Paul Rutherford | |
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 Rutherford in 1985 | |
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| Born | 8 December 1959 Liverpool, England |
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Paul Rutherford (born 8 December 1959) is an English singer, musician and dancer. He is best known as the dancer, keyboardist, and backing vocalist of the synth-pop band Frankie Goes to Hollywood. [1]
Rutherford was born on 8 December 1959 in Liverpool, but moved to the Cantril Farm district as a child during the 1960s. He attended St Dominic's Roman Catholic school in Huyton along with his twin sister.[ citation needed ]
Rutherford emerged from the 1970s punk scene on Merseyside, finding initial fame with St Helens' band The Spitfire Boys. The Spitfire Boys released a single "British Refugees/Mein Kampf".
Rutherford, then member of Hambi and the Dance, joined Frankie Goes to Hollywood in 1982 after met them performing at "Pickwicks, a pub in the centre of Liverpool". [2] He sang backing vocals to Johnson and also danced, [3] and provided some keyboard parts to the band's recordings. The band ended five years later, and Rutherford attempted a solo career which was short-lived. [4]
Rutherford's 1988 "Get Real", a collaboration with ABC, reached No. 47 in the UK and remained in the charts for four weeks. [5]
Rutherford released a single, a cover of the Chic track "I Want Your Love", and an album, Oh World , in 1989, which were unsuccessful. [6] He released another single, "That Moon", as Paul Rutherford with Pressure Zone in 1991, and worked as a stylist for bands. He appeared in the music videos for "Walking on Broken Glass" (1992) by Annie Lennox and "Give In to Me" (1993) by Michael Jackson. [6]
In late 2010, he released the album The Cowboy Years under the name "Paul Rutherford/Butt Cowboys".[ citation needed ]
Rutherford and his civil union partner Perry live in New Zealand. [7]
Frankie Goes to Hollywood were an English pop band that formed in Liverpool in 1980. They comprised Holly Johnson (vocals), Paul Rutherford, Mark O'Toole (bass), Brian Nash (guitar) and Peter Gill (drums). They were among the first openly gay pop acts and made gay rights and sexuality a theme of their music and performances.
"Relax" is the debut single by English new wave band Frankie Goes to Hollywood, released in the United Kingdom by ZTT Records in 1983.
"Two Tribes" is an anti-war song by British band Frankie Goes to Hollywood, released in the UK by ZTT Records on 4 June 1984. The song was later included on the album Welcome to the Pleasuredome. Presenting a nihilistic, gleeful lyric expressing enthusiasm for nuclear war, it juxtaposes a relentless pounding bass line and guitar riff inspired by American funk and R&B pop with influences of Russian classical music, in an opulent arrangement produced by Trevor Horn.
Liverpool is the second and final studio album by British band Frankie Goes to Hollywood, released in October 1986. Produced by Stephen Lipson and mixed by Trevor Horn, the album showcases a heavy rock sound in contrast to the synth dance tone found in its predecessor, Welcome to the Pleasuredome. The recording sessions would be marred by the radical change in musical direction creating tension within the band.
The Spitfire Boys were the first Liverpool punk band to release a single. The Spitfire Boys were mainly notable for including in their line-up Peter Clarke, who went on to drum for the Slits and later Siouxsie and the Banshees and the Creatures as Budgie, and Paul Rutherford, later better known for being a member of 1980s pop band Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Jones went on to join the Photons, which also included Steve Strange (Visage) and Vince Ely.
The Four Seasons is an American vocal quartet formed in 1960 in Newark, New Jersey. Since 1970, they have also been known at times as Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.
Gerry and the Pacemakers were an English beat group prominent in the 1960s Merseybeat scene. In common with the Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein and recorded by George Martin. Their early successes helped make popular the Merseybeat sound and launch the wider British beat boom of the mid-1960s.
William "Holly" Johnson is an English artist, musician, and writer, best known as the lead vocalist of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, who achieved huge commercial success in the mid-1980s. Prior to that, in the late 1970s he was a bassist for the band Big in Japan. In 1989, Johnson's debut solo album, Blast, reached number one in the UK albums chart. Two singles from the album – "Love Train" and "Americanos" – reached the top 5 of the UK Singles Chart. In the 1990s, he also embarked on writing, painting, and printmaking careers.
Big in Japan were a punk band that emerged from Liverpool, United Kingdom in the late 1970s. They are better known for the later successes of their band members than for their own music.
Paul Melvyn Carrack is an English singer, musician, songwriter and composer who has recorded as both a solo artist and as a member of several popular bands. The BBC dubbed Carrack "The Man with the Golden Voice", while Record Collector remarked: "If vocal talent equalled financial success, Paul Carrack would be a bigger name than legends such as Phil Collins or Elton John."
Gerard Marsden MBE was an English singer-songwriter, musician and television personality, best known for being leader of the Merseybeat band Gerry and the Pacemakers. He was the younger brother of fellow band member Freddie Marsden.
Welcome to the Pleasuredome is the debut studio album by English synth-pop band Frankie Goes to Hollywood, first released on 29 October 1984 by ZTT Records. Originally issued as a vinyl double album, it was assured of a UK chart entry at number one due to reported advance sales of over one million. It actually sold around a quarter of a million copies in its first week. The album was also a top-10 seller internationally in countries such as Switzerland, Sweden, Australia and New Zealand.
"War" is a counterculture-era soul song written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong for the Motown label in 1969. Whitfield first produced the song – a self-evident anti-Vietnam War statement – with The Temptations as the original vocalists. After Motown began receiving repeated requests to release "War" as a single, Whitfield re-recorded the song with Edwin Starr as the vocalist, with the label deciding to withhold the Temptations' version from single release so as not to alienate that group's more conservative fans. Starr's version of "War" was a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1970, and is not only the most successful and well-known record of his career, but it is also one of the most popular protest songs ever recorded. It was one of 161 songs on the no-play list issued by Clear Channel following the events of September 11, 2001.
Carol Kenyon is a British singer. She is best known for her vocals on the Heaven 17 hit song "Temptation", which reached number two in the UK Singles Chart in 1983. When the song was re-released as a remix by Brothers in Rhythm in 1992, again featuring Carol's vocals, it made number 4. She was also featured on the Paul Hardcastle hit "Don't Waste My Time", which got to number 8 in 1986.
"Ferry Cross the Mersey" is a song written by Gerry Marsden. It was first recorded by his band Gerry and the Pacemakers and released in late 1964 in the UK and in 1965 in the United States. It was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, reaching number six in the United States and number eight in the UK. The song is from the film of the same name and was released on its soundtrack album. In the mid-1990s, a musical theatre production, also titled Ferry Cross the Mersey, related Gerry Marsden's Merseybeat days; it premiered in Liverpool and played in the UK, Australia, and Canada.
Francis John Miller is a Scottish rock singer-songwriter and actor.
Liverpool has a lengthy tradition of music both classical and pop. It is well known for the Beatles. Its pop and rock music scene has also been important in the development of a number of other bands and artists since the 1950s.
"British Refugee" is the debut single released by the 1970s Liverpool punk band the Spitfire Boys, on RKO Records on 7 October 1977. It was the only disc released by this line-up, who comprised vocalist Paul Rutherford, guitarist David Littler, bassist Pete Griffiths and drummer Peter Clarke. At the time, they were one of the few punk bands from Merseyside who released a record, apart from Big in Japan and Chuddy Nuddies. Two months after its release, the band split up, but was reformed in Wales by 1979 by David Littler along with other ex-Nylonz members.
Oh World is the sole solo studio album by Paul Rutherford, the former backing singer of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, released in 1989.
"Get Real" is the debut solo single by English singer Paul Rutherford, released on 26 September 1988 from his debut solo album, Oh World (1989). A collaboration with ABC, the song was written by Rutherford, Martin Fry, Mark White and David Clayton, and was produced by White and Fry. "Get Real" reached number 47 in the UK Singles Chart and remained in the top 100 for four weeks. The song received an airplay ban by the BBC.
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