INXS

The 1980s saw the rise of a band from Australia called INXS. The band formed in Sydney and consisted of the Farris brothers Andrew, Tim and John and the remainder were made up of Garry Beers, Kirk Pengilly and the enigmatic singer Michael Hutchence.

The band started out in the late 1970s as a ska band and got minor success as support act to Midnight Oil but proceeded to play live throughout Australia with as many as 300 shows in a 12 month period. The hard work saw a 5 album deal with independent label Deluxe.

The first album was self titled and sold 35,000 copies in there native land and the interest in there new wave/ska sound was pricking the conscience of the public. 1982 saw the release of there first international album 'shabooh shoobah' on Atlantic records and hit the top 50 in America and a single followed suit when the 'one thing' reached the top 30 in America. A video promo was done for the fledgling MTV station and the interest saw a small tour support for Adam and the Ants and Hall and Oates to name but a few.

The band had moderate success in America but the UK and Europe was still a mystery so they decided to change the style of music to suit and they came up with a more rockier edge. In 1985 saw the release of the album 'listen like thieves'. the album was written primarily by Andrew Farris and Michael Hutchence. The single 'what you need' achieved a top 5 status in America and in the UK it peaked at 51 and finally the UK market was weakening.

The band plugged away and continued with a tour in the UK as support act for Queen in 1986 at there infamous Wembley concert. However, they did not neglect there studio commitments and in 1987 after much derision from there record label Atlantic they released 'Kick'. The label felt it would not sell easier to the rock stations. The album hit the top 10 in the UK and America. It also held in its collection 4 top 10 US single success with 'new sensation', 'never tear us apart', 'devil inside' and 'need you tonight' and for the rest of the eighties the success was generated over both sides of the pond.

The band released six studio albums in the 1980s with only 'listen like thieves' and 'kick' making a significant dent on the charts in the USA and the UK. They also released 25 singles during the 1980s with only 10 making a contribution to the top 100 in the UK. The single 'What you need' was there first success in the UK peaking at number 51. There first top 10 was in 1987 with 'need you tonight' which was there highest placed entry at number 2. Suprisingly that was there only top 10 UK single!

The band continued it's success well into the 1990s but it came to a halt when singer and songwriter Michael Hutchence died in 1997. The success route was a long road but the band made a vital contribution to the music industry with the clever use of rock and dance.

Recommended listening

Vince Clarke

During the 1980s Vince Clarke was one of the biggest names. He enjoyed top 10 albums and single success with no less than four groups from Depeche Mode, Yazoo, The Assembly and Erasure.

Often known as the king of synth he wrote, sang and performed on the keyboard and real multi talented artist. He was born in London but moved to Essex when he was young and the first taste of success was with the synth pop band Depeche Mode.

He was initially the lead singer until they recruited Dave Gahan and success came very quickly and the first album 'speak and spell' was created mainly by Clark and hit the top 10. There were two singles released and written by Vince were big hits 'new life' peaked at number 11 and 'just can't get enough' reached number 8.

Shortly after that success Vince left the band detailing the direction they were going and felt it best to go. His next stop was to team up with Alison Moyet and form the synth duo Yazoo. Despite the duo huge success they only lasted two years but were very productive. The debut album 'upstairs at eric' reached number 2 and the follow up in 1983 'you and me both' reached number one. They also enjoyed 4 top 20 singles in the UK with the debut 'only you' reaching number two, the follow up 'don't go' reaching number three and the famous 'nobody's diary' reaching three. A cover of 'only you' did go to number one by the a capella group the Flying Pickets which was a Christmas number one. In fact the song was written by Vince during his Depeche Mode days but never recorded it. Shortly, after the second album they decided to go there separate ways leaving Vince with his next project.

He then teamed up with producer to set up a project group with the idea of using a guest singer on each song recorded. They got as far as one! Feargal Sharkey ex-undertones was employed to sing on the top 10 hit 'never,never' but other projects and a new setting up of a record label forced them to abandon the project before it got really started. However, the song prompted Feargal to go solo and he enjoyed success a year later with a number one smash 'a good heart'.

In 1985 Vince put an ad in the Music mag Melody Maker looking for a singer and a certain Andy Bell applied and got the gig to form one of the most successful selling artists in the form of Erasure. They released 3 studio albums with the debut 'the circus' reaching number six and the next two 'the innocents' and 'wild!' both enjoyed number one success.

During the 1980s they released 13 singles with 'sometimes' there announcement to the world that this was going to be big reaching number two. They enjoyed 5 further top ten hits with hits like 'victim of love' and 'the circus'. They also released an EP which reached number 2 called 'crackers international'. In addition he also worked with other groups and help produce Happy Mondays WFL (wrote for luck). A very underrated star.

For further listening

Go West

Were another succesful pop duo in the 1980s leading into the early 1990s. The lads Peter Cox and Richard Drummie hailed from the London region.

The success of the band was the vocal talents of Peter Cox. He had the old fashioned soul voice and he could sing with a rasping sound or a more tender elegance on more of the ballad songs. There were many in the UK who tried to convey the soul sound with a hint of pop and rock with George Michael and Mick Hucknall to name but a few.

Cox and Drummie set up the band and for two years they perfected there craft before they landed a deal with Chrysalis records and set about recording a album under the stewardship of producer Gary Stevenson. The album was heavilly dominated by synthesisers and sequenced drums and the self titled album was what was going on in the mid eighties. The album saw the release of there first single 'we close our eyes' reach number 5 in the single charts in 1985 and the album also reached the top 5 a month later. The year got more succesful when the follow up singles 'call me', 'don't look down' and the ballad 'goodbye girl' all reach the top 30 in the UK single charts.

The studio success saw the duo take the show on the road late in 1985 with the 'bangs and crashes' tour and earned good reviews from publications such as NME despite there strong teen pop appeal. In 1986 the success continued with a BRIT award for best newcomer and the release of 'bangs and crashes' which featured live recordings, 12 inch singles and a new song 'one way street' which featured on the Rocky IV soundtrack.

They set to work on the next album 'dancing on the couch' but were beset with production problems and missed the original release date, eventually the album was released but it's reaction was lukewarm. The album lyrics showed the band were developing by talking about emotions and politics however, the sound was more downbeat and therefore the teen following were lost.

They released further singles with 'true colours' a familar sounding eighties pop tune but the next release ' I want to hear it from you' had a more rock edge to it with the help of Alan Murphy guitar who was the unoffical third member (he had worked with Kate Bush, Level 42 and Mike and the mechanics). another single was released 'The king is dead' which featured Kate bush on backing and the change in direction saw the band enter the cocktail lounge music with a more jazz sound backed with a piano and Cox soulful sound.

The band went quiet for the rest of the decade and it wasn't until the release of 'king of wishful thinking' for the Hollywood blockbuster Pretty Woman that bought the band back into the mainstream. The duo released two studi albums in the 1980s which both hit the top 20 and 11 singles of which only one hit the top 10, that was 'we close our eyes' which peaked at number 5 in 1985.
 
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Now That's what I call Music

NOW has become an institution in music but many of the younger generation will not know that the legacy started in the early 1980 which to many was deemed an impossible job to do.

The concept was the brainchild of Virgin records employees Stephen Navin and Jon Webster who lobbied there MD Simon Draper and Peter Jamieson MD at EMI records who in turn agreed a deal with the help of Richard Branson and the series was born.

Prior to this a mixed compilation album was exclusively done by K-Tel and Ronco who only issued one vinyl disc and such was the time constraints they could not always put the full song on the disc.

The NOW series was to be done on a double album so the tracks could be spread and not affect the quality and length of the song. The name was taken from a bacon advert in the 1920s showing a pig listening to a chicken song stating 'Now that's what I call music' and the pig became the symbol for the first 5 albums.

The first NOW album was released in late 1983 and featured 30 tracks which included 11 number ones. The first song on the album was Phil Collins with You Cant Hurry Love. Some of the artists featured were Duran Duran, Madness, Simple Minds, UB40 and Human League and some obscure ones like Will Powers and Men without Hats. The album was an instant success and went to number one and became a popular form of buying music as so many songs on a double album.

The album was originally released on Vinyl and Tape Cassette but the format has changed over the years. The first CD was NOW 10 in 1987 and of course with the advent of downloads the format has changed so much that Vinyl and Cassette are no longer the preferred format!

The original album was then re-released in 2009 to celebrate 25 years and was released in the CD format and again went to number one. When NOW started getting success other labels tried to compete, CBS and WEA introduced 'The Hits' and although a credible rival by the 1990s it could no longer compete and bowed out of the game.

During the 1980s NOW released 16 albums and NOW 1 to NOW 13 all featured as number ones in the UK album chart, only NOW 4 did not make number one. NOW 14-16 did not feature on the main charts as in 1989 the compilation charts were then created.

All the albums bar NOW 16 featured at least a number one from the UK singles charts. The success led to spin off such as NOW dance, NOW Christmas, NOW Disney as well as series such as music of that year or decades.

Although the concept was not original the idea to create a double album of top hits appealed to the public and became a success and even now in 2013 the album is still a success. I did buy the original vinyl in 1983 and remember the excitement of so many songs on one LP. The appeal also has not gone as the years progress to the wider public. There wont be many households that don't have at least one NOW album.

First song on NOW album
 
Second song on NOW album
Purchase the original album, click on the link

Eurythmics

Were a duo that had great success in the 1980s. The architects of the out fit were Singer Annie Lennox and Musician Dave Stewart. They both previously worked together in bands The Catch and The Tourists and they reunited to form a synth pop sound fused with soft rock overtures.

There previous work saw moderate success but nothing commercially and the effects saw them set up there own studio to use more electronic music. Between 1981-82 they released a few singles but again the top 40 was to elude them. Having to do everything on there own resulted in Annie having a nervous breakdown and Dave a collapsed lung. They were working hard but success was eluding them.

1983 was to be the turning point when 'sweet dreams' was released and the song reached number 2 in the UK singles chart, the rise of synth pop was evident and there decision to go that route was beginning to pay off as the song went number one in America. The duo released a album named 'torch' and this proved to be a huge success and went to number one in the UK album charts. The album produced three huge singles 'who's that girl', 'right by your side' and 'here comes the rain again'. All of them top ten hits and the juggernaut was on full roll.

The duo also provided the music for the remake of George Orwell film 1984 and the single released 'sex crime 1984' was a top five hit in the UK. The next album was 'be yourself tonight' and a move away from the electronic sound and more a conventional musical sound with instruments. There were some big names that provided that sound such as Tom Petty, Stevie Wonder, Elvis Costello. The singles released were absolute classic such as 'there must be an angel', 'it's alright' and the feminine anthem 'sisters are doing it for themselves'.

Three more albums followed quickly between 1986 and 1989 with 'revenge' in 1986 with a more rock sound and 1987 saw the release of 'savage' and 1989 saw the release of 'we too are one' which went straight to number one on the UK album charts and a huge world tour followed suit.

The Lennox/stewart combination then took a break then eventually decided to split in 1990. The band were very prolific and produced some great work.

During the 1980s they produced 8 studio albums and 25 singles. In terms of albums six of those reached the top ten with 'touch and 'we too are one' reaching the summit. They had a great success in the singles charts with nine top 10 singles with a 1985 number one hit 'there must be an angel'. There last top ten hit was in 1986 with 'thorn in my side'. In America they achieved three top ten singles hits with 'sweet dreams' reaching number one.

The duo were inducted into the UK music hall of fame in 2005 and a BRIT award in 1999 for outstanding contribution to music. They have since got back together and new material? we shall wait and see.

Recommended listening

Scritti Politti

The band formed in the late seventies as a punk band but over a period of time turned into a synth pop band which transformed them into a commercial success.

The band started with Green Gartside, Nial Jinks, Tom Morley and Matthew Kay but as a covers band in the north of England was not getting much success so they decided to try there luck in London.

Gartside then recorded a demo of one of his new musings 'the sweetest girl' in 1981 and the song was included on the legendary C81 NME cassette and the success of this demo tape which was produced by Rough Trade Records saw many labels beat there door but they decided to opt for Rough Trade.

The single was released but only reached 64, 5 years later Madness would cover the song and they fared better peaking at 35 in the UK charts.

Success was a long time waiting but in 1985 the follow up album 'Cupid & pysche 85' was a huge success. The album went on to produce 3 hit singles with 'Wood Beez(pray like aretha franklin)', 'Absolute' and 'The Word Girl' all hitting the top 20 in the UK charts. A follow up album in 1988 called 'Provision' again hit the top 10 and 1 single 'Oh Patti' managed to dent the top 20.

The band went through several changes in terms of style of music and personnel. Initially involved on the punk scene, the band had toured with Gang of Four and Joy Division but Green suffered anxiety attacks and he retreated to his Welsh roots to reassess and managed to write some of his best material whilst resting.

Green also found time to work with others in 1980s as well as working with the band. They worked and produced for Chaka Khan and also produced work for Madonna's film soundtrack 'Who's that Girl'.

The 1980s saw the band and Green release 11 singles with 2 top 10 UK singles, 1984 saw 'wood Beez' peak at 10 and in 1985 'The Word Girl' there most successul reaching number 6. They released 3 studio albums with 'Songs to Remember' reaching 12, 'Cupid & Psyche 85' hitting 5 and 'Provision' peaking at 8. They made a great contribution to music with various styles of synth, funk and reggae. An unusual mix but somehow it worked well with his soulful voice.
Recommended listening

The Specials

In the late seventies a movement hit the UK just after the Punk revolution. A revival of the old Ska music saw a Coventry band called The Specials introduce there high beat Ska music fused with a political and social message.

The band started in the late seventies as the Coventry Automatics and eventually the final seven members ended up as The Specials. The band consisted of Jerry Dammers, Terry Hall, Lynval Golding, Neville Staples, John Bradbury, Horace Gentleman and Roddy Radiation. They caught the attention of Joe Strummer and The Clash and the band was asked to support them which gave them the exposure they needed.

The Clash played a raw punk sound with white Reggae and that multiculutural sound was equally important to the the Specials. With that in mind the band formed the legendary 2 Tone label with a black and white logo with a Rude Boy wearing a suit, pork pie hat and loafers which was the early look of the band.

They released a single 'Gangsters' with another Coventry band The Selector on the flip side. The single was a huge success and a top 10 hit in 1979 and the band on the back of that released released the debut album self titled The Specials. The album featured several copies of old Ska Tunes such as 'A message to you rudy' as well as self penned songs to compliment the old with new.

In 1980 they released the legendary EP Too Much Too young which got there first number one although controversial as the song referred to teen pregnancy and contraception. The EP was mixed with some old Ska songs which showcased there talents at a Live event.

The band went to work on a new album and the material showed a change from the old ska sound and a more ambient style mixed with the odd heavy song. The album was released as 'More Specials' and commercially was not as succesful as the debut album. There was some notable songs such as 'Do Nothing' and 'Hey, little rich girl' but the album then started to cause frictions within the band.

The band took a break and released a non album single which proved to be there biggest hit. In the summer of 1981 with Britain locked in a recession and summer riots they released 'Ghost Town' which documented the urban decay in the UK. The song was a huge success and topped the charts and became an anthem for the disenchanted youth of Britain.

Following that suprise success the cracks appeared and Terry Hall, Lynval Golding and Neville Staples left the band to form Fun Boy Three and the band to reinvent again. There was a personnel change with Stan Campbell and Rhoda Dakar leading the vocals. A new album 'In the studio' was released in 1984 and again commercially the album was not as successfully hoped. One song did get great results was 'Free Nelson Mandela' which was a top 10 hit in the UK.

Shortly after the band split for good but they made a huge contribution to music and there social and political comments were the voice of the young in the UK.

In the 1980s The Specials released 2 albums with More Specials peaking at number 5 and In the Studio reaching 34. In terms of singles they released 11 singles, they enjoyed 6 top 10 hits with 'too much too young' and 'Ghost Town' hitting the top summit. In addition 'Rat Race' and 'Do Nothing' enjoyed top 5 status and 'Stereotype' and 'Free Nelson Mandela' also hit the top 10.

For further listening

Frankie Goes to Hollywood

At certain times in music a band arrives and sparks things up and before you know it they fizzle out. Frankie goes to Hollywood (FGTH) are certainly a band that fits that bracket perfectly.

The band consisted of Holly Johnson, Paul Rutherford, Mark O'Toole, Brian Nash and Peter Gill who all hailed from Liverpool and there music was a high energy dance music mixed with synth pop. The group emerged out of the late punk scene of the late seventies and the nucleus of the band reformed in 1982 and made a recording on the John Peel sessions on Radio 1 in 1982 and an appearance on Channel 4 music programme The Tube whilst still without a recording contract. Such was the interest in the group that Trevor Horn signed the group for his new label ZTT records.

The band released 'Relax' but it didn't make big strides until an appearance on Top of the Pops and an subsequent ban by Radio 1 DJ Mike Read and the BBC for it's overtly sexual lyrics and graphics on the record sleeve. Such was the interest the single shot to the top spot and stayed there for 5 weeks causing the BBC acute embarrasment as they could not feature the song on there flagship programme.

The follow up single the anti-war song 'Two Tribes' did even better going straight in at number 1 and stayed there for 9 weeks with sales going over 1.5 million. The success of that song revigorated interest in 'Relax' and the song re-entered the charts and the band held the top 2 spots in the single charts. All this coincided with the marketing of the group and the infamous 'relax' and 'frankie says' t-shirts that all young people were now wearing. The band now had serious support.

The third single was released late 1984 'The power of love' which was a christmas ballad and again the song went to number one. They were the first act since Gerry and the Pacemakers to obtain 3 number ones from there first 3 single releases. The song didn't enjoy a long stay as the iconic 'do they know it's christmas' was released and knocked it off the top spot.

They released the album 'Welcome to the pleasuredome' and the title track was released as a single but the single only reached number 2. Many thought this was now the decline of the band and new material didn't appear for over 18 months.

In late 1986 they released 'Rage hard' a more harder edge sound and the song peaked at number 4. The second album was released and unfortunately it was panned by the popular press and subsequent singles 'Warriors of the wasteland' and 'Watching the wildlife' barely made a dent on the top 30.

The pressure was starting to tell on the group and the factions saw Holly Johnson disengage himself with the band and a altercation between Johnson and O'toole at a Wembley Arena concert in 1987 eventually saw Johnson leave the band citing Musical differences.

As good as it started the end was bitter with court cases with ZTT holding Johnson and the band accountable, after 2 years Johnson won the case due to 'restrictive restraint of trade' and subsequently the rest of the band were released from there contracts.

The band that said were a breath of fresh air at the time and were controversial but not on the scale of the Sex Pistols but they certainly had message regarding sex, war, politics and religion. All often hot topics but they did it in true Frankie style.

For further listening

Synth Pop - Nik Kershaw

Another of the new wave of Synth pop musicians was Nik Kershaw. He held a record of 62 weeks in 1984 on the UK singles charts such was his popularity.

His career as many do started in a local band in the Ipswich area called Fusion but they split in 1982 and Nik decided to embark on a solo career and this decision would prove a lucrative one in terms of sales and popularity.

In 1984 he released his debut single 'Wouldn't it be good' and this peaked at number 4 in the UK charts singles. The video promo was in it's infancy stage and the video got a lot airing on MTV and this helped push the song in America.

On the back of that success he released his debut album 'Human Racing' which spawned a number of top selling singles. More success was to follow when he released his second studio album 'The Riddle' which again spawned a number of top 20 singles and he then concentrated on touring to display his material. At this time he had a new backing group to help him called the 'The Krew' who featured Mark Price who went on to drum for All About Eve and Del Amitiri.

In the summer of 1985 he also featured at Live Aid and played guitar on Elton Johns contribution 'nikita'. He went quiet for a while and it wasn't until late 1986 he released the acclaimed album 'Radio Muiscola' but unfortunately the sales did not reflect the music and when he released 'the works' in 1989 unfortunately the bubble had burst.

During the 1980s he released four albums with the debut 'human racing' reaching number 5, the follow up 'the riddle' reached number 8. In 1986 'Radio Musicola' peaked at 47 and 'The Works' did not even hit the top 100.

In terms of singles he released 13 of which 5 hit the top 10. The classic 'wouldn't it be good' reached 4 but his best selling was 'I won't let the sun go down on me' just failed to hit the top spot. Another close effort was 'the riddle' which stalled at number 3 and in 1985 he had 2 further top 10 with 'wide boy' and 'don quixote' which proved to be his last top 10 single.

However, in 1984 he had a 50 week existence in the charts which outstripped any solo artist that year. That wasn't the end of Nik and he went on to produce and write for others and penned huge hits for Chesney Hawkes and Let Loose in the early 1990s. His style of music was similar to Howard Jones and both made a huge contribution to popular music.

Further listening

Synth Pop explosion - Howard Jones

Synth pop was on the rise in the early 1980s and two of the main chiefs were Howard Jones and Nik Kershaw.

Both aristes had major success on the charts and there popularity rised as the synth genre began to take control of the market. Although the success lasted only a few years there impact was massive and helped other artistes in that genre adapt and bring forward the whole synth thing.

Howard Jones was one of the defining figures of synth pop in the UK and was popular in the UK and America. Although born in Southampton he was raised in his early years in Cardiff before emigrating to Canada, he then moved back to Manchester to study his first love music.

His early music career was defined by a meeting of a close friend Bill Bryant where he co-wrote the album 'Humans Lib' to help kick start Jones pop career. Howard then resided in the High wycombe area and promoted himself along with mime artist Jed Hoile. He then hired the Marquee club and invited record labels to see him perform. At the same time he did a Radio 1 session and the net result was he signed to WEA in 1983.

He released 'new song' in autumn 1983 and made an appearance on Top of the pops to boost his profile and sales, the song reached the top 5. The album duly followed and 'Humans Lib' went to number one in the UK album charts and his popularity reached America due to the medium of MTV.

Further hits followed and the success was seeing him as one of the biggest acts in the UK. Howard then phased out the mime act and introduced a backing band and singers. The singers were the group Afrodiziak which featured the talents of Caron Wheeler who went on to front Soul II Soul. Also Howard's brother Martin also joined the band as a bass player.

1985 saw a busy year for Howard in terms of touring where he reached Australia, Japan and America and sandwiched in between that was an appearance at Live Aid concert at Wembley where he played his song 'Hide and seek' on Freddie Mercury Piano.

By the following year his releases were starting to fall in terms of chart positions and as always the tastes of the public started to change which sadly saw a decline in his output.

In terms of the 1980s, he released 4 studio albums with the debut 'Humans Lib' reaching number one, the follow up 'Dream into action' reached number 2. In 1986 he released 'One to one' which peaked at number 10 and in 1989 'Cross that line' reached a sluggish number 64 in the UK charts.

The singles count was more succesful where he released 15 singles in the UK charts. His debut 'New song' reached number 3 and the follow up 'What is love?' peaked at number 2 in 1983. The follow up 'Hide and Seek' reached number 12 but the 4 subsequent releases all reached the top 10. The catchy 'pearl in the shell' reached 7 and 'Like to get to know you well' peaked at 4. In 1985 2 further top 10 followed with 'Things can get better' hitting number 6 and 'Look Mama' just peaking at number 10.

That was his last top 10 hit and although 'Life in one day' and 'no one is to blame' got top 20, it appeared the bubble had burst. Synth pop had a great start and it was left to others to carry on the baton and Howard certainly had played his part in the digital revolution.

Further listening

Paul Young

The 1980s saw a lot of British male solo singers and none were more bigger than Luton's Paul Young.

He started of the late seventies with several groups and had a major hit with the band Street band and also featured in Q-tips. Following that foray into the music band he decided to go solo and signed a record deal with Columbia records.

He had a new backing band called 'The Royal Family'. He released a couple of singles that didn't make an impression on the charts but at the third attempt he got the success and whatsmore a number one. A cover of the Marvin Gaye classic 'where ever I lay my hat' got himself a number one in the UK single charts.

A debut album followed 'No Parlez' and soon he was making huge sales with his white soul sound. On the back of this a huge tour followed and this proved to be his undoing. In 1984 following a heavy schedule of touring he damaged his vocal chords badly and the rest of the year he had to rest his voice. The rest proved a success and he was able to lead from the front on Band Aid single 'Do they know its christmas'.

He continued with another album and single releases but the throat and vocal chords continued to be a source of problems. He continued with the battle and was rewarded with a number one in America with a Hall & Oates cover 'everytime you go away' and he also managed to play at the Live Aid concert in 1985.

Paul Young would continue his success well into the 1990s and his voice managed to hold up to the rigours of recording and touring.

The 1980s saw Paul Young release 3 albums with 'No Parlez' and the follow up 'the secret of association' both hit number in the UK album charts, the 1986 release 'Between two fires' fared less and peaked at number 4 in the charts.

He also released 13 singles during the 1980s with 6 top 10 hits. Where ever I lay my hat reached number one, and 'love of the common people' reached number 2 in the charts. Other singles to reach the top 10 were 'come back and stay' in 1983, In 1984 saw 2 further top 10s with 'I'm gonna tear your playhouse down' and 'everything must change'. In 1985 saw one futher top 10 with 'everytime you go away'. It would be 1990 before he enjoyed another top 10 single.

His success was rewarded in 1985 when he was awarded a BRIT award for best male singer. He became a household name over night and and a teen idol and also played at some of the biggest events such as Live Aid and the Mandela concert.

His ability to sing soulful songs made people sit up and notice and helped open the doors for the likes of Kenny Thomas. A true talent and a great voice.


For further listening