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Afrodiziak
Afrodiziak was a British singing group composed of Caron Wheeler, Claudia Fontaine, and later Naomi Thompson, that was active in the 1980s. As a duo, Wheeler and Fontaine were best known for performing backing vocals on the Jam's final single "Beat Surrender" in 1982 (on whose final tour they performed) and Elvis Costello's 1983 album '' Punch the Clock'', especially its lead single, the international hit "Everyday I Write the Book". After the addition of Naomi Thompson as a third member, Afrodiziak performed backing vocals on the hit single "Free Nelson Mandela", including the a cappella intro, staging it on Channel 4's music show '' The Tube'' in March 1984. Heaven 17's 1984 album ''How Men Are'' featured them prominently, especially on the singles "Sunset Now" and "And That's No Lie". Afrodiziak performed on Madness's albums '' Keep Moving'' and ''Mad Not Mad'' in 1984 and 1985, appearing in the music video for that group's single "Sweetest Girl". Also in 1985 they performed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caron Wheeler
Caron Melina Wheeler (born 19 January 1963) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and musician. Born and raised in London, she performed in various singing competitions as a teenager and began her recording career as one of the founding members of Brown Sugar. She was also one of the founding members of the female backing vocalist group Afrodiziak. She officially rose to fame in the late 1980s as lead singer of R&B group Soul II Soul. Managed by her bandmate, Jazzie B, the group became one of the London's best-selling groups in the 1990s. Their debut album, '' Club Classics Vol. One'' (1989), which established them as a global success worldwide, earned two Grammy Awards and featured the UK and Billboard number-one singles " Keep on Movin'" and "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)". Following the exit from the group in 1990, she released her debut solo album, '' UK Blak'' (1990), which contained hits " Livin' in the Light", "UK Blak", and "Don't Quit". She continu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Punch The Clock
''Punch the Clock'' is the eighth studio album by English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, and his seventh with the Attractions—keyboardist Steve Nieve, bassist Bruce Thomas and drummer Pete Thomas (no relation). It was released on 5 August 1983 through F-Beat Records in the United Kingdom and Columbia Records in the United States. Produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, one of England's biggest pop production teams at the time, the album was Costello's attempt at making a commercial record following years of dwindling commercial success. It was recorded at London's AIR Studios in early 1983 and features contributions from a horn section, the TKO Horns, and backing vocalists, Afrodiziak. Employing genres such as new wave, pop rock, R&B and soul, commentators have compared the album's sound to Costello's previous records ''Armed Forces'' (1979) and '' Get Happy!!'' (1980). The songs are filled with catchy choruses and lyrics covering relationships and political ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naomi Thompson
Naomi Thompson is a British singer. In the early-to-late 1980s, she worked with Caron Wheeler and Claudia Fontaine under the name Afrodiziak, which recorded for Haysi Fantayzee on their track "The Sabres of Paradise", and sang backup vocals on Erasure's hit " Chains of Love", Elvis Costello's 1983 international hit "Everyday I Write the Book", The Specials' "Free Nelson Mandela", Heaven 17's "Sunset Now", "The Fuse", "Reputation" and " ...(And That's No Lie)", on Madness' "Michael Caine" and "The Sweetest Girl" and on Howard Jones' " Things Can Only Get Better" and "Life in One Day". Post-Afrodiziak Once Afrodiziak had split up, Thompson worked with artists like S'Express, singing on their #32 hit " Nothing to Lose" and for E-Zee Possee on their #62 hit "The Sun Machine The Sun Machine is a 1990 song by E-Zee Possee. It samples David Bowie's 1969 song, "Memory of a Free Festival" from his album, ''Space Oddity''. The single peaked on number 62 on the UK Singles Chart. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mad Not Mad
''Mad Not Mad'' is the sixth studio album by English ska and pop band Madness. It was released on 30 September 1985, their first release on their own label Zarjazz, a sub-label of Virgin Records. The album was recorded over a period of two months in 1985 at Westside Studios and at AIR Studios, both in London. The album was their last recording of original material until they officially reformed in 1992. The album peaked at No. 16 in the UK charts, and achieved silver status from the BPI. However, ''Mad Not Mad'' remains the band's poorest-selling studio album to date. On its release the album was received favourably by the majority of music critics, although opinions have become much more negative in subsequent decades. After only a few weeks of its initial release, the writers of ''NME'' listed this album at number 55 on their list of the "100 Best Albums of All Time". The band themselves have been quite vocal that they were less satisfied with the album. In a BBC Radio 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Howard Jones (musician)
John Howard Jones (born 23 February 1955) is a British musician, singer and songwriter. He had ten top 40 hit singles in the UK between 1983 and 1986; six of those 10 singles reached the top ten, including " What Is Love?", " New Song", and " Things Can Only Get Better". His 1984 album ''Human's Lib'' reached number one on the UK Albums Chart. Around the world, Jones had 15 top 40 hit singles between 1983 and 1992. The 1986 hit single "No One Is to Blame" reached No. 4 on the US charts. Four others placed in the US top 20. Jones is associated with the 1980s Second British Invasion of the US. He has been described by AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine as "one of the defining figures of mid-'80s synth-pop." He performed at the historic Live Aid concert in 1985. Early life Born in Southampton to Welsh parents, Howard Jones spent his early years in Rhiwbina, Cardiff, South Wales, where he attended Heol Llanishen Fach primary school and then Whitchurch Grammar School. Howard ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Claudia Fontaine
Claudia Fontaine (26 August 1960 – 13 March 2018) was an backing vocalist from Peckham, London. Career During the 1980s, Fontaine and fellow backing vocalist Caron Wheeler (and later, third member Naomi Thompson) were known as Afrodiziak. She made an appearance in the video "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)" with Soul II Soul. She joined a number of lovers rock trios, including Mellow Rose, One Love, and True Harmony, then emerged as a soloist. In 1981, she sang a massive Lover's Rock hit " Natural High". She also performed with such artists as The Jam, Paul Weller, Elvis Costello and The Attractions, Marilyn, Madness, Neneh Cherry, The Specials, Heaven 17, Hothouse Flowers and Howard Jones. Fontaine sang background vocals on the hit single " Free Nelson Mandela" by The Special AKA. Fontaine was the lead vocalist on The Beatmasters' hit single of 1989 "Warm Love", which is included on their debut album '' Anywayawanna''. She also sang lead vocals on the song "Dee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
How Men Are
''How Men Are'' is the third studio album by English synth-pop band Heaven 17, released on 24 September 1984 by Virgin Records. The album peaked at No. 12 in the UK and was certified Silver (60,000 copies sold) by the BPI in October 1984. Three singles were released from this album: "Sunset Now" (UK #24), " This Is Mine" (UK #23) in 1984, and an edited remix of " ...(And That's No Lie)" (UK #52) in early 1985, which was the first Heaven 17 single to fail to reach the UK Top 40 since "Let Me Go" at the end of 1982. Although digital sample-based instruments such as the Fairlight CMI and the LinnDrum drum machine were still responsible for most of the album's sounds, ''How Men Are'' marked the beginning of an increased usage of acoustic instruments in Heaven 17's music. A small orchestra is employed on three tracks, and two tracks make use of the Phenix Horns Esquire, Earth, Wind & Fire's famous brass section. Another notable contribution to this album was made by the vocal group ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dream Into Action
''Dream into Action'' is the second studio album by British pop musician Howard Jones. It was released in March 1985 and reached No. 2 in the UK Album Charts. The album also reached the top ten in the U.S. The album achieved a gold certification in the UK and platinum status in the US and Canada. The album contains the hit singles " Things Can Only Get Better" (UK No. 6, US No. 5), "Look Mama" (UK No. 10) and "Life in One Day" (UK No. 14, US No. 19). Additionally, the track "No One Is to Blame" was re-recorded in a new arrangement for single release, reaching No. 16 in the UK and No. 4 in the US in 1986 and was included on a later second European pressing of the album. The 1984 single "Like to Get to Know You Well" (UK No. 4) was included on the album's CD reissue. A world tour accompanied the album's original release with Jones playing Wembley Arena and the O2 Academy Birmingham in the UK, and arena-size venues in the US, Europe and Japan. In 2010, a remastered edition of the al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Free Nelson Mandela
"Nelson Mandela" (known in some versions as "Free Nelson Mandela") is a song written by British musician Jerry Dammers, and performed by band The Special A.K.A. – with lead vocal by Stan Campbell – released on the single "Nelson Mandela"/"Break Down The Door" in 1984. It was a protest against the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela by the apartheid South African government, and is considered a notable anti-apartheid song. The backing vocals were performed by Molly and Polly Jackson, two girls the band's drummer John Bradbury had "met in a bar in Camden", while the chorus was performed by session singers including Claudia Fontaine and Caron Wheeler, who later went on to appear with Soul II Soul. Unlike most protest songs, the track is upbeat and celebratory, drawing on musical influences from South Africa. The song peaked at number nine on the UK Singles Chart and was immensely popular in Africa. In December 2013, following the news of Nelson Mandela's death, the single re- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Jam
The Jam were an English mod revival/ punk rock band formed in 1972 at Sheerwater Secondary School in Woking, Surrey. They released 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in December 1982, including four number one hits. As of 2007, " That's Entertainment" and "Just Who Is the 5 O'Clock Hero?" remain the best-selling import singles of all time in the UK. They released one live album and six studio albums, the last of which, '' The Gift'', reached number one on the UK Albums Chart. When the group disbanded in 1982, their first 15 singles were re-released and all placed within the top 100. While the Jam shared the "angry young man" outlook and fast tempo of the mid-1970s British punk rock movement, in contrast with it the band wore smartly tailored suits reminiscent of English pop-bands in the early 1960s and incorporated mainstream 1960s rock and R&B influences into its sound, particularly from the Who's work of that perio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Jam
The Jam were an English mod revival/ punk rock band formed in 1972 at Sheerwater Secondary School in Woking, Surrey. They released 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in December 1982, including four number one hits. As of 2007, " That's Entertainment" and "Just Who Is the 5 O'Clock Hero?" remain the best-selling import singles of all time in the UK. They released one live album and six studio albums, the last of which, '' The Gift'', reached number one on the UK Albums Chart. When the group disbanded in 1982, their first 15 singles were re-released and all placed within the top 100. While the Jam shared the "angry young man" outlook and fast tempo of the mid-1970s British punk rock movement, in contrast with it the band wore smartly tailored suits reminiscent of English pop-bands in the early 1960s and incorporated mainstream 1960s rock and R&B influences into its sound, particularly from the Who's work of that perio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keep Moving (Madness Album)
''Keep Moving'' is the fifth studio album by the English ska/ pop band Madness. It was originally released in February 1984, and was their final album on the Stiff label. It's notably the band's last studio album to feature their keyboardist and founding member Mike Barson, before the band split in 1986. ''Keep Moving'' peaked at No. 6 in the UK Albums Chart, and two singles from the album reached the Top 20 in the UK Singles Chart. Retrieved on 19 June 2007. It also reached number 109 on the US ''Billboard'' 200, their highest position in the United States. The album received some good reviews, with ''Rolling Stone'' magazine giving the album four out of five stars, applauding the band's changing sound,Puterbraugh, Parke. Retrieved on 1 August 2007. and ''NME'' ranking it number 13 among the "Albums of the Year" for 1984. This was an improvement, as the last album reviewed by the magazine, '' Absolutely'', was heavily criticised.Marcus, Greil. Retrieved on 1 August 2007. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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