Gene Francis Alan Pitney was an American singer-songwriter and musician.
Soft Cell are an English synth-pop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. The duo consists of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball. The band are primarily known for their 1981 hit version of "Tainted Love" and their platinum-selling debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret.
Vasiliki Papathanasiou, generally known as Vicky Leandros, is a Greek singer living in Germany. She is the daughter of singer, musician and composer Leandros Papathanasiou. In 1967 she achieved worldwide fame after gaining fourth place for the country of Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "L'amour est bleu", which became a worldwide hit. She further established her career by winning the Eurovision Song Contest in 1972 with the song "Après Toi", again representing Luxembourg.
Peter Mark "Marc" Almond is an English singer best known from the synthpop/new wave duo Soft Cell and for his distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. He has also had a diverse career as a solo artist. His collaborations include a duet with Gene Pitney on the 1989 UK number one single "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart". Almond's career spanning over four decades has enjoyed critical and commercial acclaim, and he has sold over 30 million records worldwide. He spent a month in a coma after a near-fatal motorcycle accident in 2004 and later became a patron of the brain trauma charity Headway.
"Tainted Love" is a song composed by Ed Cobb, formerly of American group the Four Preps, which was originally recorded by Gloria Jones in 1964. It attained worldwide fame after being covered and reworked by British synthpop duo Soft Cell in 1981 and has since been covered by numerous groups and artists. A version by Impedance reached #14 on the Canadian Dance charts, April 14, 1990.
"I'm Gonna Be Strong" is a song written by the songwriting duo Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. It was first recorded by Frankie Laine in 1963 and released as a single on Columbia Records. However, the song did not become a major hit until 1964, when Gene Pitney released his version as a single. It was also a single released by the 1980 band Blue Angel, with lead vocals provided by future star Cyndi Lauper. This release was prior to Lauper's solo career; however, Lauper re-recorded the track and released it as a single in 1994. The song was also featured on 1982's Quiet Lies album by Grammy winner Juice Newton. Though Newton never released the song as a single, her remake was later added as a bonus track to her first Greatest Hits collection.
Living Years is the second album by Mike + The Mechanics, released in 1988. The album reached number 13 on the US Billboard 200 and number 2 on the UK Albums Chart.
Roger Frederick Cook is an English singer, songwriter and record producer, who has written many hit records for other recording artists. He has also had a successful recording career in his own right.
"Get Down on It" is a 1981 song by American band Kool & the Gang. It was originally released on their Something Special album in 1981. The single was certified Gold by the RIAA.
Roger John Reginald Greenaway, is an English singer, songwriter and record producer, best known for his collaborations with Roger Cook and Tony Burrows. His compositions have included "You've Got Your Troubles" and the transatlantic million selling songs "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing " and "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress". They were the first UK songwriting partnership to be granted an Ivor Novello Award as 'Songwriters of the Year' in two successive years.
Bob Kraushaar is an English pop music record producer specializing in mixing. Kraushaar has mixed and produced commercially successful songs and albums for numerous British and international artists. His first industry appointment was as a runner for Trevor Horn. He graduated to tape-operating at Marcus Studios but moved back to the SARM Studios when they expanded and equipped with SSLs. His first chart success came with Johnny Hates Jazz, and he was soon known as a mixing specialist having made his mark with ZTT artists such as Propaganda and Art of Noise. SARM's associated ZTT label was outputting multiple 12-inch singles requiring alternative versions, and many of these were mixed by Kraushaar. He went on to work with Paul McCartney, ABC, The Human League, Erasure, and perhaps his most regular client, Pet Shop Boys. 1985 saw Kraushaar mixing "Intermission ", a track on Anne Pigalle's album Everything Could Be So Perfect.
Memorabilia – The Singles is a compilation album of songs by the British singer/songwriter Marc Almond, both as a solo artist and with his partner Dave Ball as the synthpop duo Soft Cell. It was released in 1991 and reached number eight in the UK Albums Chart. The album was promoted by the singles "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye '91" and "Tainted Love '91".
"Down in the Boondocks" is a song written by Joe South, and first recorded by American artist Billy Joe Royal as his debut single. It was a hit in 1965, reaching No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In the UK, it hit No. 38 on the Record Retailer chart. In Canada, it reached No. 1 on the RPM chart, on August 9, 1965. The song is the title track of Royal's second album, Down in the Boondocks.
"I Like It Loud" is a song by Marc Acardipane Presents Marshall Masters Feat. The Ultimate MC, released in 1997.
The Stars We Are is the fourth studio album by British singer/songwriter Marc Almond. It was released in September 1988, reaching number 41 on the UK Albums Chart, and 144 on the US Billboard 200 album chart. It is Almond's highest selling solo album in both countries and was certified silver by the BPI. The Stars We Are includes the singles "Tears Run Rings", "Bitter Sweet", "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart" and "Only the Moment".
"Only Love Can Break a Heart" is a popular song from 1962, performed by the American singer-songwriter Gene Pitney. The song was written by Hal David (words) and Burt Bacharach (music) and appears on Pitney's second album Only Love Can Break a Heart.
"Days of Pearly Spencer" is a 1967 song written and originally performed by Northern Irish singer-songwriter David McWilliams, and included on his second album David McWilliams Vol. 2. Although it charted in several countries in continental Europe and in Australia, the original version was not a chart success in either the United Kingdom or Ireland. The song was rerecorded by McWilliams with a new arrangement in his album Working for the Government (1987). In 1992, a cover version by English pop singer Marc Almond reached number four on the UK Singles Chart and number eight in Ireland.
Town Without Pity is a song written by composer Dimitri Tiomkin and lyricist Ned Washington. The track, produced by Aaron Schroeder, was originally recorded by Gene Pitney for the 1961 film of the same title. In the US, the Gene Pitney recording went to #13 on the Hot 100.
"Trains and Boats and Planes" is a song written by composer Burt Bacharach and lyricist Hal David. Hit versions were recorded by Bacharach in 1965, by Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas in the same year, and by Dionne Warwick in 1966.
"Looking Through the Eyes of Love" is a song written and composed by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. It first became a popular hit in 1965 by Gene Pitney. In 1972, The Partridge Family recorded a hit cover version.
