Jump to content

Pseudo Echo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 74.69.64.52 (talk) at 23:33, 24 April 2010. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Pseudo Echo

Pseudo Echo are an Australian Rock band from Melbourne, best known for their 1987 hit version of "Funkytown".

History

Formation

Formed in 1982 by school friends Brian Canham (vocals, guitars, and keyboards) and Pierre Gigliotti (bass, keyboards) the band completed its lineup with Anthony Argiro (drums) and Tony Lugton (guitars and keyboards).

Their first album Autumnal Park was an Ultravox-influenced album that yielded the Australian singles "Listening" (produced by Peter Dawkins), "Stranger in Me", "Dancing Till Midnight", and "A Beat for You". Their climb to success in the summer of 1984 was rapid, and they quickly became the second biggest band in Australia after INXS.[citation needed] "His Eyes", a track from their first album, received exposure overseas as it was used in the movie Friday the 13th: A New Beginning.

New Lineup/"Love an Adventure"

There was a lineup change before their second album with Tony Lugton being replaced by James Leigh (real surname: Dingli) after a dispute between Lugton and Canham over money, and another lineup change during the making of the second album with Argiro being replaced by James's brother Vince. Lugton went on to join synth rock band Talk That Walk. Canham joined as guest vocalist with The Incredible Penguins in 1985, for a cover of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)", a charity project for research on Fairy penguins, which peaked at #10 on the Australian Kent Music Report in December.[1][2]

Their second album, Love an Adventure (1986), was also a success with several singles from that album topping the Australian charts including the title track, "Don't Go", "Try", and "Living in a Dream". The album was re-released the following year to include their remake of the Lipps, Inc. song "Funkytown", which brought the group their biggest international success, reaching No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA and No. 8 in the UK in July, 1987, as well as spending six weeks at #1 in Australia.

The overseas release of Love an Adventure featured a somewhat different track listing which included re-mixed versions of 3 singles from Autumnal Park: "Listening", "A Beat for You", and "Destination Unknown". These were remixed to sound more rock-oriented, to better-match the other tracks on the album. Brian Canham even re-recorded the vocals for a slicker sound to compliment these rock remixes. Once again, the overseas version of Love an Adventure was re-released to include the re-make of "Funkytown", replacing "Don't Go" in the original track list.

In 1987, the band re-released "Listening" for the movie North Shore starring Nia Peeples. Their third album, Race (1989), went further in the direction of pop rock and metal. The album featured the Australian singles "Fooled Again", "Over Tomorrow", "Eye of the Storm", and "Don't You Forget". The album stopped at #32 on the ARIA chart and it seemed that the band's move to a more rock/metal genre had alienated a good portion of their established fanbase. Pseudo Echo disbanded shortly after touring for Race in 1990.

Recent Projects

The band reunited in 1999 to produce the EP Funkytown Y2K: RMX, which included 6 new remixes of "Funkytown". A year later, they released the double-CD Teleporter (2000), which featured 4 all-new tracks, 5 re-mixed tracks, and a live performance in Melbourne. The live performance featured all the tracks from Autumnal Park except for "From the Shore", along with a few tracks from Love an Adventure and a performance of the rare B-side "In Their Time". Since reuniting in 1999, the band has been touring constantly in Australia, and were previously seen touring with the "Idols of the 80s" in 2005. In April 2010 they played two sold out shows in Adelaide, South Australia, and they continue to tour nationwide.

Influences

Pseudo Echo has stated they were originally influenced by Simple Minds, Ultravox, Japan and then later Duran Duran and The Human League.[3][4]

Discography

Studio albums
  • Autumnal Park (1984)
  • Pseudo Echo (1984) (the U.S. counterpart to Autumnal Park)
  • Love an Adventure (1986) (Alternate version released in the U.S. in 1987)
  • Race (1989)
  • Teleporter (2000)
Compilations
  • Long Plays 83-87 (1987)
  • Best Adventures (1995)
  • The 301 Demo Sessions (2006)
EPs
  • New York Dance Mix (1984)
Australian Singles
  • "Listening" / "In Their Time" (1983)
  • "A Beat For You" / "Autumnal Park" (1984)
  • "Dancing Until Midnight" / "Scripts" (1984)
  • "Stranger in Me" / "Turning the Pages" (1984)
  • "Don't Go" / "Living in a Dream" (Jazz) (1985)
  • "Love an Adventure" / "All Tied Up" (1985)
  • "Living in a Dream" / "Loose Ends" (1986)
  • "Try" / "Lonely Without You" (Double A-side) (1986)
  • "Funky Town" / "Lies Are Nothing" (1986)
  • "Fooled Again" / "Take on the World" (1988)
  • "Over Tomorrow" / "Wings" / "Nothing to Say" (CD single) (1989)
  • "Eye of the Storm" / "Don't You Forget" (Double A-side) (1989)
  • "Funkytown Y2K:RMX" (CD) (1999)
Overseas Singles
  • "A Beat For You" / "Walkaway" US (1985)
  • "Listening" / "In Their Time" Japan (Promo) (1985)
  • "Love an Adventure" / "All Tied Up" UK (1986)
  • "Living in a Dream" / "Don't Go" UK, Japan (1987)
  • "Funky Town" / "Lies Are Nothing" UK (1987)
  • "Take on the World" / "Lonely Without You" Japan (1987)

References

  1. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book Ltd. ISBN 0646119176. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help) NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1974 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988. In 1992, Kent back calculated chart positions for 1970–1974.
  2. ^ Spencer, Chris (2002) [1987]. "Incredible Penguins". The Who's Who of Australian Rock. Noble Park, Vic.: Five Mile Press. ISBN 1865038911. Retrieved 2 January 2010. {{cite book}}: External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help) Note: [on-line] version established at White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd in 2007 and was expanded from the 2002 edition.
  3. ^ "Pseudo Echo". Femail.com.au. Retrieved 2008-09-16. Simple minds, Ultravox, Japan and then later Durran Durran and Human League. I didn't realize how much we were influenced until now. It's quite obvious when I actually listen to our music and draw comparisons.
  4. ^ "Brian Canham". MUSIC. MySpace.com. Retrieved 2008-09-05. Influences:
    Artistically: Jeffrey Smart, Julian Opie, Ray & Charles Eames, MC Escher, Rene Magritte, Mario Bellini, Maurice Sendak ...
    Musically: Jose' Feliciano, Herb Alpert, Sven Libaek, Jerry Goldsmith, Philip Glass, Danny Elfman, Elliot Smith, Aimee Mann, Emiliano Torrini, Air, The Beatles, Jean Michel Jarre', Karfwerk, Simple Minds, Japan, Ultravox, Human League, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet...
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pseudo_Echo&oldid=358102828"