Mott the Hoople are an English rock band formed in Herefordshire, England. Originally known as the Doc Thomas Group, the group changed their name after signing with Island Records in 1969. The band released albums throughout the early 1970s but failed to find commercial success. On the verge of breaking up, the band were encouraged by David Bowie to stay together. Bowie wrote the glam rock song "All the Young Dudes" for them, which became a huge commercial success in 1972. Bowie subsequently produced an album of the same name for them, which continued their success.
Oliver Wakeman is an English musician, rock keyboardist and composer, best known as a member of Yes from 2008 to 2011, having filled the role of keyboardist previously held by his father, Rick Wakeman.
Prefab Sprout are an English pop band from Witton Gilbert, County Durham who rose to fame during the 1980s. Formed in 1978 by brothers Paddy and Martin McAloon and joined by vocalist, guitarist and keyboard player Wendy Smith in 1982, they released their debut album Swoon to critical acclaim in 1984. Their subsequent albums, including 1985's Steve McQueen and 1990's Jordan: The Comeback, have been described by Paul Lester of The Guardian as "some of the most beautiful and intelligent records of their era". Frontman Paddy McAloon is regarded as one of the great songwriters of his time and the band have been credited with producing some of the "most beloved" pop music of the 1980s and 1990s.
Two for the Show is a double-live album by American progressive rock band Kansas, released in 1978. The album was reissued in remastered format on CD in 2008. Recorded over the course of the band's three previous tours in 1977 and 1978, it was Kansas' first live album. It was certified Gold and then Platinum shortly after its release.
Phantasmagoria is the sixth album by the Damned, released by MCA in July 1985. Special editions were available on white vinyl or picture disc; some versions included a free 12" of their No. 3 hit "Eloise".
William MacArthur Mackenzie was a Scottish singer and songwriter, known for his distinctive high tenor voice. He was the co-founder and lead singer of post-punk and new wave band the Associates. He also had a brief solo career releasing his debut album, Outernational, in 1992, his only solo album released during his lifetime.
Live is the first live album by the Stranglers, released in February 1979 by United Artists. It contains tracks recorded at The Roundhouse in June and November 1977 and at Battersea Park in September 1978.
Writing on the Wall is the fifth studio album by the British pop group Bucks Fizz. It was released on 24 November 1986 and featured the comeback top ten single "New Beginning ". It was their first and only album to feature then new member Shelley Preston and their only album released on Polydor Records. Despite the album being initially unsuccessful in the charts, it was re-released twice - first in 2004 and again in 2012, both times with different track listings. It remains the group's final studio album to date.
"Feeling Good" is a song written by English composers Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse for the musical The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd. It was first performed on stage in 1964 by Cy Grant on the UK tour and by Gilbert Price in 1965 with the original Broadway cast.
Fischer-Z are a British rock group and main creative project of singer, guitarist and poet John Watts. In 1982 Watts temporarily dissolved Fischer-Z and started a solo career under his own name. John Watts has gone on to release both solo and Fischer-Z projects. The original line-up consisted of Watts, Steve Skolnik (keyboards), David Graham (bass) and Steve Liddle (drums).
Return to Pooh Corner is the eighth studio and first children's album by American singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins. The title is a reference to A.A. Milne's 1928 book The House at Pooh Corner. Released in 1994, it features songs written by John Lennon, Rickie Lee Jones, Paul Simon and Jimmy Webb, along with several other traditional children's songs. The songs are described as "music for parents and children to enjoy together". It was a successful album for Loggins, selling over 500,000 copies, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Musical Album for Children. Guest appearances are made by David Crosby and Graham Nash on "All the Pretty Little Ponies", Patti Austin on the "Neverland Medley" and Amy Grant and Gary Chapman on the title track. Loggins returned to Pooh Corner several years later with 2000's More Songs from Pooh Corner.
60 Ft. Dolls were a Welsh rock trio active in the 1990s, known as the Cool Cymru era.
Melissa Manchester is the self-titled and the eighth album release by singer-songwriter Melissa Manchester issued on Arista Records the first week of October 1979.
Going Deaf for a Living is a 1980 album by Fischer-Z. This was the second album by Fischer-Z featuring the "classic line-up". The guitar on this album was made more prominent, after their rather keyboard prominent debut. This album, as well the following Red Skies Over Paradise, are considered by fans as the best work to be produced by Fischer-Z. The album featured the singles "Room Service", "Crazy Girl", "Limbo" and the most popular "So Long", which hit #72 in the UK singles chart, #15 in Australia and #26 in the Netherlands.
Red Skies over Paradise is a 1981 album by Fischer-Z. This was the last album released under the classic line-up, despite the departure of keyboardist Steve Skolnik. This album featured many songs about politics and several references to the Cold War, the album title and cover in particular. The album received positive reviews from fans and encouraged band leader John Watts to pursue a solo career, thus ending Fischer-Z until its revival in 1987. Two of these songs were used in Deutschland 83. The sleeve stated: "This record owes a lot to Brighton."
Reveal is an album by the new wave rock band Fischer-Z. In the summer of 1981 John Watts split up with his group, Fischer-Z, on the grounds that his art could not evolve within the context of the band. Prompted by the encouragement of the well-received Fischer-Z album, Red Skies Over Paradise, Watts soon embarked on a solo career, releasing his first solo album, One More Twist (1982), followed quickly by his second, The Iceberg Model (1983). Watts toured extensively and even produced a mini-album for Zulu artist Busi Mhlongo. He released an album entitled Quick Quick Slow under the name The Cry in 1984.
Kamikaze Shirt is the seventh album by Fischer-Z. Due to the critical praise the previous album, Destination Paradise received, Fischer-Z carried on in the same style for this album. Still focusing on political observational lyrics, the album is considered to be the darker half of Destination Paradise, dealing with the international "have nots" of the world.
Ether was an experimental music project by John Watts, released under the name Fischer-Z. After releasing two successful solo albums and one album of remixes, since the last Fischer-Z album, Stream, John Watts had started to take an interest in creating big beat music. After creating a whole big beat style album in 1999 entitled Bigbeatpoetry, Watts carried on in a similar style for Ether. He recorded a number of songs, featuring only his guitar and voice, and then put them over cut-up beats as a rhythm track. Watts had also added a filmic touch to the project, he travelled throughout Europe and post-9/11 New York City to find musicians at random and record them using his laptop, in their homes and on the street. Sarah Vermeersch filmed & edited the process into a road movie. Ether was further released as a John Watts solo album, including the road movie DVD and a CD of tracks from the Ether album that appeared in the movie.
Chris Robison is an American musician, songwriter and recording artist. He toured with the New York Dolls, Steam and John Lennon’s backing band, Elephant's Memory.
John Watts is a British musician and multimedia artist. He was born into a family of singers on 27 December 1954 in Frimley, Surrey. Watts began his career as a mental health worker having studied clinical psychology before finding success as a musician with his band Fischer-Z. He currently lives and works in Brighton, UK.
