The Go-Go's were an American all-female rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. Except for short periods when other musicians joined briefly, the band has had a relatively stable lineup consisting of Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar and keyboards, Belinda Carlisle on lead vocals, Gina Schock on drums, Kathy Valentine on bass, and Jane Wiedlin on rhythm guitar. They are widely considered the most successful all-female rock band of all time.
The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, Jerry Dammers on keyboards, Lynval Golding and Roddy Radiation on guitars, Horace Panter on bass, John Bradbury on drums, and Dick Cuthell and Rico Rodriguez on horns. The band wore mod-style "1960s period rude boy outfits ". Their music combines the danceable rhythms of ska and rocksteady with the energy and attitude of punk. Lyrically, their work presented overt political and social commentary.
More Specials is the second album by English ska band the Specials, released by 2 Tone Records in September 1980. After the success of the band's debut album, band member Jerry Dammers assumed the role as the band's leader and stirred them into expanding their 2 Tone sound into other genres of music, most prominently a lounge music and easy listening style inspired by Muzak. Several band members disagreed with Dammers' vision and brought their own influences to the album, including from northern soul and rockabilly, contributing to an eclectic sound palette. The relations between band members continued to sour into the album's accompanying tour and most of the band departed in 1981.
Beauty and the Beat is the debut album from California new wave band the Go-Go's. Released July 14, 1981 on the I.R.S. Records label, the album reached number one on Billboard's Top LPs & Tape chart in March 1982, bolstered by its two big Hot 100 hit singles: "Our Lips Are Sealed" and "We Got the Beat", released in 1980, but in a different version. After a long and steady climb, Beauty and the Beat reached number one in the album chart dated March 6, 1982, the week before "We Got the Beat" entered the Top Ten of the Hot 100. The album stayed at the top for six consecutive weeks, and ranked second in Billboard's year-end Top 100 of 1982. The LP sold in excess of two million copies, and was RIAA-certified double platinum, qualifying it as one of the most successful debut albums of all time. Critically acclaimed, it has been described as one of the "cornerstone albums of American new wave".
Terence Edward Hall was a British musician who came to prominence as the lead singer of the 2-tone band the Specials, and later recorded with groups such as Fun Boy Three, the Colourfield, Terry, Blair & Anouchka, and Vegas.
Neville Eugenton Staple, sometimes credited as Neville Staples, is a Jamaican-born English singer, known for his work with the 2 Tone ska band the Specials, the pop group Fun Boy Three, as well as with his own group, the Neville Staple Band. He also performed with Ranking Roger in the supergroup Special Beat.
Fun Boy Three were an English new wave pop band, active from 1981 to 1983 and formed by singers Terry Hall, Neville Staple and Lynval Golding after they left the Specials. They released two albums and had seven UK top 20 hits.
Oxygen is the second album by American group Wild Orchid, released in 1998. Since its release, the album has sold over 200,000 copies worldwide.
Jane Marie Genevieve Wiedlin is an American musician and singer, best known as the co-founder, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist of the new wave band The Go-Go's. She is also the drummer and backup vocalist of the rock band The Hex Girls. She also had a successful solo career.
"Ghost Town" is a song by the British two-tone band the Specials, released on 12 June 1981. The song spent three weeks at number one and 11 weeks in total in the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart.
"Our Lips Are Sealed" is a song co-written by Jane Wiedlin, guitarist of the Go-Go's, and Terry Hall, singer of the Specials and Fun Boy Three.
In Outer Space is the twelfth studio album by American pop band Sparks, released in April 1983 by Atlantic Records. Brothers Ron and Russell Mael of Sparks self-produced the album.
Lynval Golding is a Jamaican-born British musician. His family moved from Jamaica to Gloucester, before moving to Coventry when he was eighteen. He is currently living in Gig Harbor, Washington. He is best known as a rhythm guitarist and vocalist with the British 2 Tone Records band, The Specials.
Waiting is the second and final studio album by English new wave pop band Fun Boy Three, released in 1983 by Chrysalis Records. It featured the hit single "Our Lips Are Sealed", co-written by Terry Hall and previously recorded by the Go-Go's. It was produced by David Byrne.
The Fun Boy Three is the debut album by English new wave pop band the Fun Boy Three, a band consisting of three ex-members of the UK ska band the Specials: Terry Hall, Neville Staples and Lynval Golding. It was released in 1982 by Chrysalis Records and was re-released in 1999 by EMI as Fame. Several songs on the album feature backing vocals by the female pop trio Bananarama. Three singles were released from the album: "The Lunatics ", "T'aint What You Do ", and a remix of "The Telephone Always Rings".
The Vegas Years is a compilation of cover songs by American rock band Everclear. It was released on April 15, 2008, via Capitol Records.
The Best of the Specials & Fun Boy Three is an album by Neville Staple comprising new recordings of the greatest hits of The Specials and Fun Boy Three, released in 2006. The album is simply a reprint of the 2000 album Ghost Town - 13 Hits of The Specials and Fun Boy Three, which had already been reissued as The Very Best of The Specials and Fun Boy Three.
Tangled is the third studio album by Jane Wiedlin, released in 1990 on EMI Records. It was also her third solo album after leaving new wave group The Go-Go's. The album was produced by Peter Collins, with the track "99 Ways" being co-produced with Andy Hill.
June Miles-Kingston is a British singer and drummer, best known for her work with various successful bands and singers in the 1980s. She was a founding member of the post-punk group the Mo-dettes, which lasted from 1979 to 1982, and later became a session drummer and backing vocalist for a variety of British post-punk, new wave, and pop artists. She is the cousin of Paul Miles-Kingston, who reached number 3 in the UK charts with Pie Jesu in 1985.
Encore is the eighth studio album by the English ska revival band The Specials. It is their first studio album of original songs since 1998's Guilty 'til Proved Innocent!, and their first new material with vocalist Terry Hall since 1981's "Ghost Town" single.
