Kane Gang
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| Kane Gang | |
|---|---|
| Origin | United Kingdom |
| Years active | 1983-1991 |
| Label(s) | London, Capitol |
| Members | |
| Martin Brammer Paul Woods Dave Brewis |
|
Kane Gang was a blue-eyed soul trio from North East England that had a few UK hits and one U.S. hit in the 1980s. Named after the movie, Citizen Kane, the trio recorded for the indie record label, Kitchenware, that was also home to Prefab Sprout.
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[edit] Career
Vocalists Martin Brammer born in Seaham, County Durham and Paul Woods, plus multi-instrumentalist Dave Brewis formed the trio in 1982, after meeting in small local bands, and signed to a small record label, which led to a deal with London Records in 1984.
Their debut album, Bad and Lowdown World of the Kane Gang (released in the United States as Lowdown), was released the next year, and spawned two United Kingdom hit singles. These were "Closest Thing To Heaven" (#12) and a cover of The Staples Singers' "Respect Yourself"[1] (#21). The latter was also a hit in Australia, reaching #19. The album had a decent pedigree, being produced by Pete Wingfield, and having both P. P. Arnold and Sam Brown as backing singers.[2]
The band's next album, Miracle, released in 1987, spawned two U.S. hit singles: "Motortown" (#36 U.S. / #45 UK) and another cover - this time of Dennis Edwards' "Don't Look Any Further" [1](#64 U.S. / #52 UK).
Woods left the band in 1991 to attempt a solo career. Woods and Brewis also worked on an album which was never released.
[edit] Adaptation
- The Kane Gang are infamous for providing the music for the 'Ooh Gary Davies...on your radio' jingle for BBC Radio 1. As was the fashion around the time, bands would adapt songs to provide the radio station with a jingle, and embed the hook of the track in the public's consciousness. The Gary Davies jingle was based on their track "Smalltown Creed" (from The Bad & Lowdown World of the Kane Gang LP).
- The music for the 'Ooh Gary Davies...on your radio' jingle, was also used as the basis for the theme tune of the long running Children's BBC Byker Grove, the television program that launched the careers of Ant and Dec (as PJ & Duncan), and Donna Air.
[edit] Post Kane Gang
Brammer continues to write songs for other artists such as
- Beverley Knight
- Tina Turner - "Open Arms"
- Lighthouse Family - "Lifted", "Loving Every Minute" and "Raincloud"
- James Morrison - "Undiscovered" and "The Pieces Don't Fit Anymore"
- Sheena Easton - "Timebomb"
- Roland Gift - "Flown"
- Nick Carter
[edit] Discography
The Miracle of The Kane Gang was released late in 2007, a double CD collection, released on Kitchenware Records, containing tracks from the two albums plus previously unreleased tracks and b-sides:-
Disc One
1. "Brother Brother"
2. "Gun Law"
3. "We'll Take This Train"
4. "How Much Longer"
5. "Loserville"
6. "Printer's Devil"
7. "Respect Yourself"
8. "Closest Thing To Heaven"
9. "Smalltown Creed"
10."Crease In His Hat"
11."It's A Gift"
12."Angel On A Motorbike" *
13."Six O'Clock City" *
Disc Two
1. "Motortown"
2. "What Time Is It?"
3. "Looking For Gold"
4. "Take Me To The World"
5. "King Street Rain"
6. "Don't Look Any Further"
7. "A Finer Place"
8. "Let's Get Wet"
9. "Strictly Love (It Ain't)"
10."Sitting Ducks" *
11."King Of Nothing" *
12."Love Thing" *
13."Lonesome, Weary And Blue" *
14."Start Walking" *
15."Brightest Star" *
- Previously unreleased *
[edit] See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
- Number-one dance hits of 1988 (USA)
- Now That's What I Call Music 4 (U.K. series)
