Fanfare Records

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Fanfare Records was a British record label that was founded by Iain Burton (dancer in The Young Generation, manager of Arlene Phillips and co-founder of Hot Gossip) and Simon Cowell (which made Cowell's first break in the music industry). Burton and Cowell worked together at Fanfare Records for eight years. The label [1] was most successful during the 1980s. The label's biggest success came with Sinitta.

Contents

History

In the 1980s, the company launched, and the first release was "Don't Beat Around The Bush" by Hot Gossip in 1984. [2] This was after the departure of Sarah Brightman, and the new incarnation of the band which included Sinitta, prior to her recording solo with Fanfare. The next release was "I Believe in Dreams" by Jackie Rawe, [3] an artist previously part of the band Shakatak. The song did not reach the UK singles chart.

Sinitta's first solo release for Fanfare was "Cruising", but it also failed to chart. However, in 1986, Sinitta's hit "So Macho" became a success for the label, with the single spending twenty eight weeks in the UK singles chart, and finally peaking at no. 2. [4] It went on to become the year's tenth biggest selling single. [5] The follow-up was less successful, and "Feels Like the First Time" flopped at no. 45. [4] The following year, however, Sinitta teamed up with Stock Aitken Waterman who wrote and produced her hits "Toy Boy" (no. 4), "G.T.O" (no. 15), "Cross My Broken Heart" (no. 6) and "I Don't Believe in Miracles" (no. 22). [4] In December 1987, Fanfare Records issued its first album, Sinitta's debut Sinitta! , which gained a British Phonographic Industry (BPI) Gold award, and peaked at no. 34 in the UK Albums Chart. [4]

Other releases on the label included a brief Gloria Gaynor revival with her recording of "Be Soft With Me Tonight", remixed by Stock Aitken Waterman which did not chart, the group Mystic issued "Ritmo De La Roche", whilst Rondò Veneziano failed to chart with "Venice in Peril". [6]

Fanfare Records signed the pop duo Yell! (Paul Varney and Daniel James) in 1989. The group was created by pop manager Jeff Chegwin and scored a no. 10 hit with their cover version of Dan Hartman's "Instant Replay".

Sinitta's hits gradually dried up for the label, with her last Top 10 hit "Right Back Where We Started From" reaching no. 4 in June 1989. The follow ups were less successful, although her cover of Robert Knight's "Love on a Mountain Top" made no. 20. Sinitta's second album Wicked! reached no. 52. [4]

Fanfare Records licensed from PWL Records two compilation releases, The Hit Factory Volume 2 and The Hit Factory Volume 3 . Both volumes sold well, with Volume 2 achieving a BPI Platinum disc, and Volume 3 going gold after reaching no. 3 in the UK Compilation Albums Chart. Fanfare released another compilation in association with Just Seventeen magazine in 1989, called Just Seventeen Heartbeats which made no. 3.

In 1992 the Fanfare back catalogue and signed artistes were sold to Bertelsmann Music Group Fanfares Distributor, where Cowell also followed, eventually forming his own label, S Records.

See also

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The Hit Factory: The Best of Stock Aitken Waterman is a compilation album released in 1987 by Stylus Records in association with PWL Records. The collection brought together some the biggest hits by British production team Stock Aitken Waterman. It reached #18 in the UK Top 100 Album Chart and achieved a Gold BPI award.

<i>The Hit Factory Volume 3</i> 1989 compilation album by various artists

The Hit Factory Volume 3 is a compilation album collecting the biggest hits of the award-winning British music production trio Stock Aitken Waterman during their most successful era. It was released by PWL Records in association with Fanfare Records in June 1989 and reached #3 in the compilation Top 20, achieving a Gold BPI award.

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A Ton of Hits : The Very Best of Stock Aitken Waterman is a compilation album released in the UK in November 1990 bringing together the hits of Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) in a continuously sequenced mix. It was released by Chrysalis Records on their subsidiary label Dover Records and followed the previous "Best of Stock Aitken Waterman" collections; The Hit Factory: The Best of Stock Aitken Waterman, The Hit Factory Volume 2 and The Hit Factory Volume 3. The album reached #7 in the compilation Top 20. Notably absent from this release are Bananarama and Dead or Alive, presumably due to licensing issues, whilst including nine songs by Jason Donovan, and ten by Kylie Minogue.

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"So Macho" is a song by American-British singer Sinitta. The song was released in 1985 as her self-titled debut album's second single.

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"Toy Boy" is a song by American-British singer Sinitta. Written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman, it was released on 25 July 1987 and became the fourth single in her self-titled debut album, which came out on 26 December of the same year. It became a hit in the UK and in other European countries where it reached the top ten.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GTO (Sinitta song)</span> 1987 single by Sinitta

"GTO" is a song by American-born singer Sinitta. Produced by Stock Aitken Waterman, it was released in 1987 as the fifth single from her self-titled debut album. The song is about a girl whose boyfriend cares more about his car, in the music video a Ferrari 250 GTO, than her. The song was a top-20 hit in the UK, peaking at number 15, and reached the top ten in several European countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cross My Broken Heart (Sinitta song)</span> 1988 single by Sinitta

"Cross My Broken Heart" is a song by American-born pop singer Sinitta. It was released in March 1988 by Fanfare Records as the sixth and final single from her self-titled debut album (1987). The song was written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman, and was successful in the UK where it was a top 10 hit, peaking at number six. It was certified silver by the BPI. The B-side contains a remix of her 1987 hit, "Toy Boy".

<i>Wicked</i> (Sinitta album) 1989 studio album by Sinitta

Wicked is the second studio album by Anglo–American singer Sinitta. It was released in 1989. It was less successful than her 1987 self-titled debut, but included the hit single "Right Back Where We Started From" which reached number 4 in the UK and was her only charting hit in her native US, peaking at number 84 on Billboard's Hot 100 Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Don't Believe in Miracles (Sinitta song)</span> 1988 single by Sinitta

"I Don't Believe In Miracles" is a song by American-British singer Sinitta, released in September 1988 by Fanfare Records as the first single from her second album, Wicked (1989). The song was written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman, and was a top 30 hit in UK and Ireland. It was also her last single produced by Stock Aitken Waterman, as after this release, Sinitta moved away from working directly with them although she continued to record at PWL under the direction of mixmasters Pete Hammond, Phil Harding and Ian Curnow.

Yell! were a British pop duo who had a hit single in 1990 with a cover of "Instant Replay".

<i>Pete Waterman Presents the Hit Factory</i> 2012 compilation album by Various Artists

Pete Waterman Presents The Hit Factory is a compilation album released in July 2012 collecting 39 hits produced by Pete Waterman. Included are a vast number of tracks that were written and produced by Waterman along with Mike Stock and Matt Aitken during their most successful period working as Stock Aitken Waterman, becoming among the most successful music producers of all-time.

References

  1. ↑ "Television, production, broadcast and radio industry news". Broadcast. 27 September 2007. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  2. ↑ "Hot Gossip – Don't Beat Around The Bush". Discogs.
  3. ↑ "Jackie Rawe". Jackierawe.com. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  5. ↑ "1980s Singles Chart Archive". everyHit.com. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  6. ↑ "Fanfare Records". Discogs. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
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