80s | Musicosity

80s

Petra

There is more than one artist with this name: 1) Petra is a Christian Rock band formed in 1972 by Bob Hartman, Bill Glover, John DeGroff, and Greg Hough. "Petra" means "rock" in NT Greek, making the band name a triple pun. Rising from the jesus music movement, and initially signed to Myrrh Records, they fought to gain acceptance and recognition in a church culture that at the time believed rock music to be off-limits.

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Lionel Richie

Lionel Brockman Richie, Jr. (born June 20, 1949 in Tuskegee, Alabama) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, composer, and occasional actor who got his start as the front man for the Commodores, a nationally popular Motown band during the 70's. They had several hits such as Easy, Three Times a Lady, and probably the Commodores' most famous hit, Brick House. Richie quit the band in '81 for a solo career. He released his self-titled debut in 1982. The album hit No. 3 on the charts and sold over 4 million copies.

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A Certain Ratio

A Certain Ratio (aka Acr or A.C.R.) are a post-punk/funk band from Manchester, UK. Formed in the late 1970s, they were one of the bands (along with Gang of Four and The Pop Group) who forged the new musical hybrid which became known as punk-funk, a style which fused the energy and aggression of new-wave with the rhythms and musicianship of funk and soul. The band's members were originally Simon Topping, Jeremy Kerr, Martin Moscrop, Donald Johnson and Pete Terrell.

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The Toy Dolls

The Toy Dolls are a British band. They formed in 1979, playing their first ever gig at Millview Social Club, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, UK, on 20 October 1979. After a couple of gigs, vocalist Pete Zulu left to form his own band. He was replaced by Paul "Hud" Hudson, who himself left after a single gig, leaving Toy Dolls as a trio with guitarist Michael "Olga" Algar to assume vocal duties. This was just the start of the revolving door of drummers and bassists that would characterize the Toy Dolls line-up over the years.

Read more about The Toy Dolls on Last.fm.

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James Young

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.

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Two Time Polka

Two Time Polka formed in Cork in 1994 and have developed a distinctive sound that has its roots in Cajun, Zydeco, and Bluegrass music. They have built up an enviable reputation for turning out excellent live shows, including numerous performances at Irish festivals such as The Kilkenny Country Roots, The Dun Laoghaire Festival of World Cultures, The Cork Jazz Festival, The Galway Arts Festival, The Waterford Spraoi, The Cork Folk Festival to name but a few.

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Streets

Streets is a rock band that Kansas vocalist Steve Walsh formed in the 80s. They released two albums for Atlantic Records starting with 1983's 1st, and 1985's Crimes in Mind. The former featured the hit If Love Should Go, but both albums didn't do very well in the sales market, and Atlantic dropped them in 1985. Wounded Bird Records reissued both the band's albums on CD in 2002. (Not to be confused with hip-hop act The Streets.)

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Rockers Revenge

Rockers Revenge was a studio musical project assembled by producer Arthur Baker. Their initial entry on the dance charts was "Walking On Sunshine" (featuring vocals by Donnie Calvin) Follow-ups included "The Harder They Come" and "Living For the Weekend".

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Marine

Marine were a shortlived Belgian crew who found home in the post-punk movement in the UK.
The sleevenotes in this LTM release even credit their "frantic funk" sound as as an influence on Josef K. It's easy to see why on this compilation which encompasses their entire studio recordings but considering they only released four singles that's not really saying much. The group appreciated The Clash (the 'London Calling' style howling on 'Animal In My Head' and 'Remember Caribou') but from listening to third single 'Same Beat' a closer relation to their sound is Haircut One Hundred.

Read more about Marine on Last.fm.

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