Eoghan Quigg

Eoghan Quigg (born Eoghan Karl Christopher Quigg on July 12, 1992 in Dungiven, Northern Ireland) is a pop singer from the late 2000s who appeared on the UK television show, “The X-Factor.”

Eoghan began singing when he was 2 years old and found his voice while in school and was told by his teacher to stand up and sing as a punishment which led to him becoming a choir boy. After that, he sang lead roles in school musicals such as “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”

In 2008, he auditioned for “The X Factor” and got past the “judges’ houses” stage of the competition and made it to the live shows in Simon Cowell’s 14-24 boys group. He eventually finished 3rd in the competition behind Alexandra Burke (who was the winner) and JLS (who were the runners-up).

In December of that same year, Eoghan appeared at the Cheerios Childline Concert at the Dublin 02 in Dublin along with singers Enrique Iglesias & Anastasia and Irish boyband, Boyzone, who invited him on the UK and Ireland leg of their “Better” tour.

On January 15, 2009, it was announced that he landed a record deal with Syco’s parent company, Sony BMG and later signed a record deal with RCA Records.
In April of 2009, Eoghan released his debut and only self-titled album which peaked at #14 on the UK Albums chart. The album received negative reviews from critics, who called it the “worst record ever made”, criticizing its lack of original material, low production values and his poor singing performance.
The only single released from the album, “28,000 Friends” flopped, peaking at #96 on the UK Singles chart. Due to the album’s disappointing sales, Eoghan was dropped from RCA Records.
After that, nothing much was heard from him until 2014 when it was announced by RTÉ that he would be one of the five music acts that would represent Ireland in the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest. He finished second in the contest with the song, “The Movie Song” which peaked at #33 on the Irish Singles chart.

In later years, Eoghan became involved in sports, playing football for Coagh United F.C. and Portstewart F.C. in the Northern Ireland Intermediate League. These days, he works as a presenter on Q Radio and resides in Dungiven with his girlfriend, Amy and two children.

To see a video for “28,000 Friends,” go to:

To see a video for “The Movie Song,” go to:

 

Michelle McManus

Michelle McManus (born on May 8, 1980 in Glasgow, Scotland) is a Scottish singer from the 2000s who first gained success after appearing the UK talent show, “Pop Idol.”

In early 2003, she auditioned for the second season of “Pop Idol.” Out of the four judges on the show, Pete Waterman was critical as to whether she could make a career in the music business due to her plus-sized appearance; however, she was the favorite of judge Simon Cowell.

The public voted Michelle into the top 12 on “Pop Idol” and she made it to the finals (where she was only in the bottom 3 once). On December 20, 2003, she was declared the winner of the show. Although she won the competition, Pete Waterman stormed off the show’s set in protest, later calling her “rubbish.”
After “Pop Idol”, Michelle was signed to the Sony BMG record label and released her debut single, “All This Time” which became her only hit song to date, topping the music charts in the United Kingdom (where it was certified Platinum) and Scotland. It was also successful in Europe and Ireland.
In February of 2004, she released her debut album, “The Meaning of Love” which topped the Scottish Albums chart. It also peaked at #3 on the UK Albums chart and #64 on the Irish Albums chart.
The title song (which was released as the follow-up single) did not match the success of her previous single, peaking at #16 on the UK Singles chart and #29 on the Irish singles chart. Due to disappointing record sales, she was dropped from her record label.

In June of 2005, Michelle appeared on a 60-minute television special called “You Are What You Eat” in a bid to lose weight. In December of that same year, she released a book called “You Are What You Eat: Michelle’s Diary.” A year later in 2006, she released a DVD called “The Life Plan” which is a guide to healthy living, eating and exercise.

In July of 2005, it was announced that Michelle had left her management company, 19 Entertainment and went on to sign a new deal with Sanctuary Entertaiment.

During her appearance on ITV’s “Loose Women” in 2007, she stated that she believed she was dropped from her record company because of her weight and the company couldn’t build any merchandise around her image.

In 2006, Michelle began guest-presenting on the Scottish radio station, Clyde 1 and later got her own regular Saturday show on the station and hosted two series of the BBC Radio Scotland show, “Let’s Do The Show Right Here.” She also made appearances on television and performed in the theater production of “The Vagina Monologues” in June of 2006.
In November of 2007, she released the single, “Just For You” which was supposed to be featured on her sophomore album, “Dancing to a Different Beat”, but due to unknown reasons, the album was never released.

Michelle continued to make appearances in theater and on television throughout the 2000s and 2010s. In 2009, she became a presenter on the Scottish lifestyle television show, “The Hour.”

In September of 2010, she was one of the performers for Pope Benedict XVI at a ticketed Mass of the Feast of Saint Ninian in Bellahouston Park as part of the Pope’s state visit to the United Kingdom.

Up until 2018, Michelle worked as a columnist for the Glascow Evening Times and was a judge for the paper’s Glasgow “Star Turn” talent contest in 2012.

In September of 2012, she was one of the artists featured on Mànran’s song, “Take You There” (which was the official single of the 2012 STV Children’s Appeal) where it peaked at #70 on the Scottish Singles chart.

Since 2012, Michelle has performed her one-woman shows at the Edinburgh Festival. She continues to sing and became a panelist on “Loose Women” in 2018. In January of 2020, she gave birth to a son, Harry with her husband, Jeff. During that same year, she started a podcast on BBC Radio Scotland called “Our Lives with Michelle McManus.”

To follow Michelle on Twitter, go to:

Tweets by LadyM_McManus

To listen to Michelle’s podcast, “Our Lives with Michelle McManus,” go to:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0005wkp/episodes/downloads

To see a video for “All This Time,” go to:

To see a video for “The Meaning of Love,” go to:

To see a video for “Just For You”, go to:

Samantha Sang

Samantha Sang (born Cheryl Lau Sang on August 5, 1951 in Melbourne, Australia) is a Australian pop singer from the 1970s. Her father, Reg Sang performed professionally under the name Reg Gray and ran a singing school.

During her childhood, Samantha made her radio debut when she was 8 years old. Two years later, she made her first appearance on Graham Kennedy’s “In Melbourne Tonight” where she continued to perform regularly. In 1966, she released her debut single, “The Real Thing” under the name Cheryl Gray.
It wasn’t until the release of her third single, “You Made Me What I Am” that she first gained success on the music charts with the song peaking at #8 on the Go-Set Top 40. She later received an award for “Best Female Vocalist” at the age of 15.

Samantha became a singer on Australian television, but felt that her career was limited if she stayed in Australia. In 1969, she traveled to the United Kingdom where she was discovered by Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, who encouraged his manager, Robert Stigwood to sign her to his management company. Under Stigwood’s management, she changed her stage name to Samantha Sang.

She released the songs, “The Love of a Woman”, “Nothing in the World Like Love”, “It’s Been Raining Every Day Since Monday” and “It Could Have Been”, but neither of them made the music charts at all.

Visa restrictions forced Samantha out of the United Kingdom and she returned to Australia. By 1975, she changed management and signed a record deal with Polydor Records.
In 1975, she released her debut album, “Samantha Sang and Rocked the World” which didn’t appear to make any impact on the charts at all.

In 1977, Samantha recorded the song, “When Love Is Gone” which was the theme song for a French drama film called “Bilitis.” While in France, she visited Barry Gibb while the Bee Gees were recording tracks for the soundtrack to “Saturday Night Fever.”
During that same year, she released the single, “Emotion” (written by Barry and Robin Gibb) which became a hit, topping the music charts in Canada and New Zealand.

It also peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the Kent Music Report in Australia. In 2001, the song was covered by Destiny’s Child for their third album, “Survivor” which became a hit on the pop music charts.
In 1978, Samantha released her sophomore album, “Emotion” which peaked at #29 on the Billboard 200 and #35 on the album charts in Australia.
Her follow-up single, “You Keep Me Dancing” peaked at #56 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #34 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart.
In 1979, she released her third album, “From Dance to Love” on United Artists Records which didn’t appear to make the album charts at all.

A cover version of Wilson Pickett’s song, “In the Midnight Hour” peaked at #88 on the Billboard Hot 100, but failed to make the charts elsewhere.

After that, nothing much was heard from Samantha Sang and she seemed to have faded into obscurity. In 1999, she made a short return to performing live with her father, Reg as a guest vocalist.
In 2008, Samantha released her fourth album, “And the World Listened” on the SS Music label, making it her first album in 29 years. It’s unknown how or if the album charted.

These days (according to research), she still resides in Melbourne, Australia, but it’s unknown what she’s currently up to these days.

To see a video for “Emotion”, go to:

To see a video for “You Keep Me Dancing,” go to:

To see a video for “In the Midnight Hour”, go to:

 

To see a video for “You Made Me What I Am” [released under the name Cheryl Gray], go to:

Patti Austin Rhythm of the Street\It’s Gonna Be Special (Double Remix Post)

[from her 1984 self-titled album]

Rhythm of the Street (Dance Remix Version)

It’s Gonna Be Special (Dance Remix Version)

Krystol ‎Passion From A Woman (Remix Post)

[from their 1986 album, “Passion From A Woman”]

Extended Mix Version

Dub Mix Version

A Cappella Version

The S.O.S. Band ‎Break Up (Remix Post)

[from their 1984 album, “Just The Way You Like It”]

Gwen Guthrie ‎Ain’t Nothin’ Goin’ On But The Rent (Remix Post)

[from her 1986 album, “Good To Go Lover”]

12-Inch Club Mix Version

Dub Mix Version

Change

Change is an Italian-American post disco\dance music group from the ’80s.

The group was initially formed in early 1979 as a studio-band with a revolving cast of musicians led by businessman/executive producer Jacques Fred Petrus with the majority of the songwriting & production carried out by Mauro Malvasi and Davide Romani.

Their dual Italian and American identity was a result of a production system in which the music (expect for the vocals) were written & recorded by Italian collaborators in studios such as Fonoprint Studios in Bologna, Italy.

The backing tracks were then taken to the United States where vocals were added by American performers before being mixed into finalised versions in major studios such as the Power Station in New York City.
In March of 1980, Change released their debut single, “A Lover’s Holiday” which became their biggest hit song to date, topping Billboard’s Disco Top 100 chart for 9 weeks (along with the tracks, “The Glow of Love” & “Searching”), staying on the chart for 39 weeks.

The song peaked at #5 on Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart, staying on the chart for 20 weeks. It also crossed over to the pop charts where it peaked at #40 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at #14 on the U.K. Singles chart.
In April of that same year, Change released their debut album, “The Glow of Love” which peaked at #29 on the Billboard 200 and #10 on Billboard’s Top R&B Albums chart. It was certified Gold by the RIAA.
The follow-up single, “Searching” (which featured lead vocals by Luther Vandross) was moderately successful on the pop and R&B charts, peaking at #23 on Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart (staying on the chart for 12 weeks) and #11 on the U.K. Singles chart.
The last single, “The Glow of Love” (which also featured Luther Vandross on lead vocals) peaked at #14 on the U.K. Singles chart and #49 on Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart, staying on the chart for 12 weeks. The success of both songs exposed Luther Vandross to mainstream success and a successful solo music career after that.
In March of 1981, Change released their follow-up album, “Miracles” which peaked at #46 on the Billboard 200 and #9 on Billboard’s Top R&B Albums chart.

Due to contractual differences, Luther Vandross refused to sing lead vocals on any of the tracks on the album and was only featured on backing vocals on selected songs.
The lead single, “Paradise” topped Billboard’s Disco Top 100 chart for 5 weeks (along with the tracks “Hold Tight” and “Heaven of My Life”), staying on the chart for 23 weeks. It also peaked at #80 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #7 on Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart, staying on the chart for 18 weeks.
The follow-up single, “Hold Tight” peaked at #89 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #40 on Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart, staying on the chart for 9 weeks.

After the release of their sophomore album, Luther Vandross continued to provide back-up vocals for Change until 1981 when he left the group to pursue his solo career and was replaced by James “Crab” Robinson.
In April of 1982, Change released their third album, “Sharing Your Love” which peaked at #66 on the Billboard 200 and #14 on Billboard’s Top R&B Albums chart. On the album, the group moved away from disco & club music and focused on funk & R&B music.
The lead single, “The Very Best of You” peaked at #84 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #16 on Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart, staying on the chart for 14 weeks. It also managed to peak at #30 on Billboard’s Dance\Disco Top 80 chart, staying on the chart for 14 weeks.

The follow-up single, “Hard Times (It’s Gonna Be Alright)” peaked at #71 on Billboard’s Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 6 weeks.
In March of 1983, Change released their fourth album, “This Is Your Time” which peaked at #161 on the Billboard 200 and #34 on Billboard’s Top R&B Albums chart.

During the recording and touring of the album, the group’s line-up of performers, writers and producers (along with their commercial success) started to decline. After the album was released, Rick Brennan replaced James Robinson, who left the group to pursue a solo career while producers Davide Romani & Mauro Malvasi left to do other projects.
The title song peaked at #39 on Billboard’s Dance\Disco Top 80 chart, staying on the chart for 7 weeks. It also peaked at #33 on Billboard’s Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 11 weeks.

The follow-up single from the album, “Don’t Wait Another Night” peaked at #17 on Billboard’s Dance\Disco Top 80 chart (staying on the chart for 11 weeks) and #89 on Billboard’s Black Singles chart (staying on the chart for only 3 weeks).

At the time James Robinson, Davide Romani and Mauro Malvasi left Change, bassist\songwriter Timmy Allen and vocalist Deborah Cooper were promoted to lead vocalists. After the lack of success from their fourth album, Jacques Fred Petrus hired producers\songwriters Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis to write & produce their fifth studio album.
In April of 1984, Change released their fifth album, “Change of Heart” which peaked at #102 on the Billboard 200, #15 on Billboard’s Top R&B Albums chart and #34 on the UK Albums chart.
The title track was moderately successful, peaking at #17 on the UK Singles chart and #7 on Billboard’s Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 15 weeks.

The follow-up single, “It Burns Me Up” peaked at #61 on Billboard’s Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 7 weeks. The last single to chart from the album, “You Are My Melody” peaked at #48 on the UK Singles chart.
In April of 1985, Change released their sixth studio album, “Turn on Your Radio” which peaked at #64 on the Billboard 200, #39 on the UK Albums chart and #64 on Billboard’s Top R&B Albums chart.
The lead single, “Say You Love Me Again” peaked at #94 on the UK Singles chart, making it their lowest chart appearance on the chart to date.

The follow-up single, “Let’s Go Together” peaked at #37 on the UK Singles chart, #97 on the Billboard Hot 100, #56 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart (staying on the chart for 10 weeks) and #35 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Disco Club Play chart (staying on the chart for 6 weeks).

The last two singles released from the album: “Oh What A Feeling” (which peaked at #56) and “Mutual Attraction” (which peaked at #60) were moderately successful on the UK Singles chart.

By 1987, Change had disbanded following the death of Jacques Fred Petrus in June of that same year at the age of 39.

Davide Romani, Mike Francis (also known as Francesco Puccioni) and Patrick Boothe attempted to revive the group in 1990 and planned to release music under the name X-Change in 1992, but due to lack of money, the recordings were left unreleased.
It wasn’t until 2010 that the recordings by X-Change were released under the album title, “Change Your Mind after Davide Romani closed a deal with Italian record label Fonte Records in 2009.
In 2018, Change returned with original members Davide Romani & Maurio Malvasi along with new vocalist Tanya Michelle Smith. During that same year, they released the album, “Love 4 Love.”

As of 2021, it’s unknown if the new line-up of Change is planning on releasing any new music in the near future.

To see a video for “A Lover’s Holiday,” go to:

To see a video for “The Glow of Love,” go to:

To see a video for “Searching,” go to:

To see a video for “Paradise,” go to:

To see a video for “Hold Tight,” go to:

To see a video for “The Very Best in You,” go to:

To see a video for “Hard Times (It’s Gonna Be Alright)”, go to:

To see a video for “This Is Your Time,” go to:

To see a video for “Don’t Wait Another Night,” go to:

To see a video for “Change of Heart,” go to:

To see a video for “It Burns Me Up,” go to:

To see a video for “Let’s Go Together,” go to:

To see a video for “You Are My Melody,” go to:

To see a video for “Say You Love Me Again,” go to:

Chanson

Chanson was a male disco/R&B duo from the late ’70s that consisted of bassist James Jamerson Jr. (born James L. Jamerson II on August 24, 1957 in Detroit, Michigan) and guitarist David Williams (born on November 21, 1950 in Newport News, Virginia). The duo took their name from the French word for “song.”

James was the son of legendary Motown sideman James Jamerson. During the early ’70s, he became an in-demand session bassist. David began his professional music career with The Dells, but put his music career to join the Army.

After a stint with Tyrone Davis, David took a job playing with The Temptations’ road band where he and James brainstormed the idea of forming Chaison. They later began working on tracks together and gained a record deal with Ariola Records America.

In 1978, they released their self-titled debut album; it’s unknown how or if the album made the charts at all.
The lead single from the album, “Don’t Hold Back” became a hit, peaking at #11 on Billboard’s National Disco Action Top 40 chart, staying on the chart for 13 weeks. It also peaked at #8 on Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart (staying on the chart for 20 weeks) and crossed over to the pop music charts, peaking at #21 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Chaison’s follow-up single, “I Can Tell” missed the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at #21 on Billboard’s National Disco Action chart (staying on the chart for 12 weeks) and #72 on Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart, staying on the chart for only 5 weeks.
In 1979, the duo released their last album, “Together We Stand” which failed to make the album charts. The only single to make the charts, “Rock Don’t Stop” peaked at #67 on Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart, staying on the chart for 5 weeks.

Some time after that, Chaison disbanded. In later years, James and David continued to keep themselves busy in the music business.

James appeared on albums by artists such as Janet Jackson, Smokey Robinson, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, Teena Marie and Philip Bailey. On March 23, 2016, he died at the age of 58 after suffering from ankylosing spondylitis for years.

David continued to work as a session guitarist for artists such as Michael Jackson, Julio Iglesias, George Benson, Stevie Nicks, Shalamar, Boz Scaggs, Mariah Carey, Dionne Warwick, Paul McCartney, Diana Ross, Whitney Houston, Peter Cetera and Chaka Khan. He also had two daughters: singer\actress Davida Williams and singer Dana Williams. On March 9, 2009, he died from cardiac arrest in Hampton, Virginia at the age of 58.

To see a video for “Don’t Hold Back”, go to:

 

To see a video for “I Can Tell,” go to:

 

To see a video for “Rock Don’t Stop,” go to:

Orrall & Wright

Orrall & Wright were an American country music duo from the ’90s that consisted of Robert Ellis Orrall (born on May 4, 1955 in Winthrop, Massachusetts) and Curtis Wright (born on June 5, 1955 in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania).

Prior to the formation of the duo, Robert & Curtis each recorded solo albums and had moderate success on the country music charts. They have each written songs throughout the late ’80s/early ’90s for various artists such as Ronnie Milsap, Patty Loveless, Vince Gill, Rhonda Vincent and Carlene Carter.

In 1994, they released their only self-titled album on Giant Records which didn’t appear to make the Billboard 200 or Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart at all.

The lead single from the album, “She Loves Me Like She Means It” peaked at #47 on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, staying on the chart for 11 weeks, making it their only highest charting single to date.

The follow-up single, “If You Could Say What I’m Thinking” peaked at #70 on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, staying on the chart for only 2 weeks and the last single, “What Do You Want from Me” failed to make the charts at all.

Although they received a nomination from the Country Music Association for “Duo of the Year”, Orrall & Wright returned to their respective solo music careers.

Curtis Wright joined country music band Shenandoah where he was the lead singer until 2007 when he was replaced by Jimmy Yeary. After that, he joined Pure Country League. According to research, Curtis currently resides in Alabama and he received the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2018.

Robert Ellis Orrall continues to be active in the music business, writing songs for artists such as Reba McEntire, Lindsay Lohan, Martina McBride and Taylor Swift (on her 2008 debut album). He has also performed and released three albums as an indie rock musician in the band, Monkey Bowl.

To see Robert Ellis Orrall’s website, go to:
https://www.robertellisorrall.com/

To see a video for “She Loves Me Like She Means It,” go to:

To see a video for “If You Could Say What I’m Thinking,” go to: