The Invasion of the Spacepeckers | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1984 | |||
Genre | Euro disco, synthpop | |||
Length | 34:27 | |||
Label | Break Records | |||
VideoKids chronology | ||||
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The Invasion of the Spacepeckers is the debut album of the Dutch Euro disco/Italo disco duo VideoKids. It was released by Break Records on vinyl and tape in 1984, and unofficially on CD in 1995. The album also contained a large "Happy Birthday" calendar, in which children could write birthday wishes to their friends. [1] [2] In 1985, the album was released at the Midem music festival, and went on to sell 1.1 million copies. [3] VideoKids received the Buma Export Award for their international success with the album. [4]
Two music videos for "Woodpeckers from Space" and "Do the Rap" were produced and released, both of which feature Peter Slaghuis, Bianca Bonelli, and Tico Tac, the band's cartoon mascot.
In 2014, Cat Music licensed The Invasion of the Spacepeckers to MiruMir Music Publishing for release in Russia. The reissued album included the original "Happy Birthday" calendar and Tico Tac: Spacepecker (a promotional comic strip drawn by Bjørn Frank Jensen), and expanded artwork recreated from the original art by Daniel Maslovsky. Maslovsky was also the producer of the album. He did an interview with Aart Mol, which was later published on Zvuki as part of a promotional campaign for the album's release. It also included a comic strip named Tico Tac: The Woodpecker from Space. [5] [6] The album was reissued again in 2024 on Maslovsky's new label Maschina Records in Estonia, on 2CD with rare tracks and unreleased mixes in February, and on different coloured LP records in March. [7] [8] [9]
The Offspring is an American punk rock band from Garden Grove, California, formed in 1984. Originally formed under the name Manic Subsidal, the band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Bryan "Dexter" Holland, lead guitarist Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman, bassist Todd Morse, multi-instrumentalist Jonah Nimoy and drummer Brandon Pertzborn. The Offspring is often credited for reviving mainstream interest in punk rock in the 1990s. During their 40-year career, the Offspring has released ten studio albums and sold more than 40 million records, making them one of the best-selling punk rock bands.
Woody Woodpecker is a cartoon character that appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz Studio and Universal Animation Studio and distributed by Universal Pictures since 1940. Woody's last theatrical cartoon was produced by Walter Lantz in 1972.
High 'n' Dry is the second studio album by the English rock band Def Leppard, released on 6 July 1981. High 'n' Dry was Pete Willis' last full-time album with Def Leppard. It charted at No. 38 on the Billboard 200 and No. 26 on the UK Albums Chart. "High 'n' Dry ", ranked No. 33 on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs. Following the success of Pyromania, the album re-entered in the US chart and reached No. 72 in 1983.
Chicago 17 is the fourteenth studio album by American rock band Chicago, released on May 14, 1984. It was the group's second release for Full Moon/Warner Bros. Records, their second album to be produced by David Foster and their last with founding bassist/vocalist Peter Cetera. As of 2023, it remains Chicago's best-selling album, with over 6.1 million copies being sold in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan. Four singles were released from the album, all of which peaked in the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The success of the music videos for "Stay the Night", "You're the Inspiration", and "Hard Habit to Break" on MTV propelled Chicago 17 to achieve an RIAA certification of six times platinum.
Odds & Sods is an album of studio outtakes by British rock band the Who. It was released by Track Records in the UK and Track/MCA in the US in October 1974. Ten of the recordings on the original eleven-song album were previously unreleased. The album reached No. 10 on the UK charts and No. 15 in the US.
Rubberen Robbie is a Dutch band from Leiden, Netherlands, best known for a parodic medley of Dutch-language songs that was a number-one hit in the Netherlands in 1981. It is the continuation of a successful 1970s glam rock outfit, Catapult; its members also formed a successful production and songwriting team, Cat Music, responsible for a number of Dutch hit songs.
Freek Show is the second studio album by American hip hop duo Twiztid. It was released on October 31, 2000 via Psychopathic Records and The Island Def Jam Music Group. Production was handled by Systasyrosis Soundsquad and Shaggy 2 Dope. It features guest appearances from Insane Clown Posse, Blaze Ya Dead Homie, Anybody Killa, Three 6 Mafia and Legz Diamond.
Peter Slaghuis was a Dutch DJ, record producer and remixer, whose work was mostly released under the name Hithouse.
Penetrator is the eighth studio album by American rock musician Ted Nugent. It was released in February 1984 by Atlantic Records.
VideoKids were a 1980s Euro disco duo from the Netherlands, formed in 1984 and consisting of Peter Slaghuis (1961-1991) and Bianca Bonelli (1964-1995). The band's members also had solo careers on their own, such as Peter being a famous DJ and remixer, and Bianca having a solo single called "Je Veux L'amour ". They released two albums, The Invasion of the Spacepeckers in 1984 and On Satellite in 1985. All of their songs were produced and written by Catapult musicians Aart Mol, Cees Bergman, Elmer Veerhoff, Erwin van Prehn and Geertjan Hessing, and recorded at Cat Music.
Fantastique was a pop music duo from the Netherlands in 1981-1983, consisting of Dick van Dam and Astrid Leuwener. Their singles at the time, "Mama Told Me", "Costa Blanca", "Maria No Mas", "Your Hand In My Hand" and "Everybody Loves The Sunshine", sold successfully worldwide. They released one album, Fantastique in 1982. All of their songs were produced and written by Catapult musicians Aart Mol, Cees Bergman, Elmer Veerhoff, Erwin van Prehn and Geertjan Hessing, and recorded at Cat Music.
Chronic Future is the self-titled debut album album by American rap rock band Chronic Future. It was released on September 9, 1996, with the members of the band having an average age of only 15. The album became an instant success locally, but never reached the mainstream.
"Rock Box" is a song by the American hip hop group Run-DMC. The song was produced by Larry Smith and Russell Simmons and released by Profile Records in March 1984. Following the popularity of their previous two singles "Hard Times" (1983) and "It's Like That" (1983), Profile Records head suggested to the producers and group that they should attempt to record an album as they already had four songs ready, and releasing a few more would not hurt them. Despite speculating low sales from the label and the group not feeling that hip hop was a genre appropriate for a full-length album, they were given an advance to start recording. This led to Run-DMC members Joseph "Run" Simmons and Darryl "DMC" McDaniels going through their rhyme book to develop new songs, one of which would become "Rock Box".
Ten Thousand Lightyears is the seventh studio album by Boney M. and the first to feature new member Reggie Tsiboe, who had taken over Bobby Farrell's role as the band's leading man in early 1982.
Franke and the Knockouts was an American pop rock band, formed in New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States, and fronted by singer/songwriter Franke Previte.
Digital Emotion is a 1980s Euro disco group from the Netherlands, formed in 1983. Performers were Steven Koswal, Chickie de Beer and Myrna Balrak; Jean François Columbo, De Beer and Balrak; and Steve de Goede, De Beer and Marlinda van der Hoff. Their first singles from 1983, "Get Up, Action" and "Go Go Yellow Screen", sold successfully worldwide. They released two albums, Digital Emotion in 1984 and Outside In The Dark in 1985. All of their songs were produced and written by Catapult musicians Aart Mol, Cees Bergman, Elmer Veerhoff, Erwin van Prehn and Geertjan Hessing, and recorded at Cat Music.
Café Society was a South African group from the 1980s best known for their two cover songs "Somebody to Love" and "Woodpeckers from Space".
A Kid Named Cudi is the debut mixtape by American rapper Kid Cudi, released on July 17, 2008, by New York City streetwear brand 10.Deep, in conjunction with independent record label Fool's Gold Records. Considered his breakout project, the mixtape marked Cudi's first official release, issued prior to his debut album Man on the Moon: The End of Day (2009). Following the release of the mixtape, Cudi met his now-mentor, longtime friend and frequent collaborator Kanye West in New York in 2006 and recorded this album the following year.
"Woodpeckers from Space" is a song by the Dutch eurodisco duo VideoKids. A synth-pop cover of "The Woody Woodpecker Song", it was released in 1984 by Boni Records through their sublabel Break Records as the duo's debut single, as well as the sixth track from their debut studio album, The Invasion of the Spacepeckers (1984).
Bear Witness is the first and only studio album by Australian pop rock band I'm Talking. The line-up was Zan Abeyratne and Kate Ceberano on co-lead vocals, Stephen Charlesworth on keyboards, Ian Cox on saxophone, Robert Goodge on lead guitar, Barbara Hogarth on bass guitar and Cameron Newman on drums. It was released in August 1986 on Regular Records and reached No. 14 on the Kent Music Report albums chart. All eight tracks were co-written by Cox (lyrics) and Goodge (music). The album yielded three singles, "Do You Wanna Be?" (May), "Holy Word" (July) and "How Can It Be?" (October).