Londonbeat is a British

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

band who scored a number of pop and dance

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

in the early 1990s. Band members are American

Jimmy Helms James D. Helms (born September 27, 1941) is an American soul singer, known as a member of Londonbeat but who also had solo hits such as " Gonna Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse". Early years James D. Helms was born in Florida, United States. ...

(who also had a successful solo career and sang

radio jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meaning that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually t ...

s for

Radio Hallam Hallam FM is an Independent Local Radio station based in Sheffield, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to South Yorkshire. As of September 2022, the station has a weekly audience of 283,000 ...

and

Hereward Radio Heart Peterborough (formerly Hereward FM) was an Independent Local Radio station serving Cambridgeshire, south Lincolnshire and west Norfolk. Launched on 10 July 1980 as Hereward Radio 225, the station was the first local service in the area, wi ...

in the UK); Jimmy Chambers (born 29 January 1946), from

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

, and Charles Pierre. Former members include multi-instrumentalist William Henshall (credited as Willy M); George Chandler (formerly a founding member and

frontman The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

Olympic Runners The Olympic Runners were a 1970s British funk band, put together by record producer Mike Vernon who also played percussion, and fronted by singer George Chandler. They also included multi-instrumentalist Pete Wingfield, and had a number of ...

); Marc Goldschmitz (subsequently a member of the band Leash) and Myles Kayne.

History

Londonbeat's career started in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

where "There's a Beat Going On" reached the top 10, and then "9 A.M (The Comfort Zone)" which subsequently became a modest success in the United Kingdom. They are best known for their song "

I've Been Thinking About You "I've Been Thinking About You" is a song by British-American band Londonbeat from their second studio album, '' In the Blood'' (1990), produced by record producer Martyn Phillips. It was written by band members Jimmy Chambers, George Chandler, ...

", which hit Number 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the

Hot Dance Music/Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as th ...

charts A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabul ...

in 1991, and for their close

harmonies In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However, ...

. Their follow-up single, "

A Better Love "A Better Love" is a song by British-American dance-pop band Londonbeat, released on 12 November 1990 as the second single from the group's second studio album, '' In the Blood'' (1990). It was the follow-up to their international hit "I've Been ...

", became a ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Top 20 hit, and they returned to Number 1 on the dance chart with "Come Back" (Hot 100 number 62).

Comeback

In 1995, Londonbeat entered the UK heats of the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

with "I'm Just Your Puppet on a ... (String)". However, they were not selected to enter the main contest (losing out to rap group

Love City Groove Love City Groove were a musical group who represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1995, with their self-titled song after being the runaway winner in a public vote. The song finished tenth with 76 points; and peaked at No ...

) and the single stalled at Number 55 on 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 ...

. In 2003, Londonbeat re-grouped with a new lineup and signed to German

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

Coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...

. An album called ''Back in the Hi-Life'' featured re-recordings of "A Better Love" and "I've Been Thinking About You" among the new tracks. Marc Goldschmitz left the band in 2004. Currently living in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, he now plays guitar in the band Leash.

Other information

Chambers and Chandler were backing vocalists for Paul Young's 1985 album ''

The Secret of Association ''The Secret of Association'' is the second studio album by the English singer Paul Young. Released in 1985, it reached number one on the UK album charts and the Top 20 in the US. The album spawned the hit singles "Everytime You Go Away", "I'm Go ...

''. Jimmy Helms, George Chandler & Jimmy Chambers were also backing vocals on the Deacon Blue single " When Will You Make My Telephone Ring" and Fine Young Cannibals album '' The Raw and the Cooked'' on three songs: " Good Thing", "Tell Me What" and "It's OK (It's Alright)". Chandler, Chambers and Helms were also backing vocals on the Godley & Creme single "A Little Piece of Heaven", and the 1988 album ''

Goodbye Blue Sky "Goodbye Blue Sky" is a song by Pink Floyd. It appears on their 1979 double album, ''The Wall''. Plot In a brief prologue, a skylark is heard chirping. The sound of approaching bombers catches the attention of a child (voiced by a young Harry ...

''.

Line-ups

Jimmy Helms is the only member present in every Londonbeat line up. Jimmy Chambers is also present in every line-up with the exception of the 1999 line-up, but the band is known as "New Londonbeat" due to his absence.

1988–1992

* Jimmy Chambers * George Chandler * William Henshall (Willy M)

1994–1995

* Jimmy Chambers * William Henshall (Willy M)

1999

* Charles Pierre * Tony Blaze

2003–2004

* Jimmy Helms * Jimmy Chambers * Myles Kayne * Marc Goldschmitz

2004–2018

* Jimmy Helms * Jimmy Chambers * Myles Kayne

2018–present

* Jimmy Helms * Jimmy Chambers * Charles Pierre

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Speak'' (1988)

o U.S. release O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), plu ...

* '' In the Blood'' (1990) * ''

Harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...

'' (1992)

* ''Londonbeat'' (1994) * ''Back in the Hi-Life'' (2003)

* ''Gravity'' (2004)

* ''30 Years'' (2019)

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control British dance music groups Black British musical groups British musical trios Musical groups established in 1988