Climie Fisher were a British pop duo formed by vocalist

Simon Climie Simon Climie (born 7 April 1957) is an English songwriter/producer and the former lead singer of the UK duo Climie Fisher. Biography Climie was born in London. Beginning his career primarily as a songwriter/session musician, Climie found him ...

and former

Naked Eyes Naked Eyes are an English new wave band"All Eyes on Pete Byrne", ''Newsday'', 15 October 2013 that rose to prominence in the early 1980s. The band had four US top 40 singles. The group's first hit, "Always Something There to Remind Me", was ...

keyboardist Rob Fisher. In 1987–88, they had two international hit singles: " Rise to the Occasion" and "

Love Changes (Everything) "Love Changes (Everything)" is a 1987 single by British pop duo Climie Fisher that gained international success after a re-release in 1988. The song was later covered and released by house music duo Musikk. Songwriters Simon Climie, Dennis Morg ...

Career

Simon Climie and Rob Fisher met at

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...

, where they were both performing as

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

s. The duo is best known for the 1987

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

" which won an

Ivor Novello Award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been a ...

. It reached number 67 in the UK and, after a remix and re-released, number 2 in the UK, 12 in New Zealand, 24 in Australia, 7 in Germany, 8 in Switzerland, 15 in Austria and 23 in the US, all in 1988. The hip hop-styled remix of " Rise to the Occasion" was originally conceived as a niche dance version by remixers Phil Harding and Ian Curnow, but was chosen by the band's record company as the main single mix. "The style of it comes from a rap track," explained Harding. "We never thought the record company would put it out as the main record — we never really found out what Climie Fisher thought of their main version being ditched." The track reached number 10 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, and later reached number 1 in South Africa, number 6 in Belgium, number 14 in Germany, number 17 in Sweden and number 19 in Austria. Their last major hit single was "Love Like a River" in 1989, which reached number 18 in Austria, number 22 in the UK and number 54 in Germany. They wrote most of their own material together with Dennis Morgan, who Climie had previously worked with; and hired

Steve Lillywhite Stephen Alan Lillywhite, (born 15 March 1955) is a British record producer. Since he began his career in 1977, Lillywhite has been credited on over 500 records, and has collaborated with a variety of musicians including new wave acts XTC, Big ...

and

Stephen Hague Stephen Hague (born 1960) is an American record producer most active with various British acts since the 1980s. Early life Hague was born in Portland, Maine in 1960. Early career Hague started his musical career in the mid-1970s as a session ...

as producers. Although their first album ''

Everything Everything, every-thing, or every thing is all that exists; the opposite of nothing, or its complement. It is the totality of things relevant to some subject matter. Without expressed or implied limits, it may refer to anything. The univers ...

'' charted in both the UK (number 14) and US (number 120), their second album '' Coming In for the Kill'' (UK number 35) was less successful and they split up shortly after its release. Fisher later co-wrote

Rick Astley Richard Paul Astley (born 6 February 1966) is an English singer, songwriter and radio personality, who has been active in music for several decades. He gained worldwide fame in the 1980s, having multiple hits including his signature song " Ne ...

's song "

Cry for Help "Cry for Help" is a song by British dance-pop singer Rick Astley, released as the first single from his third studio album, '' Free'' (1991). It was written by Astley and Rob Fisher, formerly one half of the 1980s pop outfits Naked Eyes and ...

" (UK Singles Chart number 7 in 1991). He also contributed as songwriter to Astley's albums '' Free'' (1991) and '' Body & Soul'' (1993). Fisher died on 25 August 1999 during surgery for

bowel cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel m ...

. Climie had, before the success of Climie Fisher, co-written (with Dennis Morgan) the

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling musici ...

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

single "

I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) "I Knew You Were Waiting (for Me)" is a song released by American singer Aretha Franklin and English singer George Michael as a duet in 1987. The song was a number one hit in the United States and the United Kingdom. ''Billboard'' listed "I Kn ...

" in 1986. He worked as a producer for recording artists such as

Louise Louise or Luise may refer to: * Louise (given name) Arts Songs * "Louise" (Bonnie Tyler song), 2005 * "Louise" (The Human League song), 1984 * "Louise" (Jett Rebel song), 2013 * "Louise" (Maurice Chevalier song), 1929 *"Louise", by Clan of ...

MN8 MN8 were a British R&B- pop group. They consisted of KG (co-founder, lead vocals), G-Man (co-founder, lead vocals), Kule T (lead vocals) and Dee Tails (rapper, backing vocalist, stylist and choreographer). Career MN8's 1995 debut hit singl ...

and

Five Star Five Star (also styled as 5 Star) are a British pop group, formed in 1983 and comprising siblings Stedman, Lorraine, Denise, Doris and Delroy Pearson. Between 1985 and 1988, Five Star had four top 20 albums and 15 top 40 singles in the UK, ...

and as a co-songwriter and musician for

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

, including the album with J.J. Cale (featuring

Derek Trucks Derek Trucks (born June 8, 1979) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and founder of The Derek Trucks Band. He became an official member of The Allman Brothers Band in 1999. In 2010, he formed the Tedeschi Trucks Band with his wife, blues sin ...

and

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), ''

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''. Climie released a solo album and single, both titled "Soul Inspiration" in 1992. He also worked with former

Doobie Brothers The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band formed in 1970 in San Jose, California, known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their vocal harmonies. Active for five decades, with their greatest success in the 1970s, ...

member Michael McDonald on his

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albums. He produced the 2009 album '' The Distance'' by

Taylor Hicks Taylor Reuben Hicks (born October 7, 1976) is an American singer who won the fifth season of ''American Idol'' in May 2006. Hicks got his start as a professional musician in his late teens and performed around the Southeastern United States fo ...

an ''

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'' winner.

In popular culture

The folk pastiche ''Ballad of Climie Fisher'' by the band Half Man Half Biscuit on their album ''

Trouble Over Bridgwater Trouble may refer to: Film and television * ''Trouble'' (1922 film), an American silent comedy-drama film directed by Albert Austin * ''Trouble'' (1933 film), a British comedy film * ''Trouble'' (1977 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Trouble'' ...

'' is a fictional tale of what happened to the pair post break-up.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

*''Keep It Special'' EP (1988) *''Twice as Much'' (1992) *''The Best of Climie Fisher'' (1996) *''Premium Gold Collection'' (2000) *''Love Changes Everything'' (2020)

Singles

References

External links

Entry on Discogs

Simon Climie Songs

Climie Fisher singles and albums at Official Charts Company
{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1986 Musical groups disestablished in 1990 Musical groups from London English pop music duos Male musical duos EMI Records artists Capitol Records artists