Topic: BIOGRAPHIES!

[AndrewR]

DEAD OR ALIVE

A British dance-pop group which found fame thanks to the antics of androgynous frontman Pete Burns, Dead or Alive formed in Liverpool in 1980. Burns first surfaced three years prior in the Mystery Girls, later heading the proto-Goth rockers Nightmares in Wax; he founded Dead or Alive with keyboardist Marty Healey, guitarist Mitch, bassist Sue James and drummer Joe Musker, debuting in 1980 with the Ian Broudie-produced Doors soundalike "I'm Falling." "Number Eleven" followed, but just as the group was gaining momentum they were swept aside by the emergence of the New Romantic movement, with Burns subsequently charging that fellow androgyne Boy George of Culture Club had merely stolen his outrageous image.
Undaunted, Burns forged on with a retooled Dead or Alive roster including future Mission U.K. guitarist Wayne Hussey and bassist Mike Percy; over the course of records including the 1982 It's Been Hours Now EP and the follow-up single "The Stranger," the group evolved into a true dance band, and ultimately landed with major label Epic. A series of singles appeared over the course of 1983, including "Misty Circles" and "What I Want; " Hussey soon exited, and it was a line-up comprising Burns, Percy, keyboardist Tim Lever and drummer Steve Coy which scored Dead or Alive's first major hit, a 1984 cover of KC and the Sunshine Band's disco classic "That's the Way (I Like It)" which fell just shy of reaching the British Top 20.

Dead or Alive's full-length debut Sophisticated Boom Boom also fared well with audiences, but they achieved true stardom in early 1985 with the Hi-NRG smash "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)," the first Number One hit for the production team of Stock Aitken and Waterman. The succeeding LP Youthquake was also a smash, yielding further hits in the form of the singles "Lover Come Back to

Me," "In Too Deep" and "My Heart Goes Bang." 1986's "Brand New Lover" kept the group in the limelight, but the 1987 LP Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know proved disastrous at home and in the U.S., although a fervent following emerged in Japan. In the wake of 1989's Nude, both Lever and Percy left the group; the nucleus of Burns and Coy remained, additionally taking over production and managerial duties. Subsequent Dead or Alive LPs included Fan the Flame, Part One and Nukleopatra.

[AndrewR]

HEAVEN 17

Taking their name from the Anthony Burgess novel A Clockwork Orange, the U.K. techno-pop trio Heaven 17 grew out of the experimental dance project the British Electric Foundation, itself an offshoot of the electro-pop outfit Human League. The core of Heaven 17 was comprised of Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh, a pair of onetime computer operators who first teamed in 1977 as the Dead Daughters, a duo which integrated synthesizer patterns with a heavy reliance on tape loops. Soon, Ware and Marsh were joined by Philip Oakey and Adi Newton and changed their name to the Human League, where they remained before exiting together in 1980.
As a means of establishing the synthesizer as an expressive, human instrument, Marsh and Ware formed the British Electric Foundation, a production project which employed a variety of musicians and singers including Tina Turner, Sandie Shaw, and Gary Glitter. The B.E.F.'s debut, 1980's Music of Quality and Distinction, Vol. 1, also included vocalist Glenn Gregory, a former photographer whom Ware and Marsh met at a Sheffield drama center; in 1981, the duo enlisted Gregory for Heaven 17, the first and most successful B.E.F. alter ego, and debuted with the single "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang," a minor hit banned by the BBC over its title. An album, Penthouse and Pavement, followed the same year.

By the release of 1983's The Luxury Gap, the B.E.F. had fallen by the wayside, and Heaven 17 had become Ware and Marsh's primary focus; the LP proved highly successful, spawning the hit singles "Temptation," "Come Live With Me," "Crushed by the Wheels of Industry," and "Let Me Go." The follow-up, How Men Are, was another British hit, but the group receded from view after its release; when they returned in 1986 with the album Pleasure One, it was with a number of guest musicians and vocalists.

After the commerical failure of 1988's Teddy Bear, Duke & Psycho, Heaven 17 officially disbanded; Ware focused on production chores and worked on Terence Trent D'Arby's debut Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby. In 1990, he and Marsh resurrected the B.E.F. aegis, releasing Music of Quality and Distinction, Vol. 2 the following year. In 1996, a reformed Heaven 17 returned with Bigger Than America.

Biogs from me tomorrow:
DURAN DURAN
IMAGINATION

[JASON]

NIK KERSHAW

During the mid-'80s, Nik Kershaw managed to score a handful of pop hits and, in doing so, establish himself as a profitable commercial songwriter. Kershaw began his musical career by learning to play guitar when he was a teenager. In 1974, he joined his first band, Half Pint Hogg, which played nothing but Deep Purple covers. However, his musical ideas were not limited to heavy metal; after he left school, he joined a jazz-funk band called Fusion. Fusion released one album, 'Til I Hear From You, in the late '70s. Once the group broke up, Kershaw signed to MCA Records with the help of Nine Below Zero's manager, Micky Modern.
Kershaw released his first solo single, "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me," in 1983; it peaked at number 47 on the U.K. charts. His next single, "Wouldn't It Be Good," hit number five in the U.K. and charted at number 46 in the U.S. Its success led to stardom in Britain for Kershaw; "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" was re-released in summer of 1984 and charted at number two, leading to a series of hit singles. Released in 1986, his third album, Radio Musicola, wasn't as successful as his previous albums. Kershaw subsequently retreated from performing and recording regularly. Although he released The Works in 1990, Kershaw's main musical contribution since the late '80s is as a songwriter; he's written several songs for other artists, including Chesney Hawke's hit single "The One and Only." After years of writing for others, Kershaw returned with his own 15 Minutes for Pyramid Records.

[Rubikscube]

If you have not written the text yourselves,I think you should give credit to the original source.

* Rubikscube returns to his lecturing job

[PG_Tips]

* Rubikscube returns to his lecturing job

*Rubikscube learns to write in red italics  

[AndrewR]

If you have not written the text yourselves,I think you should give credit to the original source.

* Rubikscube returns to his lecturing job

All biographies taken from http://www.allmusic.com

[Rubikscube]

*Rubikscube learns to write in red italics  

I shall be using color, in all future postings.

[JASON]

I thought it was ignorant to write in red......or is that just in letters?? :-/

lol

[AndrewR]

I LIKE COLOURED TEXT

[JASON]

MARTIKA

Martika born 18th May 1969, California, USA. This pop singer grew up in California, her parents having fled Cuba shortly after the revolution. Her first experience in showbusiness came early, with an appearance as a dancer in John Huston's 1982 movie Annie. From 1984-86 she played the role of Gloria in the television series Kids Incorporated. She enjoyed almost immediate success with her music career when her debut single, December 1988's 'More Than You Know', broke into the US Top 20. Her second single, 'Toy Soldiers', topped the US chart for two weeks in the summer of 1989, and also reached the UK Top 5. A cover version of Carole King 's 'I Feel The Earth Move' reached UK number 7, but stalled at US number 25. An appearance in the television series Wiseguy as jazz singer Dahlia Mendez followed. Although 'Love ... Thy Will Be Done', her first single from 1991's sophomore album, was cited by one journalist as being 'sub- Tiffany', it was popular enough to put the singer back in the US and UK Top 10. Her profile was also bolstered by consistent rumours of romances with pop stars ( Nuno Bettencourt, Prince ). She co-wrote the UK Top 20 hit single 'Martika's Kitchen' with Prince, who also helped out with several tracks on the album. Although her popularity lingered for a while in England, the singer subsequently faded from view as she took a break from music. She returned to recording with 'The Happy Song' for the Welcome To The Conga Club collection, and began work on a new album in the late 90s.


Text from:http://www.soundclick.com

[JASON]

feargal sharkey

b. Sean Feargal Sharkey, 13 August 1958, Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Sharkey first found fame as the lead singer of the Undertones, whose singles provided some of the best punk-pop of the late 70s. The band eventually fell apart in 1983, after which Sharkey teamed up with Vince Clarke in the short-lived Assembly. The plaintive "Never Never" was a Top 5 hit for the duo and highlighted the power of Sharkey's distinctive, quavering vocal style. In 1984, Sharkey recorded the underrated "Listen To Your Father" for Madness' label Zarjazz and this was followed in 1985 by his biggest success, "A Good Heart". This insistent tune, written by Maria McKee, established him as a potential major act by reaching number 1 in the UK charts. The Top 5 follow-up "You Little Thief" was equally distinctive and Sharkey's debut album, produced by David A. Stewart was well received. Sharkey subsequently moved to America, where he recorded the disappointing Wish. A long-delayed third album, Songs From The Mardi Gras, continued Sharkey's slow drift away from the mainstream, although it did spawn a surprise UK Top 20 hit, "I've Got News For You". By 1993, Sharkey had established himself as A&R Manager for Polydor Records. He has continued to work in this side of the industry, holding the post of Managing Director for EXP Ltd before being appointed a member of the Radio Authority in 1998. He turned down the opportunity to join his former colleagues when the Undertones re-formed in the late 90s.