SUMMER 1993
Issue No 2
Contents
Editorial
- Ages of Man?
- News & Reviews
- Review of New Releases (Arcades 'Blinded by the Light')
- Notes from America (Greg Russo)
- The Manfreds - Southport 3rd December 1992
- Controversy Corner ( 3 bootleg albums reviewed) Chris Thompson - Who Is He (Part 2)
- Steve Kinch (Self Portrait) (This article appears in the Band Members section)
- Letters
Chris Thompson - Who Is He (Part 2)
Thompson's already varied career took another twist the following year when Harold Faltermeyer contracted him at very short notice requesting he
write lyrics for a song about tennis. This he did, and the resulting 'The Challenge (face It)' single was released in time for Wimbledon, reaching the
top of the German charts on the back of the success of Steffi Graf and Boris Becker. The track had a more synthetic sound than on any previous
release on which Chris had featured. Chris also teamed up with Faltermeyer to write 'Yes We Can' which was issued in Germany by Artists for
Nature in 1989 and included Joe Cocker, Carol Decker, Jennifer Rush and Stevie Lange and many others in a 'Do They Know Its Christmas' type
charity song. This track was released again in 1992 as the single from the chart album 'Earthrise' in the U.K., and was housed in a totally different
sleeve. An extended version again involved Brian May, but who is this person called Chris Thompson people cried.
Mike Oldfield invited Chris to sing on two tracks from his 'Earthmoving' album, and it is unfortunate that 'Runaway Son' and 'See\The Light' were not among singles released from the album. Both are well produced and worth seeking out.
Also in 1989, Chris was involved with another charity project, S.O.S. United, singing with fifteen children from around the world. This was quite
different again, and is a personal favourite, having a real freshness and before you wince, is devoid of much of the sickly sweetness often found on releases featuring children.
Starship included Chris's 'Blaze of Love' on their poor selling 'Love Amongst The Cannibals' album in 1989, and 'The First Step', was included on John Farnham's 1990 album 'Chain Reaction'. Chris would record this track himself the next year.
The closing ceremony of the 1990 Commonwealth Games saw Chris fronting a band formed for the occasion which included Bill Kristian on bass.
The song, 'This Is The Moment' was issued in New Zealand and owing to to technical problems, anyone with a video copy of the band playing live in front of all the athletes should contact me post haste! Always have your VCR wired up ready!
Last year the keen eyed amongst you may have spotted Chris donning a red nose on 'The Stonk', but more importantly saw the release of the 'Beat
Of Love' album. Entirely co-written by Chris, Harold Faltermeyer was heavily involved in writing, playing, as well as producing. The title track was
issued as the first single, and the album also included 'The Fire' and 'The First Step' first sung by John Farnham. Chris toured Germany to promote
the album, playing some 9 dates during September at small venues. The date in Munich was voted gig of the month. The band consisted of Don
Airey on keyboards, John Lingwood of Earthband fame on drums, Brett Sawyer on guitar and Kevin Reynolds on sax. They enjoyed the
opportunity to play a varied set which included 'For You', 'Blinded By The Light', Blue Niles 'Stay' and some new material. The album itself was
generally more synthetic than earlier releases, but included some quality songs such as 'The First Step', 'Beat Of Love' and 'When The Wind Blows'.
This year Chris has helped Brian May on his solo album, singing vocals on one track and was also involved in the Freddie Mercury concert.
Furthermore, having produced demos at some point for all of Jeff Wayne's Spartacus double C.D., Chris's vocals were eventually included in the final releases.
The length of this article demonstrates both the quantity and variety of Chris's work outside Earth Band. He has been involved in numerous projects
and is well known and respected within the music business. Some projects, such as his singing on 4 or 5 tracks for Steve Hackett have failed to
see the light of day, but the commercialism of his voice is evident to the advertising industry, having often been utillised in television adverts as
varied as Corn Flakes and Rank Xerox (singing 'Take It To The Limit'). Currently he is recording with John Lingwood and hopes to play some live
dates in the New Year. Keep your ears to the ground, and hopefully with time, more people should know who Chris Thompson is, afterall the track record is proven; just that little bit of luck is now required. Graeme Yates 1993
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