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Berlin
Berlin, c. 1983. L–R: David Diamond, Rob Brill, Terri Nunn, John Crawford, Matt Reid, and Ric Olsen.
The genesis of Berlin was the rock band the Toys, formed in 1976 in Orange County, California, by John Crawford (bass guitar), Dan Van Patten (drums), Chris Ruiz-Velasco (guitar), and Tyson A. Cobb (vocals).[2][3] After a few shows, the band changed its name to Berlin and stayed together for about three years but ultimately regrouped, discharging Cobb as lead singer. After a brief time when Toni Childs was lead singer, Terri Nunn joined the band after answering an ad through the Musicians Contact Service in Hollywood in 1979.[4] Despite its name, Berlin did not have any known major connections with the sometime capital of Germany; the name was chosen to make them seem European and exotic. Terri Nunn explained in a 2003 interview, "...Berlin started that way [electronic], and in a sense helped to bring that to America. 'Cause when we started, it was going on in Europe, but it wasn't really happening here yet."[5] The band was inspired by the keyboard-oriented groups Kraftwerk, Devo, Sparks and The Screamers.
The band's first single, "A Matter of Time", was released in 1979 on Renegade Records[6] and they appeared on television for the first time on the short-lived Hollywood Heartbeat, hosted by former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Bob Welch.[7] Nunn left the group later that year to pursue an acting career, and was replaced by Virginia Macolino. The band released the 1980 album Information,[8][9] with Macolino as lead vocalist, but the band struggled to sign with a mainstream label without Nunn. As band manager, Perry Watts-Russell explained, "Unfortunately, the record labels that had shown interest in December 1979, when Terri was the singer, were no longer keen to sign the band. So, by later that year, Berlin had effectively broken up, and John had formed and was the lead singer in another group, Fahrenheit, with Dan Van Patten. But he had some songs that he thought were better suited to Terri's voice, and he asked me if I thought she might be interested in singing them. We asked and she was."[2]
Eventual success
Nunn rejoined the band as singer in 1980, after which they signed to independent label Enigma Records. They then released a double A-sided single, "Tell Me Why" / "The Metro". The single was intended as a one-off, since Crawford was by then focusing on his new band, Fahrenheit, and regarded Berlin as a "just for fun" side project.[10] However, the single was a success, helping to finance the EP album, Pleasure Victim, which was recorded on a $2,900 budget.[10] The EP included their first significant hit: the controversial synth-driven "Sex (I'm a ...)" (1982), which was banned by some radio stations due to its graphic lyrics. The song was intentionally written and composed to get airplay on Los Angeles area radio station KROQ, which specialized in playing music that was not heard on other stations, and of which members of the group were fans.[11] Due to the attention brought on by the single, wider release offers were made by larger record labels for Pleasure Victim.[10] Geffen Records' offer was accepted and the label re-released Pleasure Victim worldwide in early 1983. The label also re-released "The Metro", which then became another hit. By this point, the band consisted of core members Nunn, Crawford, and long-time keyboardist/guitarist David Diamond, augmented by guitarist Ric Olsen, keyboardist Matt Reid, and a series of drummers. Van Patten still contributed heavily to Pleasure Victim but was ultimately replaced by Rod Learned, who performed on Pleasure Victim's opening track and later appeared with the band during their performance at the 1983 US Festival.[12] Learned's tenure in the band proved short-lived, and by the following year, new drummer Rob Brill had joined the group in his place.
In 1984, the band released their next album, Love Life, and the single "No More Words", whose subsequent video saw Terri Nunn and bandmates re-enact a Bonnie and Clyde-style car chase and shoot-out, became their first top-40 hit. "Take My Breath Away" (for the movie Top Gun soundtrack), co-written and produced by Giorgio Moroder, became their best-selling single in 1986 and a huge international hit, but also their last big hit.[citation needed]
Aside from Nunn, members of the band were founding member John Crawford (primary songwriter, bass guitar and synthesizer), and David Diamond (synthesizer & guitar). Ric Olsen (lead guitar) was brought in during the final recording of Pleasure Victim. Other members added were Matt Reid (synthesizer), Rod Learned (drums: 1982–1983) and Rob Brill (drums: 1983–1987). Berlin's breakout EP, 1982's Pleasure Victim, featured Nunn, Crawford, and Diamond, as well as guitarist Olsen, drummer, synthesist and producer Dan Van Patten and guitarist Chris Ruiz-Velasco. Before Pleasure Victim was completed, Van Patten and Ruiz-Velasco parted ways with Nunn, Crawford, and Diamond. Ric Olsen was brought in to complete tracks on Pleasure Victim.
Dissolution and re-formation
Berlin officially disbanded in 1987, because of both the lack of success of their album Count Three & Pray and personal disagreements over the single "Take My Breath Away". Nunn viewed it as a fresh new song that allowed the band to perform globally, while others disliked it as it had not been written or composed by any of them.[13] Later, after the release of the 1991 solo album Moment of Truth, Nunn retained the legal rights to usage of the band's name after legal wranglings with the founding member of the group, John Crawford. Drummer Rob Brill and John Crawford formed the alternative hard rock trio, The Big F, along with guitarist Mark Christian. They released two studio albums (The Big F and Is).[14] Nunn recreated Berlin, with a new lineup of musicians, in 1997. In 1999, Berlin opened for The Go-Go's on their West Coast reunion tour.[15]
In 2000–2001, Berlin contributed to several artist tribute albums. The only track to make it on to a full Berlin release is a cover of Marilyn Manson's "The Dope Show", which is included on Berlin's 4play album as well as the Marilyn Manson tribute album Anonymous Messiah (2001, Vitamin Records). Other tributes include material by Madonna, Blondie and Depeche Mode.
In 2004, Berlin was featured on the VH1 show, Bands Reunited[16] where the roughly pre-Love Life era lineup of the band (John Crawford, Terri Nunn, David Diamond, Ric Olsen, Matt Reid and Rod Learned) agreed to reunite as a band and as friends. They played one show at The Roxy in California to a sold-out crowd.
The band, featuring Nunn supported by other members who were not part of the classic line-up, toured with rock band INXS during the summer of 2011.[17]Gerald Casale of Devo created a video for Berlin which was scheduled to debut at a late November 2011 performance.[18] Nunn herself was scheduled both to debut a radio show on KCSN-FM, and to record a new album, in 2012.[18]
In July 2013, it was announced that a new album called Animal would be released on September 17, from which a single "It's The Way" would also be issued.[19]
In an August 9, 2016, interview with The Washington Times,[20] Nunn announced the original members (Crawford, Nunn and Diamond) had been writing new material, and planning a tour and new album for 2017.
On the 80s Cruise 2018, Ric Olsen, David Diamond and John Crawford performed with the Nunn-fronted version of Berlin. Rather than replacing any of the existing members, Diamond and Crawford are merging with Nunn's current Berlin incarnation to form a six-person line-up. They performed two new songs from their forthcoming album. They jokingly announced the album's title would be Woke, a suggestion from VJ Mark Goodman during a Q & A session on the cruise, and that the album would be released in July 2018. Although an official name has not been determined, the new album was scheduled for release later that year.
In May 2019, Terri Nunn announced that she and co-founders John Crawford and David Diamond would be reuniting for a new album, Transcendance, to be released on August 2, 2019.[21]
Berlin was among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.[22] The accuracy of this report was disputed by Vinny Vero, a music producer who works for the reissue label Cherry Red. Vero observed that Berlin's album masters were “safe and sound” while working on reissues of another Geffen recording artist. Later the same year, Universal located two session reels containing 11 unique or early versions of songs recorded in 1983 between Pleasure Victim and Love Life, as well as an unreleased outtake from Love Life.[23]
On August 2, 2019, Berlin featuring Terri Nunn released their eighth album, Transcendance.[24]
On November 27, 2020, Berlin released their ninth album, Strings Attached, which includes re-recordings of previous songs backed by a full orchestra.[25]
On December 31, 2020, Terri Nunn performed as a solo act at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago New Year's Eve Party along with Vanilla Ice.[26][27] Soon thereafter, Nunn expressed deep regret for participating in the event, stating not only that she did not intend it to be an endorsement or support of any political party, but also that she was unaware of the laxness of COVID laws in the State of Florida and was astonished to find that masks and social distancing were not required at the event, as she had been led to believe otherwise.[28]
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Brian James is an English punk rock guitarist, who is best known for being a founding member of The Damned as well as of The Lords of the New Church.
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Emigrate is an industrial metal band formed in 2005 by Richard Kruspe of Rammstein as a side project. The band was formed in New York City and later relocated to Berlin. They have released four studio albums, with several musicians contributing to their recordings. Emigrate is a studio band, and have therefore never performed live.
Terri Kathleen Nunn is an American singer and actress. She is known as the vocalist of the 1980s new wave and synth-pop band Berlin.
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"The Metro", also published as "Metro", is a 1981 song written by John Crawford for his band, Berlin.
John Buckner Crawford is an American singer-songwriter noted for co-founding the pop group Berlin, which had several hit songs in the 1980s.
Pleasure Victim is the second studio album by American new wave band Berlin. It was originally recorded in 1982 and released in October of that year by M.A.O. Records and Enigma Records. After the second single, "Sex ", received considerable attention, the album was re-released on January 26, 1983, by Geffen Records in the United States and by Mercury Records internationally. The album marked the return of lead singer Terri Nunn to the group. To date, it is Berlin's best-selling album and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on February 9, 1993, becoming the band's only album to do so.
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"Like Flames" is a song by American band Berlin, released in 1986 as the second single from their fourth studio album, Count Three & Pray (1986).
Love Life is the third studio album by American new wave band Berlin. It was released on March 12, 1984, by Geffen Records. Recorded between October and December 1983, the album features production from Mike Howlett, Giorgio Moroder, and Richie Zito. Four singles were released from the album, including "No More Words", which became the band's first top-40 single on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 23. Later, second single "Now It's My Turn" peaked at #74. The album itself became the band's highest-charting album on the Billboard 200, peaking at number 23.
"Sex " is a song by American new wave band Berlin from their second studio album, Pleasure Victim (1982). The song was co-written by group members John Crawford, Terri Nunn, and David Diamond and sung as a duet by Crawford and Nunn. It has an electronic disco arrangement, inspired by Giorgio Moroder, and in particular Donna Summer's "I Feel Love".
Information is the debut studio album by Berlin. It was released in 1980 by Vinyl Records, and was recorded during the period when Terri Nunn had temporarily left the band to pursue an acting career and Virginia Macolino performed the lead vocals. Several songs were written by previous lead singer Toni Childs who went solo prior to the album's release.
Moment of Truth is the début and sole solo album from American singer Terri Nunn, who is best known as lead singer of the band Berlin. It was released in the US in 1991 and Europe in 1992. Moment of Truth was produced by and mixed by Prince's Paisley Park Records producer David Z., except for "Confession Time", which was produced by the British producer Steve Brown.
Voyeur is the fifth studio album from the American new wave band Berlin, released in 2002 by iMUSIC. It was the band's first studio album since 1986's Count Three & Pray, with singer Terri Nunn as the only original member of the new line-up.
"You Don't Know" is a song by American band Berlin, which was released in 1986 as the third single from their fourth studio album Count Three & Pray. It was written by John Crawford and produced by Andy Richards, Bob Ezrin and Berlin. It reached No. 39 in the UK and No. 16 in Belgium.
"Dancing in Berlin" is a song by American band Berlin, which was released in 1984 as the third single from their third studio album Love Life. It was written by John Crawford and produced by Giorgio Moroder and Richie Zito. It reached No. 12 in New Zealand and No. 39 in Australia.
Live: Sacred and Profane is a live album from American new wave band Berlin, released in 2000 by Time Bomb Recordings. The band's first live album, it features twelve live tracks and three new studio tracks. The live tracks were recorded at the Coach House, San Juan Capistrano, California on December 4, 1999.
Carlton James Bost, also known by the stage name Carlton Megalodon, is an American musician. He is the guitar player for the industrial rock band Orgy, for the rock band Deadsy, the industrial rock/hard rock band The Dreaming, and the new wave band Berlin, as well as the bass player for Stabbing Westward. Previously, he was the guitar player for the industrial rock band Lunarclick. He has his own solo project, Shades of Scar, under which name he released The Hollow Season in 2010.
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