The Starjets | |
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | Tango Brigade |
| Origin | Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Genres | Punk rock, power pop |
| Years active | 1976–1980; 2019–present |
| Labels | Epic |
| Members | Terry Sharpe Paul Bowen Liam L'Estrange Sean Martin |
The Starjets are a power pop group from Belfast, Northern Ireland. [1]
The band was formed in June 1976. [1] The Starjets consists of guitarist/vocalist Terry Sharpe, guitarist/vocalist Paul Bowen, bassist Sean Martin and drummer Liam L'Estrange. [1] The group sported a mix of punk and mainstream pop influences. [1] Early sets consisted of such 1960s pop standards as "Please Please Me" by The Beatles and "Sugar, Sugar" by The Archies. [1] They opened for groups as diverse as the Bay City Rollers and Stiff Little Fingers.
The group secured a major record label recording contract with Epic Records; [1] they were signed by Muff Winwood. They released a number of singles in 1979, with their only chart hit being "War Stories" b/w "Do the Push", which peaked at No. 51 [2] on the UK Singles Chart. [3] The A-side is a celebration of World War II comic book stories, such as those of Sgt. Fury. They released one album, 1979's God Bless the Starjets, but it failed commercially. [1] Following the release of the "Shiraleo" single in March 1980, the band changed its name to Tango Brigade and released one more single, "Donegal", before finally splitting up. [1] After a brief stint performing vocal duties with the Angelic Upstarts (most notably taking lead vocals on the song "Reason Why?" from the album of the same title), Sharpe went on co-write a couple of tracks on Bananarama's debut album Deep Sea Skiving , [4] [5] before scoring a Top 20 hit in 1988 with his new band The Adventures. [6] [7] [1]
The Starjets reformed in January 2019 and are performing live again. In 2020, Billie Joe Armstrong recorded a version of "War Stories" for his covers album No Fun Mondays . [8] In March 2022, they appeared on The Heritage Chart Show with Mike Read , [9] [10] [11] as broadcast on Local and Talking Pictures TV, [12] performing live in the studio. The Starjets were voted the most successful Heritage Chart Act of 2021, [13] with singles such as 2020's "Geordie Best" [8] and 2022's "King Upon a London Hill" making it to the number one spot. [14]
As of 2025, the Starjets [15] is comprised only of Paul Bowen, as Terry Sharpe has reformed The Adventures [16] with Pat and Eileen Gribben, for a new album called Once More With Feeling.
Bananarama are an English pop group formed in London in 1980. The group, originally a trio, consisted of friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when the trio became a duo. Their success on both pop and dance charts saw them listed in the Guinness World Records for achieving the world's highest number of chart entries by an all-female group. Between 1982 and 2009, they had 32 singles reach the Top 50 of the UK Singles Chart.
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Deep Sea Skiving is the debut studio album by British vocal group Bananarama, released on 7 March 1983 by London Records. The album peaked at number seven on the UK Albums Chart and was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
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"Young at Heart" is a song by British female music trio Bananarama, released on their debut album, Deep Sea Skiving (1983). The song was later recorded by Scottish pop group the Bluebells, whose version reached the top of the UK Singles Chart after a re-release in 1993.
The Adventures are a Northern Irish rock/pop band, formed in Belfast in 1984 who had a number of hits during the 1980s and early 1990s.
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