Michael Bolton had an extensive (though not very successful) career under his real name, Michael Bolotin, before emerging in the mid-'80s as a major soft rock balladeer. He first turned up on RCA Records in the mid-'70s, singing cover tunes and his own blue-eyed soul songs in a gruff, Joe Cocker-like voice. Neither record buyers nor critics were much interested by the result. He then became the lead singer of Blackjack, a heavy metal band that made two albums for Polydor before splitting up in the early '80s. Looking to relaunch his career, he changed his name to Michael Bolton and signed to Columbia Records as a solo artist in 1983.
William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, composer and pianist. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man", he has been making music since the 1960s, releasing popular albums throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s…
Here You Are: The Best Of Billy Ocean is a new 2CD unique collection from original King Of Soul, packaged with a career spanning celebration of one of Britain’s biggest stars. Billy is a Grammy award winner with worldwide sales of over 30 million. He hit the number one spot across three continents in the 70s and 80s, counting no fewer than six UK top 10 singles. ‘Caribbean Queen’ stormed to number one on both the US singles chart and US R&B chart, and is amongst Billy’s six US top 10 singles. With top 10 albums the world over, Billy has notched up an impressive three Platinum albums (including two which are certified 2x Platinum).
After leaving the Commodores, Lionel Richie became one of the most successful male solo artists of the '80s, arguably eclipsed during his 1981-1987 heyday only by Michael Jackson and Prince. Richie dominated the pop charts during that period with an incredible run of 13 consecutive Top Ten hits, five of them number ones. As his popularity skyrocketed, Richie moved further away from his R&B origins and concentrated more on adult contemporary balladry, which had been one of his strengths even as part of the Commodores.
Four CD set. With 12 UK Top 10 singles, 29 Top 40 hits and a combined 280 weeks (over five years!) in the UK charts Hot Chocolate are one of the most successful chart acts of all time. This box set features every A and B-side they issued on the seminal RAK Records label, all 36 singles. Hot Chocolate chalked up at least one hit single every year between 1970 and 1984, a rare achievement and they are among the Top 200 most successful UK chart artists of all time. Unlike many UK 'pop' acts of the day they scored chart success in the USA where 'Emma' (#3), 'Disco Queen' (#28), 'You Sexy Thing' (#3), 'So You Win Again' (#31), and 'Every 1's A Winner' (#6) were all Billboard Top 40 hits. 24 of these singles were also chart entries in Germany while eight of them went Top 20 in Australia, the band scoring hits across most of Europe as well.
Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. From 1974 until 1985, the band consisted of guitarist Eddie Van Halen, vocalist David Lee Roth, drummer Alex Van Halen, and bassist Michael Anthony. The band went on to become major stars, and by the early 1980s they were one of the most successful rock acts of the time…