Curtie And The Boombox - Black Kisses (1985)

I have had this album on cassette and vinyl forever, but aside from the first single, "Let's Talk It Over In The Ladies' Room", I never gave it much of a listen. I decided to rip the vinyl for ya'll, and I was amazed at just how fun and danceable the rest of the album is. It's now one of my faves! From what I can gather from the bit of info available on the web (most not in English), the act was formed by Dutch producer Peter Koelewijn. After he met Curtie Fortune, who came from a small island in the Caribbean, he decided to form a group around her, obviously enchanted by her Caribbean accent. He enlisted fellow Caribbeans Judith Landry and "the Wilson sisters" to be 'the Boombox' (essentially her back-up singers), a name he saw on a small recording device in the studio. Along with Dutch engineer Albert Boekholt he produced their first single, "Let's Talk It Over In The Ladies' Room", released on RCA in 1984. It was an upbeat, Caribbean flavoured pop song similar in style to groups like Boney M. or Luv'. It was a small hit in the Netherlands and the success led to the recording of their next single, "Black Kisses (Never Make You Blue)", a more italo disco flavoured track released in 1985. The song made it into the top 20 in the Netherlands, and it soon got attention worldwide, with it's biggest claim to fame being that it made it into the US Billboard Hot 100, reaching #81. This created a demand for an album, which had already been in the works for the past year and a half. By the time the song hit in the US the Wilson sisters had left and were replaced by Dutch singers Patricia Balrak and Denise van der Hek, who was previously the lead singer for another Dutch girl group, Risqué. Though Curtie was still the main lead singer, each of the other ladies was given a song apiece on which to sing lead. The album contained other songs with the Caribbean vibe, like the single "A Bachelor's Bed (Is A Dangerous Place)", but also incorporated songs with Hi NRG and italo disco elements similar to The Flirts or Fun Fun. Overall it's a surprisingly diverse album and a lot of fun, but neither of the other two singles, the aforementioned "A Bachelor's Bed..." and "Chinchilla", caught on with audiences in the US or anywhere else, for that matter. Curtie soon left the group, along with producer Koelewijn. The remaining three ladies made one last attempt and released the new single "Killing Love", as simply Boom Box, on the Injection Disco Dance label, but the song went unnoticed and they split. All of the ladies apparently kept busy as session singers after that, and Denise was briefly one half of pop duo Chess. Patricia Balrak has continued to sing, but now primarily in gospel music, as her Myspace page will attest. No sign of what Denise van der Hek and Judith Landry have been up to recently, but I did find unfortunate news about Curtie Fortune: she passed away on March 5, 2003. A tribute page has been set up for her by Peter Koelewijn. But perhaps the best tribute to her is listening to this wonderful, upbeat 'lost' pop gem that she was the focus of.

Video for Black Kisses

Download Black Kisses

1		Black Kisses (Never Make You Blue)
2		Chinchilla
3		Shocking
4		My Book Of Love
5		Let's Talk It Over In The Ladies' Room
6		A Bachelor's Bed (Is A Dangerous Place)
7		Help Me To Help You
8		Hoochie Coochie Boogie
9		Slowstarter

Sheree Jeacocke - Feel It (1985) & Jeacocke (1995) DOUBLE POST!!

The gorgeous Sheree Jeacocke is a Canadian institution. From the mid 80s to the late 90s she released a lot of music, in her homeland and abroad. I was fortunate enough a couple of weeks ago to locate her very first album, which is quite rare (though I'm sure one recent misinformed visitor to this blog would tend to disagree - wink wink) and can also feature her self-released EP from 10 years later. Born in Toronto in 1958, Sheree began touring with her band in the late 70s and eventually also joined Canadian disco/funk band Crack Of Dawn on tour, but her only recorded work was as a session vocalist for other singers and commercial jingles (her voice was everywhere on TV when I was a kid!). Then in 1985 the Canadian government organization FACTOR, which existed to fund fledgling artists, gave her money to record her own solo album. Feel It was released in 1985 by the Canadian Talent Library with very limited distribution. It featured dance-pop songs with an occasional rock or new wave slant, and showcased her versatile vocals. She released the single "You Get To Me", which garnered enough attention to get her a Juno nomination for Most Promising Female Vocalist and a deal with a major label, BMG. The label asked her to drop her last name and the album Sheree was released on BMG sublabel RCA in 1989, following a very similar formula to her first album. The first single, "Woman's Work", became a Canadian hit and also got her some international attention. The follow-ups, "Before We Fall", "Forever You Forever Me" and "Bang On", didn't do as well, though the housey "Bang On" was a minor club hit. Despite the failure of the follow-up singles, BMG kept her on and she released her next album, Miss My Love, in 1993, this time on BMG sublabel Arista and using her full name. Her sound on the album became more R&B and adult contemporary flavoured, as evidenced by the first single, "Miss My Love". It and the next two singles, "Serious" and "Everybody Needs A Love", managed to get radio play but were not hits. As a result, her association with the label soon ended. Not to be discouraged, Sheree recorded and released an EP on her own label in 1995 titled simply Jeacocke. The first single, "Mr. Big Stuff", a remake of the Jean Knight hit from 1971, became a Canadian club hit in it's remixed form. The EP itself went even further into a soul sound and included a remake of her own "Woman's Work". Perhaps encouraged by her dance club success, that same year she renamed herself J-Cock and appeared on the Pleasure Beat eurohouse hit "First Time", which I featured already on Lost Pop Treasures. The following year, again as J-Cock, she released an eurohouse remake of Alanis Morissette's "Hand In My Pocket" with Pleasure Beat, as well a solo single, a reggae-tinged remake of Stevie Wonder's "Sunshine Of My Life", which I also featured on Lost Pop Treasures. In 1997, the J-Cock eurohouse singles "All In All" (a Joyce Sims remake), "Sexuality" and "Come Together" were released as downloads only and didn't attract much of an audience. Since then, aside from a few vocal appearances here and there, Sheree has stayed away from the music scene and has instead concentrated on her career as a real estate agent, now going by the name of Sheree Cerqua. Still, I hold out hope that she will return to the music scene one day to grace us with her powerful voice once again.

For her Sheree and Miss My Love albums, my friend Rich has already featured these on his blog The Music Spectrum, so please go there to download. And for a site dedicated to Miss Jeacocke's discography, please visit Woman's Work: The Sheree Jeacocke Discography.

Download Feel It

1		I Wanna Be Your Girl
2		You Get To Me
3		Gimme Some Motion
4		It's Got To Be Love
5		Shakin In Stereo
6		Feel It
7		Slowly I Turn
8		Be My Boy
9		This Love Song
10		Can I Do It

Live performance of Mr. Big Stuff

Download Jeacocke

1		Mr. Big Stuff
2		So This Is Love
3		When In Rome
4		Midnight Train To Georgia
5		Womans Work

Maureen Steele - Nature Of The Beast (1985)

Here is another 80s gem sent to me by Toby. Of all of the albums Toby sent, this is the one I like the most. It's a funky dance pop treat. Thanks Toby!! Maureen Steele is another pop enigma. Her track "Boys Will Be Boys" appeared on the soundtrack to the movie The Flamingo Kid in 1984. The soundtrack was released on Motown Records, and soon after, Maureen's debut was also released on Motown. This was notable due to the fact that very few white artists were signed to the label at that time (another exception was Isle postee Misa). "Boys Will Be Boys" was a minor Billboard dance hit, but the follow-up single, "Save The Night For Me", which Maureen wrote, was an even bigger success, reaching #77 on the Billboard Top 100. "Rock My Heart" was planned as her next single, but was only issued as a promo. Apparently the label dropped her and she faded into obscurity, her only other notable appearance being as a back-up vocalist on Apollonia's only album, also featured on the Isle. This was likely due to Maureen's connections with her album's producers, Steve Barri and Bobby Sandstrom, who worked with Apollonia as well as other white pop-soul acts such as Sam Harris, Times Two and Wild Orchid, and also appeared on the album Let's Get Busy by previous Isle postees Teen Dream. Since then the internet has been abuzz with people looking for info on Maureen, but so far nothing has been uncovered about this talented but elusive artist.

UPDATE: Well, that was quick! LOL Tommy wrote to tell me that Maureen now goes by Maureen Steele-Volante. She and her husband Mike own a real estate company in California. This apparently became her new passion after singing. Check out their website HERE.

Video for Boys Will Be Boys

Download Nature Of The Beast

1		Nature Of The Beast
2		Physical Therapy
3		Save The Night For Me
4		Sneak Preview
5		Rock My Heart
6		Bad Girls Do It Better
7		Sidetracked
8		Do You Like It When I Hurt You
9		My Shy Lover
10		Boys Will Be Boys

Chantal Condor - Chantal Condor (1986) & Chantal (1989) DOUBLE POST!!

Happy new year, everyone!! So, I went out last week and bought a bunch of records that I wanted to feature on the blog. One was the self-titled album from Chantal and I was going to rip it, but I got a message the next day on another website from Toby, who offered me the MP3's of both that album and her first. What a coincidence, non? Anyway, thanks to Toby I can now offer you Chantal Condor's two pop albums in great quality! Thanks Toby!! Chantal was born in Alexandria, Egypt, but moved to Canada at five years of age and was raised in Montreal. Her first major step into the music world was as part of the disco duo Voggue with Angela Songui. They had a pretty big disco hit with "Dancin' The Night Away" in 1981, and released two albums and several more singles until they broke up in 1983. Chantal reemerged in 1985 with her first solo single on Columbia Records, "Hands Up", a remake of French Canadian duo Ottawan's 1981 disco hit. While the single wasn't a hit, it was notable enough to get her an album deal with the label. ("Hands Up" did become an even bigger hit in Canada two years later, when it was recorded by reggae/soul trio Sway.) Her first self-titled dance-pop album was released the following year. It was produced by Chantal and Vito Luprano, who would go on to work with Celine Dion. She released two singles: "Marinero", a remake of the italo-disco hit by Italian singer and actress Milva, and "Nightmare". Neither song got much of a reaction, but the label kept Chantal on. (The album also includes her version of Nicole's huge dance hit from the same year, "Don't You Want My Love".) It took Chantal four years, but she finally released her second album, dropping her last name and going by simply 'Chantal'. It was produced by British musician Peter Wood, and had an even poppier edge. Her look and sound were very similar to fellow Canadian and Isle postee Candi, who released her debut a year earlier. The first single, "A Little Lovin'", was a minor Canadian hit, and the video was in rotation on Muchmusic, as was the video for the follow up, "Angel In Your Eyes". The album also included remakes of the La Toya Jackson single "Imagination" from 1986 and the Menudo single "You've Got Potential" from 1988, which was also recorded the same year as Chantal by Isle postee Hiroko. The album failed to hit, and it seems the label dropped her. Chantal reemerged briefly as part of the French Canadian quartet Collage in 1991, who had a Canadian dance hit with "Hasta La Vista", but after the song hit she left the group and they re-released their album as a trio, with a different cover. This seemed the end of Chantal's career in popular music. However, in 2005, Chantal reappeared on the scene using her real name, Chantal Chamandy, working a very different look and sound. She released the Arabic flavoured track "You Want Me" on her own label, Ninemuse Entertainment. The song was then remixed by many hot remixers including Mark Anthony and Brian Rawling, and it became a worldwide dance hit. Her look and sound were almost unrecognizable as the Chantal from the 80s. She had matured as an artist and embraced her Egyptian, Greek and Lebanese heritage, incorporating it into her sound. Her voice was also vastly improved. She also proved a smart businesswoman, as she released her next single, "Feels Like Love", across Canada for $1 in Dollarama stores to great sales, and financed her own successful promotional campaign. Her album Love Needs You was released in 2006. She made international news in 2007 when, on September 7, she was the first artist ever permitted to perform at the foot of the Sphinx in Egypt (yes, before Kylie!). The event was filmed and shown on PBS in the US, entitled Beladi: A Night At The Pyramids. Chantal has kept busy since performing and recording, and will hopefully release new material soon. After achieving her greatest success sixteen years after everyone counted her out, Chantal is proof that you should never underestimate any 'deserted' pop star.

Download Chantal Condor

1		I Wasn't Good Enough
2		Tonight You're Mine
3		I Can't Stop Loving You
4		Second Hand Lover
5		Take The Days
6		Nightmare
7		Don't You Want My Love
8		You're Driving Me Insane
9		Under The Cover Of Night
10		Marinero

Video for Angel In Your Eyes

Download Chantal

1		A Little Lovin'
2		Angel In Your Eyes
3		Can't Dance Forever
4		Let Me Be The One
5		Sometimes Love Can Heal A Broken Heart
6		Imagination
7		You've Got Potential
8		Some Kind Of Magic
9		Ready Or Not?
10		Bells