Go West (band)
| Go West | |
|---|---|
 Richard Drummie and Peter Cox in 1985 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Dance-pop,[1] blue-eyed soul[2] |
| Years active | 1982–present |
| Labels |
Chrysalis EMI |
| Associated acts | Level 42 |
| Website | Go West.org |
| Members |
Peter Cox Richard Drummie |
Go West are an English pop duo, formed in 1982 by lead vocalist Peter Cox (born 17 November 1955, Kingston, Surrey, England); and rhythm guitarist and backup vocalist Richard Drummie (born 20 March 1959, Twickenham, Middlesex, England). The duo enjoyed their peak of popularity between the mid 1980s and the early 1990s and are best known for the international top 10 hits "We Close Our Eyes", "Call Me" and "King of Wishful Thinking". They were named Best British Newcomer at the 1986 Brit Awards.[3]
Career
Go West had a publishing deal and possessed a portastudio, but lacked a band or recording company. Cox and Drummie decided, with support from John Glover, their manager, to find a musical producer, and record just two of their songs. The tracks "We Close Our Eyes" and "Call Me" found Go West landing a recording contract with Chrysalis Records. Upon confirmation of the Chrysalis deal, they recruited British guitarist Alan Murphy, whose contributions became a key ingredient in shaping the duo's musical identity.
Go West's debut single, "We Close Our Eyes", was released in 1985 and reached #5 on the UK Singles Chart, #5 on the US Dance Club Play chart and #41 on the Billboard Hot 100. The video for the song, directed by Godley & Creme, became an early favourite on MTV. They were voted the "Best Newcomers" at the 1986 Brit Awards.[4] The song was part of the soundtrack for the Italian low-budget horror film Dèmoni, also known as Demons. The single would prove to be their highest placed UK single, and only appearance in the UK top ten.
The duo's eponymous debut album was released in 1985. It included "We Close Our Eyes" and "Call Me" as well as "Don't Look Down", which served as the prequel to what would be their first top 40 hit in the US. The album itself was not only successful in the UK but also moderately so in the US. Bangs and Crashes, an album of remixes, B-sides and live tracks, was released in 1986, and included the track "One Way Street" which was part of the Rocky IV soundtrack. "Don't Be Afraid of Your Dreams" was in the film A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master during the closing credits.
In 1987, Go West released the proper follow-up to their debut, Dancing on the Couch, which made the UK top 20. Although several singles were released from the album, its success paled in comparison to the first album, particularly in the US. Ironically, it did yield the band's first American top 40 hit with the single "Don't Look Down – The Sequel", a continuation of the track "Don't Look Down" from the debut album. However, "Don't Look Down – The Sequel" was not included on UK versions of the CD, which instead included the track "Let's Build a Boat".
In 1990, Go West scored a top 10 US hit with "King of Wishful Thinking" from the film Pretty Woman. The track was written by Cox and Drummie in collaboration with Martin Page. In 1991, the song received an ASCAP award for being one of the most played songs in America the previous year.
In 1992, the duo released the Indian Summer album, which included "Faithful", another hit in the US, peaking at #14, and also a UK hit, peaking at #13. This track later received airplay recognition awards in the US in both 1992 and 1993.
In 1997, Cox took a break from Go West to release his self-titled debut solo album. He has gone on to release several more solo albums into the 2000s. His most recent album, Damn the Brakes, was released in 2013.
Cox and Drummie appeared on Jim'll Fix It: Strikes Again in 2007, to re-create a popular 'fix-it' from 1986; in the original show, a fifteen-year-old girl had sung "We Close Our Eyes" with Go West as a back-up singer.[5]
Their most recent album 3D was released as a three-part series of EPs, the first of which was released on 29 March 2010, the second at the end of March 2011 and the third part on 4 March 2013.[6]
In November 2015, a compilation album called '80's Re:Covered' featured two Go West covers of The Killers' "Human", including a remix.[7]
Members
- Peter Cox – vocals
- Richard Drummie – guitars, vocals
- Touring members
- Deeral – lead guitar
- Lyndon J Connah – keyboards
- Richard Brook – drums
- Vinzenz Benjamin – bass
Discography
Albums
| Year | Title | UK[8] | US | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Go West | 8 | 60 | Chrysalis Records |
| 1986 | Bangs & Crashes | — | — | |
| 1987 | Dancing on the Couch | 19 | 172 | |
| 1992 | Indian Summer | 13 | 154 | |
| 2008 | futurenow | — | — | Blueprint Records |
| 2010 | 3D Part 1 | — | — | Townsend Records |
| 2011 | 3D Part 2 | — | — | |
| 2013 | 3D Part 3 | — | — | |
Singles
| Year | Title | UK [8] |
AUS [9] |
BEL (FL) |
GER | IRE | ITA | NED | NZ | SWE | SWI | US | US Dance | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | "We Close Our Eyes" | 5 | 8 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 22 | 4 | — | 19 | 41 | 5 | Go West |
| "Call Me" | 12 | 12 | — | — | 7 | — | — | 10 | — | — | 54 | 25 | ||
| "Goodbye Girl" | 25 | 55 | — | — | 19 | — | — | 33 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Eye to Eye" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 73 | 32 | ||
| "Don't Look Down" | 13 | 26 | — | — | 10 | — | — | 15 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986 | "One Way Street" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Bangs and Crashes |
| "True Colours" | 48 | — | — | — | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Dancing on the Couch | |
| 1987 | "I Want to Hear It from You" | 43 | 80 | — | — | — | — | — | 26 | — | — | — | — | |
| "Don't Look Down – The Sequel" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 39 | — | ||
| "From Baltimore to Paris" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "The King Is Dead" | 67 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990 | "King of Wishful Thinking" | 18 | 6 | — | 46 | 23 | — | — | 24 | 20 | — | 8 | — | Pretty Woman Soundtrack / Indian Summer |
| 1992 | "Faithful" | 13 | 42 | — | 51 | — | — | — | 17 | — | — | 14 | — | Indian Summer |
| "What You Won't Do for Love" | 15 | — | — | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 55 | — | ||
| 1993 | "Still in Love" | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "The Tracks of My Tears" | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Aces and Kings – The Best of Go West | |
| "We Close Our Eyes" (remix) | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001 | "All Day All Night" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Live at the NEC |
| 2008 | "Let Love Come" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Futurenow |
| "Only Love" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016 | "Determination" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Fly - Songs Inspired by the film Eddie the Eagle |
| "-" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | ||||||||||||||
References
- ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Go West – Go West". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
- ↑ Molter, Dave (17 January 1994). "Go West – Aces and Kings". Observer–Reporter. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
- ↑ "1986 Brit Awards - Winners". Brits.co.uk. Retrieved 26 January 2014
- ↑ "Brit Awards Show History - 1986". Brit Awards. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
- ↑ Jim'll Fix it
- ↑ Gowest.org.uk
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
- 1 2 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 229. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ↑
- For pre-1989 peaks, see: Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- For post-1989 peaks, see: "australian-charts.com - Discography Go West". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 5 July 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
External links
- Official Go West Website and Forum http://www.gowest.org.uk
- Official Peter Cox Website http://www.peter-cox.org
- Peter Cox interviewed by Kevin Gurney from 96.5 Bolton FM https://soundcloud.com/kevingurney/peter-cox-of-go-west
- Go West at AllMusic