Private Lives were a British new wave band, [1] active in the early to mid-1980s, who are best known for their 1984 charting single, "Living in a World (Turned Upside Down)".
Private Lives were a British new wave band, [1] active in the early to mid-1980s, who are best known for their 1984 charting single, "Living in a World (Turned Upside Down)".
The band formed in 1980. At its core was vocalist and songwriter John Adams, [1] accompanied by Rick Lane on keyboards and John Reed on bass. [2] The band's debut single, "Where Do I Go", was released by WEA on 1 August 1980. The song was written by Adams and Lane and produced by Adams and David Moore. [3]
The band signed to the Chrysalis Records label, [2] releasing a single, "Because You're Young", on 12 March 1982. [4] It featured Adams on vocals, Lane on keyboards, Reed on bass, Steve Harvey on drums and Bobby Valentino on violin, with guest appearances by Gary Barnacle on saxophone and Paul Harvey on guitar. The song was written by Adams and Lane and produced by Adams and Martin Rushent. The band's third single, "Memory of Your Name", also on Chrysalis was released on 13 August 1982. [5] The lineup on the single featured Adams on vocals and drums, Reed on bass and Lane on keyboards, with guest appearances by Simon Climie on guitar and Guy Baker on bass. It was produced by Tony Visconti. The band gathered a strong live following, but poor record sales led to them being dropped by the label and the band breaking up. [2]
Private Lives re-emerged, this time as a duo with Adams on vocals and Morris Michael on guitar; though Lane was no longer in the band, he continued to co-write most of the band's material with Adams. The group signed with EMI Records [2] and released a single, "Break the Chains", in September 1983. The song was written by Adams and Lane and produced by Peter Wade Schwier. The next single, "Living in a World (Turned Upside Down)", was released in January 1984. It was written by Adams and produced by Adams and Schwier. The single peaked at No. 53 on the UK Singles Chart in February of that year, remaining in the top 100 for five weeks. [6] [7] The success of the single was helped by a support slot on Hall and Oates' tour of the United Kingdom. [2] The subsequent single, "From a River to a Sea", was released in May 1984 but failed to chart. "Living in a World (Turned Upside Down)" was re-recorded, remixed and re-released in October 1984.
Their debut album, Prejudice and Pride, was released by EMI Records in 1984. [8] [9] Among the backing musicians on the band's album were Kajagoogoo bassist Nick Beggs, [10] English singer Kiki Dee [11] and Ricky Wilde. [12]
In 1985, Adams released his debut solo single, "Through the Eyes of Love", which was produced and co-written by Andy Taylor (Duran Duran). He then went onto release a solo album, Strong, on A&M Records in 1987, with one single, "Strip this Heart". All three failed to chart.
In 2016, Lost 80s Records re-released a remastered limited edition of Prejudice and Pride, which included six additional tracks, comprising the band's previous three singles and B-sides.
Though the band are not too well known in their native country, AllMusic music critic Michael Sutton claims that "Living in a World" enjoyed popularity as a turntable hit in Manila, Philippines, [1] and is still played on the radio.
Dexys Midnight Runners are an English pop rock band with soul influences from Birmingham, who achieved major commercial success in the early to mid-1980s. They are best known in the UK for their songs "Come On Eileen" and "Geno", both of which peaked at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart, as well as six other top-20 singles. "Come On Eileen" also topped the US Billboard Hot 100, and with extensive airplay on MTV they are associated with the Second British Invasion.
The Saints were an Australian rock band, originating in Brisbane, Queensland in 1973. The band was founded by Chris Bailey, Ivor Hay (drummer), and Ed Kuepper (guitarist-songwriter). They were initially labeled a punk band because, like American punk rock band the Ramones, the Saints were employing the fast tempos, raucous vocals and "buzzsaw" guitar that characterised early punk rock – although this only reflects a portion of their overall sound. With their debut single "(I'm) Stranded" in September 1976, they became the first punk band outside the US to release a record, ahead of better-known acts the Damned, the Sex Pistols and the Clash. They are considered one of the first and most influential groups of the genre, particularly within Australia.
Kajagoogoo were a British new wave band, best known for their 1983 hit single "Too Shy", which reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart, and the Top 10 in numerous other countries.
Christopher Hamill, known professionally as Limahl, is an English pop singer. He was the lead singer of the pop group Kajagoogoo beginning in 1981, before embarking on a brief solo career, garnering the 1984 hit "The NeverEnding Story", the theme song for the film of the same name.
Chrysalis Records is a British record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ellis-Wright Agency.
Any Trouble are a British rock band, originating from Crewe, England, best known for their early 1980s recordings.
Steve Harley is an English singer and songwriter, best known as frontman of the rock group Cockney Rebel, with whom he still tours, albeit with frequent and significant personnel changes.
Nicholas George Gilder is a British-Canadian musician who first came to prominence as the frontman for the glam rock band Sweeney Todd. He later had a successful solo career as a singer/songwriter.
Anthony Eric James is an English pop musician and producer, who was the bassist for the 1970s–1980s bands Generation X, Sigue Sigue Sputnik and The Sisters of Mercy.
Don't Stand Me Down is the third studio album by English pop band Dexys Midnight Runners, released in September 1985 by Mercury Records. The title of the album was inspired by a line in the album's song "The Waltz".
Jeffrey Gaines is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, he was signed to the Chrysalis Records label in 1990 and released his debut album, Jeffrey Gaines, in 1992.
Belouis Some is a British singer, songwriter and musician. He had UK and Worldwide hits in the 1980s with "Some People", "Imagination" and "Round, Round" from the John Hughes film Pretty in Pink. "Some People" and "Imagination" charted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1985.
Raining Pleasure is an indie/rock band originating from Patras, Greece, often credited with spearheading the newest wave of Greek bands with English lyrics. The band was formed in September 1990 under the name "Rest in Peace". A year after their formation the band started appearing live locally. In 1992, they changed their name to Raining Pleasure and started touring Greece. In 1994, the band self-recorded and released a demo of their work ; since then, most of its songs have been rerecorded and included in their studio albums. For two more years, the band continued touring Greece and, in 1996, had three of its songs released through Pop & Rock 's magazine compilation Dytiki Akti '96.
White Feathers is the debut album by English new wave band Kajagoogoo, released on 18 April 1983 by EMI Records. It is the only album by the band to date to feature original lead vocalist Limahl. The album contains their most successful single, "Too Shy", a UK No. 1 hit in February 1983, as well as two other UK Top 20 hits: "Ooh to Be Ah" and "Hang on Now".
Islands is the second album by English new wave band Kajagoogoo, released on 21 May 1984 on the EMI label.
"Big Apple" is a song written and performed by the British band Kajagoogoo. Released in September 1983, it was the first single to be taken from the band's second album Islands (1984), and their first song without lead singer Limahl, who had been fired from the band earlier that year. From this single onwards, lead vocals were performed by bassist Nick Beggs.
Jean Beauvoir is an American singer, bassist, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer and entertainment executive. He came to prominence in the early 1980s with the punk group the Plasmatics and went on to work with Little Steven, Kiss, the Ramones and as a solo artist.
Don't Suppose is the debut solo album by the English singer Limahl, released in 1984 by EMI Records.
"Ooh to Be Ah" is a song by English band Kajagoogoo, released in 1983 as the second single from their debut album White Feathers, and was produced by Duran Duran keyboardist Nick Rhodes and producer Colin Thurston. It was the band's second biggest hit, peaking for two weeks at number 7 on the UK Singles Chart. It was the follow-up single to "Too Shy" and describes the fact that the clothes you wear do not make you famous.
King Trigger were a British band. They are best known for their single "The River", which charted at No. 57 in the UK Singles Chart, and No. 32 in Australia.