Curiosity killed the cat
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Curiosity Killed the Cat was a British pop band that achieved success in the UK in the late 1980s, with hit singles such as " Down to Earth", " Misfit" and " Ordinary Day", from their No. 1 debut album, '' Keep Your Distance''. This was followed by '' Getahead'' with the accompanying hit " Name and Number", that was recreated by De La Soul in "
Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey) "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" is a song by American hip hop trio De La Soul, released in May 1991 as the lead single from their second album, '' De La Soul Is Dead'' (1991). It is a party jam about overzealous fans who pursue the group with demo ...
" in 1991,
Jaheim Jaheim H. Hoagland (born May 26, 1978), known mononymously as Jaheim, is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer. He was signed by Naughty by Nature's Kaygee to Divine Mill Records in 2000, and released his debut album ''Ghetto Love (album), Ghe ...
in " Ain't Leavin Without You" in 2010, and Little Mix in " How Ya Doin'?" in 2012. In the early 1990s, the band's bassist left, and billed as 'Curiosity' they collaborated with
Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality, entrepreneur and record executive. He is the creator of '' The X Factor'' and ''Got Talent'' franchises which have been sold around the world. He has judged on ...
recording "
Hang On in There Baby "Hang On in There Baby" is a song written by American musician Johnny Bristol and arranged by H. B. Barnum as the title track from his first album. It was released as a single in 1974, reaching No. 8 on the U.S. Hot 100 and No. 2 on the U.S ...
" on the album ''Back to Front''.


Career

The band played soulful,
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
y and funky pop music, and was initially signed to
Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it i ...
. They first came to notice of the UK
music press Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...
when they worked with
Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the Art movement, visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore th ...
for the
video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syst ...
of their 1986 single " Misfit". This featured the band in New York City and at one point featured frontman Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot dancing down a side street whilst Andy Warhol referenced
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
's 1965 long-form promotional film for "
Subterranean Homesick Blues "Subterranean Homesick Blues" is a song by Bob Dylan, recorded on January 14, 1965, and released as a single by Columbia Records, catalogue number 43242, on March 8. It was the lead track on the album '' Bringing It All Back Home'', released so ...
" by dropping pieces of white card in time to the music. The single was initially unsuccessful but the release of their next single, "Down to Earth", gave the band a Top 3 hit in early 1987. The band's first album, '' Keep Your Distance'', entered the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
at No. 1 in April 1987, and stayed in the Top Ten for 13 weeks. Further singles included "Ordinary Day" (UK No. 11), "Free" (UK No. 56) and a re-release of "Misfit" (UK No. 7). "Misfit" was also their only U.S. charting single, peaking at No. 42. The band's second album, '' Getahead'', was released in 1989, led by the single " Name and Number" (UK No. 14), and its "hey how you doin'" refrain found itself in the Top 10 two years later as part of the De La Soul song "
Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey) "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" is a song by American hip hop trio De La Soul, released in May 1991 as the lead single from their second album, '' De La Soul Is Dead'' (1991). It is a party jam about overzealous fans who pursue the group with demo ...
". The album, however, was not as successful in comparison to their first album, peaking at No. 29. After the lacklustre performance of ''Getahead'' and its second single "First Place", the band shortened their name to 'Curiosity' but were dropped by Mercury Records. Bass player Nick Thorpe then left the band. However, in 1992, the band (now a three-piece and signed to RCA Records) returned to the UK Top 3 with a cover of Johnny Bristol's "
Hang On in There Baby "Hang On in There Baby" is a song written by American musician Johnny Bristol and arranged by H. B. Barnum as the title track from his first album. It was released as a single in 1974, reaching No. 8 on the U.S. Hot 100 and No. 2 on the U.S ...
". Despite this, the band's follow up singles (covers of "I Need Your Lovin'" and "Gimme the Sunshine") were unsuccessful, which resulted in the album ''Back to Front'' only being released in Japan and selected overseas markets. The band then split up. In 2001, the band reformed for an appearance on a National Lottery midweek show on
BBC 1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
, and since then Volpeliere has toured under the name Curiosity Killed the Cat, on a number of 1980s revival packages. In November 2015, a compilation album, called ''80's Recovered'' featured many groups. Curiosity Killed the Cat did a cover of
The 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, ...
track "
Long Train Runnin' "Long Train Runnin" (or "Long Train Running") is a song recorded by the Doobie Brothers and written by band member Tom Johnston. It was included on the band's 1973 album '' The Captain and Me'' and was released as a single, becoming a hit and pe ...
", with a regular version, and a remix.


Band members

* Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot – vocals (born Martin Benedict Volpeliere-Pierrot, 19 May 1965,
Earls Court Earl's Court is a district of Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London, bordering the rail tracks of the West London line and District line that separate it from the ancient borough of Fulham to the west, the ...
, London) * Julian Godfrey Brookhouse – guitar (born 15 May 1963,
Putney Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ancient paris ...
, Surrey) * Nick Thorpe – bass guitar, keyboards (born Nicholas Bernard Thorp, 25 October 1964, Sunbury-on-Thames, Middlesex) * Migi Drummond – drums (born Miguel John Drummond, 27 January 1964, Strawberry Hill, Middlesex) Lead singer Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot was best known for wearing a
beret A beret ( or ; ; eu, txapela, ) is a soft, round, flat-crowned cap, usually of woven, hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, wool felt, or acrylic fibre. Mass production of berets began in 19th century France and Spain, and the beret rema ...
in most pictures of the band. He later revealed it was in fact a peaked fisherman's hat, turned round with the peak to the rear so that it resembled a beret. Ben VP (as he was billed on a number of solo singles in the mid-1990s) was frequently referred to as 'Ben Vol-au-vent Parrot' in '' Smash Hits'' magazine, with 'Bendy Ben' (or 'Boozy Ben') also used. He also appeared as a model on the front of
Mike Read Michael David Kenneth Read (born 1 March 1947) is an English radio disc jockey, writer, journalist and television presenter. Read has been a broadcaster since 1976, best known for having been a DJ with BBC Radio 1, and television host for musi ...
's ''Pop Quiz'' board game. In 1995, Migi Drummond and Nick Thorp set up
Naked Records Curiosity Killed the Cat was a British pop band that achieved success in the UK in the late 1980s, with hit singles such as " Down to Earth", " Misfit" and " Ordinary Day", from their No. 1 debut album, ''Keep Your Distance''. This was follow ...
which was acquired a year later by software maker
Eidos Eidos may refer to: * Eidos (philosophy), a Greek term meaning "form" "essence", "type" or "species". See Plato's theory of forms and Aristotle's theory of universals * Eidos plc, a British software company, which created video game publisher Eido ...
Plc. Toby Anderson co-wrote all tracks and played keyboards on the album ''Keep Your Distance''. Session guitarist/keyboard player Mike McEvoy (
Michael J McEvoy Michael J McEvoy (born August 29, 1961) is an American screen composer, orchestrator and multi-instrumentalist. 1980s As a session musician, writer and arranger, McEvoy worked on various projects with the producer Adam Kidron, including album ...
) co-wrote the songs on their ''Getahead'' album and Toto drummer
Jeff Porcaro Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro (; April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work with the rock band Toto but is one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working o ...
played on three tracks ("Cascade", "Can't Grow Trees on Money" and "Who Are You").


Discography


Albums


Studio albums


Compilation albums


Video albums


Singles


References


External links


on VH1
{{Authority control English pop music groups Musical groups from London Sophisti-pop musical groups Musical groups established in 1984 Mercury Records artists RCA Records artists