Baltimora

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Baltimora was an Italian New Wave dance outfit active in the mid to late 1980s. Jimmy McShane, from Northern Ireland, was the frontman for the project. The vocals, however, were not produced by McShane, instead they were done by Baltimora's producer Maurizio Bassi who sang all of the lead vocals.^[1]. Both the music and the lyrics of Baltimora were written mostly by Bassi and Naimy Hackett, although McShane wrote the lyrics to "Survivor In Love." Baltimora is often considered a one-hit wonder due to the success they experienced with their first single "Tarzan Boy" only.

[edit] History

[edit] Early years

In early 1984, Maurizio Bassi, a music producer and musician for a few acts in Italy, was in search of a new project. He came across the flamboyant Jimmy McShane (May 23rd 1957 - March 29th 1995), an EMT for the Red Cross (in Ireland), known as 'Ruby' in the gay community, and had him do the lead vocals and frontman act, due to his appearance/style and great dancing. Jimmy is noted for having multiple hair styles and his big red rimmed glasses. He also recruited other musicians to record the tracks which would eventually appear on Living in the Background and Survivor in Love.

[edit] Success

"Tarzan Boy," released in the summer of 1985, was a huge success, debuting in the top five of the Italian single chart as well as in some other European countries, including Germany^[2], Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, France, The Netherlands and Norway ^[3]. Soon afterwards Baltimora found similar success in the United Kingdom with "Tarzan Boy," where it reached #3 in August 1985^[4]. However, it took a while for the single to enter the Top 100 single chart in the United States (where it was released on EMI), it remained on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for six months ultimately peaking at #13 in the early spring of 1986^[5]. Baltimora performed on the American TV show Solid Gold, which helped further their success in America. The second single "Woody Boogie," which also gained notable success, entered the Top 20 in Germany^[6], Switzerland and Sweden^[7].

Baltimora's first album, Living in the Background, was released in Europe at the end of 1985, and arrived in United States in 1986. Despite the enormous success that Baltimora achieved with the single "Tarzan Boy," the album "Living in the Background" charted moderately entering the Top 20 album charts in only a few countries in Europe, including Sweden's ^[8].

Baltimora attempted a comeback in 1987 with a second album consisting of eight tracks titled Survivor in Love, but the single "Key Key Karimba" was the only notable track that managed to enter the Top 100 charts in only a few countries including Italy's.

[edit] Ending

After the album Survivor in Love, with no label support of a follow up album and due to its poor success, Bassi decided it was time to move onto other projects.

[edit] Aftermath and legacy

[edit] The 1990s

The single "Tarzan Boy" bounced back into the Billboard Hot 100 chart in March 1993 as a remix, climbing to #51, at the time of its appearance in a Listerine commercial. The song also appeared in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993) and Beverly Hills Ninja (1997).

[edit] Death

Jimmy McShane, the frontman of Baltimora, died on March 29, 1995, of complications from AIDS.

[edit] Discography

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Jimmy McShane Forum
• Baltimora Forum