I discovered this group when I bought a used copy of their single "Heaven's On Fire", hoping desperately it was a remake of the Kiss track, which blessedly it was! They were then known as just Star, and their image combined with one of my fave songs (no, I'm not joking) assured me that the song would be a cheesetastic classic! And I was not disappointed, especially since it was remixed into an awesome dance mix. I posted that single on Lost Pop Treasures HERE. Thanks to that post, the awesome Magnuna, who runs the equally awesome Norwegian Music blog, sent me their entire album, entitled Party. I didn't expect to ever hear anything else from them and only found out years after I bought the single that they changed their name to Starz!? (due to legal issues with their original name) and released an album (in Europe only). And thanks to Magnuna, here it is! I can't tell you much about the group themselves. I know that they are Swedish and consisted of four lovely and bizarrely dressed young ladies: Irene Nord, Mia Johnsson, Selma Yasitli and Lotta Josefsson. I did manage to find one site with info on them, but since I am not Swedish and any translation service I use doesn't properly translate the site, I couldn't tell you what it reveals. But HERE it is if you do know Swedish. ;) From the pics I gathered a couple of them also posed nude at one point... Anyway, it's about the music. If you've heard the original mix of "Heaven's On Fire", which was a hit in Sweden, then expect much more of the same. They are like a mix of the Spice Girls and Abba, if they sang in mostly growls and used A LOT of guitar. I'm guessing that was their gimmick to differentiate them from the million other girl groups at the time. They released a couple more singles, a remake of Sweet's "Wig Wam Bam" and the original "This Is My Life", and the album includes a cover of Skid Row's "I Remember You". Though Magnuna claimed to see them open for the Backstreet Boys, obviously their gimmick didn't work and they very quickly ceased to be. But thankfully they left perhaps one of the cheesiest pop-rock dance albums in their wake for us all to enjoy, or something like that. ;)Video for Heaven's On Fire
Download Party
| 1 | The Good, The Bad And The Ugly | ||
| 2 | This Is My Life | ||
| 3 | God Save Us | ||
| 4 | Fish Out Of Water | ||
| 5 | I Remember You | ||
| 6 | Hey You (What's Your Name) | ||
| 7 | Wig-Wam Bam | ||
| 8 | Girls They Like To Party | ||
| 9 | I Got The Look | ||
| 10 | Air | ||
| 11 | Heaven's On Fire | ||
| 12 | Score | ||
| 13 | God Damn It Move |
Hei! I got the pictures to prove it, lol. They are not too good, but maybe they are of interest anyway ;)
ReplyDeleteBSB - http://i33.tinypic.com/j6rhxs.jpg
Star/Starz!? - http://i36.tinypic.com/af81e0.jpg
- http://i37.tinypic.com/24611qo.jpg
They were taken in Oslo, 30.07.1999
Wow! STARZ were actually a great hard rock pop band, a mix of guitars and dance grooves that sold very well in Denmark and Sweden back in 1999 and 2000. They were huge for a short while and sold gold and platinum albums etc. I love them because they were having a cool image, did really good songs and played actually very well! Yes, these girls knew how to play and sing!!!
ReplyDeleteI did actually meet them back in the days at a party for a big radio station where they were doing PR. I met them all and they were even more beautiful and sexy in real life! Their sexy leather and latex clothes and over all look were totally amazing, yes breathtaking - and they REALLY looked like true Starz!
And, they were actually also very nice girls and did not mind at all to talk with fans etc. I really miss this cool band, who - for some reason - only did one album. A great fun album which to this day I actually enjoy a lot! It IS really a great PARTY ALBUM!!!
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ReplyDeleteSorry, I'm not the same person, though that was an awesome blog!
ReplyDeleteI knew Selma back in the days when she was dating my friend .. Wish to meet her again, and YES Star did some awsome music there were skilled entertainers
ReplyDeleteHar gruppen overhovedet indspillet andre cd´er end denne " Party " ??
ReplyDeleteJeg synes de er seje :)
Hello. Is the Party album, the only one from them ? Are they still a Group ? I love their music very much....
ReplyDeleteAdd guitars and you make a night and day difference, it was their gimmick, but what a gimmick it was, this is a standout disc, full of dance rock songs, which to my ears, believe it or not, is completely original, as in ive never heard a band do this kind of music, and I love it, catchy pop rock songs, with a sexual edge, beautiful females to wrap up the package, should have been alot more known then they are, to bad.
ReplyDelete