Fashion were founded in 1978 in Birmingham, England, originally as a post-punk band in the vein of Gang of Four or Magazine. The band originally consisted of singer/guitarist Luke James, bassist/keyboardist John Mulligan (simply known as Mulligan) and drummer Dik Davis. In 1979 the band signed to IRS Records and released their first album, Product Perfect. The album failed to chart and mainly received airplay on college radio.
Europe is a Swedish rock band formed in Upplands Väsby, Sweden in 1979 under the name Force by vocalist Joey Tempest and guitarist John Norum. Although widely associated with glam metal, the band's sound incorporates heavy metal and hard rock elements. Since its formation, Europe has released seven studio albums, three live albums, three compilations and seven videos. Europe rose to international fame in the 1980s with its third album The Final Countdown, which became a high commercial success and sold over three million copies in the United States.
Kim Wilde - born Kim Smith on 18th Nov 1960 in Hertfordshire, UK, daughter of 50s singer Marty Wilde. Released her debut single Kids In America in 1981 at the age of 21. The song was written by her dad and her brother Ricky, ironically Kim had never been to America at the time. Kids In America was a huge success in the United Kingdom and around the world (UK no. 2 hit).
Xena was actually grammy award winning vocalist Lisa Fischer(How do I ease the pain") with the production boys Mark Liggett & Chris Barbosa who are also responsible for Shannon's "Let the Music Play".
Sister Sin were formed in 2002 in Gothenburg, Sweden. They are a female fronted four piece with a style reminiscent of Guns 'N Roses, L.A Guns and Hanoi Rocks. Sister Sin released various recordings via smaller indie labels. They issued their first non-indie album Switchblade Serenades via Victory Records in October 2008; it reached number 107 on Top Heatseekers in the first week of release in the US.
Black Flag is an American hardcore punk band formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California, United States, largely the brainchild of Greg Ginn, the guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes. Keith Morris was their original lead singer. He left the band suddenly in 1979 to form the well-known band, Circle Jerks. Ron Reyes was the second singer for the band, but decided to leave the band not too long after. Dez Cadena would be their next singer, but switched to second guitar when they found fourth and final singer Henry Rollins in Washington D.
There are two artists named James Young, one American (ex-guitarist from Styx) and the other British (keyboard player who collaborated with Nico and John Cale back in the day). After Styx's hiatus in 1983, the American James Young continued his musical career and released 3 albums: City Slicker, Out on a Day Pass, and Raised by Wolves. He is currently the sole remaining member of Styx, although Tommy Shaw (from 1975) is still with them and Chuck Panozzo occasionally performs as a guest.
British AOR band fronted by Darren Wharton, formerly of Thin Lizzy. Their debut album in 1988 "Out of the silence" is considered a true classic from every AOR fan around the world. In 1991 they released "Blood from stone" a much heavier hard rock album which is also classic for its genre although it didn't have a great success. After seven years of silence Dare changed their line up , Darren Wharton decided to start producing Dare's albums in his own studio from this point on.
Bob James (born December 25, 1939) is a two-time Grammy Award-winning jazz keyboardist. Though he has recorded a couple of straight jazz albums, most of his recordings contain "pop-jazz" which is a type of instrumental pop music. Bob James was an important figure in turning 1970s fusion jazz more commercial. For their album One on One, Earl Klugh and Bob James received a Grammy award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance of 1981.