Mr. Mister

Last updated

Mr. Mister
Origin Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
Genres
Years active1982–1990, 2023 (one-off reunion) [2]
Labels
  • RCA
  • Little Dume
Spinoff of Pages
Past members Richard Page
Steve George
Pat Mastelotto
Steve Farris

Mr. Mister was an American rock band from Phoenix, Arizona, active from 1982 until 1990. The band consisted of Richard Page on lead vocals and bass guitar, Steve George on keyboards/backing vocals, Pat Mastelotto on acoustic and electronic drums/percussion and Steve Farris on guitars/backing vocals. Mr. Mister was the successor to the band Pages, fronted by Page and George from 1978 to 1981.

Contents

Early work

Although formed in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, [3] Mr. Mister was based in Los Angeles, California. [3] Richard Page had previously worked as a session musician (for Quincy Jones) and had composed for Michael Jackson, Rick Springfield, Donna Summer, Kenny Loggins, Al Jarreau, and many more.

In 1978, Page and his childhood friend Steve George founded the band Pages in Phoenix, Arizona. Pages explored a pop fusion sound, with a changing lineup of session musicians. Although Pages had a minor hit single with "I Do Believe in You", and its three albums garnered favorable reviews, the group had little commercial success. After disbanding Pages in 1981, Page and George focused on songwriting and studio session work for pop artists ranging from Laura Branigan to Village People.

By 1982, Page and George began putting together a more pop-oriented group with a permanent lineup, rounded out by drummer Pat Mastelotto and guitarist Steve Farris. All four members had done extensive session work for other artists and brought numerous influences to the band. The initial plan was to bring in a fifth member, a bass guitarist, but after realizing that Page, who was originally slated to be solely the lead singer, could also play bass, the members decided to remain a four-piece. [4]

Mainstream success

When the first Mr. Mister album, I Wear the Face , was released by RCA Records in 1984, Page was offered the chance to replace Bobby Kimball as lead singer of Toto, and later was offered Peter Cetera's place in Chicago; he refused both offers. [5]

Their second album, 1985's Welcome to the Real World —with lyrics from Page's cousin John Lang—was the breakthrough for Mr. Mister. All three singles were in the top 10, two of which hit No. 1 on the U.S. pop charts—"Broken Wings" and "Kyrie". The former was inspired by the book of the same title by Kahlil Gibran. [6] They had several No. 1 MTV videos, and performed at the first MTV Spring Break show in 1986. That year, Mr. Mister had two Grammy Award nominations, including Best Pop Band (which was awarded to the "We Are the World" ensemble, USA for Africa).

During this time, Mr. Mister toured with other popular acts including Don Henley, The Bangles, Eurythmics, Tina Turner, Heart, and Adam Ant. The band's third album was Go On... , which was not a large commercial success, and delivered only one top 40 hit in the U.S.

During the 1980s, the group wrote and/or performed songs for several movies, including the title song for Stand and Deliver , and "Is It Love" as the outro track for Stakeout . "Don't Slow Down" appeared in A Fine Mess . The band also made concert appearances with the pop rock band the Bangles. [7]

Guitarist Steve Farris left in 1988. The remaining band members teamed up with Christian recording artist Paul Clark and acted as his backup band for Clark's 1988 indie release Awakening from the Western Dream. Next, the band began working on a fourth album, Pull, with session guitarists Buzz Feiten, Trevor Rabin, Doug Macaskill and Peter McRea. The album was completed in 1990, but RCA Records decided not to release it. Soon afterwards, the band broke up. The album remained unreleased for 20 years, although one track ("Waiting in My Dreams") appeared on a 2001 greatest hits collection by the band. On November 23, 2010, the remastered album was finally released by the band, in collaboration with Sony Music, on Richard Page's independent label, Little Dume Recordings.

Long after their dissolution, the band was referred to in the song "Hey, Soul Sister" by Train, with the line "Ain't that Mr. Mister on the radio, stereo?"

On May 16, 2023 (Richard Page's 70th birthday), all 4 members of Mr. Mister performed "Broken Wings" together, their first performance together in over 34 years. [8]

Band members

Discography

Studio albums

Awards and nominations

YearAssociationCategoryWorkResult
1986 Grammy Awards Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group "Broken Wings"Nominated
1987 Grammy Award for Best Gospel Performance "Healing Waters"Nominated

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Steve Farris is an American rock guitarist. He was the lead guitarist for Mr. Mister from 1982 until he left in 1988. He was later a guitarist for Spooky Tooth. Farris played the guitar solo on the song Creatures of the Night, released by Kiss. He was offered a spot in the band but turned it down as he couldn't sing.

References

  1. 1 2 Harrison, Thomas (August 24, 2017). Pop Goes the Decade: The Eighties. ABC-CLIO. p. 87. ISBN   9781440836671 – via Google Books.
  2. 1 2 Huey, Steve. "Mr. Mister Biography". AllMusic . Retrieved March 30, 2009.
  3. 1 2 "Mr. Mister Biography". Rovi Corporation. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  4. ↑ Dehenau, Peter. "History – Mr. Mister". Users.skynet.be. Retrieved March 30, 2009.
  5. ↑ Forchhammer, Georg (December 1, 2008). "Richard Page interview". Blue Desert. Retrieved March 30, 2009.
  6. ↑ "History of Mr. Mister – Pages – 3rd Matinee – Richard Page". Users.skynet.be. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  7. ↑ Hochanadel, Michael (July 26, 1986). "Mr. Mister, Bangles Deliver More Than Young SPAC Croud Expects". Schenectady Gazette . Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  8. ↑ "This hasn't happened in about 12,500 days - all four misters together on Richard Pages BD! #mrmr". YouTube.com. May 20, 2023. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
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