across the city.
The Go-Go's - Our Lips Are Sealed
The Go-Go's - Our Lips Are Sealed (Official Music Video)
"Our Lips Are Sealed"
Can you hear them
They talk about us
Telling lies
Well, that's no surprise
Can you see them
See right through them
They have no shield
No secrets to reveal
It doesn't matter what they say
In the jealous games people play
Our lips are sealed
There's a weapon
That we must use
In our defense
Silence reveals
When you look at them
Look right through them
That's when they'll disappear
That's when we'll be feared
It doesn't matter what they say
In the jealous games people play
Our lips are sealed
Give no mind to what they say
It doesn't matter anyway
Our lips are sealed
Hush, my darling
Don't you cry
Quiet, angel
Forget their lies
Can you hear them
They talk about us
Telling lies
Well, that's no surprise
Can you see them
See right through them
They have no shield
No secrets to reveal
It doesn't matter what they say
In the jealous games people play
Our lips are sealed
Pay no mind to what they say
It doesn't matter anyway
Our lips are sealed
Our lips are sealed
Our lips are sealed
They danced to their own joyous beat from the very beginning. The Go-Go’s banded together in the truest of punk ethics: there was no master plan to get signed or in any way conquer the world. In fact, when Belinda Carlisle and Jane Wiedlin (then known by her faux-tough nom-de-punk Jane Drano) met, they weren’t even musicians. But since nearly everyone else in their vicious circle of friends was forming bands, they said why not? and jumped right in that darn fountain, fully clothed. The band was conceived in the very same gritty glitter of the rough Los Angeles scene that also birthed X, The Germs, and The Weirdos. By all accounts, their first show was short, sweet — and very, very raw. They didn’t care, they were just having fun. But, just as lust can turn to love, their new-found hobby turned to dedication. Two months later, real musician Charlotte Caffey joined and their sound quickly improved. The unique mix of snotty punk discord blended with sweet pop melodies was presented with a freewheeling let’s have a party thrift-store chic attitude. The ensemble quickly cultivated a dedicated clique of fans and collected glowing notices in the notoriously fickle LA press.
By ’79, with the addition of Gina Schock on drums, the Go-Go’s were beating their path to stardom on their own terms. They played every cool club and party in L.A. and, naturally, record companies were starting to sniff around. Still, the band remained true to their punk leanings, releasing an early version of “We Got The Beat” through the quirky Stiff Records in the UK. As ’80 turned into ’81, Kathy Valentine joined and by April, the band was signed to upstart new wave haven IRS records. As summer arrived, so did Beauty And The Beat, hot on the heels of their debut U.S. single “Our Lips Are Sealed.” Summer turned to fall, and the world fell in love with the cute, bubbly and effervescent (and yes, they hate that description) Go-Go’s. As ’80 turned into ’81, Kathy Valentine joined and by April, the band was signed to upstart new wave haven IRS records. As summer arrived, so did Beauty And The Beat, hot on the heels of their debut U.S. single “Our Lips Are Sealed.” Summer turned to fall, and the world fell in love with the cute, bubbly and effervescent (and yes, they hate that description) Go-Go’s.
The Go-Go's - Head Over Heels
The Go-Go's - Head Over Heels (Official Music Video)
In ’94 the rejuvenated musicians contributed three new songs and extensive liner notes for the career-retrospective Return To The Valley of The Go-Go’s. The band had also returned to sporadic touring by that time, occasionally revisiting the frivolity of the early 80’s on stage while depressing grunge continued to rule rock radio. In 2000, their raucous and rocky off-stage history, often re-told and colorfully embellished, was unflinchingly presented in a very popular episode of VH-1s Behind The Music series with an accompanying greatest hits collection. Behind The Music: The Go-Go’s Collection continues to be a strong-selling catalog item. At this point, most bands would have happily settled into obscurity or would have desperately flung themselves into futile and embarrassing updates of their sound. But not The Go-Go’s. On the strength of the VH-1 special, God Bless The Go-Go’s, an all-new collection of songs was released in 2001. A stack of glowing reviews soon followed backed by a triumphant tour, later immortalized in the exciting DVD, Live In Central Park. Today, with the original hitmaking lineup intact, The Go-Go’s live shows continue to deliver every bit of the raw energy of their now-legendary punk beginnings, tempered with the wisdom of three decades of pop perfection. They have no need to change their sound to try to be modern or current or wander off on some trendy tangent. Why should they change a thing? Now, as in ‘81, no one sounds like The Go-Go’s but The Go-Go’s. The whole world may have lost its head, but in a world gone crazy, The Go-Go’s still have the beat. And now, three decades after the release of their first album, go-go music still makes us dance!
The Go-Go's - Get Up And Go
The Go-Go's - Get Up And Go (Official Music Video)
Glenn Gregory & Claudia Brücken - When Your Heart Runs Out Of Time (12inch version)
Glenn Gregory & Claudia Brücken - When Your Heart Runs Out Of Time (12inch version)
I came by this morning
Your friend said you'd moved on
Gone without a warning
Though it leaves her needing me
When your heart runs out of time
When you're up against the night
I can help you stand alone
In the dying of the light
When your heart runs out of time
I will never let you go
I can help you dream again
In the world you want to know
All the world can turn you
Any way it wants to
Please don't let it burn you
Someone cares for you somewhere
When your heart runs out of time
When you're up against the night
I can help you stand alone
In the dying of the light
When your heart runs out of time
I will never let you go
I can help you dream again
In the world you want to know
Somewhere stars are bright
Somewhere in the night
There was still the light
When your heart runs out of time
When you're up against the night
I can help you stand alone
In the dying of the light
When your heart runs out of time
I will never let you go
I can help you dream again
In the world you want to know
When your heart runs out of time
When you're up against the night
I can help you stand alone
In the dying of the light
When your heart runs out of time
I will never let you go
I can help you dream again
In the world you want to know
When your heart runs out of time
When you're up against the night
I can help you stand alone
When your heart runs out of time
I will never let you go
I can help you dream again
Source: Musixmatch
Glenn Peter Gregory (born 16th May 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist whose music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as co-founder and lead singer of the new wave and synthpop band Heaven 17, which released six singles that entered the Top 40 charts in the United Kingdom during the 1980s, and 1990s, including "Temptation", "Let Me Go", Come Live with Me", Crushed by the Wheels of Industry", "Sunset Now", This is Mine" and "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang".
Heaven 17.
Glenn Peter Gregory was born on 16th May 1958 in Sheffield, England. His father, Howard, was a steel worker. As a teenager, he wanted to be an actor, but ended up working in London as a photographer instead. In 1977, Gregory was part of a band called 57 Men which was formed by Jack Hues and Nick Feldman, both of whom would later form the band Wang Chung. Gregory knew the founding members of the Human League for many years. He had been singing and playing bass guitar in bands with Ian Craig Marsh since 1973. In early 1981, he was contacted by Martyn Ware after the original incarnation of the Human League broke up, and was asked to join Heaven 17, a new band resulting from the break-up.
Heaven 17’s Martyn Ware and Glenn Gregory.
Claudia Brücken
The band Heaven 17 included the trio of Martyn Ware, Ian Craig Marsh, and Gregory as lead singer. The band released eight studio albums, and had many hits in the UK. However, by the late 1980s their popularity had declined. The band broke up in 1988, but reunited in 1996, and played their first ever live concert in 1997. Marsh left the band in 2007, but Ware and Gregory continued to perform as Heaven 17. In 1984, Gregory contributed to the Band Aid single "Do They Know It's Christmas?", singing the line "No rain nor rivers flow". Outside of Heaven 17, Gregory has been a member of the bands Ugly and Honeyroot, as well as working with ABC, Tina Turner, Grace Jones, Propaganda, Terence Trent D'Arby, Ultravox, La Roux and John Lydon. He has also established a career in soundtrack music, writing for radio, TV and film. He creates scores in a private studio built at the bottom of his garden. In 1983, Gregory married singer Sarah Osborne of the Belgian pop group Allez Allez, but the two divorced after about three years. Gregory then married his second wife Lindsay who works for a design company. The couple have a son, Louis.
Twiggy - Feel Emotion 1985
Twiggy - Feel Emotion 1985
From 1966 until 1970 Twiggy travelled the world modelling for numerous magazines including Vogue, Elle and Tatler. Her photograph was even encased in a Time Capsule and sent into space. In the United States, there was a Twiggy doll and numerous merchandising items carrying her name. During those years as a model she posed for some of the top photographers in the world including Barry Lategan, Helmut Newton, Terence Donovan, Melvin Sokolosky, Richard Avedon and Bert Stern, who would make three documentaries about her extraordinary trip to the USA in 1967. In the 1970s she moved into the acting world when Ken Russell cast her in the lead role in the musical film of "The Boyfriend", for which she won two Golden Globe awards. In 1972 she posed with David Bowie to create the classic shot that became the cover of "Pin Ups" album. Also in the 1970s after the release of her first album Twiggy did a concert tour ending with a sell-out appearance in London at The Royal Albert Hall.
After the success of "The Boyfriend", Twiggy decided to concentrate on acting, singing and dancing. Her films and TV include "W", "The Doctor and the Devils", "Club Paradise", "The Blues Brothers", "The Little Match Girl", "Madame Sousatzka", the US sitcom "Princesses", "Young Charlie Chaplin" and playing Eliza Doolittle in "Pygmalion" for ITV in the UK. Twiggy also had her own musical TV series in the 1970s on the BBC. Another mile-stone in Twiggy’s varied career was when she had her own chat show series on ITV, "Twiggy's People", interviewing among others, Dustin Hoffman, Lauren Bacall, Tom, Jones, Joan Rivers, Eric Idle and Tim Curry. In the 2000's Twiggy was, for three years, a judge on the phenomenally successful US reality show "America's Next Top Model" with Tyra Banks.
Over the past four decades Twiggy has received multiple awards and recorded several acclaimed albums, her last one being "Romantically Yours", which received lauded reviews in the music press worldwide. Her first appearance in the theatre was in the 1970s playing "Cinderella" in London's West End. In 1983 she starred on Broadway in the hugely successful, award winning Gershwin musical "My One and Only", for which she was nominated for a Tony award. Twiggy has also appeared twice as Elvira in Noel Coward's "Blithe Spirit." The first production was at the Chichester Festival Theatre UK. The second was at Bay Street Theatre, Long Island, New York. In the late 1990s she appeared at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in New York in "If Love Were All", based on the relationship between Noel Coward and Gertrude Lawrence. In the early 2000's Twiggy also appeared as Mrs Warren in Sir Peter Hall's production of Bernard Shaw's "Mrs. Warren's Profession", in which she toured the UK.
Twiggy returned to modelling in the early 1990s after receiving a call from the American photographer Stephen Meisel, asking her to work with him on a cover, and feature spread for Italian Vogue, entitled “Twiggy The Legend”. From 2005 to 2011 Twiggy led the hugely successful Marks and Spencer advertising campaign and was credited with turning the stores fortune around. In 2012, was invited to design a "Twiggy" collection of clothing for M&S online. Twiggy has also authored several books. Her last autobiography was "Twiggy in Black and White". In 2009 the National Portrait Gallery curated a tribute collection of iconic Twiggy photographs and published, “TWIGGY, A Life in Photographs.”
Twiggy is an ardent supporter of animal welfare through numerous charities, a supporter of Breast Cancer Now, and various children’s charities. She was honoured to receive the Freedom of the City of London in 2017.
The world’s first fashion ‘supermodel’ Twiggy and her agent turned husband Justin de Villeneuve in London, 1966. Photo by Phillip Jackson/ANL/REX/Shutterstock.
Dame Lesley Lawson DBE (née Hornby; born 19th September 1949) Lesley Hornby was born on 19 September 1949 and raised in Neasden (then in Middlesex, now a suburb of north-west London). She was the third daughter of Nellie Lydia (née Reeman), a factory worker for a printing firm, and William Norman Hornby, a master carpenter and joiner from Lancashire: Their first daughter, Shirley, had been born fifteen years earlier; their second, Vivien, had been born seven years earlier.[citation needed] According to Twiggy, her maternal grandfather was Jewish. However, her mother's genealogy, which was examined on the series 'Who Do You Think You Are? in 2014, does not contain Jewish ancestry. Twiggy's mother taught her to sew from an early age. She used this skill to make her own clothing. She attended the Brondesbury and Kilburn High School. Twiggy's great-great-grandmother, Grace Meadows, died in a stampede of excitable shoppers at a bargain sale at Messrs McIllroys store on Mare Street, in Hackney, in 1897. This event made the news at the time. Twiggy married American actor Michael Witney in 1977. Their daughter, Carly, was born in 1978. They remained married until his death in 1983 from a heart attack.
Twiggy was short for a model at 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m), weighed eight stone (51 kg; 110 lb) and had a 31–23–32 (79–58–81 cm) figure, "with a new kind of streamlined, androgynous sex appeal" Her boyishly thin image was, and still is, criticised promoting an "unhealthy" body ideal for women. "Twiggy came along at a time when teen-age spending power was never greater," said Su Dalgleish, fashion correspondent for the Daily Mail. "With that underdeveloped, boyish figure, she is an idol to the 14- and 15-year-old kids. She makes virtue of all the terrible things of gawky, miserable adolescence." In recent years, Twiggy has spoken out against the trend of waif-thin models, explaining that her own thin weight as a teenager was natural: "I was very skinny, but that was just my natural build. I always ate sensibly – being thin was in my genes." Twiggy is best remembered as one of the first international supermodels and a fashion icon of the 1960s. Her greatest influence is Jean Shrimpton, whom Twiggy considers to be the world's first supermodel.
Fra Lippo Lippi - Shouldn't Have To be Like That (Music video)
Fra Lippo Lippi - Shouldn't Have To be Like That (Music video)
"Shouldn't Have To Be Like That"
It's always like this, people I know
Read many books and save every dream
With all of their hope buried inside, somewhere
Somewhere a man cries for his love
A love that is lost, that withered too soon
With all of his hope buried inside, somewhere
Shouldn't have to be like that
Shouldn't have to be like that
Shouldn't have to be like that
Shouldn't have to be like that
So all you can say is 'we need more time'
To get through the things that need to be said
With all our trust buried inside, somewhere
And even if it takes a lifetime of trust
To build something strong, what happens to us
With all our faith buried inside, somewhere
Shouldn't have to be like that
Shouldn't have to be like that
Shouldn't have to be like that
Shouldn't have to be like that
Shouldn't have to be like that
Shouldn't have to be like that
Shouldn't have to be like that
Shouldn't have to be like that
Shouldn't have to be like that
Shouldn't have to be like that
It shouldn't have to be like that
Shouldn't have to be like that
Fra Lippo Lippi is a Norwegian band. They had several hits in the 1980s, such as "Shouldn't Have to Be Like That", "Everytime I See You" and "Light and Shade", and recorded a new album as late as 2002. The band name is derived from Robert Browning's poem about the Renaissance painter Filippo Lippi. Fra Lippo Lippi was founded in Nesodden, Norway in 1980 by Rune Kristoffersen (bass, guitar, keyboards), Morten Sjøberg (drums, keyboards) and Bjørn Sorknes (bass, keyboards). They released a 4-track instrumental EP that year, titled Tap Dance for Scientists. Two years prior, the group was writing and rehearsing under the name Genetic Control.
In 1981, Sorknes left as the band was writing songs for their debut album. The band, which then consisted of the duo of Kristoffersen and Sjøberg, recorded and released In Silence under Uniton Records. Inspired by British post-punk band Joy Division, the album received some favourable reviews and was distributed in several European countries. In the Netherlands and Belgium, it sold better than in their native Norway. In 1982, Kristoffersen and Sjøberg began writing and recording their next album. A single, "Now and Forever", was released in April 1982. Their music developed into a more melodic sound and they realised that they needed to recruit a vocalist. In 1983, Per Øystein Sørensen (born December 13, 1961) came on board as the band's lead vocalist for their second album Small Mercies. The single "The Treasure", featuring a less dense, more melodic sound with piano as the central instrument, was a foretaste of album and the band's new sound. They now had a brighter, more pop-oriented sound and received a number of positive reviews in their home country and in the British music press.
Fra Lippo Lippi - Some People (LYRICS)
Fra Lippo Lippi - Some People (LYRICS)
In late 1983, they were joined by keyboardist Øyvind Kvalnes. Having previously performed live on only a few occasions with pre-recorded tapes, the band wished to develop their live sound, but Kvalnes also proved to make significant contributions to their songwriting. Their first release as a quartet was the single "Say Something" in 1984 on which former member Bjørn Sorknes guested on bass. In 1985, their third album was recorded at Polar Studios in Stockholm. Having parted ways with Uniton, the band financed the recording themselves as there was no interest from any labels. It was released as Songs on their own Easter Productions label to positive reviews; some critics hailed it as the best pop album ever made in Norway and 5,000 copies were sold in Norway without the aid of singles or promotion.
LIGHT AND SHADE by Fra Lippo Lippi
LIGHT AND SHADE by Fra Lippo Lippi.
Months after Songs was released, the band was signed to Virgin Records. At this point, Sjøberg and Kvalnes departed at the prospect of giving up their day jobs for the uncertain careers as professional musicians, leaving Kristoffersen and Sørensen as the only two members. Songs was re-recorded and remixed for the international market in 1986. This version of the album included a new song titled "Everytime I See You", a reworking of an earlier song, "A Small Mercy" from the album Small Mercies. The band also scored a hit single in Europe with "Shouldn't Have to Be Like That", a double A-side with "The Distance Between Us". In 1987, the band recorded and released their follow-up album Light and Shade in Los Angeles, CA, with the producing aid of Walter Becker. The album received positive reviews, but was not the commercial success that was expected. Shortly after the album's release, they were dropped by Virgin Records.
The band however gained a huge popularity in the Philippines and prompted them to tour the country in 1988. In Manila, their shows sold out six times over two weekends. The band continued to record and release further albums independently, starting with 1989's The Colour Album on the Swedish label The Record Station. A live album titled Crash of Light was released in the Philippines in 1990. In 1990, the band was dropped by The Record Station. The duo considered splitting up, but eventually decided to continue as Fra Lippo Lippi and released the self-produced album Dreams in 1992. The song "Stitches and Burns" became very popular in the Philippines. In 1995, the band released their first compilation album The Best of Fra Lippo Lippi '85-'95. Selected tracks originally from Songs, Light and Shade and The Colour Album were re-recorded. Two years later, another compilation was released in the Philippines. The Virgin Years - Greatest Hits featured tracks directly licensed from Virgin Records.
In 2002, Kristoffersen retired from the band to focus on his record label Rune Grammofon, and the band released In a Brilliant White which contains mostly Sorensen's works and was initially produced and released only in the Philippines. The first single "Later" became a hit in the Philippines even before the album was released, hence EMI Philippines (now PolyEast Records) decided to produce a full-length album with it. It also features a collaboration single "Wish We Were Two" featuring Per Sorensen and Kyla. This album was also released in Norway eventually, following releases over other countries in Asia. On September 2009, Sørensen released Våge, his first solo album and his first-ever work in Norwegian. An English version titled Master of Imperfection was released in 2012.
Former members:
Rune Kristoffersen – bass, keyboards (1978–2002)
Morten Sjøberg – drums (1978–1985)
Øyvind Kvalnes – keyboards (1984–1985)
Bjørn Sorknes – keyboards, guitar, vocals (1978–1981)
Singles and EPs
Tap Dance for Scientists (1980)
"In Silence" (1981)
"Now and Forever" (1982)
"A Small Mercy" (1982)
"The Treasure" (1983)
"Say Something" (1984)
"Leaving" (1985)
"Shouldn't Have to Be Like That"/"The Distance Between Us" (1986) - NOR #4, NETH #29, BEL #39, UK #81
"Everytime I See You" (1986)
"Come Summer" (1986)
"Light and Shade" (1987)
"Angel" (1987)
"Beauty and Madness" (1988)
"Some People" (1988)
"Count on Me" (1989)
"Love Is a Lonely Harbour" (1989)
"Mothers Little Soldier" (1990)
"Stitches and Burns" (1990)
"Thief in Paradise" (1992)
"Everybody Everywhere" (1995)
"Later" (2002)
"Story of a Broken Heart" (2002)
Jim Diamond — Hi Ho Silver
Jim Diamond — Hi Ho Silver
Sometimes I sit, yeah, feeling alone
No one to talk to, I got no telephone
And at night I wake up, I just lie and stare
Come on and save me from this nightmare
Hi ho silver, here come the lone ranger
He's riding on down to rescue me
Hi ho silver, here come the lone ranger
He's riding on down to rescue me
I know the road I must take, with a wink of my eye
I leave old friends behind like old alibi
I'll take all they throw against me I make a stand
For truth and justice and for the common man
Hi ho silver, here come the lone ranger
He's riding on down to rescue me
Hi ho silver, here come the lone ranger
He's riding on down to rescue me
And I guess it took some time for me to decide
If you were just my hero or my friend
Watching with my innocent eyes
Your silver stallion ride
Across my room I'd listen as they cried
Hi ho silver, here come the lone ranger
He's riding on down to rescue me
Hi ho silver, here come the lone ranger
He's riding on down to rescue me, rescue me
Hi ho silver
Hi ho silver, here come the lone ranger
He's riding on down to rescue me
Hi ho silver, here come the lone ranger
He's riding on down to rescue me
Hi ho silver, here come the lone ranger
James Aaron Diamond (28 September 1951 – 8 October 2015) was a Scottish singer-songwriter, best known for his three Top 5 hits: "I Won't Let You Down" (1982), as the lead singer of PHD: and his solo performances "I Should Have Known Better", a United Kingdom No. 1 in 1984, and "Hi Ho Silver", the theme song from Boon, which reached No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart in 1986. Diamond was born in the Bridgeton area in the East End of Glasgow in 1951. He started his music career at the age of 15 with his own band, The Method. When aged 16, he also fronted a Glasgow band called Jade. That line-up included bassist Chris Glen who went on to play with the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, and Jim Lacey on Lead Guitar who later went on to join the Alan Bown Set. Jade played many pub, club and college gigs in London in 1969, playing at Brunel University, West London College in Cricklewood, The Pied Bull in Islington, West Hampstead Country Club, another college in Virginia Water and many more in 1969. They also supported the Move on their Scottish tour with The Stoics in the same year. He later toured Europe with Gully Foyle, rare recordings of his performances with Gully Foyle were recently discovered on the internet. Alexis Korner then discovered Diamond, who spent the next couple of years as part of Korner's band. He provided additional and backing vocals on many of Korner's songs, most of which would appear on The Lost Album. Diamond left Korner in 1976, to form Bandit, the line-up included future AC/DC member Cliff Williams. They were soon signed up by Arista Records and released a début album, Bandit, which failed to reach the chart. In 1979, Diamond was lead vocalist for a Japanese band called BACCO, whose debut album was Cha Cha Me. He went to Los Angeles, California to form Slick Diamond with Earl Slick. He spent some time touring and recording and provided music for a film soundtrack.
Jim Diamond - I Should Have Known Better
Jim Diamond - I Should Have Known Better
In 1981, Diamond formed PhD (Phillips, Hymas and Diamond), with pianist/keyboard player Tony Hymas and drummer Simon Phillips. They were signed by WEA Records and had a hit single with the multi-million selling "I Won't Let You Down". The band later decided to part ways. In 1984, he decided to go solo and was signed to A&M Records. He had a number-one hit with "I Should Have Known Better" and also was number one in Latin America. He scored another hit soon afterward with the theme song from Boon, "Hi Ho Silver". Diamond is also known for some guest vocals on two Genesis band members' solo outings, including: "You Call This Victory" (from the movie Starship) on the album Soundtracks by Tony Banks in 1986. "Days of Long Ago" on the album Darktown by Steve Hackett in 1999. The 1999 compilation The Best of Jim Diamond compiles singles and B-sides from his short time with A&M Records. In the late 1990s, Diamond teamed up with saxophonist Chris "Snake" Davis, known for his work with soul outfit M People. The pair were known as The Blue Shoes, but were later billed as Jim Diamond and Snake Davis. In 2005, Diamond released his first studio album in eleven years, Souled and Healed. The singles "When You Turn" and "Blue Shoes" were released from this. In 2009 he re-united with Tony Hymas to produce a third PhD album entitled "Three".
Ph.D - I Won't Let You Down (hq)
Ph.D - I Won't Let You Down (hq)
Jim Diamond's last album, City of Soul, released by Camino Records in 2011, featured among others Wet Wet Wet drummer Tommy Cunningham and Greg Kane of Hue and Cry. All proceeds from this album of soul music covers benefited the children's charity, Radio Clyde Cash for Kids. Diamond died in his sleep on 8 October 2015. According to his daughter Sara, the cause of death was a pulmonary oedema. Diamond married Christine Bailey (born 1951, Wellington, New Zealand) in 1978. The couple had a daughter, Sara Rosaline Diamond (b. 1978 in Hammersmith and Fulham, London), and a son, Lawrence James Diamond (b. 1984 in Hammersmith and Fulham, London). Lawrence is the keyboardist of the UK indie pop group Citizens! and the former bass player of Official Secrets Act. In the early 1980s, Diamond contracted hepatitis. Diamond was a friend of Father Ted star Dermot Morgan and was present at the small dinner party at which Morgan died suddenly in 1998.
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Eartha Kitt This Is My Life
Eartha Kitt - This Is My Life (1986)
Eartha Kitt (born Eartha Mae Keith; January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer, actress, dancer, comedian, activist, author, and songwriter known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song "Santa Baby", both of which reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Orson Welles once called her the "most exciting woman in the world". Singer and actress Eartha Kitt is best known for her holiday song "Santa Baby," and for playing Catwoman in the 1960's TV show 'Batman.' Eartha Kitt became popular in Paris as a nightclub singer, then returned to the United States to appear in films and on Broadway. Her 1953 recording of "Santa Baby" is still a favorite today. In the 1960s, Kitt had a recurring role as Catwoman on TV's Batman, but her career waned after she criticized the Vietnam War during a luncheon with Lady Bird Johnson. Born in North, South Carolina, famed singer and actress Eartha Kitt had a difficult childhood. Her mother abandoned her, and she was left in the care of relatives who mistreated her. Kitt was often teased and picked on because of her mixed-race heritage — her father was white, and her mother was African American and Cherokee.
Around the age of 8, Kitt moved to New York City to live with an aunt. There, she eventually enrolled in the New York School of Performing Arts. Around the age of 16, Kitt won a scholarship to study with Katherine Dunham, and later joined Dunham's dance troupe. She toured with the group for several years before going solo. In Paris, Kitt became a popular nightclub singer. She was discovered in Europe by actor-director Orson Welles. Welles, who reportedly called her "the most exciting woman alive," cast her as Helen of Troy in his production of Dr. Faustus. Kitt became a rising star with her appearance in the Broadway review New Faces of 1952. In the production, she sang "Monotonous." Her performance helped launch her music career with the release of her first album in 1954. The recording featured such signature songs as "I Want To Be Evil" and "C'est Si Bon," as well as the perennially holiday classic "Santa Baby."
On the big screen, Kitt starred opposite Nat King Cole in the W. C. Handy biopic St. Louis Blues (1958). She netted her one and only Academy Award nomination the following year, for her role as the title character in Anna Lucasta. In the film, Kitt plays a sassy young woman who is forced to use her womanly wiles to survive, starring opposite Sammy Davis Jr. n the late 1960s, Kitt played one of her most famous parts — the villainous vixen "Catwoman." She took over the role, on the TV series Batman, from Julie Newmar. Remarkably, Kitt only played Catwoman on a handful of episodes of the short-lived campy crime show, starring Adam West and Burt Ward, but she made the role her own with her lithe, cat-like frame and her distinctive voice. The series found a second life in reruns, and it remains on the air today. Known for being blunt and short-tempered at times, Kitt found herself in a media firestorm in 1968. She attended a luncheon on the subject on juvenile delinquency and crime hosted by Lady Bird Johnson at the White House. At the event, Kitt shared her thoughts on the matter, telling the First Lady that "You send the best of this country off to be shot and maimed," according to the Washington Post. "No wonder the kids rebel and take pot." Her remarks against the Vietnam War offended Johnson, and made headlines. Her popularity took a significant hit after that, and she spent several years mostly performing abroad. Kitt also remarked (The children of America are not rebelling for no reason. They are not hippies for no reason at all. We don't have what we have on Sunset Blvd. for no reason. They are rebelling against something. There are so many things burning the people of this country, particularly mothers. They feel they are going to raise sons – and I know what it's like, and you have children of your own, Mrs. Johnson – we raise children and send them to war. Her remarks caused Mrs. Johnson to burst into tears.[6] It is widely believed that Kitt's career in the United States was ended following her comments about the Vietnam War, after which she was branded "a sadistic nymphomaniac" by the CIA.
In 1978, Kitt enjoyed a career renaissance with her performance on Broadway in Timbuktu!. She earned a Tony Award nomination for her role in the play, and received an invitation to the White House by President Jimmy Carter. In 1984, Kitt returned to the music charts with "Where Is My Man." She continued to win acclaim for her music, including scoring a Grammy Award nomination for 1994's Back in Business. In 1984, she returned to the music charts with a disco song titled "Wher is My Man", the first certified gold record of her career. "Where Is My Man" reached the Top 40 on the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at NO. 36, the song became a standard in discos and dance clubs of the time and made the Top 10 on the US Billboard dance chart, where it reached No. 7. Kitt was active in numerous social causes in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1966, she established the Kittsville Youth Foundation, a chartered and non-profit organization for underprivileged youths in the Watts area of Los Angeles. She was also involved with a group of youths in the area of Anacostia in Washington, D.C., who called themselves "Rebels with a Cause". Kitt supported the groups' efforts to clean up streets and establish recreation areas in an effort to keep them out of trouble by testifying with them before the House General Subcommittee on Education of the Committee on Education and Labor. In her testimony, in May 1967, Kitt stated that the Rebels' "achievements and accomplishments should certainly make the adult 'do-gooders' realize that these young men and women have performed in 1 short year – with limited finances – that which was not achieved by the same people who might object to turning over some of the duties of planning, rehabilitation, and prevention of juvenile delinquents and juvenile delinquency to those who understand it and are living it". She added that "the Rebels could act as a model for all urban areas throughout the United States with similar problems". "Rebels with a Cause" subsequently received the needed funding.
Throughout her adult life, Kitt had a tremendous work ethic. She kept up a busy work schedule well into her 70s. In 2000, Kitt netted a Tony Award nomination for her work in The Wild Party with Toni Collette. She picked up a Daytime Emmy Award for her vocal performance on the animated children's series The Emperor's New School that same year, and again in 2007. For many years, Kitt performed her cabaret act at New York's Cafe Carlyle. She continued to wow audiences as she had so many decades before, when she was the toast of Paris. With her voice, charm and sex appeal, Kitt knew how to win over a crowd. Kitt learned that she had colon cancer in 2006, a disease that ended up taking her life on December 25, 2008.
On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Eartha Kitt among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal Studios fire.
Kitt began her career in 1942 and appeared in the 1945 original Broadway theatre production of the musical Carib Song. In the early 1950s she had six US Top 30 hits, including "Uska Dara" and "I Want to Be Evil". Kitt found a new generation of fans through her roles in the Disney films The Emperor's New Groove (2000) in which she voiced the villainous Yzma, and Holes (2003). Eartha Mae Keith was born on a cotton plantation near the small town of North, South Carolina, or St. Matthews on January 17th 1927. Her mother Annie Mae Keith was of Cherokee and African descent. Though she had little knowledge of her father, it was reported that he was a son of the owner of the farm where she had been born, and that Kitt was conceived by rape. In a 2013 biography, British journalist John Williams claimed that Kitt's father was a white man, a local doctor named Daniel Sturkie Kitt's daughter, Kitt Shapiro, has questioned the accuracy of the claim. Eartha's mother, Annie Mae Keith (later Annie Mae Riley), soon went to live with a black man who refused to accept Eartha because of her relatively pale complexion; she was raised by a relative named Aunt Rosa, in whose household she was abused. After the death of Annie Mae, Eartha was sent to live with another relative named Mamie Kitt (who may, in fact, have been her biological mother) in Harlem, New York City, where she attended the Metropolitan Vocational High School (later renamed the High School of Performing Arts.
Kitt began her career as a member of the Katherine Dunham Company in 1943 and remained a member of the troupe until 1948. A talented singer with a distinctive voice, she recorded the hits "Let's Do It". "Champagne Taste", "C'est si bon" (which Stan Freburg famously burlesqued), "Just an Old Fashioned Girl", "Monotonous", "Je cherche un homme", "Love for Sale", "I'd Rather Be Burned as a Witch", "Kâtibim" (a Turkish melody), "Mink, Schmink", "Under the Bridges of Paris" and her most recognizable hit "Santa Baby", which was released in 1953. Kitt's unique style was enhanced as she became fluent in French during her years performing in Europe. She spoke four languages (she is thought to have learned German and Dutch from her stepfather, English from her mother, and French from the European cabaret circuit) and sang in eleven, which she demonstrated in many of the live recordings of her cabaret performances. Diana Ross said that as a member of The Supremes she largely based her look and sound after Kitt's.
In 1978, Kitt did the voice-over in a television commercial for the album Aja by th erock group, Steely Dan. One of her more unusual roles was as Kaa in a 1994 BBC Radio adaption of The Jungle Book. In 1998, she voiced Bagheera in the live-action direct-to-video Disney film The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story. Kitt has also voiced Vexus in My Life as a Teenage Robot. After romances with the cosmetics magnate Charles Revson and banking heir John Barry Ryan III, she married John William McDonald, an associate of a real estate investment company, on June 6, 1960. They had one child, a daughter named Kitt McDonald, born on November 26, 1961. They divorced in 1965. A long-time Connecticut resident, Eartha Kitt lived in a converted barn on a sprawling farm in the Merryall section of New Milford for many years and was active in local charities and causes throughout Litchfield County. She later moved to Pound Ridge, New York, but returned in 2002 to the southern Fairfield County, Connecticut, town of Weston, in order to be near her daughter Kitt and family. Her daughter, Kitt, married Charles Lawrence Shapiro in 1987 and had two children, Jason and Rachel Shapiro.
Kitt later became a vocal advocate for LGBT rights and publicly supported same-sex marriage, which she considered a civil right. She had been quoted as saying: "I support it [gay marriage] because we're asking for the same thing. If I have a partner and something happens to me, I want that partner to enjoy the benefits of what we have reaped together. It's a civil-rights thing, isn't it?" Kitt famously appeared at many LGBT fundraisers, including a mega event in Baltimore, Maryland, with George Burns and Jimmy James. Scott Sherman, an agent at Atlantic Entertainment Group, stated: "Eartha Kitt is fantastic... appears at so many LGBT events in support of civil rights." In a 1992 interview with Dr. Anthony Clare, Kitt spoke about her gay following, saying:
We're all rejected people, we know what it is to be refused, we know what it is to be oppressed, depressed, and then, accused, and I am very much cognizant of that feeling. Nothing in the world is more painful than rejection. I am a rejected, oppressed person, and so I understand them, as best as I can, even though I am a heterosexual.
Her daughter, Kitt Shapiro, described her last days with her mother:
I was with her when she died. She left this world literally screaming at the top of her lungs. I was with her constantly, she lived not even 3 miles from my house, we were together practically every day. She was home for the last few weeks when the doctor told us there was nothing they could do any more. Up until the last two days, she was still moving around. The doctor told us she will leave very quickly and her body will just start to shut down. But when she left, she left the world with a bang, she left it how she lived it. She screamed her way out of here, literally. I truly believe her survival instincts were so part of her DNA that she was not going to go quietly or willingly. It was just the two of us hanging out [during the last days] she was very funny. We didn't have to [talk] because I always knew how she felt about me. I was the love of her life, so the last part of her life we didn't have to have these heart to heart talks. She started to see people that weren't there. She thought I could see them too, but, of course, I couldn't. I would make fun of her like, "I'm going to go in the other room and you stay here and talk to your friends.
Kitt won awards for her film, television, and stage work. In 1960, the Hollywood Walk of Fame honored her with a star, which can be found on 6656 Hollywood Boulevard.
The Cars - Tonight She Comes (Official Music Video)
The Cars - Tonight She Comes (Official Music Video)
"Tonight She Comes"
Know tonight she comes
She's takin' a swipe at fun
She gives me a reason
For sighting my sights
Well I know tonight she comes
She jangles me up
She does it with ease
And sometimes she passes through me
Just like a breeze
She gives me a reason
For feelin' all right
Oh well
(know tonight, I know tonight)
I know tonight
(know tonight, I know tonight)
I know tonight
(know tonight, I know tonight)
She comes
And I know she's gonna do it to me
One more time (one more time)
I know she's gonna stay implanted
In my mind
Why does she keep me hanging on the line, oh
(why does she keep me hanging on the liiiiiiine)
Ah yeah, I know she's gonna do it to me
One more time (one more time)
I know she's gonna stay implanted
In my mind
Oh, why does she keep me hanging on the line, oh yeah
(why does she keep me hanging on the liiiiiiine)
I know the way she feels
And all of the hearts that she steals
She tells me it's easy
When you do it right
Oh well, ell I know tonight she comes
(I know tonight she comes)
She tells me it's easy
When you do it right
(know tonight, I know tonight) I know tonight
(know tonight, I know tonight) I know tonight
(know tonight, I know tonight) she comes
(she comes)
I know tonight, oh yeah
(know tonight, I know tonight)
(I know tonight) well I know tonight
(know tonight, I know tonight)
Know tonight she comes
She's takin' a swipe at fun
She gives me a reason
For sighting my sights
Well I know tonight she comes
She jangles me up
She does it with ease
And sometimes she passes through me
Just like a breeze
She gives me a reason
For feelin' all right
Oh well
(know tonight, I know tonight)
I know tonight
(know tonight, I know tonight)
I know tonight
(know tonight, I know tonight)
She comes
And I know she's gonna do it to me
One more time (one more time)
I know she's gonna stay implanted
In my mind
Why does she keep me hanging on the line, oh
(why does she keep me hanging on the liiiiiiine)
Ah yeah, I know she's gonna do it to me
One more time (one more time)
I know she's gonna stay implanted
In my mind
Oh, why does she keep me hanging on the line, oh yeah
(why does she keep me hanging on the liiiiiiine)
I know the way she feels
And all of the hearts that she steals
She tells me it's easy
When you do it right
Oh well, ell I know tonight she comes
(I know tonight she comes)
She tells me it's easy
When you do it right
(know tonight, I know tonight) I know tonight
(know tonight, I know tonight) I know tonight
(know tonight, I know tonight) she comes
(she comes)
I know tonight, oh yeah
(know tonight, I know tonight)
(I know tonight) well I know tonight
(know tonight, I know tonight)
Tonight she comes
The Cars played their first show at Pease Air Force Base in New Hampshire on December 31, 1976, and spent early 1977 playing throughout New England, developing the songs that appeared on their debut album. A nine-song demo tape was recorded in early 1977 and soon "Just What I Needed" was getting heavy airplay on Boston radio stations WBCN and WCOZ. By virtue of that airplay, the band was offered record deals from Arista Records and Elektra Records. The band signed to Elektra, due to its lack of new wave acts, allowing the band to stand out more compared to Arista which had many new wave artists. The band's debut album The Cars was released in June 1978, reaching No. 18 on the Billboard 200. "Just What I Needed" was released as the debut single from the album, followed by "My Best Friend's Girl" and "Good Times Roll", all three charting on the Billboard Hot 100. The album featured multiple album tracks that received substantial airplay, such as "You're All I've Got Tonight", "Bye Bye Love", and "Moving in Stereo". The band's second album Candy-O was released in June 1979. Featuring an album cover created by the famed Playboy artist Alberto Vargas, the album reached No. 3 on the Billboard chart. It featured their first Top-20 single "Let's Go". Follow up singles "It's All I Can Do" and "Double Life" were also released, but with less success.
The Cars' music has been described as new wave and power pop, and is influenced by Proto-punk, garage rock, and bubblegum pop. They have also used rockabilly in songs such as "My Best Friend's Girl". Robert Palmer, music critic for The New York Times and Rolling Stone, described the Cars' musical style: "they have taken some important but disparate contemporary trends--punk minimalism, the labyrinthine synthesizer and guitar textures of art rock, the 1950s rockabilly revival and the melodious terseness of power pop--and mixed them into a personal and appealing blend." They have also written and recorded hard rock-oriented songs including "You're All I've Got Tonight".
Band Members:
Elliot Easton – lead guitar, backing vocals (1976–1988, 2010–2011, 2018)
Greg Hawkes - keyboards, guitars, backing vocals (1976–1988, 2010–2011, 2018), saxophone (1976–1979), bass (2010–2011)
Ric Ocasek - lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards (1976–1988, 2010–2011, 2018; died 2019)
Benjamin Orr - lead and backing vocals, bass, keyboards (1976–1988; died 2000)
David Robinson - drums, percussion, backing vocals (1976–1988, 2010–2011, 2018)
In 1981, the Cars purchased Intermedia Studios in Boston, renaming it Syncro Sound. The only Cars album recorded there was the band's fourth album Shake It Up, a more commercial album than Panorama. It was their first album to spawn a top-10 single with the title track, and it included another hit in "Since You're Gone". Following their 1982 tour, the Cars took a short break and went to work on solo projects, with Ocasek and Hawkes both releasing debut albums (Beatitude and Niagara Falls, respectively). The Cars reunited and released their most successful album, Heartbeat City, in 1984. The first single "You Might Think", helped the Cars win Video of the Year at the first MTV Video Music Awards. Other hit singles from the album included "Magic", "Hello Again", and "Why Can't I Have You". "Drive", their most successful single, with Orr on lead vocals, gained particular notability when it was used in a video of the [Ethiopian famine prepared by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and introduced by David Bowie at the 1985 Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium in London, (the Cars themselves performed in the Philadelphia Live Aid concert). Actor/director Timothy Hutton directed the band's 1984 "Drive" music video.
This Could Be Love (Remastered)
The Cars - This Could Be Love.
After the resulting period of superstardom and another hit single, "Tonight She Comes", a No. 7 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Top Rock Tracks chart (their last No. 1), from their Greatest Hits, the Cars took time off again to pursue solo projects. Easton and Orr released their debut albums (Change No Change) and The Lace, respectively), while Ocasek released his second solo album, This Side of Paradise. In 1987, the Cars released their sixth album, Door to Door. It contained their last major international hit "You Are the Girl", but the album failed to approach the success of their previous albums. The group announced their breakup in February 1988.
Shakatak - Easier Said Than Done 〔High-quality sound〕MultiNelson2
Shakatak - Easier Said Than Done 〔High-quality sound〕MultiNelson2
Say I don't miss you every day
Don't need you anyway
I can take your love away
Oooh, but it's easier said than done
Can't shout out to anyone
Can't hide my love for none
Say I don't miss you every day
Don't need you anyway
I can take your love away
Oooh, but it's easier said than done
Can't shout out to anyone
Can't hide my love for none
Say I don't miss you every day
Don't need you anyway
I can take your love away
Oooh, but it's easier said than done
Can't shout out to anyone
Can't hide my love for none
Say I don't miss you every day
Don't need you anyway
I can take your love away
Oooh, but it's easier said than done
Can't shout out to anyone
Can't hide my love for none
Say I don't miss you every day
Don't need you anyway
I can take your love away
Oooh, but it's easier said than done
Can't shout out to anyone
Can't hide my love for none
This song is from the album "Ultimate Collection", "Greatest Hits From The Playhouse", "Live!", "Coolest Cuts", "Easier Said Than Done", "Night Birds", "Live In Japan" and "Collection 2".
Shakatak are an English jazz-funk band founded in 1980. Shakatak scored a number of chart entries, including two Top 10 hits in the UK Singles Chart, "Night Birds" (1982) and "Down on the Street" (1984), plus a further 12 entries in the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles. The group is still active and popular throughout the world, particularly in Japan and the Far East, and generally produce a new album every two years on JVC Records. From their first release in August 1980, (the Bill Sharpe composition "Steppin'" on the Polydor record label), and their first 1981 album, Drivin Hard, the band's singles and albums have entered the charts regularly.
It was the release of the 1981 single, "Easier Said Than Done", that gave the band the radio exposure needed for their first top-twenty hit. This record introduced their instrumental-unison vocal sound to a much wider audience, and the track stayed in the UK Singles Chart for seventeen weeks. The follow-up, "Night Birds" (1982), was their first single to reach the top ten and it also peaked in Australia at number 92. The album of the same name gave Shakatak their first gold album, entering at number four and remaining in the charts for twenty-eight weeks. By now a major international act, the success of the release gave them the number-one jazz album slot in Japan, and attracted interest across Europe and South America. "Night Birds" was used in the 2009 feature film, Away We Go, directed by Sam Mendes, and was used as the demonstration song on many Casio piano keyboards such as the Casio CT-460.
Shakatak - Dark Is The Night • TopPop
Shakatak - Dark Is The Night • TopPop
Two more albums – Invitations and Out of This World - were recorded in 1982 and 1983, resulting in several more chart hits, and paving the way for the next major breakthrough in the band's career. With a subtle change in musical direction, yet still retaining the band's identity, Jill Saward (formerly of Fusion Orchestra, Brandy and Citizen Gang) became their sole lead singer to make Shakatak's fifth album, Down on the Street (1984). The resulting single releases "Down on the Street" and "Watching You" had great success, and brought them attention in new parts of the world. The following year saw the release of the group's second live album, Live! (1985), which was recorded in both Tokyo and London. In 1988, Shakatak were commissioned to write the official song for the 1988 Kenwood Cup yacht race entitled "Racing with the Wind" which was used in Japanese Kenwood advertisements and was released on an album called Da Makani (1988) exclusively released in Japan. However, following this success the band felt it was time that they re-directed their efforts back to singles and an album for release to the rest of the world. The result was "Something Special" (1987), closely followed by the night club and chart hit "Mr Manic & Sister Cool" from their next LP, Manic & Cool (1988).
Shakatak - Watching You • TopPop
Shakatak - Watching you
In the 1990s, the band had success in the US when they had two albums that went to No 1 in the contemporary jazz charts and were also awarded the Japanese Grammy for best international instrumental album six years running. Shakatak continue to appear regularly throughout the world with recent festival performances at Jakjazz, the Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival, Bangkok Jazz Festival, Hua Hin Jazz Festival and the Bratislava Jazz Days. They make annual appearances at the Billboard Clubs in Japan, and the Pizza Express Jazz Room in London, plus numerous other concert and club performances. The band celebrated their thirtieth anniversary year in 2010. Bassist George Anderson released his second solo album, Expressions, on 3 September 2012 through Secret Records. Coming three years after his first 2009 album Positivity, this album again had Anderson writing, arranging and producing all of the tracks.
Keyboardist Bill Sharpe worked with American jazz pianist Don Grusin on a joint project called Geography released in 2007. Sharpe's second collaboration with Grusin, Trans Atlantica, was released on 3 September 2012. It was also issued through Secret Records, and included Geography as a special 2-CD package. Drummer Roger Odell has released three albums with his band Roger Odell's Beatifix: The Blue Window (2000, Passion Jazz), Intrigue (15 November 2015, Secret Records) and The Long Drive Home (2019, Secret Records as Beatifix:). These albums feature Jacqui Hicks (lead vocals), saxophonist Mornington Lockett as well as Roger's wife Larraine Odell (vocals) and son Jamie Odell a.k.a. Jimpster (keyboards, vocals, producer). To celebrate their fortieth anniversary year in 2020, the 3-CD and DVD box set All Around The World 40th Anniversary was released through Secret Records.
Current Members: Jill Saward – vocals, percussion, flute (1980–present)
Bill Sharpe – keyboards (1980–present)
Roger Odell – drums (1980–present)
George Anderson – bass (1981–present)
Touring musicians
Alan Wormald – guitar
Jacqui Hicks – backing vocals, sax & flute
Debby Bracknell – backing vocals, flute
Former members
Keith Winter – electric guitar (1980–1989)
Jackie Rawe – vocals (1980–1983)
Nigel Wright – keyboards (1980–1982)
Steve Underwood – bass guitar (1980–1981)
Tracy Ackerman – vocals (1980s–1990s)
Lorna Bannon – vocals (1982)
Norma Lewis – vocals (1983)
Friðrik Karlsson – electric guitar (1990s–2000s)
Shakatak - Watching You Original 12 inch Version 1984
Shakatak - Watching You Original 12 inch Version 1984