LAID BACK / SOFT CELL - WHITE HORSE / TAINTED LOVE

Laid Back is a Danish electronic music duo from Copenhagen, formed in 1979. The group consists of John Guldberg (vocals, guitar, bass) and Tim Stahl (vocals, keyboards, drums, bass). They are best known for the songs "Sunshine Reggae", "White Horse" (1983) and "Bakerman" (1989). John Guldberg and Tim Stahl met in the mid-1970s and initially performed together in a band called the Starbox Band. After a poorly received support performance for The Kinks, the group disbanded, but Guldberg and Stahl continued working as a duo. Guldberg established a small studio in central Copenhagen, where they began experimenting with recording technologies such as multitrack tape machines, synthesizers and drum machines. Their debut album, "Laid Back", was released in 1981, and the single "Maybe I'm Crazy" reached number one in Denmark. In 1983, they released the single "Sunshine Reggae", which became a chart success in Denmark and several other countries and was later included on their second album, "Keep Smiling". In the United States, the B-side "White Horse" became the duo's highest-charting single in that market. It was later issued as an A-side and achieved success on dance and R&B charts, also reaching number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1984. The track was subsequently sampled by 2 Live Crew on "Get the Fuck Out of My House" and by Monifah on "Touch It" (1998). The albums "Play It Straight" (1985) and "See You in the Lobby" (1987), along with singles such as "Abu Dhabi" and "Tricky Kind of Thing", achieved limited commercial success. In 1989, Laid Back returned to European charts with the single "Bakerman", featuring Danish singer Hanne Boel. The song reached number nine in West Germany and number 44 in the United Kingdom in 1990. Its music video was directed by Lars von Trier and features the duo skydiving while miming to the track. The lyrics include the phrase "Sagabona kunjani wena", which Guldberg has described as a Swahili greeting meaning "Hello, how are you?". Following the success of the single, the label re-released "White Horse" as "White Horse '89" with new remixes, although it did not achieve comparable commercial performance. In later decades, Laid Back continued to release music. They composed the soundtrack for the 2001 film "Flyvende Farmor", for which they received a Robert Award. In the same year, an exhibition of their artwork, including material used for album covers and promotional material, was held in Copenhagen. In 2003, they appeared on the track "Tango" by the Danish band Hæst, produced by Umpff. A remix of "Bakerman" by British DJ Shaun Baker reached number one in Greenland in 2006. In 2010, they released the single "Cocaine Cool" on their own label, Brother Music. This was followed by the mini album "Cosyland" and the instrumental album "Cosmic Vibes" in 2012, and the double album "Uptimistic Music" in 2013. In 2019, Laid Back received the Danish award "Pioneer of the Year" (Årets Steppeulv) in recognition of their contribution to music. The same year marked 40 years of activity, during which they continued to work from their original Copenhagen studio. They released their 12th studio album, "Healing Feeling". In 2023, the duo released the 21-track album "Road to Fame". It included a song in Danish titled "Mig" ("Me"). Their previous Danish-language track was "Flyvende Farmor" ("The flying granny") from 2001. Laid Back continue to perform occasionally, including a guest appearance at the Roskilde Festival in 2023 alongside Free Nationals. Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laid_Back Studio albums Laid Back (1981) Keep Smiling (1983) Play It Straight (1985) See You in the Lobby (1987) Hole in the Sky (1990) Why Is Everybody in Such a Hurry (1993) Laidest Greatest (1995) Unfinished Symphonies (1999) Happy Dreamer (1999) Cosmic Vibes (2011) Cosyland (2012) Uptimistic Music (2013) Healing Feeling (2019) Road To Fame (2023) Forevergreen (2024) Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

Soft Cell is an electronic music duo that came to prominence in the early 80s. They consist of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball. The duo is most widely known for their 1981 worldwide hit version of "Tainted Love" and influential multi-platinum debut ''Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret''. In the UK, they had five Top 5 hits, including "Bedsitter", "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye", "Torch" and "What!", and also had four Top 20 albums between 1981 and 1984. The duo split in 1984, but reformed in the early 2000s to tour and released a new album in 2002. Their songs have been covered by various artists including David Gray, Marilyn Manson, Nouvelle Vague and A-ha. Both Marc Almond and Dave Ball grew up in seaside towns (the former, Southport, and the latter, Blackpool), and later met while students at the Leeds Polytechnic Fine Arts University (now Leeds Metropolitan University). Almond, a performance artist, collaborated with Ball on a few avant-garde multi-media performances at the university. Although Ball's musical background consisted of guitar, he had access to the university studio and was experimenting with the nascent synthesizer technology at the time. The two students became the prototypical synth duo and were initially associated with other New Wave scenesters dubbed "New Romantics" by the British Press. Other bands associated with this scene included Visage, Duran Duran, and Spandau Ballet. Marc Almond had a productive career as a solo artist later in the 80s and 90s and with Marc & the Mambas and other collaborations. Dave Ball has done a few solo productions with other British new wave acts in the early 80s. He also later was involved in the electronic dance act The Grid with Richard Norris. Almond and Ball's reunion as Soft Cell became official with well-received initial concerts - they performed at the opening of the Ocean nightclub in London in March 2001 to strong reviews, and a mini tour followed later in the year. The track "God Shaped Hole" featured on the Some Bizzare compilation titled "I'd Rather Shout at a Returning Echo than Kid Someone's Listening", released in 2001. The album Cruelty Without Beauty was released in late 2002, followed by a European tour and a partial US tour in early 2003. The new album featured their first new songs together in almost twenty years. One of those songs was their 2003 single "The Night" (UK #39). Interestingly, Soft Cell had considered recording "The Night" in place of "Tainted Love" back in 1981 as their last-ditch attempt to score a chart hit. In a 2003 interview with BBC's Top of the Pops, keyboardist David Ball asserted, "I think history has kind of shown that we did make the right choice [in 1981]." In August 2007, the band announced they were working on a remix album, "Heat - The Remixes". The remix album is expected to be released in May 2008 and will include classic Soft Cell tracks remixed by such acts as Manhattan Clique, Cicada, Richard X, Ladytron, MHC, Mark Moore, Kinky Roland, Spektrum, George Demure, Yer Man and many more. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.