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Archive 17
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401 - 425
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Here
you will gain exclusive access to my own personal record collection! I
try to bring you mp3s of rare tracks, deleted material, long forgotten
artists, total flops and down right obscure shit. Often, my choices were
only available on vinyl or were just plain unreleased, the aim being to
indulge an old fan or inspire a new one. I try not to post up
forthcoming releases or anything that's too readily available. Honest,
Gov!
There's a tenuous thread running through the tracks but
your requests are always welcome and I'll try and squeeze them in amongst my
own fancies... eventually.
Do read all the blurb, as there's often links to extra tracks lurking in
there... ; )
Tracks are only available for a 'limited
time' folks (sometimes months!), so get them while you can!
Now for the science bit! To access the music, please click on 'Download' and
you'll be whisked off to those nice people over at Sharebee.
Tracks are ripped at 192 kbps and wherever possible taken from the
highest quality source available. All of the music offered here has been
purchased by myself and is part of my own collection. Tracks are for
evaluation purposes only and wherever possible, purchasing is always
encouraged. If you own any of the material posted here or anywhere else
on this site and are very cross with me, please
email me with threats and such like...
Hear’Say
was a manufactured pop group created in February 2001 from the winners of
'Popstars', an ITV Saturday night reality TV show. The five
winning contestants from the show were Danny Foster,
Myleene Klass,
Kym Marsh, Suzanne Shaw and
Noel Sullivan. Five unsuccessful
finalists (Tony Lundon,
Kevin Simm,
Michelle Heaton, Kelli Young
and Jessica Taylor) went on to form the
group Liberty (later renamed
Liberty X after a legal dispute), whom of
course out-lived Hear'Say and met with
greater success. Hear'Say enjoyed huge
initial success with their debut single, 'Pure And Simple',
partly due to the huge amount of hype surrounding the TV programme, the
first of it's kind in the UK. The group split up just 18 months after their
formation, however, following poor record sales of subsequent releases, as
well as negative public reaction in the UK, not to mention a line-up change
(Marsh left for a solo career in 2002).
They also failed to achieve any significant success overseas. The downfall
of Hear'Say has put doubt into the
longevity of reality TV singers, yet it has failed to damage the success of
the programmes themselves, as the current format 'The X Factor'
rates extremely highly in the ratings in the UK and abroad. During their
short time together, Hear'Say sold
nearly 3 million records worldwide. This is the
Jewels & Stone remix of their debut hit, taken from their second
single , 'The Way To Your Love', from 2001.
My,
how things have changed since we last featured
Betty Boo on our mp3 page (no. 60). She returned to the pop scene
in 2006, albeit with hardly any success, as 50% of
Wigwam alongside Blur's
Alex James (
Louise
Elizabeth Redknapp (née Nurding),
AKA just Louise, first came to
prominence as a member of the all-girl group
Eternal with best friend Kéllé Bryan
and sisters Easther and
Vernie Bennett. At the age of 11,
Louise had joined the Italia Conti
Academy stage school, where she met Kéllé Bryan,
and for the next 10 years they remained close friends (and still do). While
out illegally clubbing aged 16 one night, Louise
had met music producer Denis Ingoldsby
who was forming a girl band and Louise
suggested herself and Bryan, with the
Bennett sisters already on board.
Eternal's debut single, 'Stay',
shot straight into the UK charts at number 4, and their debut album,
'Always And Forever', sold over 1.5 million units in
the UK alone (the first by an all-girl group to do so in the UK).
Eternal were an instant success all
around the globe but at the peak of their fame, it came as surprise to both
fans and critics that in June 1995, Louise
decided to leave the band (the same day
Robbie Williams left Take That).
Many saw Louise's decision as madness -
she was part of the biggest girl band in Europe, breaking records and about
to crack America. However Louise was not
happy within the band, feeling creatively and artistically stifled. It was
vehemently denied at the time that she had not been pushed out of the group
to ensure the American audience wouldn't reject a mixed-race r'n'b band.
Louise had a successful solo career
after leaving the group in 1995, having 12 UK top 20 singles, including
'Light Of My Life', 'In Walked Love', 'Naked',
'Undivided Love', 'Arms Around The World',
'2 Faced' and 'Beautiful Inside'. She also released
3 studio albums for EMI between 1996-2000 ('Naked',
'Woman In Me', 'Elbow Beach') and a best of set,
entitled 'Changing Faces: The Best Of Louise' in 2001. Watch a
dodgy fan-made 'Greatest Hits Megamix' video
Yell!
were pop duo Paul Varney and
Daniel James. They were signed to
Fanfare Records, the label owned by Simon
Cowell and Iain Burton, which
also boasted Sinitta,
Gloria Gaynor and Dutch girl group
Dolly Dots on it's roster.
Yell! had a top 10 hit with their remake
of Dan Hartman's disco track,
'Instant Replay', in 1989. Essentially one hit wonders, follow up
singles 'One Thing Leads To Another' and a cover of
'Let's Go Round Again' (also later covered by
Louise) in 1990 missed the top 40 by a long stretch. This is
probably due to rising controversy at the time surrounding
Daniel James' real name, which was
actually Colin Heywood, and his real age
which turned out to be a lot older than he'd claimed... The duo released an
album, 'Let's Go!', in 1991 for the Japan market before
calling it a day. The album is a bit weak but features production from
Stock, Aitken & Waterman,
Pete Hammond and
Michael Jay (Martika).
This is the 12" mix of their hit 'Instant Reply', which was
included on the album as a bonus track! Sadly, there's no video footage of
Yell! to share... : (
Big
Fun were a cheesy boyband founded by Philip Creswick,
Mark Gillespie
and Jason Herbert. Part of the
Stock, Aitken & Waterman stable, the
trio struck out with their early releases; their cover of 'I Feel The
Earth Move' (originally by Carole King)
and 'Living For Your Love', but they made the top 10 with
their cover of Jackson 5 hit,
'Blame It On The Boogie' (insert dance routine) in 1989. This is the 12"
version of their second (and in my opinion, best) single, 'Can't Shake
The Feeling', which reached number 8 in the UK charts. It sounds a
tiny bit like 'Street Tuff' by Double
Trouble & Rebel MC if you can remember that. It was quickly
followed by 'A Handful Of Promises' (21 -
This
is our second brush with Martika... This
time, we're pilfering from her second album, 'Martika's Kitchen',
on which she was aided on a few tracks by The Purple Ponce Of Perv himself, Prince.
'Love... Thy Will Be Done' (
We've
brought you some Alisha before. You
might remember she was the one responsible for the
Tiffany/Madonna-ish
'Do You Dream About Me' song, from the 'Mannequin'
film? Well, that was from her second album, 1987's 'Nightwalkin''.
This is the title track from her third album, 'Bounce Back'. It was
written and produced
by Michael Jay (Martika,
Eighth Wonder) and was released on
MCA Records in 1990. This track reached
number 10 in the US Hot Dance charts and the album also features the follow-up single, 'Wrong
Number'. It also features the backing vocal talents of
Donna Delory (Madonna's
bitch/backing singer) and
Martika. Martika
had already recorded 'Bounce Back' herself,
although it wasn't released to my knowledge.
Eighth
Wonder's roots can be traced back as early as 1983, when a band
called Spice was formed by guitarist
Jamie Kensit, with his little sister Patsy
on vocals, then aged 14. They made their live debut in 1983 and
spent the next year playing showcase gigs to drum up support from record
companies. In late 1984, after a line-up change which brought a keyboardist
on board, they renamed themselves Eighth Wonder
and Patsy took on the role of chief
songwriter. Their first gig as Eighth Wonder
was in Wimbledon, in November 1984 and around this time, another live date
caught the attention of Steve Wooley (co-owner of
Palace Films) and director Julian Temple. They offered
Patsy
the role of Crepe Suzette in 'Absolute Beginners', and in April 1985,
Eighth Wonder were also signed by CBS Records and began
recording in London, working around Patsy's
filming schedule. In October 1985, with the filming completed,
Eighth Wonder's first single 'Stay
With Me' was released, achieving number 1 success in Japan and
Italy, but only charting at 65 in the UK. Another line-up change left
Eighth Wonder as a four-piece and
without a bassist or a drummer. They then started using drum machines and
making bass sounds on a keyboard instead and in August 1986, they went to
Los Angeles to record new tracks for their debut album. There, they worked
with Mike Chapman, who was best known
for his work with Blondie, and were also
approached by many respected songwriters, including
Dave Stewart of Eurythmics,
Billy Steinberg and
Tom Kelly (Madonna's
'Like A Virgin'). In February 1987, 'Will You Remember?',
one of the Chapman-produced tracks, was
released in the UK but only charted at 83, yet it reached the Top 10 in
Italy. In Japan, the band achieved another number 1 with another
Chapman-produced track, 'When The
Phone Stops Ringing' (
Quiet
please, there's a lady on my mp3 page... Here's
Dusty. Dubbed 'The White Lady Of Soul', her career spanned
four decades and she achieved her most notable success during the 1960s,
recording the classics 'I Only Want To Be With You', 'Wishin'
And Hopin'', 'I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself',
'The Look Of Love', 'You Don't Have To Say You Love Me'
and 'I Close My Eyes And Count To Ten'.
Dusty Springfield's hugely successful
recording career led to her being given four UK television series of her
own, too; 'Dusty' (BBC, 1966 and 1967), 'It Must
Be Dusty' (ITV, 1968) and 'Decidedly Dusty' (BBC,
1969). Into the 70's, Dusty's popularity
began to wane and she put her career on hold, though she recorded sporadically, enduring a string of bad luck with record companies. Her fortunes
finally took an upward turn in 1987, when she accepted an invitation from
Pet Shop Boys to sing on their single,
'What Have I Done To Deserve This?'. The record became a big
hit around the world, rising to number 2 in both the British and the
American charts, and bringing Springfield
firmly back into public view. The song subsequently appeared on the
Pet Shop Boys' album, 'Actually',
and Dusty performed the song at the 1988
Brit Awards ceremony. There was now a significant resurgence of
interest in Springfield's music, and in
1988 a new compilation of her greatest hits, the absolutely essential
'The Silver Collection', became a best seller.
Springfield was soon back in the studio with
Pet Shop Boys, who were now producing
her recording of the song, 'Nothing Has Been Proved',
commissioned for the film, 'Scandal'. In 1989, the single gave
Springfield another top 20 hit in the
UK, as did the follow-up, the upbeat pop perfection, 'In Private'
(here in it's 12" version), which was written and produced, again, by
Pet Shop Boys.
Dusty released the top 20 album, 'Reputation', in
1990, with writing and production credits for half of the album going once
more to the Pet Shop Boys. Her comeback
was to be very short-lived, however. Before releasing her final album,
'A Very Fine Love', in 1995, Springfield
was diagnosed with breast cancer. While recording the album the previous
year in Nashville, she had felt unwell, but it was only when she returned
home to England that she discovered the cause. She received treatment and,
for a time, the cancer was in remission. In apparent good health again,
Springfield set about promoting the
album and gave a great live performance of 'Where Is A Woman To Go?',
on 'Later... With Jools Holland', backed by
Alison Moyet and
Sinéad O'Connor. However, the cancer was detected again in the
summer of 1996, and Dusty, after a
spirited fight, was eventually defeated. She died, aged 59, on the 2nd March
1999, just ten days before her induction into the US Rock & Roll Hall Of
Fame. The singer's funeral service, which attracted considerable media
attention, was attended by hundreds of fans as well as such figures from the
music business as Elvis Costello,
Lulu and Pet Shop Boys...
Here's a couple of classic videos,
The
next three selections are subtitled 'Pet Shop Boys - Collaboration'.
As well as their own string of hit records, Neil
Tennant and Chris Lowe have
also had a hand in other people's. Liza
Minnelli's, for example. American actress and singer,
Liza is the daughter of the legendary
Judy Garland and her second husband, film
director Vincente Minnelli. She began
her career in the entertainment business in 1967, aged 17, performing on the
stage, initially with her mother. She quickly moved into films ('Cabaret',
'New York, New York', 'Arthur') and released
many albums for Capitol and A&M along the way. In 1989, she
released what was to be her most successful album, pop effort
'Results', recorded with Pet Shop Boys.
The first single lifted from the album was her version of the
Stephen Sondheim song, 'Losing My
Mind', originally from the musical 'Follies'. The same
year, Liza performed 'Losing My
Mind' live at the Grammys ceremony before receiving a 'Grammy
Legend' award, making her one of only twelve other entertainers (including
Barbra Streisand, Whoopi Goldberg
and Mel Brooks) to win an Emmy,
Grammy, Tony and Academy award! Gosh.
'Results' also spawned a further three singles ('Don't Drop
Bombs', 'Love Pains', 'So Sorry, I Said')
and she enjoyed a long-overdue comeback in the music business. Initially
released on VHS at the time, a companion release called 'Visible
Results' collected the four promo videos and in 2005, a remastered,
expanded and re-released version of the album included these on a bonus DVD.
Buy that
Pet
Shop Boys have sold more than 50 million records worldwide. Since
1986, they have had no less than thirty-nine Top 30 singles and twenty-two
Top 10 hits in the UK, including four number 1's - 'West End Girls',
'It's A Sin', 'Always On My Mind' and
'Heart' (
I'm
often quick to leap to the defence of cover versions. For every dud, there's
at least three amazing ones. The rise of the cover version in recent times
can probably be blamed on Jo Whiley and
her live lounge but don't let her put you off... so, here's a good cover
version. Dubstar doing
Pet Shop Boys' 'Jealousy'.
Dubstar were a fairly successful indie/dance/pop
band, formed in 1992 by Steve Hillier
and Chris Wilkie in Newcastle Upon Tyne,
when they were known as The Joans.
Sarah Blackwood joined in 1993,
replacing Steve on vocals, after her
boyfriend accidentally left a cassette tape of her singing in
Steve Hillier's flat in Jesmond,
Newcastle Upon Tyne (where I used to live!). The threesome got themselves a
manager, Graeme Robinson, who christened
them Dubstar, provided studio time and
produced their demos. The finished demos were brought to the attention of
former 'Sounds' journalist, Andy Ross,
who promptly signed the band to his Food Records label, via EMI.
'Stars' was released as their debut single in 1995 and it made
the top 40 (40), as did second release 'Anywhere' (37).
Stephen Hague (Pet
Shop Boys, New Order
producer) was brought in to co-produce a number of tracks for their
critically acclaimed debut album, 'Disgraceful' (July 1995),
which was promoted with an advertising campaign featuring artist
Robert Steel's controversial 'pencil
case' artwork. Resembling a vagina (lord!), the London Underground were
forced to ban the poster campaign and several chains refused to display the
album in their racks - what a big fuss over nothing! Anyway, a re-issue with
a fluffy bunny slipper in place of the offending labia-like item was denned
appropriate and the album sold well. By January 1996,
Dubstar had arrived in the Top 20 with 'Not So Manic
Now' (18 -
Originally
an anonymous synth-pop outfit with members known only as
Client A and
Client B, Client's line-up
was kept under wraps for as long as was possible without hindering their own
success. Their faces were not clearly shown on any publicity photos or
artwork, nor were their full names given in their credits. It was eventually
revealed that they were Kate Holmes,
formerly of Frazier Chorus and
Technique, and
Sarah Blackwood, formerly of Dubstar.
The pair had risen from the ashes of Technique
with a new wardrobe, which saw them don a nice line in Wren uniforms, and a
new sound, sounding not unlike an all-female Human
League/Depeche Mode hybrid.
Client was the first act signed to
Depeche Mode keyboardist
Andy Fletcher's record label, Toast
Hawaii, via Mute. They built up a loyal fanbase via the internet,
early material including download singles and digital freebies, plus
club-friendly, anonymous white labels issued throughout 2002. These was
followed by a self-titled debut album in 2003. They toured with
Depeche Mode and later,
Erasure, in support of their second album,
2004's 'City'. This live track was captured at one the band's
own 'Being Boiled' nights (
We've already featured
Technique once before but this is their
other good song... Technique were
a female dance-pop duo featuring Kate Holmes
(Ex-Frazier Chorus, Mrs
Alan 'Oasis' McGee) and singer
Xan Tyler. The band named themselves
after the New Order album of the same
name and were signed to the record label owned by
Holmes' husband, Creation Records. They originally met in
the studio owned by producer Youth,
where Tyler was working as a session
vocalist. They began work on their own album with
Stephen Hague and Owen Morris
handling production duties and other notable contributors to the album include
Ash front man Tim Wheeler,
vocalist Kirsty Hawkshaw (Opus
III) and Youth himself on
bass. Technique released two singles in
the summer of 1999; 'Sun Is Shining' and 'You + Me'.
Neither song reached the UK top 40 and the album, by now christened
'Pop Philosophy', was lost in the fallout when
McGee decided to shut down the Creation label.
Technique lay dormant for a while and
McGee went on to set up his new venture, the
Poptones label. In 2000, Chinese pop singer
Coco Lee had a huge hit in Asian with a cover of
Technique's 'You + Me' and following this,
Poptones released a truncated version of 'Pop Philosophy'
in Germany and Asia. Featuring only 7 tracks and 2 remixes, both singles
were re-released in Germany and the band toured Europe extensively during
2001. Tyler refused to take part in a
tour slot supporting Depeche Mode for
some strange reason around this time and Kate
Holmes managed to find a replacement for her in
Sarah Blackwood, ex-Dubstar.
It was here that the pair formed a friendship with
Depeche Mode Keyboardist, Andy Fletcher,
and mutated into the electro rock band Client,
signing to Fletcher's Toast Hawaii
record label...
Frazier Chorus were Tim Freeman,
Michelle Allardyce,
Kate Holmes and
Chris Taplin. Originally a four-piece indie-pop act, they signed
to 4AD Records and released one single, 'Sloppy Heart'
in 1987 before quickly moving to Virgin Records instead. At Virgin,
the group achieved minor chart success with a string of uber-pleasent,
melodic pop songs like 'Dream Kitchen', 'Typical!'
(
The
Breeders were originally a folk rock duo featuring twin sisters
Kim and Kelley
Deal of Dayton, Ohio. They formed in 1977 for fun, playing
country covers at truck stops and bars for a time before the venture was put
on the back burner indefinitely. Kim
revived the group as a side project in 1988, whilst she was playing bass for
Pixies, and
Tanya Donelly of Throwing Muses
was also drafted in. After Pixies grew
less active and Throwing Muses became
less attractive, both women concentrated their efforts on
The Breeders, issuing a demo tape made
with drummer Mickey Bones and violinist
Carrie Bradley to
Ivo Watts-Russell, who immediately signed
the band to his 4AD label in 1989. Their debut album, 'Pod',
was recorded by Steve Albini in
Edinburgh and was released in 1990. Albini
has stated that it is the one album on which he felt he got the best
performance out of a band. Deal's
influence on the album is obvious but also in attendance were bassist
Josephine Wiggs and
Slint drummer Britt Walford
(credited as Shannon Doughton) adding to
the hectic, ensemble sound. By the time they released four song EP
'Safari' in 1992, Pixies had
completely disbanded and Kim Deal
enlisted the help of her twin sister Kelley
to play guitar for The Breeders, as
Donelly exited to form
Belly. Drummer
Jim MacPherson joined in time for second full-length effort,
'Last Splash' in 1993. The album spawned the massive alternative
rock hit, 'Cannonball' (
Throwing
Muses were formed in 1981 in Newport, Rhode Island, by
Step-sisters Kristin Hersh and
Tanya Donelly, who were later joined by
David Narcizo (drums) and
Leslie Langston (bass). An awkward
alternative rock band, the group's early demo recordings, such as 'The
Doghouse Cassette', brought them to the attention of
Ivo Watts-Russell, who signed them as
the first of many US bands on his 4AD label. They finally released
their self-titled debut album in 1986, which established their trademark
sound with shifting tempos, creative chord progressions, unorthodox song
structures and surreal, dream-like lyrics. The group's unusual sound can be
attributed to the unique combination of Hersh's
stark, candid writing style, Donelly's
pop stylings and sugary harmonies and Narcizo's
unusual drumming techniques (eschewing use of cymbals). Hallucinatory songs
by Hersh occasionally touched on the
subject of mental illness and Throwing Muses'
angular, anguished sound had much to do with her own mental illness (she
suffered from a form of bipolarity that caused her to hallucinate). In
addition to this, Donelly has often
stated she bases her own song lyrics around dreams she has experienced. The
sound proved a hit on the alternative scene and a long series of very
original singles/EPs ('The Fat Skier' (1987),'Dizzy'
EP (1989), 'Counting Backwards' (1991 -
A
difficult group, in many respects, our next stop on this endless excursion
into the deepest, darkest depths of a 30-year-old's record collection is
Scotland's finest, Cocteau Twins. Their
impressive back catalogue is like some other-worldly treasure, twinkling,
precious and completely of it's own substance. I've struggled to settle with
just one track and had a short list of sorts which has seen me re-evaluate
some old favourites and even find new ones, but I have bravely plumped for
this, 'Pitch The Baby', an album track from 1990's sugary pop
confection, 'Heaven Or Las Vegas'. The band formed in Glasgow
in 1980, originally consisting of friends Robin
Guthrie (guitar) and Will Heggie
(bass), and Elizabeth Fraser
(vocals), whom the pair met at a disco. Taking their name from an early song
by fellow Scots Johnny And The Self-Abusers
(who later renamed themselves Simple Minds),
they followed their post-punk influences Joy
Division, The Birthday Party
and Siouxsie & The Banshees in the
independent charts with their debut releases. The 1982 album
'Garlands' and follow up release, the 'Lullabies' EP,
both on fledging label 4AD, were runaway successes. Their live
shows especially became subject to much praise, largely due to
Liz Fraser and her beguiling, at times
indecipherable, vocal style, often associated with glossolalia (go find a
dictionary!) or 'mouth music'. Still, just because you can't understand a
word of it, doesn't make it any less moving or beautiful. New EP
'Peppermint Pig' heralded a departure (Heggie)
and now as a duo, Cocteau Twins issued
their second album, 'Head Over Heels' to great reception.
Working on 4AD's super-group side project,
This Mortal Coil, the pair befriended bass player
Simon Raymonde in 1983 and the next phase
of their career began to unfold, once again as a three piece. With
Raymonde, the band released a series of
critically acclaimed albums and EPs that explored their new found style to
great effect. These include 'The Spangle Maker' (1984),
'Treasure' (1984), 'Aikea-Guinea' (1985), 'Tiny
Dynamine' (1985 - 'Pink Orange Red'
Saul
Freeman (ex-Thieves, with
David McAlmont) and
Nicola Hitchcock were
Mandalay, an ambient, electronic, trip-hop duo with a nice
line in sleeve artwork (courtesy of 4AD's Vaughan Oliver). In 1998,
Mandalay released their first album,
'Empathy', to great
critical acclaim. Madonna became a big
fan of the duo and chose their first single, 'This Life', to
be featured in her new film, 'The Next Best Thing'. Many other
Mandalay tracks have been featured on
film and TV soundtracks, including 'La Femme Nikita', 'Six Feet Under' and
'CSI Miami'. 'Beautiful'
was Mandalay's third single and
it became a chill out compilation staple, turning up on well-known albums
from the likes of Cafe Del Mar and Hedkandi. As a result
Mandalay were invited to headline at the
Cafe Del Mar 20th anniversary celebrations in Ibiza in 2000. The song
also went on to win a major advertising campaign for Estee Lauder
(featuring Liz Hurley) and was covered
by Sarah Brightman on her hit album,
'Harem'. Mandalay's second
album was 'Instinct' in 2000 and was co-produced with
Andy Bradfield (Everything
But The Girl, Future Sound Of London,
Bjork) and Yoad
Nevo (Jem). The first single
lifted from the album was 'Deep Love', remixed by
Nitin Sawhney and
Mandalay went on to support Nitin
on his UK tour. Performances at Ibiza's chill out festivals followed,
including Las Dallias and Dreamdaze, culminating in a headline
performance at The Big Chill UK. 'Solace' was to be the
band's final release in 2001, and their US debut, consisting of a mixture of
tracks from both 'Empathy' and 'Instinct'. The
demand for material in America was huge and their growing success there
ensured 'Solace' sold over 44,000 copies. The band parted ways
shortly afterwards due to artistic and personal differences. Lead singer
Nicola has since released two solo
albums on her own Tempted label; 1993's low-key debut 'A Bowl
Of Chalk' and 'Passive Aggressive', consisting of
previously unheard collaborations, in 2005. Nicola
is currently working on her next solo record.
Olive
were a 90's dance/trip-hop group which consisted of producer,
instrumentalist and songwriter Tim Kellett
(ex-Simply Red), producer and
keyboard programmer Robin Taylor-Firth
(ex-Nightmares On Wax) and singer
Ruth-Ann Boyle. The band released two
albums, the second without Taylor-Firth,
before ceasing activity and they are best known for the UK number 1 single,
'You're Not Alone'. Tim
and Robin met through a mutual friend
and began work on a joint musical venture, resulting in three demos tracks
which would become 'Miracle', 'Falling' and
'You're Not Alone'. The two began their search for a singer and
after a chance hearing of a sampled vocal, that singer became
Ruth-Ann Boyle, who had provided vocals
on The Durutti Column's 1994 album,
'Sex And Death'. The completion of the three demo tracks with
Boyle attracted the interest of various UK
record labels and Olive signed with
RCA in September 1995. Olive
finished recording their debut album in January 1996 and released their
first single, 'You're Not Alone' shortly afterwards. Although
the song wasn't an instant success, it eventually made number 1 in a
re-released/remixed version in 1997, selling over 50, 0000 copies. Other
singles releases, 'Outlaw' and 'Miracle', as
well as their album, 'Extra Virgin', were well received. The
band went on tour to promote the album with a full live band in May 1997 and
made several appearances on 'Top Of The Pops' that year. In
the time leading up to the release of the follow-up album,
Taylor-Firth left the group to return to
his previous band, Nightmares On Wax,
and the remaining duo lost the support of their label. Apparently a fan of
the band, Madonna stepped in and signed
Olive to her Maverick label.
Their second album, the much more dance-orientated 'Trickle',
was released in 2000 to lukewarm response. While still displaying the
distinctive Olive sound and with their
US Billboard Hot Dance Club chart number 1 cover of
10cc song, 'I'm Not In Love' (also featured on
the soundtrack to Madonna's 'The
Next Best Thing' movie), surprisingly all UK release plans were
cancelled. Since then, like many trip-hop bands, little has been heard of
them and it's presumed the band have stopped working together for the
moment. Ruth-Ann collaborated with new
age-dance project Enigma in 1999 and
again in 2003. She is now releasing her own solo material, details of which
can be found on
Sandra
Cretu, professionally known as just
Sandra, is a popular German singer/songwriter, who was the lead
singer of 70's disco trio Arabesque.
Sandra began performing under her solo
name in 1984 and rivalled Madonna in
terms of her popularity and succession of top 10 hits in Europe. Her second
single, '(I'll Never Be) Maria Magdalena', topped the charts
in 21 countries worldwide, and began an impressive string of European pop
hits which includes 'In The Heat Of The Night', 'Little
Girl', 'Innocent Love', 'Hi! Hi! Hi!'
and 'Loreen'. After 10 hit singles and 2 hit albums ('The
Long Play', 'Mirrors'), Sandra released a greatest
hits collection, 'Ten On One', in 1987. The single,
'Everlasting Love', a cover of her childhood favourite, was released
to promote the release and proved to be a huge European hit.
Gloria
María Milagrosa Fajard AKA Gloria
Estefan was born in Havana, Cuba and is a five-time Grammy-winning
singer-songwriter. She began her music career as lead vocalist of the then
exclusively Spanish language band, Miami Sound
Machine (previously Miami Latin Boys),
in 1975 and became one of the biggest new stars to emerge during the
mid-1980s. Gloria predated the Latin pop
explosion by a decade, scoring a series of dance hits influenced by the
rhythms of her native Cuba, before shifting her focus to softer, more ballad
oriented fare. Originally a local wedding band headed by keyboardist
Emilio Estefan (whom
Gloria later married)
Miami Sound Machine began composing
their own blend of original disco/salsa music, earning them a devoted local
following. In 1979 the group issued their first Spanish-language album on
CBS International but it wasn't until 1984, when 'Dr Beat'
topped European dance charts, that they crossed over to non-Latin audiences.
Their first English language album, 'Eyes Of Innocence' (also
featuring this OTT pop-rock single, 'Prisoner Of Love'), sold
moderately and paved the way for bigger international commercial success in
1985. 'Primitive Love' featured three singles; 'Conga',
'Bad Boy' (
American
New Wave band Berlin were formed in
Orange County, California in 1979. Their original vocalist,
Terri Nunn, was not actually featured on
their first single for I.R.S. Records (home to
The Go-Go's and Doctor And The Medics),
1980's 'A Matter Of Time', as she had temporarily left the
band to pursue an acting career! Instead, the single featured replacement
vocalist Virginia Macolino, who recorded
one album with the band, 'Information'. They signed to
Enigma Records next, where they were re-joined by
Nunn and had their first significant hit with the
controversial synth-driven 'Sex (I'm A...)' in 1982.
Ofra
Haza was a popular Israeli singer, actress and international
recording artist. Of Yemenite Jewish ancestry, Haza
became an instant local and then national success story, the subject of
great pride for many Israelis of Yemenite origin. Her voice has been
described as mezzo-soprano, of near-flawless tonal quality, capable of
lending itself to a variety of musical styles with apparent ease. Inspired
by a love of her Yemenite-Jewish culture, the appeal of her musical art
quickly spread to a wider Middle Eastern audience, somehow bridging the
divide between Israel and the Arab countries. As her career progressed, the
multi-lingual Haza was able to switch
between traditional and more commercial singing styles without jeopardising
her credibility. Her music fused elements of Eastern and Western
instrumentation, orchestration and dance beats. Her greatest international
recognition came with the single 'Im Nin'Alu', taken from her
14th solo album (!), 'Shaday' in 1988. It won the New Music
Award for Best International Album of the Year and topped the Eurochart
(Europe's equivalent to the American Billboard charts) for two weeks in June
that year, as well as receiving heavy rotation on MTV channels across
the continent. The single made only a brief appearance in the UK top 40
singles chart, but became a dance floor favourite across Europe and the USA,
topping the German charts for nine weeks. For years to come,
Ofra's voice, and in particular this one
song, would be extensively sampled and remixed. She can be heard on
Eric B And Rakim's 'Paid In Full (Coldcut
Remix)', M/A/R/R/S' hit
'Pump Up The Volume' and Black Dog's
'Babylon' single. 'Im Nin' Alu' would also go on
to be featured on the soundtrack to the video game 'Grand Theft Auto',
released in 2005. Subsequent singles were also given the dance remix/MTV-style
video treatment, most notably, 'Galbi', 'Wish Me Luck'
and 'Mata Hari', but none quite matched the runaway success of
her first hit. Haza also received
critical acclaim for her later albums 'Desert Wind' (1989),
Grammy-nominated 'Kirya' (1992 - produced by
Don Was) and 'Ofra Haza'
(1997). She has also collaborated with many artists, including
The Sisters Of Mercy,
Thomas Dolby,
Sarah Brightman and Paula Abdul.
Sadly, Ofra Haza died at the age of just
42 on the 23rd February 2000. The cause of her death was widely reported as
organ failure or pneumonia, arising from AIDS complications and there was
considerable media interest into the circumstances of her death. Her family
declined to confirm or deny these reports, however, stating that it was
Haza's wish that the matter should
remain private. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak
praised her work as a cultural emissary, commenting that she also
represented the Israeli success story. This is one of our favourite tracks
by Ofra. R.I.P. Trivia! In 1990,
Haza turned down an offer to support
Michael Jackson on tour.