T'Pau are an English pop group formed in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, led by singer Carol Decker. They had a string of Top 40 hits in the UK during the late 1980s and early 1990s, most notably "China in Your Hand", "Heart and Soul" and "Valentine", and several hits in the rest of Europe, before disbanding in 1992. Decker still performs under the name T'Pau at solo shows and 1980s nostalgia concerts, and in 2013 she reunited with original band member and co-songwriter Ronnie Rogers for a 25th-anniversary UK tour.
Wet Wet Wet are a Scottish soft rock band formed in 1982. They scored a number of hits in the UK charts and around the world in the 1980s and 1990s. The band is composed of Graeme Clark, Tommy Cunningham, Neil Mitchell and, since 2018, lead vocalist and former Liberty X singer Kevin Simm, who replaced founding member Marti Pellow after he left during the previous year. A fifth, unofficial member, Graeme Duffin, has been with them since 1983. The band were named Best British Newcomer at the 1988 Brit Awards.
Simply Red are a British soul and pop band formed in Manchester in 1985. The lead vocalist of the band is singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall, who, by the time the band initially disbanded in 2010, was the only original member left. Since the release of their debut studio album Picture Book (1985), they have had ten songs reach top 10 in the UK Singles Chart, including "Holding Back the Years" and "If You Don't Know Me by Now", both of which reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. They have had five number one albums in the UK, with their 1991 album, Stars, being one of the best-selling albums in UK chart history.
Third World is a Jamaican reggae fusion band formed in 1973. Their sound is influenced by soul, funk and disco. Although it has undergone several line-up changes, Stephen "Cat" Coore and Richard Daley have been constant members.
Carlton George Douglas is a Jamaican singer-songwriter and recording artist based in the UK who is best known for the 1974 disco single "Kung Fu Fighting".
"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" is a song written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong for Motown Records in 1966. The first recording of the song to be released was produced by Whitfield for Gladys Knight & the Pips and released as a single in September 1967. It went to number one on the Billboard R&B Singles chart and number two on the Billboard Pop Singles chart and shortly became the biggest selling Motown single up to that time.
"I Can't Help Myself " is a 1965 hit song recorded by the Four Tops for the Motown label.
Steven Nicholas Jolley and Tony Swain were a successful songwriting and record production duo in the United Kingdom in the early to mid-1980s, producing some of the top artists and songs of the era.
Imagination were an English trio, who came to prominence in the early 1980s. They had hits in 28 countries, earning four platinum discs, nine gold discs, and more than a dozen silver discs around the world between 1981 and 1983.
Leslie McGregor "Leee" John is a British musician, singer, and actor of St Lucian descent. He was born in Hackney, London, and educated in New York City, later studying drama at the Anna Scher Theatre School. He is perhaps best known as the lead singer of the soul band Imagination, which had three UK top 10 hits in the early 1980s.
Lester Errol Brown MBE was a British-Jamaican singer and songwriter, best known as the frontman of the soul and funk band Hot Chocolate. In 2004, Brown received the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music.
"When the Lights Go Out" is the second single released from British group Five's debut studio album, Five. It was released in early 1998. The song was co-written by Eliot Kennedy, Tim Lever and Mike Percy, and John McLaughlin. It was co-produced by Eliot Kennedy, Tim Lever and Mike Percy.
Junior Murvin was a Jamaican reggae musician. He is best known for the single "Police and Thieves", produced by Lee "Scratch" Perry in 1976.
Central Line was an R&B and soul band from London, England. They recorded two albums with Mercury in the 1980s and had two hit singles in the United States, as well as one Top 40 hit in their native country.
The Four Tops are an American vocal quartet from Detroit who helped to define the city's Motown sound of the 1960s. The group's repertoire has included soul music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, doo-wop, jazz, and show tunes.
Justin Osuji, best known by his current alias Sonny J Mason, is a Grammy Nominated Scottish singer, songwriter, and producer whose style combines "hints of R&B, soul, funk and disco." Mason was signed as a singer-songwriter to Virgin Records at age 14, and his first four singles, released under the name Justin, all reached Top 40 positions in the UK Singles Chart in the late 1990s. His debut album Finally was released in 2000 on Innocent Records, and that year he was awarded The Young Scottish Achievers Award from Queen Elizabeth II.
British soul, Brit soul, or the British soul invasion, is soul music performed by British artists. Soul has been a major influence on British popular music since the 1960s, and American soul was extremely popular among some youth subcultures, such as mods, skinheads, and the Northern soul movement. In the 1970s, soul gained more mainstream popularity in the UK during the disco era.
Body Talk is the debut album by British soul/dance group Imagination, produced by Steve Jolley and Tony Swain and released in October 1981. It is one of the earliest albums of its genre to have a distinctive 'British' sound as opposed to being an attempt to recreate contemporary American styles.
The Real Thing are a British soul group formed in the 1970s. The band charted internationally with their song "You to Me Are Everything", which reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart. They also had successes a string of British hits such as "Can't Get By Without You" and "Can You Feel the Force?". They returned to mainstream success in 1986 with the Decade Remix of "You to Me Are Everything". By number of sales, they were the most successful black rock/soul act in England during the 1970s. The journalist, author and founder of Mojo magazine Paul Du Noyer credits them alongside Deaf School with restoring "Liverpool's musical reputation in the 1970s" with their success.
One Way was an American R&B and funk band that was popular in the late 1970s, and throughout most of the 1980s, led by singer Al Hudson. The group's most successful record was "Cutie Pie", which reached number 4 on the Billboard Soul Singles chart and number 61 on the pop chart in 1982.
