Device (band)

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Device was a short-lived pop-rock trio formed by keyboardist/bassist and vocalist Holly Knight, vocalist Paul Engemann and guitarist Gene Black.

Device's only album, 22B3, was released in the spring of 1986. It produced a Top 40 single in the U.S. with "Hanging on a Heart Attack," which peaked at #35 on the Hot 100. The band's second single, "Who Says", peaked at #79. Both of these songs were promoted by music videos which garnered MTV rotation, and both were released as 12" singles with remix and dub versions which received club play. A third single was released The album peaked at #73 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart. Mike Chapman produced the album.

Better known as a songwriter, Knight started her career with the band Spider during the early 1980s. She wrote hit songs for Pat Benatar, Scandal, Heart, Cheap Trick, Tina Turner and many others. Turner had covered Spider's "Better Be Good To Me" for her Private Dancer album and had a major hit with it in 1984.

After Device disbanded, Holly Knight released a 1988 self-titled solo album featuring her own version of "Love is a Battlefield", which she had written for Benatar, and continued writing songs for other performers. She released an additional solo album during the late '80s.

Paul Engemann, who had previously sung on soundtrack cuts produced by Giorgio Moroder, joined Animotion, taking over for original lead singer Bill Wadhams and singing opposite Cynthia Rhodes on Animotion's 1989 Top Ten hit "Room to Move." Coincidentally, Knight had recorded the original version of Animotion's biggest hit, "Obsession", as a duet with Michael Des Barres; the two co-wrote the song, which appeared on the soundtrack to the 1983 film A Night in Heaven.

Gene Black continued to be involved in session work, including a similarly themed '80s band, Wild Blue, best known for the aggressive dance-rock singles "Fire With Fire" and "International Language of Dance".

22B3 was re-released on CD by Renaissance Records in 2007 with the same track list as the original release, and is currently in print.