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Living in a Box

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This article is about the band. For their song of this name, see Living in a Box (song). For their debut album, see Living in a Box (album).
Living in a Box
OriginSheffield, England
GenresPop,[1] funk,[1] sophisti-pop[2]
Years active1985–1990
LabelsChrysalis Records
Past membersRichard Darbyshire
Marcus Vere
Anthony Critchlow
WebsiteLivinginaboxmusic.com

Living in a Box are a British band from the late 1980s. They are best known for their eponymous debut single, produced by Richard James Burgess. The group consisted of singer/guitarist Richard Darbyshire, drummer Anthony "Tich" Critchlow and keyboard player Marcus Vere.

Career

Formation and split up

Living in a Box were formed in 1985 in Sheffield. The group named themselves after the first song they had recorded together in the studio. It was in fact this song that had brought them together in the first place. Vere and Critchlow were recording the demo version of the tune in a studio also being visited by Darbyshire, an independent recording artist at the time. Darbyshire was invited to join his two future bandmates in the studio to record vocals for the track, and the three officially became a band.

Released two years later, "Living in a Box" was their most commercially successful single, peaking at number 5 on the UK Singles Chart and became the band's only single to chart in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. The single was featured on the group's self-titled debut album, which also included follow-up singles "Love is the Art," "So the Story Goes," and "Scales of Justice." While "So the Story Goes" was the only one of these additional singles to crack the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, all three songs charted in their home country, where the band continued to enjoy more success. Their follow-up album, Gatecrashing in 1989 proved to be even more successful in the UK, generating two Top Ten hits, "Blow the House Down" (which featured Queen's Brian May on guitar)[3][4] and "Room in Your Heart". The album itself peaked at number 21 (four places higher than the first). Artistic differences, as well as changes to their record label Chrysalis, caused the band to break up in 1990 before a third album could be released.

After Living in a Box

Frontman Richard Darbyshire has continued his long-standing music career, writing songs for artists such as Lisa Stansfield and briefly enjoying modest success as a solo artist . His solo album, How Many Angels (1994) has been re-released a number of times (beginning in 1999, when it was re-issued under the title of Love Will Provide) accompanied by various new and unreleased tracks.

The band's drummer, Anthony "Tich" Critchlow and keyboardist/synthesizer player, Marcus Charles Vere both retired from the music industry after the band split. Tich now runs his own company providing bespoke illumination and lighting installations. Vere now produces award-winning DVDs called Here Comes A ...! for pre-school aged children; topics include live action films about tractors, diggers, trains and fire engines.[5]

Legacy

The song "Living in a Box" was later covered by Bobby Womack, who had also worked with Living in a Box on their single, "So the Story Goes."

Group members

Discography

Albums

Studio
Compilations
  • The Best of Living in a Box (1999)
  • The Very Best of Living in a Box (2003)

Singles

Year Song UK
[7] 		IRE NED
[8] 		BEL
(FLA) 		FRA ITA GER AUT SWI SWE NOR NZ CAN US
Hot 100 		US
R&B 		US
Dance 		Album
1987 "Living in a Box" 5 6 10 20 18 9 4 11 2 4 7 31 18 17 74 6 Living in a Box
"Scales of Justice" 30 27 - - - 28 35 - - - - - - - - -
"So the Story Goes" 34 - - - - - - - - - - - - 81 - -
1988 "Love Is the Art" 45 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 12
1989 "Blow the House Down" 10 12 11 12 - 50 28 - 26 - - - - - - 19 Gatecrashing
"Gatecrashing" 36 - - - - 45 - - - - - - - - - -
"Room in Your Heart" 5 6 10 20 - - - 27 - 20 - - - - - -
"Different Air" 57 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"-" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released.

[6]

References

  1. ^ a b Sutton, Michael. "Living in a Box – Artist Biography". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  2. ^ Inskeep, Thomas; Soto, Alfred. "The Bluffer's Guide – Sophisti-Pop". Stylus. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  3. ^ "Brian". QueenVault.com. Retrieved 2014-08-11.
  4. ^ [1] Archived 2009-02-14 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ [2] Archived 2008-09-25 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 325. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  7. ^ "Living In A Box | Artist". Official Charts. Retrieved 2014-08-11.
  8. ^ "Living In A Box | Artist". Official Charts. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
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