Melodic AOR

The Body Electric remains a fantastic hi-tech AOR group with a fresh and modern sound that was undeniably ahead of its time with their first release in 1984. Founded by David Sinclair (Vocals/Guitar), Bob Buckley (Vocals/Keyboards), Ross Friesen (Drums), and Kelly Cook (Bass) the band spawned many early charting singles such as "Somewhere in Time" on the RPM top 100 and the Adult Contemporary charts in 1984. The band follow...

Hailing from Cleveland Ohio, Beau Coup (pronounced BO-COO) is a fantastic AOR group that needs a place in your record collection! Founded by Dennis Lewin on keyboards and Frank Amato on Lead Vocals rounded out by his brother Tommy Amato on Vocals/Background vocals and bass player Bill March, the band garnered a lot of initial success on local Cleveland station WGCL with their single "Still In My Heart" earning top 10 extens...

In episode 3 of my podcast I did a really interesting feature on a fantastic band called Regatta. Hailing from Toronto Canada; Regatta had everything going for them a unique and catchy sound, a professional look, well developed song writing and very strong label to back them. Somehow not all of those "stars" did not align at that moment in time but their only release that came out in 1989 still has a cult following for many...

When you think of Greek AOR music does the name Douglas Come to mind? Douglas is one of the first English speaking AOR rock groups to come out of Greece! Formed in 1984 by Alex on Bass, Elias on Drums, Tony on Guitar, Chris on Keyboards and Cornelius on Vocals the band lineup was set recording their first 2 song single release on virgin records with a cover of the Who's "Baba O' Riley" and their own hard edged song ...

Aces Wild is an amazing band that no-doubt did not get its due with their fantastic release in 1994 entitled "Race". Centered around lead vocalist and guitarist Tim Thompson, Guitarist Aaron Bensette, Bass player Todd James and Drummer Darin Curtis the band infused both a hard rock image combined with pop elements of AOR to create a sound that no doubt was fresh and different from the music at that time. Being passed by War...

When you think of Rock/Pop bands from Norway; do groups such as A-Ha and TNT come to mind? while both fantastic examples the group Moneytalks should definitely come to mind! Formed by two brothers Sverre and Harold Wiik in the early 1980's the band moved to Los Angeles in 1986 in search of landing a record deal and eventually found their way with MCA/Sonet/Curb records in 1988. Rounded out on keyboards with co-producer Kim Bull...

Gilded Cage remains as a fantastic band that definitely didn't get their exposure when various singles were released back in the 1980s. Formed with Bill Lamont of Monkey See (Guitars and Keyboards) and John Berkmortel (Bass and Vocals); the group worked together initially on Bill Lamont's side solo project with his hit radio song on FM96 in London called "City Lights" which was rotated heavily locally . Produced by ...

Some bands really get that close to "making it big". Where it is a lack of promotion, or a music video for MTV/Much Music or single released or a tour that should of happened; the possible causes of a bands lack of commercial success are undeniably different and unique to every situation. Has your fate ever been determined by a "flip of a coin?" it is the most unreal story that I have ever encountered on this podcas...

Champion remains as a fantastic AOR inspired group with excellent production, songwriting and musicianship that was undeniably cut short by their label going into bankruptcy shortly after their release in 1984. Formed by Robin Rabbins (Bob Seeger and The Silver Bullet Band) and Lead by front man Alex Machin (A Foot In Coldwater) the band over a four year period had all the stars aligned for success. Starting off with small venues i...

Rio remains a really interesting group that is a rarity within the AOR scene as they were a duo. Formed by Steve Rodford (son of Jim Rodford of the band The Zombies) and Jon Neill (Jon Willoughby) the band started their early material in a group called Bombay with a small 2 track EP released in 1984. Steve took on Drums, Bass and backup vocals, while Jon focused on lead vocals and guitar. The band got signed by Warner communication...

Ya Ya remains as an obscure British AOR group you may not be familiar of but you definitely should! The band centered around Guitarist and Vocalist Lea Heart (Fastway, Lea Hart), Ray Calcutt on Guitars, Graham Garrett on Drums and Terry Stevens the band iself began under The Lea Hart Band and reinvented themselves under a new name Ya Ya. That eventually led the group to being signed to Rock N Roll Records which got eventually picke...

Jato may not be a familiar name to you but in my mind remains as a fantastic relatively unknown group and product of the 1980's AOR scene that was cut way to short by a label; Parallel One records that folded shortly after its release in 1988. With the original band formed in the early 70s under the monkier Tacoy Ryde - A Reggae inspired/Allman Brothers/Grateful Dead inspired group rebranded themselves in the early 1980's w...

1992 was a great year for music but a bad year for new AOR bands in achieving success within a changing music market towards grunge music. Korea remains as a big standout for Canadian AOR music at this time. The group compromised of Gino Lionessa on Vocals and Guitar; his brother Anthony Lionessa on Guitar, Tony "T-Bone" Botelho on bass, Sylvain Beauchamp on Keyboards and Henry "Chuck" Torrossian on drums, the lineu...

QWest (Pronounced Quest) is a fantastic AOR group out of Alberta Canada that really didn't get the success they deserved as recognized by their fantastic production, lyrics and music they created over a course of two releases. While their first release in 1981 entitled Tampico Gold it was more of a Pomp, New Wave sound (Duran Duran, The Cars, Chilliwack, Heart) that wasn't really polished until 1984 when the band worked ful...

The Young Saints remains a band that was given a lot of support from their label Polydor and remains as a group that was very successful for a 1991 AOR release. From Newfoundland and Labrador; the band relocated and started their beginnings featured on the Homegrown IV Vancouver album in 1990, the band was able to work with renowned producer/musician Corky Laing (Mountain, Mahogany Rush, Bo Diddley, Men Without Hats) and Studio Eng...

Have you ever found a band with so many successful creative minds working on the production side of a project but yet the album wasn't that commercially successful? Well that is the story of the band White Heat. Signed by CBS Records in 1989 and appearances by well known musicians such as Gil Moore (Triumph) and Rick Santers (Santers) and produced by Terry Brown (Rush, Dream Theater, Cutting Crew, Eye Eye, Blue Rodeo), Steve We...

It is really rare to find an artist and album not signed to any major or small labels that really blows your socks off! The Brian Island solo album released in 1989 is a fantastic album that the labels at the time did not give a serious look. Rounded out by Jerry Adolphe and Brad Steckel - his bandmates from Canadian group - Prototype and produced by Dan Lowe (Boulevard, Pretty Rough, White Wolf) the production side was set. While ...

If you really think about it: In a lot of rock bands many of the members may eventually embark on a solo career. Bands like Journey (Steve Perry), Loverboy (Paul Dean), Kiss (Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley), Rush (Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson) are some that I know well. But not all are widely known or successful. Brian Greenway who made a career working with April Wine had extra time during the "Walking Through Fire" album sessions ...

Boulevard is a fantastic melodic AOR band that you should definitely become familiar with! Starting its roots in 1984 with their first single "Another Rainy Day In London" the band had early success in Germany that helped propel their band to an American 7 album MCA record contract! Produced by Pierre Bazinet (Sass Jordan, Paradox, Celine Dion); their first release was in 1988. The titled album "Boulevard" had treme...