The Pasadenas were an English
R&B/pop group. They had two UK top 10 albums and eight UK top 40
hit
Hit means to strike someone or something.
Hit or HIT may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities
* Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super''
* Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...
singles, including "
Tribute (Right On)" (1988), "Riding on a Train" (1988) and "
I'm Doing Fine Now" (1992).
Career
The group scored a UK number five hit, and topped the charts in the
Netherlands
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in 1988 with their initial release, "
Tribute (Right On)", which paid homage to
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
musicians
Diana Ross & the Supremes
The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...
and
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 ...
.
Their second single "Riding on a Train" would peak at number 13 in the UK singles chart.
Both singles were taken from their debut album ''
To Whom It May Concern
To Whom It May Concern may refer to:
*Salutation (greeting), used for opening a letter to an unknown recipient
In music
; Albums
* ''To Whom It May Concern'' (Bee Gees album), 1972
* ''To Whom It May Concern'', a Blacklite District album, 2016
...
'', released in October 1988, an album which would peak at number 3 in the United Kingdom and which would go on to sell more than one million copies.
In addition to the two top 20 singles, the album included "Enchaned Lady" (a small UK top 40 hit) and a
cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
of
the Chi-Lites
The Chi-Lites (, ) are an American R&B/soul vocal quartet from Chicago, Illinois, United States. Forming at Chicago's Hyde Park High School in 1959, The group's original lineup consisted of singers Robert Lester, Eugene Record, Creadel Jones, ...
' "Living in the Footsteps of Another Man".
In 1989, the Pasadenas were invited to be part of
Band Aid II's version of "Do They Know It's Christmas", alongside Cliff Richard, Jimmy Somerville, Chris Rea and various S/A/W-produced stars.
In 1990, a slight change of sound brought the UK number 22 hit "Love Thing" (number 13 in the Netherlands) and "Reeling", which just managed to get into the UK top 75 in July 1990. Due to the failure of these singles the release of their 1990 album ''Elevate'' was pushed back a year and only came out in a number of selected territories in 1991.
As the album ''Elevate'' did not chart, the group made a covers album called ''
Yours Sincerely'' in 1992. The Pasadenas achieved their highest UK hit position with a
remake
A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...
of
New York City's 1973 hit "
I'm Doing Fine Now", which sold more than 200,000 copies.
The single was produced by
Motorcity Records
Motorcity Records is a British record label formed by producer Ian Levine in 1989. The label aimed to record new material with former Motown artists.
History
Levine, a Motown fan since his childhood in the 1960s, was offered a chance to recor ...
'
Ian Levine
Ian Geoffrey Levine (born 22 June 1953) is a British songwriter, producer, and DJ. A moderniser of Northern soul music in the UK, and a developer of the style of Hi-NRG, he has written and produced records with sales totalling over 40 million. ...
along with
Billy Griffin
William L. Griffin (born August 15, 1950) is an American singer and songwriter. He is best known for replacing Smokey Robinson as lead singer of The Miracles in 1972.
Biography
Griffin was born and raised in West Baltimore, Maryland. He attende ...
and reached number 4 in the UK (outpeaking the original's chart position of number 20, by 16 places).
The Pasadenas managed to chart another three singles from ''
Yours Sincerely'' into the UK top 75, with their last chart hit also being a cover (this time a version of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" which charted at number 22 in November 1992).
After releasing their covers album, the Pasadenas were dropped from Columbia/Sony Music with their next releases being issued independently. In 1994 they issued "Longing For Someone" on the Sounds of London label (Solor), while in 1995 they charted (outside the top 75) at number 96 with a song called "Round & Round", their last single to be found on the Official Charts database.
In 2002,
Cherry Red Records
Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything But the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as well ...
reissued the album ''To Whom It May Concern'' on CD.
In April 2005, the Pasadenas took part in week three of the TV reality show ''
Hit Me, Baby, One More Time'', while in 2021, various members of the group contributed their thoughts and opinions to Channel 5's weekly Friday night retro countdown shows (broadcast under titles like ''Britain's Favourite 80s Songs'').
Band member Andrew Banfield's sister, Susan, was one half of the
Cookie Crew
Cookie Crew were a rap music duo formed in Clapham, South London in 1983.
Career
Their career took off after winning a national rap championship and recording two sessions for the John Peel BBC Radio 1 show. They gained a recording contract f ...
.
Member details
*Andrew Banfield (born John Andrew Banfield, 1964)
*Michael "Mike" Milliner (born 1962)
*David Milliner (born 1962)
*Rockin' Jeff (also known as Aaron Brown, born Jeff Aaron Brown, 12 December 1964)
*Hamish Seelochan (born 1964)
Discography
Studio albums
† – Japan release only
Compilation albums
* ''Tribute: The Best of the Pasadenas'' (1995)
* ''Definitive Collection'' (1997)
Singles
See also
*
List of performances on ''Top of the Pops''
References
External links
*
The Pasadenas YouTube channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pasadenas, The
Musical groups established in 1988
Musical groups disestablished in 2005
British contemporary R&B musical groups
Black British musical groups
Columbia Records artists