Broken 2006

When two people "connect" the bond between them can be so pure and simple as to stir hearts in heaven.

Known for his solo hits in the 1980s as well as his hits with the band Smokie in the '70s, Chris Norman is a British soft rock singer with an international following whose career spans several decades. As Smokie's popularity trailed off around the turn of the decade, Norman split from the band and made his solo album debut in 1982 with Rock Away Your Teardrops. While his debut album was fairly unsuccessful, his second full-length effort, Some Hearts Are Diamonds (1986), was another story, spawning the international Top Ten smash hit single "Midnight Lady." Norman's popularity was greatest in Germany, where he racked up several additional hits during the late '80s, among them "No Arms Can Ever Hold You," "Sarah (You Take My Breath Away)," and "Broken Heroes."

The loss of a key member is always traumatic for a band, no matter how amicable, and so it was with the departure of Mostly Autumn keyboard player Iain Jennings at the beginning of 2006. Indeed, early live shows after his exit were tentative at best, with Chris Johnson coming in to supply back up keys while Angela Gordon gamely added more keyboards to her excellent flute work. At the time, Johnson looked like a temporary member, there to fill a gap at a time of need. However, bandleader Bryan Josh clearly had a master plan, and the group's excellent new album Heart Full of Sky (Mostly Autumn Records (UK) AUT0933, 2006), and the first on their all-new label, introduces Johnson as a new creative force in the invention of Mostly Autumn music. Not as a keyboard player, but as a writer, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist. In doing so Josh and Johnson appear to have invigorated the band.