80s | Musicosity

80s

Sheriff

There is more than one artist with this name:
Sheriff a Canadian rock band and the Swedish duo Sheriff, deconstructing the music we know as rock, just leaving the essentials. There is also an underground Melbourne garage rock trio performing under the name Sheriff. 1) Sheriff was a Canadian rock band in the early 1980s. The band was formed in 1979 in Toronto, and consisted of vocalist Freddy Curci , guitarist Steve DeMarchi , keyboardist Arnold Lanni, bassist Wolf Hassel and drummer Rob Elliott.

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Mike + the Mechanics

Mike + The Mechanics debuted with their stellar eponymous album in 1985 which highlighted Rutherford's innovative guitar work and the vocal talents of the two Pauls, amongst other guest vocalists. Initially, the group's albums were released between Genesis albums, all three Genesis members having solo projects of their own, most notable in the huge chart success of singer/drummer Phil Collins. This ended with the disbanding of Genesis in 1998.

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23 Skidoo

23 Skidoo cross , , , , and elements. The band had interests in martial arts, and drumming, Fela Kuti, The Last Poets, William S. Burroughs, as well as the emerging confluence of industrial music, and funk. 23 Skidoo was formed in North London, UK in 1979 as a post-punk trio. By 1980 they had grown into a quartet consisting of Fritz Catlin, Johnny Turnbull, Sam Mills and Patrick Griffiths.

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Latin Quarter

Latin Quarter are a British band noted for their protest songs, the most successful of which was Radio Africa which was first released in 1984, re-released several times and reached number 19 in the charts in 1986. Formed in 1984 by Steve Skaith, Mike Jones and Richard Wright (not of Pink Floyd!), the most popular lineup consisted of Skaith, Jones, Wright with Yona Dunsford, Greg Harewood, Carol Douet and Martin Lascalles. Latin Quarter finally disbanded around 1998, but reunited in 2011 for a new album and tour in early 2012.

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The Tubes

There is more than one group called the Tubes. 1) The Tubes are a San Francisco-based theater rock band, popular in the mid 1970s and early 1980s, known for their live performances that combined music performances with many different unique costumes and in some acts they wore leotards with painted on nipples and pubic hair (neither of which points are relevant for evaluating their artistic/musical/political relevance). They made satires of life in the USA; the media, consumerism, and politics. They were often banned in the Midwest USA.

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Prince

Prince Rogers Nelson (born June 7, 1958), known from 1993 to 2000 as an unpronounceable symbol (or informally, The Artist Formerly Known as Prince, Tafkap, or simply The Artist), is a popular American musician. He had 1984's biggest hit song in the US with "When Doves Cry" and is best known for his album and movie "Purple Rain". During the 1980s Prince was comparable with the "mega-superstars" of Michael Jackson & Madonna in terms of star power and sales.

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Wax

Eight artists go by the name Wax:
1. An American creative/experimental Hip Hop/Rap/Acoustic artist.
2. A pop group active in between 1985 and 1988 consisting of American singer-songwriter Andrew Gold and British singer Graham Gouldman of 10cc fame.
3. An American Pop Punk band known for the 1995 song California
4. A female South Korean singer active in the 2000s (see: 왁스)
5. An alias of Dutch dance producer Robert Meijer
6. A short lived Swedish punk band active in the early 1980s
7. A Japanese rapper from the group SD JUNKSTA

Read more about Wax on Last.fm.

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Heaven 17

Heaven 17 is a British synthpop band originating in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom formed in 1980. Taking their name from a fictional pop group mentioned in Anthony Burgess's novel A Clockwork Orange (where 'The Heaven Seventeen' are at number 4 in the charts with 'Inside' [1]), Heaven 17 formed when Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware split from their earlier group The Human League and formed production company British Electric Foundation (BEF). Shortly after, they recruited their good friend and photographer Glenn Gregory on vocals to complete their lineup for Heaven 17.

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Curiosity Killed the Cat

Curiosity Killed the Cat was a British band who found success in the United Kingdom pop charts in the late 1980s and early 1990s. They played soulful, funky pop jazz and were initially signed to Phonogram Records' Mercury imprint. The first came to notice of the UK music and style press when they hooked up with photographer Andy Warhol for the video of the 1986 single Misfit. This featured the band in New York and at one point featured Ben Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot dancing down a side street...

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