Baltimora
Encyclopedia
Baltimora were an Italian
New Wave dance outfit active in the mid to late 1980s. The group comprised Jimmy McShane
(frontman/vocals), Maurizio Bassi (keyboards
, vocals), Giorgio Cocilovo (lead guitar), Claudio Bazzari (rhythm guitar), Pier Michelatti (bass guitar
) and Gabriele Melotti (drums
). They are best known for their 1985 hit single "Tarzan Boy
".
Jimmy McShane, from Derry
in Northern Ireland, was the frontman of the group. Some sources state lead vocals were performed by Maurizio Bassi (with Jimmy actually providing the backing vocals), including lead vocals on their biggest hit "Tarzan Boy" despite the fact that McShane lip synched while appearing in the "Tarzan Boy" music video and not Bassi, who was also the group's keyboardist although this still remains uncertain. Both the music and the lyrics of Baltimora were written mostly by Bassi and Naimy Hackett, though McShane wrote the lyrics to some of their songs, such as the single "Survivor in Love".
Baltimora are often considered a one-hit wonder
in the United Kingdom and the United States due to the success they experienced with "Tarzan Boy" compared to their other singles. In other European countries such as Italy
, the group had more success.
McShane proposed the project and recorded some voices in order to be the visual leader of the group, due to his emaciated appearance and his talent as a dancer. McShane was characterized by extravagant and loose clothing, and all the group members appeared on stage with various hairstyles and wearing large red-rimmed glasses.
Bassi also recruited other musicians to record songs that would eventually appear on both Baltimora albums Living in the Background and Survivor in Love
.
", released in the summer of 1985, was a huge success, peaking at No.6 on the Italian single chart as well as entering the top-5 in numerous European countries, including Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, France, the Netherlands, and Norway. Soon afterwards Baltimora found similar success in the United Kingdom with "Tarzan Boy", where it reached No.3 in August 1985. However, it took a while for the single to enter the Hot 100 single chart in the United States (where it was released on EMI
), it remained on the Billboard Hot 100
chart for six months ultimately peaking at No.13 in the early spring of 1986. Baltimora performed on the American TV show Solid Gold
, which helped further their success in America. The second single "Woody Boogie
", which also gained notable success, entered the top-20 in Germany, Switzerland and Sweden.
Baltimora's first album, Living in the Background, was released in Europe at the end of 1985, and was released in United States in 1986. Despite the enormous success that Baltimora achieved with the single "Tarzan Boy", Living in the Background only charted moderately entering the Top-20 album charts in only a few countries in Europe including Sweden. The album managed to reach only the position No.49 in US.
Baltimora attempted a comeback in 1987 with a second album, Survivor in Love
, but the single "Key Key Karimba
" was the only notable track that managed to enter the Top 100 charts in only a few countries.
The single "Tarzan Boy" bounced back into the Billboard Hot 100
chart in March 1993 as a remix
, climbing to No.51, at the time of its appearance in a Listerine commercial. The song was also featured in the films Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III
(1993) and Beverly Hills Ninja
(1997).
In America, he was overwhelmed with the success of Tarzan Boy, however their inability to provide a successful follow-up led to Bassi to disband Baltimora. This drove McShane away from the music scene. In 1994 he settled in Milan, where he was then diagnosed with AIDS. A few months later he returned to Ireland where he decided to spend the last year of his life. He died in his native Derry on 29 March 1995 at the age of 37. A family spokesman issued the following statement after his death: "He faced his illness with courage and died with great dignity." In the centre of Derry, McShane and his father received a commemorative plaque.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
New Wave dance outfit active in the mid to late 1980s. The group comprised Jimmy McShane
Jimmy McShane
James "Jimmy" McShane was an Irish singer, known as the frontman of Italian band Baltimora.-History:James McShane was born on 23 May 1957, in Derry, Northern Ireland...
(frontman/vocals), Maurizio Bassi (keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, vocals), Giorgio Cocilovo (lead guitar), Claudio Bazzari (rhythm guitar), Pier Michelatti (bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
) and Gabriele Melotti (drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
). They are best known for their 1985 hit single "Tarzan Boy
Tarzan Boy
"Tarzan Boy" is the title of a song recorded by Italy-based act Baltimora. It was the group's debut single, released in April 1985, from its first album Living in the Background, on which it features as first track...
".
Jimmy McShane, from Derry
Derry
Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...
in Northern Ireland, was the frontman of the group. Some sources state lead vocals were performed by Maurizio Bassi (with Jimmy actually providing the backing vocals), including lead vocals on their biggest hit "Tarzan Boy" despite the fact that McShane lip synched while appearing in the "Tarzan Boy" music video and not Bassi, who was also the group's keyboardist although this still remains uncertain. Both the music and the lyrics of Baltimora were written mostly by Bassi and Naimy Hackett, though McShane wrote the lyrics to some of their songs, such as the single "Survivor in Love".
Baltimora are often considered a one-hit wonder
One-hit wonder
A one-hit wonder is a person or act known mainly for only a single success. The term is most often used to describe music performers with only one hit single.-Characteristics:...
in the United Kingdom and the United States due to the success they experienced with "Tarzan Boy" compared to their other singles. In other European countries such as Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, the group had more success.
Early years
In early 1984, Maurizio Bassi, a music producer and musician from Italy, was looking for a new art project. He met Jimmy McShane, an emergency medical technician (EMT) who worked for the Red Cross in Ireland.McShane proposed the project and recorded some voices in order to be the visual leader of the group, due to his emaciated appearance and his talent as a dancer. McShane was characterized by extravagant and loose clothing, and all the group members appeared on stage with various hairstyles and wearing large red-rimmed glasses.
Bassi also recruited other musicians to record songs that would eventually appear on both Baltimora albums Living in the Background and Survivor in Love
Survivor in Love
Survivor in Love is the second and final album by pop group Baltimora. The album was only released in select countries, such as Italy, Germany, UK, Japan, and Mexico...
.
Success with "Tarzan Boy"
"Tarzan BoyTarzan Boy
"Tarzan Boy" is the title of a song recorded by Italy-based act Baltimora. It was the group's debut single, released in April 1985, from its first album Living in the Background, on which it features as first track...
", released in the summer of 1985, was a huge success, peaking at No.6 on the Italian single chart as well as entering the top-5 in numerous European countries, including Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, France, the Netherlands, and Norway. Soon afterwards Baltimora found similar success in the United Kingdom with "Tarzan Boy", where it reached No.3 in August 1985. However, it took a while for the single to enter the Hot 100 single chart in the United States (where it was released on EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
), it remained on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart for six months ultimately peaking at No.13 in the early spring of 1986. Baltimora performed on the American TV show Solid Gold
Solid Gold (TV series)
Solid Gold is an American syndicated music television series that debuted on September 13, 1980. Like many other shows of its genre, such as American Bandstand, Solid Gold featured musical performances and various other elements such as music videos...
, which helped further their success in America. The second single "Woody Boogie
Woody Boogie
"Woody Boogie" is a 1985 Italo disco single recorded and released by Italy-based act Baltimora. It was the group's second single, released in 1985, from the band's debut album Living in the Background, on which it features as fourth track...
", which also gained notable success, entered the top-20 in Germany, Switzerland and Sweden.
Baltimora's first album, Living in the Background, was released in Europe at the end of 1985, and was released in United States in 1986. Despite the enormous success that Baltimora achieved with the single "Tarzan Boy", Living in the Background only charted moderately entering the Top-20 album charts in only a few countries in Europe including Sweden. The album managed to reach only the position No.49 in US.
Baltimora attempted a comeback in 1987 with a second album, Survivor in Love
Survivor in Love
Survivor in Love is the second and final album by pop group Baltimora. The album was only released in select countries, such as Italy, Germany, UK, Japan, and Mexico...
, but the single "Key Key Karimba
Key Key Karimba
"Key Key Karimba" is a 1987 Italo disco single recorded and released by Italy-based act Baltimora. It was the group's first single of 1987. The song itself featured on the band's final studio album Survivor in Love, which was released the same year. This single had the last promotional music video...
" was the only notable track that managed to enter the Top 100 charts in only a few countries.
Break-up and aftermath
After the release of Survivor in Love, with no label support of a follow up album and due to its poor success, Bassi decided it was time to move onto other projects, and Baltimora disbanded.The single "Tarzan Boy" bounced back into the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart in March 1993 as a remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
, climbing to No.51, at the time of its appearance in a Listerine commercial. The song was also featured in the films Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III is a 1993 American live-action film, the second sequel of the 1990 live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film. It was produced by Clearwater Holdings Ltd. and Golden Harvest. This was the last Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film released by New Line Cinema and...
(1993) and Beverly Hills Ninja
Beverly Hills Ninja
Beverly Hills Ninja is a 1997 action comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan, written by Mark Feldberg and Mitch Klebanoff, and starring Chris Farley. The main plot revolves around Haru , who was found by a clan of ninjas as an infant in an abandoned treasure chest and was raised by them...
(1997).
Jimmy McShane
James McShane was born on 23 May 1957, in Derry, Northern Ireland. He learned at a young age to play bass and guitar, and showed talent for dancing. He made his début playing in small clubs in his hometown and was presented to various audiences, without success. McShane came from a humble, conservative family, and so had to deal with their rejection when he revealed his homosexuality. In view of his low artistic success, McShane decided to work as an emergency medical technician for the Red Cross in Ireland until he met Bassi with whom he created Baltimora.In America, he was overwhelmed with the success of Tarzan Boy, however their inability to provide a successful follow-up led to Bassi to disband Baltimora. This drove McShane away from the music scene. In 1994 he settled in Milan, where he was then diagnosed with AIDS. A few months later he returned to Ireland where he decided to spend the last year of his life. He died in his native Derry on 29 March 1995 at the age of 37. A family spokesman issued the following statement after his death: "He faced his illness with courage and died with great dignity." In the centre of Derry, McShane and his father received a commemorative plaque.
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) |
||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWE Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... |
CAN Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
|||||||||||||
| 1985 | Living in the Background
|
18 | 49 | 49 |
CAN Canadian Recording Industry Association Music Canada is a Toronto-based, non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, artists, manufacture, production, promotion and distribution of music in Canada... : Gold |
||||||||||
| 1987 | Survivor in Love Survivor in Love Survivor in Love is the second and final album by pop group Baltimora. The album was only released in select countries, such as Italy, Germany, UK, Japan, and Mexico...
|
— | — | — | |||||||||||
| "—" denotes a release that did not chart. | |||||||||||||||
Compilation albums
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 2010 | The World of Baltimora
|
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certifications Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... (sales thresholds) |
Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ITA Federation of the Italian Music Industry The Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy.... |
AUT Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
CAN RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
FRA Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
GER Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
NDL Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
SWE Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
SWI Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
||||
| 1985 | "Tarzan Boy Tarzan Boy "Tarzan Boy" is the title of a song recorded by Italy-based act Baltimora. It was the group's debut single, released in April 1985, from its first album Living in the Background, on which it features as first track... " |
6 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 13 |
|
Living in The Background |
| "Woody Boogie Woody Boogie "Woody Boogie" is a 1985 Italo disco single recorded and released by Italy-based act Baltimora. It was the group's second single, released in 1985, from the band's debut album Living in the Background, on which it features as fourth track... " |
23 | — | — | — | 20 | 32 | 4 | 15 | — | — | |||
| "Living in the Background Living in the Background (song) "Living in the Background" is the title track and third single from Baltimora's debut album, Living in the Background, and second released single in total. The song reached number 87 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100... " |
— | — | 96 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 87 | |||
| 1986 | "Juke Box Boy Juke Box Boy "Juke Box Boy" is a 1986 Italo disco single recorded and released by Italy-based act Baltimora. It was the group's only single of 1986. The song itself did not feature on any studio album although it was included on the 1986 Canadian edition of the band's debut album Living in the Background. The... " |
12 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987 | "Key Key Karimba Key Key Karimba "Key Key Karimba" is a 1987 Italo disco single recorded and released by Italy-based act Baltimora. It was the group's first single of 1987. The song itself featured on the band's final studio album Survivor in Love, which was released the same year. This single had the last promotional music video... " |
37 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Survivor in Love | |
| "Global Love" (with Linda Wesley) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1988 | "Call Me in the Heart of the Night" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
External links
- Baltimora forum
- [ Baltimora - AllMusic]