Timex Social Club | |
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| Origin | Berkeley, California |
| Genres | Contemporary R&B, go-go, funk, urban contemporary, soul |
| Years active | 1985–1987, 2011–present |
| Labels | Jay Records/ Danya/ Fantasy Records |
| Members |
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| Past members |
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Timex Social Club is an American R&B group, formed in 1985 and best known for the 1986 hit single "Rumors". [1]
Originally known as the Timex Crew, members included Marcus Thompson (founder), Gregory "Greg B" Thomas, Michael Marshall, Craig Samuel, and Darrien Cleage. By 1986, Samuel, Cleage, and Thomas had departed, Alex Hill and Kevin Moore were added, and the name Timex Social Club was adopted [1] (despite the group's name, Timex Group USA bears no sponsorship of the group). They fused funk and urban R&B.
In 1986, the group released the Vicious Rumors album on Danya/Fantasy Records (A&M in Canada; Mercury in Germany). It's one major hit, "Rumors", written by Thompson, Hill and Marshall, peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, #13 in the UK, [2] and No. 1 on the Billboard R&B, Hot Dance Club Play, and Hot Dance/Disco-12 inch Singles-Sales charts. The two follow-up singles, "Thinkin' About Ya" and "Mixed-Up World", reached the R&B Top 20. [3]
The success of the single "Rumors", prompted hip hop impresario Russell Simmons to hire the group as the opening act for 38 dates on Run DMC's Raising Hell tour in 1986. [4] Other acts on the tour were Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, and Whodini. Besides solo dates, the group also opened for New Edition, Midnight Star, the S.O.S. Band, Kool & the Gang, and Jermaine Jackson. [5]
Timex Social Club disbanded shortly after the success of "Rumors". The band's producer Jay King, Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy formed Club Nouveau, whose first single was "Jealousy", an answer song to "Rumors" that references Timex Social Club's split. Club Nouveau subsequently had a #1 Billboard Hot 100 hit in 1987 with a go-go cover of Bill Withers's "Lean on Me". [6]
As of 2011, the current Timex Social Club roster consisted of founding member Marcus Thompson as DJ and Samuelle Prater on vocals.
| Year | Album | US R&B [7] |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Vicious Rumors | 29 |
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US 100 [3] | US R&B [3] | US Dance [3] | CAN | UK [8] | ||
| 1986 | "Rumors" | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
| "Mixed Up World" | — | 15 | — | — | 81 | |
| "Thinkin' About Ya" | — | 15 | ― | — | ― | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||
| Year | Source [5] | Song | Result | Misc. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | CRIA/Music Canada | "Rumors" | Gold single | Certification/Label A&M |
| 1986 | CRIA/Music Canada | "Rumors" | Platinum single | Certification/Label A&M |
| 1986 | Commendation | "Rumors" / Vicious Rumors | Awarded (key to city) | Mayor Richard L. Berkley Kansas City MO. |
| 1986 | "Rumors" / Vicious Rumors | Won | Governor John D. Ashcroft state of MO. | |
| 1986 | The 1986 NARM Awards | "Rumors" | Won | Best Selling New Artist |
| 1986 | Bay Area Top Star Music Awards | "Rumors" / Vicious Rumors | Won | — |
| 1987 | "Rumors" / Vicious Rumors | Nominated | — | |
| 1987 | Bammies/Bay Area Music Awards | "Rumors" / Vicious Rumors | Nominated | — |
| 1987 | Juno Awards (CANADA) | "Rumors" / Vicious Rumors | Nominated | — |
| 1987 | "Rumors" / Vicious Rumors | Nominated | — |
Club Nouveau is an American R&B group formed by record producer/performer Jay King in 1986 in Sacramento, California, following the breakup of the Timex Social Club. The group's name was changed from its original incarnation, "Jet Set", to capitalize on the breakup. The group was signed by Warner Bros. Records, on which Club Nouveau released its first three albums. Club Nouveau's go-go version of Bill Withers's song "Lean on Me" won a Grammy award for Best R&B Song in 1987.
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"Rumors" is a song by San Francisco Bay Area-based music group Timex Social Club, from their debut album Vicious Rumors. It was a top-10 hit in the United States, Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, and New Zealand, reaching No. 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It also topped the US R&B and dance charts.
"Thinkin' About Ya" is a 1986 song by San Francisco Bay Area-based music group Timex Social Club, from their debut album Vicious Rumors. The song was mixed by Shep Pettibone. It reached a Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs peak chart position of 15 in the United States.
Jay King is a Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, record label executive, music manager, and radio show host. In 1986, he produced, independently released, and promoted Timex Social Club's, Rumors, which charted at #1 on Billboard's R&B chart. He later formed the music group, Club Nouveau, whose remake of, Lean on Me, was nominated for a Grammy Award, charted at #1 on Billboard's R&B chart, and certified Platinum.
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