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Anthony Benedict Thompson, known professionally as Tony Thompson and Darkboy, is a British singer. He sung in Benz, who had two UK top 40 singles, sung on Phats & Small's second album This Time Around, including on "Change", which charted at No. 45 on the UK Singles Chart, and Four Story, who partook in Making Your Mind Up .
Anthony Benedict Thompson [1] joined Benz in 1993; his nickname in the band was Darkboy, and the other members were Tim Shade (Benjamin Balogun) and B.I.G. Ben (Benedict Ofoedu). [1] He and Balogun were old friends, and Balogun invited him to join after seeing him walking down the street. [2] Their first single was "Boom Rock Soul", a term used by Benz to describe their music; they used a December 1995 issue of Echoes to explain that Balogun contributed the "boom", or "the deep hip hop, the hard bass", while Ofoedu contributed the "rock", and Thompson contributed the "soul". [2] "Boom Rock Soul" charted at No. 62; subsequent singles "Urban City Girl", "Miss Parker", "If I Remember", and "On a Sun-Day" charted at numbers 31, 35, 59 and 73, respectively. [3]
In 1999, Thompson and Ofoedu provided vocals for Phats & Small's "Turn Around", "Feel Good", and "Tonite"; [4] which charted at numbers 2, 7 and 11 on the UK Singles Chart, respectively. [5] He was promoted to main vocalist for their second album, This Time Around; [4] the song's title track charted at No. 15 on the UK Singles Chart, [5] and Thompson lip-synched to it on Top of the Pops . [6] He also sung on the track "Change", [7] which charted at No. 45 on the UK Singles Chart. [5] In late 2003, Thompson joined Four Story, a band formed by Ofoedu, Mark Brightman, and Rodney Williams, who had previously been in REDhill with Shane Lynch; [8] they took part in Making Your Mind Up , with the intention of representing the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. They came fifth. [9] Thompson, Ofoedu and Phats & Small reunited for an appearance on stage in the 2015 NYE MarbsFest at the Brentwood Centre; he used a 2015 appearance on Phoenix FM that month to advertise the event to note that he had started his own fitness, nutrition and athletics company, and that he was an ex-cage fighter. [4]
Duane Eddy is an American rock and roll guitarist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had a string of hit records produced by Lee Hazlewood, which were noted for their characteristically "twangy" sound, including "Rebel-'Rouser", "Peter Gunn", and "Because They're Young". He had sold 12 million records by 1963.
Manfred Mann were an English rock band, formed in London and active between 1962 and 1969. The group were named after their keyboardist Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The band had two different lead vocalists, Paul Jones from 1962 to 1966 and Mike d'Abo from 1966 to 1969.
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The Power Station was a British-American 1980s/1990s rock and pop music supergroup originally formed in New York City and London in 1984. It was made up of singer Robert Palmer, former Chic drummer Tony Thompson, and Duran Duran members John Taylor (bass) and Andy Taylor (guitar). Bernard Edwards, also of Chic, was involved on the studio side as recording producer and for a short time also functioned as The Power Station's manager. Edwards also replaced John Taylor on bass for the recording of the band's second album. The band was formed in New York City late in 1984 during a break in Duran Duran's schedule that became a lengthy hiatus. The Power Station was named after the Power Station recording studio in New York, where their first album was conceived and recorded.
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The Box Tops is an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee in 1967. They are best known for the hits "The Letter", "Cry Like a Baby", "Choo Choo Train," and "Soul Deep" and are considered a major blue-eyed soul group of the period. They performed a mixture of current soul music songs by artists such as James & Bobby Purify and Clifford Curry; pop tunes such as "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum; and songs written by their producers, Dan Penn, Spooner Oldham, and Chips Moman. Vocalist Alex Chilton went on to front the power pop band Big Star and to launch a career as a solo artist, during which he occasionally performed songs he had sung with the Box Tops.
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Benz were a band from Hackney containing B.I.G. Ben, Tim Shade, and Darkboy. Their name comes from their names all containing Ben. They entered the UK Singles Chart with "Boom Rock Soul", "Urban City Girl", "Miss Parker", "If I Remember", and "On A Sun-Day".
"You're the Voice" is a song recorded by the Australian singer John Farnham released in 1986, which became an immediate hit in Australia as well as several European countries, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. It was released as a single in September 1986 ahead of his album Whispering Jack, and was written by Andy Qunta, Keith Reid, Maggie Ryder, and Chris Thompson.
"September" is a song by the American band Earth, Wind & Fire released as a single in 1978 on ARC/Columbia Records. Initially included as a track for The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1, "September" was very successful commercially and reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot R&B Songs chart, No. 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart. The song remains a staple of the band's body of work and has been sampled, covered, remixed, and re-recorded numerous times.
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"Only Love Can Break Your Heart" is a song written by Canadian-American singer-songwriter, musician, and activist Neil Young. It has been covered by many bands.
Intenso Project are an English electronic music group consisting of vocalist Ben Ofoedu, DJ Rods, and Leigh Guest. On the UK Singles Chart, the band has had hits such as, "Luv Da Sunshine", "Your Music" featuring Laura Jaye, and "Get It On" featuring Lisa Scott-Lee, each reaching the No. 22, No. 32, and No. 23 spots, respectively.
CamelPhat are an English DJ and production duo, consisting of Dave Whelan and Mike Di Scala, formed in Liverpool in 2006. They are best known for the 2017 single "Cola", which peaked at No. 3 on the UK Dance Chart, and at No. 18 on the UK Singles Chart. The single was a collaboration with UK dance act Elderbrook and was released on Defected Records.
Benedict Spencer Ofoedu is a British singer-songwriter. He is best known for being the former fiancé of Vanessa Feltz and for his media appearances therewith, though he had some success as a vocalist, having sung on ten UK Singles Chart entries as part of Benz, Phats & Small, and Intenso Project; a solo single, "Your Love", charted at No. 76 on the same chart.