Europe’s Stars of ’80s Dance Pop

Beginning early in the 1980s, a dance music revolution swept across Europe and Britain, merging rock, new wave, disco and worldbeat sounds. The resulting explosion of high-energy, increasingly electronic dance-pop caused a sensation worldwide.
In this book of original interviews, 32 of the era’s most celebrated artists, producers and industry professionals discuss their lives and careers: Thomas Anders (Modern Talking’s “You’re My Heart, You’re My Soul”), Pete Burns (Dead or Alive’s “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)”), Desireless (“Voyage Voyage”), Phil Harding (PWL Mixmaster), Junior (“Mama Used to Say”), Leee John (Imagination’s “Just an Illusion”), Liz Mitchell (Boney M.’s 1988 “Megamix”), Fab Morvan (Milli Vanilli’s “Girl You Know It’s True”), Taco (“Putting On the Ritz”), Jennifer Rush (“The Power of Love”), Sabrina (“Boys”), Spagna (“Call Me”), Amii Stewart (“Knock on Wood”), Yazz (“The Only Way Is Up”) and many more.
Includes special commentary by Academy Award winner Mel Brooks and Audrey Landers, star of Dallas.

James Arena is a New York-based author, host and commentator who has been featured on MSNBC, Fox, SiriusXM and other networks. He is the author of the pop culture books Fright Night on Channel 9, First Ladies of Disco and Legends of Disco and a recipient of a G.E.M.A. Foundation/City of Philadelphia award for preserving dance music history.

James Arena
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 240
Bibliographic Info: 32 photos, appendix, index
Copyright Date: 2017
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7142-0
eISBN: 978-1-4766-3014-4
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents


Acknowledgments    vi

Foreword by Mel Brooks    1

Foreword by Audrey Landers   4

Preface   7

Thomas Anders, Modern Talking 9

Jo Bogaert, Technotronic 18

Pete Burns, Dead or Alive 24

Phil Creswick, Big Fun 36

Hazell Dean 42

Manfred Esser, Photographer 47

Yasmin Evans, aka Yazz 53

Claudie Fritsch, aka Desireless 64

Junior Giscombe, aka Junior 68

Jaki Graham 76

Phil Harding, PWL Mixmaster 82

Klaus Hirschburger, Songwriter 90

Tom Hooker 96

Leee John, Imagination 104

Carmelo La Bionda, Producer, Composer 110

Caroline Loeb 116

Paul Mazzolini, aka Gazebo 121

Liz Mitchell, Boney M. 128

Fab Morvan, Milli Vanilli 134

Romano Musumarra, Producer, Composer 141

Taco Ockerse, aka Taco 148

Linda Jo Rizzo 158

Jack Robinson, Songwriter 165

Fabio Roscioli, aka Ryan Paris 170

Jennifer Rush 175

Sabrina Salerno, aka Sabrina 183

Ivana Spagna, aka Spagna 192

Amii Stewart 200

Ric Tess Teiges, aka Fancy 212

Harriette Weels, MaiTai 218

Appendix: The Record Shop—Noteworthy Tracks   225

Index   231