Wax | |
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 Wax in 1986 | |
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| Origin | Manchester, England |
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Wax were a new wave duo based in Manchester, England, consisting of American singer-songwriter Andrew Gold and 10cc guitarist/bassist Graham Gouldman. They are best known for their European hit singles "Bridge to Your Heart" and "Right Between the Eyes". In the US, they were listed as Wax UK, while later releases were additionally credited as Andrew Gold & Graham Gouldman.
In 1981, 10cc was working on what would become the album Ten Out of 10 . Andrew Gold was invited to record with the band by Lenny Waronker, head of A&R at Warner Bros, and played keyboards and percussion on the completed album, as well as adding background vocals. [1] The U.S. release of Ten Out of 10 also featured three songs co-written by Gold: "Power of Love," "Runaway" and "We’ve Heard It All Before". [2] It led to an offer to join the band – an offer Gold declined because of other commitments. [3]
After 10cc split in 1983, Graham Gouldman persuaded Gold to visit him at his home in Mottram St Andrew, England, to write and spend some time together. Gold ended up staying for seven months. During this period, they wrote enough songs for an album. They chose World in Action as the band name and released a single, "Don't Break My Heart." Soon afterwards, they changed the name of the collaboration to Common Knowledge and later pressings of the debut single went under the new name. A second single, "Victoria", was released, but both singles failed to get any attention, and the album was shelved. [4]
Under the supervision of Harvey Lisberg, Gouldman's long-time manager, the pair started working on songs for a new album, and took the name Wax. They signed with RCA Records, and released three studio albums between 1986 and 1989. [5] The band's best known singles during that period were "Right Between the Eyes" and "Bridge to Your Heart". [6] with the latter being a European hit which was supported by European TV appearances including performances of the song on the renowned, high-profile British pop-music showcase Top of the Pops [7] and the German series Peter's Pop Show. [8]
The band's third album, A Hundred Thousand in Fresh Notes , failed to achieve the level of success of its predecessor and both Gold and Gouldman went on to continue with other ventures.[ citation needed ]
In the beginning of 1990, Gouldman was offered the chance to reform 10cc with Eric Stewart. They got back together to record the group's comeback album ...Meanwhile , on which Andrew Gold also appeared, adding guitar to the track "Charity Begins at Home". Andrew Gold himself re-formed Bryndle with its original members to record their self-titled debut album.
Gouldman and Stewart continued as 10cc and their next album, Mirror Mirror , also featured Gold. His contributions were backing vocals on "Grow Old with Me" and lead vocals on "Ready to Go Home", the latter co-written by Gold and Gouldman. Despite Gold not being an official member of 10cc, the band still released "Ready to Go Home" with his lead vocals. [9]
After 10cc's second split, Andrew Gold and Graham Gouldman continued to work together both as Wax and on each other's solo records. First new Wax material resulted in The Wax Files compilation album released in 1997, putting together six new songs, two previously unreleased Common Knowledge tracks, and already released material from the 1980s. [10]
In 1998, their Common Knowledge album was finally released as Common Knowledge.com , with several new tracks, under the Wax name.
A collection of out-takes and rarities, Bikini, was released in 2000. [6] [11]
Andrew Gold died in 2011.
A live album was released in 2019 featuring a 1987 concert. [12] [13]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [14] | AUS [15] | GER [16] | NLD [17] | SWE [18] | US [19] | ||
| Magnetic Heaven |
| — | — | 65 | — | 47 | 101 |
| American English |
| 59 | 86 | — | 41 | 8 | — |
| A Hundred Thousand in Fresh Notes |
| — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Common Knowledge.com |
| — | — | — | — | — | — |
| "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||||
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Live in Concert 1987 |
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| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Works: Best of Andrew Gold & Graham Gouldman |
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| The Wax Files |
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| Bikini |
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| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Box of Wax [20] |
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| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [14] | AUS [15] | BEL [21] | GER [16] | IRE [22] | NLD [17] | SPA [23] | SWE [18] | US [24] | |||
| 1984 | "Don't Break My Heart" (as World in Action / Common Knowledge) | 137 [25] | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | common knowledge.com |
| 1985 | "Victoria" (as Common Knowledge) | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| "Ball and Chain" | – | 89 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | Magnetic Heaven | |
| 1986 | "Right Between the Eyes" | 60 | 68 | 18 | – | 28 | 24 | 1 | – | 43 | |
| "Shadows of Love" | 151 [26] | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| "Systematic" | 155 [27] | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1987 | "Bridge to Your Heart" | 12 | 17 | 3 | 19 | 11 | 6 | 8 | 9 | – | American English |
| "American English" | – | – | 29 | – | – | 96 | – | – | – | ||
| 1988 | "In Some Other World" | – | – | 37 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 1989 | "Wherever You Are" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | A Hundred Thousand in Fresh Notes |
| "Anchors Aweigh" | 95 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 2022 | "Ready to Go Home" [28] | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | Non-album single |
| "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||||||||
| Year | Song | Director(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | "Don't Break My Heart" | Common Knowledge.com | |
| 1985 | "Ball and Chain" | Magnetic Heaven | |
| 1986 | "Shadows of Love" | John Scarlett-Davis | |
| "Shadows of Love (North American version)" | Storm Thorgerson | ||
| "Right Between the Eyes" | |||
| 1987 | "Bridge to Your Heart" | Storm Thorgerson | American English |
| "American English" | Storm Thorgerson | ||
| "In Some Other World" | Storm Thorgerson | ||
| 1989 | "Wherever You Are" | A Hundred Thousand in Fresh Notes | |
| "Anchors Aweigh" | |||
| Year | Release | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Ten Out of 10 | 10cc | Andrew Gold co-wrote, co-produced and performed on "The Power of Love", "We've Heard It All Before" and "Run Away" |
| 1992 | ...Meanwhile | Andrew Gold plays 12 string guitar on "Charity Begins at Home" | |
| 1995 | Mirror Mirror | Andrew Gold performs lead vocal on "Ready To Go Home" and backing vocals on "Grow Old With Me" | |
| 1996 | ...Since 1951 | Andrew Gold | Most of the tracks on the album co-written and performed with Graham Gouldman. "Ready To Go Home" is taken from 10cc album Mirror Mirror , "Can Anybody See You" and "Baby's Got A Gun" would later appear on The Wax Files, while "First Time In Love" would later appear on Common Knowledge.com . "The King of Showbiz" is Andrew Gold's solo recording of the Common Knowledge.com track |
| 1997 | Thank You for Being a Friend: The Best of Andrew Gold | The album includes "Can Anybody See You" and "The King of Showbiz" from ...Since 1951 | |
| Greetings From Planet Love | The Fraternal Order of the All | The song "Love Tonight" is written by Andrew Gold, Graham Gouldman and Mike Botts. The album also includes "The King of Showbiz" that would later appear on Common Knowledge.com | |
| 1998 | Leftovers | Andrew Gold | 1989 song "Tail Lights" written by Andrew Gold and Graham Gouldman |
| 2000 | And Another Thing... | Graham Gouldman | Andrew Gold performed on and co-produced six songs with Gouldman |
| 2011 | The Essential Collection | Andrew Gold | Andrew Gold's best of compilation includes several Wax tracks |
Andrew Maurice Gold was an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and record producer who influenced much of the Los Angeles-dominated pop/soft rock sound in the 1970s. Gold performed on scores of records by other artists, especially Linda Ronstadt, and had his own success with the U.S. top 40 hits "Lonely Boy" (1977) and "Thank You for Being a Friend" (1978), as well as the UK top five hit "Never Let Her Slip Away" (1978). In the 1980s, he had further international chart success as one half of Wax, a collaboration with 10cc's Graham Gouldman.
10cc are a British rock band formed in Stockport in 1972. The group initially consisted of four musicians – Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme – who had written and recorded together since 1968. The group featured two songwriting teams. Stewart and Gouldman were predominantly pop songwriters, who created most of the band's accessible songs. Godley and Creme were the predominantly experimental half of 10cc, featuring art and cinematically inspired writing.
Graham Keith Gouldman is an English singer, musician and songwriter, best known as the co-lead singer and bassist of the art rock band 10cc. He has been the band's only constant member since its formation in 1972. Before 10cc, Gouldman worked as a freelance songwriter and penned many hits for major rock and pop groups, including the Yardbirds, the Hollies, Herman's Hermits and Ohio Express.
Hotlegs was a short-lived English band best known for their hit single "Neanderthal Man" in 1970. The band consisted of Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley, Lol Creme and – briefly – Graham Gouldman. In 1972, the band re-branded themselves as 10cc.
Sheet Music is the second album by the English rock band 10cc. It was released in 1974 on UK records, and yielded the hit singles "The Wall Street Shuffle" and "Silly Love". The album reached No. 9 in the UK and No. 81 in the United States.
Look Hear? is the seventh studio album by 10cc, released in 1980.
Ten Out of 10 is the eighth studio album by 10cc. It was released in two different versions, with the original edition coming in November 1981 and the US version coming in June 1982 respectively.
Windows in the Jungle is the ninth studio album by British rock band 10cc, released in October 1983.
...Meanwhile is the tenth studio album by the British rock band 10cc, released in 1992. It was the band's first in nine years and marked the brief comeback of the original 10cc members Kevin Godley and Lol Creme.
Mirror Mirror is the eleventh and final album by British rock band 10cc released in 1995, re-titled I'm Not in Love for the 1996 re-release. The album was their first not to be released on a major UK label, this time working with Japanese label Avex following the poor performance of their previous album ...Meanwhile in UK and its relative success in Japan.
And Another Thing... is a third studio album by 10cc bass player Graham Gouldman released in 2000. The album is a mix of newly written songs and new versions of tracks from earlier stages of Gouldman's musical career. The album's title is a reference to Gouldman's first solo album, released in 1968: The Graham Gouldman Thing, which utilized the same concept.
"Dreadlock Holiday" is a reggae song by 10cc. Written by Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman, it was the lead single from the band's 1978 album, Bloody Tourists.
Greatest Hits ... And More is a 2006 compilation and video albums of songs by English pop group 10cc as well as pre-10cc and post-10cc work by its founding members, Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart and Kevin Godley and Lol Creme, performing as Godley & Creme.
"Neanderthal Man" is a song by Hotlegs, an English pop band that was later relaunched as 10cc. The song, initially created only as a studio exercise to test drum sounds on new recording equipment, sold over two million copies and reached No. 2 in the UK and No. 22 in the US. It reached No. 1 in Italy and Germany and was also a Top 20 hit in Australia, Canada, France, Ireland and Japan.
"The Dean and I" is a song by the art rock/pop band 10cc, from their 1973 eponymous debut album, written by Lol Creme and Kevin Godley. The song was released as the fourth single from the album in August 1973 and peaked at #10 on the UK Singles Chart. The single reached the top of the Irish Singles Chart on 20 September 1973.
"Donna" is the first single by British art pop band 10cc. Released in 1972, it peaked at No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart. The song was written by Lol Creme and Kevin Godley.
Harvey Brian Lisberg is an English talent manager and impresario, best known for discovering Herman's Hermits in 1963. In 1965, he signed songwriter Graham Gouldman, a founder member of 10cc, who Lisberg also managed, along with Godley & Creme, Tony Christie, Barclay James Harvest, Gordon Giltrap, Sad Café, Wax and others.
Clever Clogs is a live and video album by 10cc released in 2008.
"In Some Other World" is a song by British duo Wax, which was released in 1988 as the third and final single from their second studio album American English (1987). The song was written by band members Andrew Gold and Graham Gouldman, and produced by Christopher Neil.
"Shadows of Love" is a song by new wave duo Wax, released by RCA in 1986 as the third single from their debut studio album Magnetic Heaven. The song was written by band members Andrew Gold and Graham Gouldman, and produced by Phil Thornalley.
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