Animal Nightlife was a British male vocal/instrumental group in the 1980s. It consisted of Andy Polaris on vocals, Leonardo Chignoli on bass, Flid on guitar, Billy Chapman on saxophone, Michael "Mac" McDermott on percussion, and Paul Waller on drums.
Band members
Andy Polaris: vocals (1980–1988)
Sally Gissing: vocals (1980–1981)
Lynn Harding: vocals (1980–1981)
Leah Seresin: vocals (1981–1983)
Chrysta Jones: vocals (1981–1983)
Billy Chapman: saxophone (1980–1988)
Declan John Barclay: trumpet (1980–1983)
Steve 'Fild' Brown: guitar (1980–1988)
Steve Shanley: bass (1980–1983)
Leonardo Chignoli: bass (1984–1988)
Michael 'Mac' McDermott: percussion (1980–1983)
Marc 'Yellowcoat' Kingman: Backing Vocals (Occasional)
Paul Waller: drums (1980–1986)
Founded in 1982 by the core duo of Paul Bell (keyboards/vocals, ex Lookalikes) from Wexford and guitarist Grimmo AKA Andreas Grimminger AKA Andrias O'Gruama, later Cathal Coughlan's right hand man in Fatima Mansions. They were joined by Adrian Wyatt on bass. Another ex Lookalike Mike Mesbur played drums on the first demo. He was replaced by Korda Marshall in 1983, yielding the most stable lineup. Alison Kelly provided cello.
The early singles are interesting but as they developed their sound became a bombastic U2-meets-Psychedelic Furs which will not be to everyone's tastes. To make matters worse, Todd Rundgren produced the debut LP, emphasising all the worst aspects of the music. The second album is more balanced and makes better use of synths and is all the better for echoes (sorry) of Echo & The Bunnymen but there are still too many grandiose anthems. The artwork for their Mercury releases is consistently bad too.
Paul Bell (extreme left above) later formed a duo called Wild Swans (later just Swans) with Brendan Wade of Cry Before Dawn. Andreas Grimminger fronted his own band The Baby's Head before joining Fatima Mansions. Korda Marshall later worked in A&R and ran Infectious Records.
Lineup:
Paul Bell - vocals/keyboards
Andreas Grimminger - guitar
Adrian Wyatt - bass
Mike Mesbur - drums
01. Dozen Girls
02. Lovely Money
03. I Think I'm Wonderful
04. Disguise
05. Take That
06. Torture Me
07. Disco Man
08. Thanks For The Night
09. Take Me Away
10. Some Girls Are Ugly
11. Nice Cup Of Tea
12. Billy Bad Breaks
The Damned are an English gothic punk band formed in London in 1976. They were the first punk rock band from the United Kingdom to release a single ("New Rose"), an album (Damned Damned Damned), to have a record on the UK music charts, and to tour the United States. The Damned later evolved into one of the forerunners of the gothic genre.
They have incorporated numerous styles into their music and image, including: garage rock, psychedelic rock, cabaret, and the theatrical rock of Screaming Lord Sutch and Alex Harvey. Lead singer Dave Vanian's vocal style has been described as similar to a crooner. The Damned have dissolved and reformed many times, with Vanian as the sole constant member. However, the lineups have always included either guitarist Captain Sensible and/or drummer Rat Scabies, who are both founding members. The current line-up includes Vanian, Captain Sensible, Monty Oxy Moron, Pinch and Stu West.
Dave Vanian (David Letts), Captain Sensible (Raymond Burns) and Rat Scabies (Chris Millar) had been members of the band Masters of the Backside, which also included future Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde. Brian James (Brian Robertson) had been a member of the punk band London SS, who never played live but included musicians who later found fame in The Clash and Generation X. Scabies knew James through a failed audition as drummer for London SS. When the two decided to start their own band, James and Scabies had invited Sid Vicious and Dave Vanian to audition to be the singer of The Damned. Only Vanian showed up, and so he became the frontman of the band.
Space, formally Didier Marouani & Space, are a French electronic music band from the city of Marseille active from 1977 through 1980 and returning with on-stage remake performances since 1992. They are considered as one of the most notable artists of the short lived space disco music scene, and early pioneers of Eurodance electronica subgenre.
Space was founded in 1977 by Didier Marouani (also known as Ecama), Roland Romanelli, and Jannick Top. The first three albums — Magic Fly, Deliverance and Just Blue — were an immediate success (they sold over 12 million records all over the world). The album Magic Fly, which is widely considered to be their best work, was released in audio cd in 2001, 24 years after its original release. Although Didier Marouani left the band in 1979, the other two members Roland Romanelli and Jannick Top released in 1980 the album Deeper Zone under the name of Space. Then Space officially split up in 1981.
In early 1980s Marouani, with Janny Loseth of Titanic as lead vocalist, continued to perform and record under the titles of Didier Marouani & Space, and Paris-France-Transit due to release lawsuits. The name "spAce" was legally reacquired after some artistic copyright disputes around 1990, allowing musicians to re-release classic albums and give a European live cover tour in 1993. The latest Space album was released in 2002. In the same year, the S Club Juniors made a remix to their single "New Direction" featuring the backing track of "Magic Fly". The band's hit "Magic Fly" as well as many other songs from the self-named album were remixed in 2003 by the Belgian dance music project Minimalistix. Now in 2011, there is a new release by Space called From Earth To Mars.
Albums
Magic Fly (1977)
Deliverance (1977)
Just Blue (1978)
Deeper Zone (1980)
Paris-France Transit (1982)
Space Opera (1987)
The Very Best of Space (1985)
Concerts en URSS (1996)
Best of (1998)
Symphonic Space Dream (2002)
Spandau Ballet are a British band formed in London in the late 1970s. Initially inspired by the New Romantic fashion, their music has featured a mixture of funk, jazz, soul and synthpop. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s, achieving ten Top Ten singles and four Top Ten albums in the UK between 1980 and 1990. The band split acrimoniously in 1990 but announced their reunion in March 2009, complete with a tour that began in October 2009.
The band was formed in 1976 and was originally called 'The Cut', with Gary Kemp and Steve Norman on guitar, later saxophone and percussion. Kemp and Norman were both attending Dame Alice Owen's School, Islington, and were close friends, as they shared a similar interest in music and a common desire to form a band. They were joined by fellow student John Keeble, who had met Norman through storing his drum kit in the school's music room and would regularly meet at lunchtimes to practice. John was followed by bass player Michael Ellison. Tony Hadley, who knew Norman, then joined as lead singer. After a few months, Richard Miller replaced Michael Ellison on bass, before Kemp's brother, Martin Kemp, finally took over the role, joining the band a couple of years later. By this time, the band had already gained some live experience. Steve Dagger, a friend of the band members, was then asked by Steve Norman and Gary Kemp to manage them. He was to be an integral part of the band's initial and continuing success.
The band was called 'The Makers' in the early years, but profess to having changed their name after a friend of the band, journalist and DJ Robert Elms, saw the name scrawled on the wall of a nightclub lavatory during a visit to Berlin along the lines of "Rudolf Hess, all alone, dancing the Spandau Ballet" (Rudolf Hess was the sole inmate at Germany's Spandau Prison). The new Spandau Ballet, with Martin Kemp and Tony Hadley, began performing with this name and generating a positive buzz around London. Their music prior to then was in the style of the early Rolling Stones or The Kinks, but became more electronic as they began to hang out in clubs such as Sally's and Blitz, where they would listen to bands like Kraftwerk and Telex. The Blitz was regarded as the birthplace of a new 1980s music and fashion phenomenon called New Romanticism.
The band was involved in a major bidding war, but eventually signed to Chrysalis Records and released "To Cut a Long Story Short", produced by the electronic musician Richard James Burgess. Released just ten days after the band emerged from the studio in order to meet the huge demand created by the buzz they had established, "To Cut a Long Story Short" was an instant British top 5 hit in 1980. This was followed by hits with "The Freeze", "Musclebound" and the well-received and Gold-certified album Journeys to Glory in 1981. The sound of Journeys to Glory was typified by chanted vocals, a splashy snare drum sound, strongly rhythmic guitar parts and a lack of guitar solos; the hallmarks of what would become known as the New Romantic sound and the sound of the early eighties.
01. Ballet Dance (4:10)
02. Slant & Slide (3:17)
03. Love Life (2:53)
04. Trial 13 (3:09)
05. Tangled Web (4:08)
06. 42°F (4:33)
07. Money Talks (2:54)
08. Death Train (4:08)
09. Arctic Flowers (3:09)
10. False Promises (3:05)
11. Thugs (3:09)
12. Plastic Life (2:52)
13. Let Us Out (3:42)
14. T [Emotional Blackmail] (10:13)
15. Rainbow Love (4:09)
16. It'll Never Happen To Me (4:29)
17. Animal House (2:40)
Rubella Ballet are a punk rock band formed in autumn, 1979, who released several albums before splitting up in 1991. They reformed in 2000.
The band was formed by former Fatal Microbes Pete Fender (Dan Sansom, guitar), Gem Stone (Gemma Sansom, bass) and It (Quentin North, also bass), with vocalists Annie Anxiety and Womble, and drummer Sid Ation (born Sid Truelove, 18 April 1960, Sutton Coldfield, a former chef, later also the drummer with Flux of Pink Indians). Annie, Womble and It were involved only initially, left and were replaced by vocalist Zillah Minx (born Zillah Elaine Ashworth, 31 March 1961, Birkenhead). Fender and Stone were the son and daughter of Poison Girls singer Vi Subversa. The band used Poison Girls equipment to jam and write songs and their first performance was when they took to the stage at a Crass/Poison Girls concert. They had originally been called Rubella Babies. The band's first proper gig was a fundraiser for the Theatre Royal in Stratford, which ended in a riot, and the band played frequently, often asking audience members to put them up after gigs.
The new line-up were soon known for wearing brightly coloured dayglo clothes on stage, to differentiate themselves from the anarcho-punk bands who tended to wear black, 'army-surplus' style clothing. Pete Fender left at the end of 1982 and soon afterwards joined Omega Tribe as a full-time member, having been their early mentor and record producer.
The band released one album on cassette tape, entitled Ballet Bag (1981) and a 4 track 7" EP, Ballet Dance (1982), both for Poison Girls' XNTRIX Records, after rejecting the opportunity to put out a record on the Crass label. Adrian Thrills, reviewing the single in the NME stated "the Ballet have an appealing sharp edge to their claustrophobic punk thrash, a poppy surge and even a discernable funk readjustment...of course, they could always just be taking the piss". After releasing the 42f single on Jungle Records (with Sean replacing Fender) the band started their own Ubiquitous label. Rubella Ballet toured extensively with Poison Girls and Crass, and recorded two John Peel sessions for BBC Radio.[4] In 1984 they embarked on an ill-fated tour of Italy to promote 42F. The band had only been given single airline tickets and after a week of playing without getting paid, they returned to England by train.
The band's line-up underwent several changes before their next release, "Money Talks" (1985); Sean and Gem had left, to be replaced by Adam and Rachel Minx (Zillah's younger sister Rachel Irene Jane Ashworth), and Adam himself has replaced by Steve Cachman prior to the recording of the debut album At Last, It's Playtime, the same year, an album that has been described as "chugging mid-paced stuff, many of the tracks dominated by Zillah's steamroller-flat vox". The line-up stabilized over the next few years, the band recording a second album, If... in 1986. A compilation and a double live album followed, but it would be 1990 before the next studio album, At the End of the Rainbow. The band split up shortly after its release, Sid already playing in the dance band Xenophobia.
In 2000, the band reformed for a performance at the European Gathering festival in Milton Keynes, and have continued on and off since, with the core members Sid and Zillah joined by a varying line-up including original guitarist Fender. A retrospective covering the first half of the band's career, Anarchy in the U.V., including Ballet Bag, Ballet Dance, At Last It's Play Time, the 12-inch version of "Money Talks", and two previously unreleased tracks, was released in December 2008. A second volume was released in 2010, containing the remaining tracks from the band's back-catalogue.
Albums
Ballet Bag (1981), XNTRIX (cassette only, with booklet and badge)
At Last Its Playtime (1985)
IF (1986)
At The End Of The Rainbow (1990)
Compilations, live albums, remixes
Cocktail Mix (1987)(Ballet Bag + Ballet Dance)
The Ballet's Birthday Box (double LP)(1988)(badge, poster, cut-out doll, sticker & booklet)
Greatest Trips (1990)
Death Rock Daze (2007) (Limited Edition) Rubella Ballet's tracks mixed by Sidation
Anarchy in the U.V. (2008)
Nevermind the Day-Glo. (2010)
Video
Freak Box (1984), Ubiquitous - Live concert, 60 min, VHS
"Live to Tell" (LP Version) – 5:49
"Live to Tell" (Edit) – 4:37
"Live to Tell" (Instrumental) – 5:49
"Live to Tell" is a pop ballad by American singer-songwriter Madonna. Originally written by Patrick Leonard for the soundtrack of the film Fire with Fire, the song was shown to Madonna, who decided to use it for then-husband Sean Penn's film At Close Range. It was produced by Leonard and Madonna for her third studio album True Blue, released in mid-1986, later appearing as a remix on the 1990 compilation album The Immaculate Collection, in its original form on the 1995 ballads compilation album Something to Remember, and most recently on her third compilation album Celebration (again in its original form), released in September 2009.
The song includes instrumentation from guitars, keyboards, drums and a synthesizer, and its lyrics deals with deceit, mistrust and childhood scars. It is also about being strong, which Madonna recalled in an interview that she thought about her relationship with her parents, while writing the lyrics. The music video, directed by James Foley, shows Madonna's first image makeover, featuring her with a cleaner look, shoulder-length wavy golden blond hair, conservative wardrobe and subtle make-up. This toned down blond appearance was again inspired by Marilyn Monroe.
Released as the album's first single in March 1986, the song was a commercial success. It became Madonna's third number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100, and her first number-one on the Adult Contemporary chart. It was generally well-received by music critics, who frequently referred to it as the best ballad of her career. The song faced controversy when Madonna performed it on her 2006 Confessions Tour wearing a crown of Thorns while hanging on a giant mirrored cross. The performance at Rome's Olympic Stadium was condemned as an act of hostility toward the Roman Catholic Church by religious leaders.
