Blue Angel (band)

Blue Angel
Origin New York City
Genres Rockabilly
Years active 1979–82,
1987
Labels Polydor
Past members Cyndi Lauper, John Turi, Arthur "Rockin' A" Neilson, Lee Brovitz and Johnny Morelli

Blue Angel was a retro-rockabilly band that featured Cyndi Lauper before her rise to fame as a solo singer.[1] The lineup also included John Turi on keyboard instrument and saxophone, Arthur "Rockin' A" Neilson (guitar), Lee Brovitz (bass guitar) and Johnny Morelli (drums). Lauper and Turi wrote the bulk of their material, and the group also covered pop standards, such as Mann/Weil's "I'm Gonna Be Strong" (which Lauper covered again in a 1994 album). Blue Angel was briefly popular on the New York club scene.

History

The band reformed without Lauper in 1987 under the name "Boppin' the Blues." Lauper joined them on stage for a one-time performance at New York's Lone Star Cafe, singing a Big Mama Thornton song and That's Alright Mama. The band has since disbanded.

Discography

Their only album, the self-titled Blue Angel, was released in 1980. It featured a sparse punk rock and new wave-styled cover in primary red and floating band member photos. The sales for the album were more successful overseas than in America. The only track to achieve high chart status was "I'm Gonna Be Strong," which reached No. 37 in the Netherlands. Another song from the album, "Maybe He'll Know," was rerecorded by Lauper on her second solo album, True Colors, in 1986.

In 1980 Blue Angel recorded a second album for Polydor that was never released due to a change in management at Polygram Germany; they, along with other artists, were dropped from the label. The band continued to gig around New York until 1982 with their final concert that fall at Studio 54.

Singles

Year Song Album
1980 "I'm Gonna Be Strong" Blue Angel
"I Had a Love"
"Late"
"Fade"

Re-releases

After Lauper's solo success, Blue Angel was re-released in LP and cassette formats in multiple countries. The yellow-covered Australian re-release uses a larger photo of Cyndi and includes "Blue Angel featuring" in small print above "Cyndi Lauper" in large print. The Japanese re-release also includes "featuring Cyndi Lauper" though the rest of the cover remains unchanged from the original release. In 2005, a 5000 copy compact disc pressing was released by Hip-O Select Records.

References

  1. Carl R. Green, William R. Sanford (1986). Crestwood House, ed. Cyndi Lauper. ISBN 978-0-89686-300-2.

External links

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