Precious Wilson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Precious Wilson | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 18, 1957 |
| Origin | Spanish Town, Jamaica |
| Genre(s) | Dance-pop, dance, soul |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Years active | 1975–1993 |
| Label(s) | Hansa Records, Jive |
| Associated acts | Eruption, Boney M. |
Precious Wilson (born 18 October 1957) is a soul singer from Jamaica, now living in London.
Contents |
[edit] Background
Precious Wilson started out as a backing singer for the all-male group Eruption. The group enjoyed a minor hit when they won a talent competition in 1975 with the song "Let Me Take You Back in Time". Unable to sustain their momentum, the lead singer left the group, and Precious stepped forward to front the band. While on the road in Germany, Eruption was discovered in 1977 by German producer Frank Farian who hired them to support Boney M. on their tour. Signing them to Boney M.'s label Hansa Records, Farian released the single "Party Party" but it was their cover version of "I Can't Stand the Rain" from their first album which broke big, giving them a UK #5 hit and a US #18 hit. After a second album and another massive hit single with "One Way Ticket", Precious left the group to pursue a solo career.
[edit] Solo career
Precious' debut single was a funky cover version of Sam & Dave's "Hold On I'm Coming", released in August 1979. The song was included in Boney M.'s fourth album Oceans of Fantasy which also yielded a guest performance by Precious on the opening track "Let It All Be Music". Surprisingly, Precious' single fared poorly in the charts.
Her debut album On the Race Track was completed during 1980 with sky high expectations from Hansa. It was released in October, heralded by the single "Cry to Me" which Precious performed on TV, backed by the dancing troop Sky Train. The single reached #3 in Switzerland but didn't chart in Germany. The second single "We Are on the Race Track" gave her a #11 hit single in Germany in early '81 but the album still sold disappointingly.
In October '81, she released a cover version of "I Need You" which peaked at #6 in Switzerland where her popularity was strong. In Germany, it only mustered #39. Six months later, the electro-pop track "I Don't Know" was released, followed in the summer of 1982 by her second album All Coloured in Love. The album was released with a different track selection in the UK, Italy and France under the name Red Light followed by several different single releases.
Precious was growing frustrated by the lack of success of her records and when Farian cancelled the German single release of "Red Light" and put out the song "Let's Move Aerobic" in March '83, the relationship between the two became frosty. Precious' third album Funky Fingers (Dec. '83) was a low-key affair - consisting of two side-long medleys of soul standards, it was released in December in an anonymous cover and sank without a trace. She was released from her contract with Hansa and went back to England. In 1985, she signed with Jive Records and teamed up with multiple hot-shot producer teams for the album Precious Wilson released the following year. Launching several singles, "I'll Be Your Friend" (a US Top 40 R&B hit), the theme song from the movie "The Jewel of the Nile", and "Nice Girls Don't Last" ("Love Can't Wait" in the US), the record company had high hopes for Precious Wilson's breakthrough but once again, the anticipated success didn't happen. A dance cover of Jerry Butler's "Only the Strong Survive" in 1987, produced by Stock Aitken Waterman, failed to chart as well. After another flop single with "I May Be Right 4U" in 1990, she suddenly achieved two major hit singles in the early 90s with a cover of Sheila and B. Devotion's "Spacer" (a hit single in France, 1992) and a cover of Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" (a UK #19 hit single with techno group Messiah, 1992). Since then, Precious Wilson hasn't had an active career but has frequently toured as Eruption feat. Precious Wilson on the cabaret circuit.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- On the Race Track (October 1980)
- All Coloured in Love (July 1982)
- Funky Fingers (December 1983)
- Precious Wilson (1986)
[edit] Singles
- "Hold On I'm Coming" (1979)
- "Cry to Me" (1980)
- "We Are on the Race Track" (1981)
- "I Need You" (1981)
- "I Don't Know" (1982)
- "Raising My Family" (1982)
- "Red Light" (1982)
- "Let's Move Aerobic" (1983)
- "River Deep, Mountain High" (1984)
- "I'll Be Your Friend" (1985)
- "The Jewel of the Nile" (1986)
- "Nice Girls Don't Last" (1986)
- "Love Can't Wait" (1986)
- "Only the Strong Survive" (1987)
- "I May Be Right 4U" (1990)
- "Spacer" (with the Funky French Guy, 1992)
- "I Feel Love" (with Messiah, 1993)
