Eurogliders
Encyclopedia
Eurogliders were an Indie pop
Indie pop
Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid...

 band formed in 1981 in Perth, Western Australia
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

, which included mainstay
Mainstay
Mainstay is a Christian rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The band was formed in 2003 and is signed to BEC Recordings. While a lot of the band's music has decidedly Christian lyrics and messages, their music appeals to a large secular fanbase as well. Their music style has been compared to...

s Grace Knight
Grace Knight
Grace Knight is an English-born, Australian vocalist, saxophone player and songwriter. She was a mainstay of Indie pop group Eurogliders during the 1980s which formed in Perth. Knight later became a solo jazz singer and musician based in Sydney...

 on vocals and Bernie Lynch on guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

 and vocals. The band was originally formed by Bernie Lynch and Amanda Vincent under the name Living Single. After almost a year, Grace Knight joined the band, and the outfit changed their name to Eurogliders. In 1984, Eurogliders released an Australian top ten album, This Island
This Island (Eurogliders album)
This Island is the second studio album by Australian Indie pop, rock band Eurogliders, and was released in May 1984 on Columbia Records. It peaked at #4 on the Australian Kent Music Report albums chart, it spawned their #2 hit single, "Heaven ".The album appeared on the United States, Billboard 200...

, which spawned their #2 hit single, "Heaven (Must Be There)
Heaven (Must Be There)
"Heaven " is a song by Eurogliders from their album This Island. The song was released as a 7" vinyl and a 12" in 1984....

". "Heaven" also peaked at #21 on the United States, Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

Mainstream Rock
Mainstream Rock Tracks
Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue...

 charts and appeared on the 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...

. Another Australian top ten album, Absolutely
Absolutely (Eurogliders album)
-Personnel:Eurogliders members* Crispin Akerman — guitar* John Bennetts — drums, percussion, drum programming* Ron Francois — bass synthesiser, bass guitar* Grace Knight — vocals...

, followed in 1985, which provided three further local top ten singles, "We Will Together", "The City of Soul" and "Can't Wait to See You". They disbanded in 1989, with Knight having a successful career as a jazz singer. Australian rock music historian, Ian McFarlane, described Eurogliders as "the accessible face of post-punk new wave music. The band's sophisticated brand of pop was traditional in its structure, but displayed the decidedly `modern veneer' (hip clothes, heavy use of synthesiser)". The band reformed in 2005 to release two additional albums by 2007.

Early days (1980–1982)

Guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

ist and singer, Bernie Lynch (as Rip Torn) fronted a new wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...

 band, The Stockings, in Perth, Western Australia
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

 in the late 1970s. He left in early 1980 to form Living Single with keyboard player Amanda Vincent. Together, they recruited Crispin Akerman on guitar, Don Meharry on bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

 and Guy Slingerland on 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 ....

 through a series of advertisements. After almost a full year of gigging, Lynch's girlfriend Grace Knight joined as the lead vocalist. By the end of 1981, drummer John Bennetts replaced Slingerland and the band changed their name to Eurogliders. They were signed by manager, Brian Peacock, to their first recording and publishing contracts with Polygram
PolyGram
PolyGram was the name of the major label recording company started by Philips from as a holding company for its music interests in 1945. In 1999 it was sold to Seagram and merged into Universal Music Group.-Hollandsche Decca Distributie , 1929-1950:...

. They recruited Melbourne bass player Geoff Rosenberg to replace Meharry. In 1982, Eurogliders travelled to Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

, capital of the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

, to record their first album, Pink Suit Blue Day
Pink Suit Blue Day
Pink Suit Blue Day is the debut album by Australian Indie pop, rock band Eurogliders released in 1982. Their debut single, "Without You", was released in June and peaked into the top 40 of the Australian Kent Music Report singles chart. A follow-up single, "Laughing Matter" in September did not...

, produced by Englishman Lem Lubin, which did not peak into the top 50 of the Australian Kent Music Report
Kent Music Report
The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998...

 albums chart. From Manila, they relocated to Sydney to release their first single in June, "Without You", which peaked into the top 40 on the Kent Music Report singles chart.

International success (1983–1985)

Eurogliders changed record labels from Polygram to CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

 in 1983, they replaced bass guitarist, Rosenberg, with Scott Saunders and travelled to the UK in July. While there, they recruited bass guitarist Ron Francois
Ron François
Ron François was a founder member of The Sinceros , and former member of the London R&B band The Strutters. After the demise of The Sinceros in 1981, François joined The Teardrop Explodes and stayed with Epic Records releasing a solo single, "If You Love Me", in 1982 before departing to live in...

, formerly of The Sinceros
The Sinceros
The Sinceros were a new wave, power pop band from London, England, who recorded two albums for Epic Records, The Sound of Sunbathing and Pet Rock . Both albums were released worldwide and achieved moderate commercial success...

, The Teardrop Explodes
The Teardrop Explodes
The Teardrop Explodes were an English post-punk/neo-psychedelic band formed in Liverpool in 1978. Best known for their Top Ten UK single "Reward" the group originated as a key band in the emerging Liverpool post-punk scene of the late 1970s, the group also launched the career of group frontman...

 and Lene Lovich
Lene Lovich
Lene Lovich is an American singer based in England, who first gained attention as part of the New Wave music scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Her most popular hit single was "Lucky Number", first released in 1979.-Early years:...

. With this line-up they recorded This Island
This Island (Eurogliders album)
This Island is the second studio album by Australian Indie pop, rock band Eurogliders, and was released in May 1984 on Columbia Records. It peaked at #4 on the Australian Kent Music Report albums chart, it spawned their #2 hit single, "Heaven ".The album appeared on the United States, Billboard 200...

, produced by Nigel Gray (also worked with the Police) which was released in May and peaked at #4 on the Australian albums chart. The single, "Heaven (Must Be There)
Heaven (Must Be There)
"Heaven " is a song by Eurogliders from their album This Island. The song was released as a 7" vinyl and a 12" in 1984....

", also released in May, reached #2 on the Australian singles charts, and #65 on the US Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

Hot 100 chart and #21 on its Mainstream Rock Tracks
Mainstream Rock Tracks
Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue...

 chart. The album peaked at #140 on the Billboard 200 chart
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...

. In Australia, "Heaven" was followed by a domino effect
Domino effect
The domino effect is a chain reaction that occurs when a small change causes a similar change nearby, which then will cause another similar change, and so on in linear sequence. The term is best known as a mechanical effect, and is used as an analogy to a falling row of dominoes...

 of three more top 10 hits, with "We Will Together" (#7, April 1985), "The City of Soul" (#10, September 1985), and "Can't Wait to See You" (#8, November 1985). Their third album Absolutely
Absolutely (Eurogliders album)
-Personnel:Eurogliders members* Crispin Akerman — guitar* John Bennetts — drums, percussion, drum programming* Ron Francois — bass synthesiser, bass guitar* Grace Knight — vocals...

, which peaked at #7, spent 47 weeks in the Australian charts. Between 1984 and 1986, Eurogliders toured Australia, the USA, Canada, Puerto Rico, Japan and New Zealand.

At the height of the band's success, Grace Knight and Bernie Lynch reconciled their relationship and were married in 1985 but the union was short-lived. Despite their marital separation, they stayed together in the band for another four years. The band dismissed Brian Peacock, and took over their own management.

Demise (1986–1989)

In early 1987, Bennetts, Francois and Vincent were sacked by Lynch. Vincent went to London on a world tour with the Thompson Twins
Thompson Twins
The Thompson Twins were a British pop group that were formed in April 1977 and disbanded in May 1993. They achieved considerable popularity in the mid 1980s, scoring a string of hits in the United Kingdom, the United States and around the globe. The band was named after the two bumbling detectives...

, and stayed in the UK to tour and co-wrote with Boy George
Boy George
Boy George is a British singer-songwriter who was part of the English New Romantic movement which emerged in the early 1980s. He helped give androgyny an international stage with the success of Culture Club during the 1980s. His music is often classified as blue-eyed soul, which is influenced by...

. Francois became a session musician in Australia, while Bennets toured with Eartha Kitt
Eartha Kitt
Eartha Mae Kitt was an American singer, actress, and cabaret star. She was perhaps best known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 hit recordings of "C'est Si Bon" and the enduring Christmas novelty smash "Santa Baby." Orson Welles once called her the "most exciting woman in the...

, and later worked in the Educational IT industry before founding Monkeydrum Studios. Akerman, Lynch and Knight recruited Guy Le Claire on guitar, Rex Goh on guitar (ex-Air Supply
Air Supply
Air Supply is an Australian soft rock duo, consisting of Graham Russell as guitarist and singer-songwriter and Russell Hitchcock as lead vocalist. They had a succession of hits worldwide, including eight Top Ten hits in the United States, in the early 1980s...

), Lindsay Jehan on bass guitar and Steve Sowerby on drums. They commenced recording their fourth album Groove
Groove (Eurogliders album)
-Personnel:Eurogliders members* Crispin Akerman — guitar* Guy Le Claire — guitar* Rex Goh — guitar* Lindsay Jehan — bass guitar* Grace Knight — vocals, keyboards* Bernie Lynch — vocals, guitar, keyboards...

which peaked at #25 in April 1988. The related single, "Groove" had peaked at #13 in February but the next singles, "It Must Be Love" in June, "Listen" in September and "Precious" in March 1989 did not reach the top 50. Later in 1989, the Eurogliders disbanded. Akerman returned to his visual art background and became a painter, Lynch initially pursued a solo music career; while Knight became a successful jazz singer.

Post Eurogliders (1990–2005)

After Eurogliders, Knight made a cameo appearance in the 1990 TV series Come In Spinner
Come In Spinner
Come In Spinner is an Australian novel by Dymphna Cusack and Florence James, originally published in 1951, and set in Sydney, Australia at the end of the second World War.The title refers to a phrase used in the Australian gambling game of two-up....

and sang on its soundtrack
Soundtrack album
A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television program. In some cases, not all the tracks from the movie are included in the album; however there are rare cases of songs in the trailers that do not appear in...

, Come in Spinner, recorded with jazz artist Vince Jones
Vince Jones
Vince Jones is an Australian jazz artist. He is a singer, songwriter, and trumpet/flugelhorn player. His music includes both original music and new contemporary versions of jazz standards. His themes are often love, inequity, injustice, peace and anti-greed.He attributes his love of jazz to...

, which peaked at #4 on the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA)
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...

 albums charts
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...

. This launched a new career for Knight as a jazz singer, with her first solo album, Stormy Weather, which peaked at #16 in 1991. Lynch became involved in theatre and soundtrack composition, and as the business manager of his second wife, fashion designer Collette Dinnigan.

Reformation (2005–2007)

Eurogliders reformed in October 2005, with Grace Knight and Bernie Lynch using session musicians and they released their fifth studio album, simply called Eurogliders and included the single, "Hummingbird", but neither album nor single peaked into the ARIA top 50 charts
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...

. They started touring again in April 2006 and performed on the Countdown Spectacular
Countdown Spectacular
The Countdown Spectacular is a series of concerts reviving the nostalgia of the Australian music television series Countdown.-Countdown Spectacular:...

 during June to August, which was a nostalgic tour of Australian bands from the 1970s and 1980s, as featured on the pop television show Countdown with its host Ian "Molly" Meldrum
Ian Meldrum
Ian Alexander "Molly" Meldrum AM is an Australian popular music critic, journalist, record producer , and musical entrepreneur...

. The Eurogliders' 6th album Blue Kiss was recorded during the same sessions as the previous and was released in 2007, it also had no top 50 charting. Eurogliders official website was shut down in September 2008.

Members

Eurogliders' members (arranged chronologically):
  • Crispin Akerman — guitar
    Guitar
    The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

     (1980–1987)
  • Grace Knight
    Grace Knight
    Grace Knight is an English-born, Australian vocalist, saxophone player and songwriter. She was a mainstay of Indie pop group Eurogliders during the 1980s which formed in Perth. Knight later became a solo jazz singer and musician based in Sydney...

     — vocals, saxophone
    Saxophone
    The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

    , keyboards (1981–1989, 2005–2007)
  • Bernie Lynch — vocals, guitar, keyboards (1980–1989, 2005–2007)
  • Don Meharry — bass guitar
    Bass guitar
    The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

     (1980–1981)
  • Guy Slingerland — 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 ....

     (1980–1981)
  • Amanda Vincent — keyboards (1980–1987)
  • John Bennetts — drums, percussion
    Percussion instrument
    A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...

     (1981–1987)
  • Jeff Rosenberg — bass guitar (1981–1982)
  • Ron Francois
    Ron François
    Ron François was a founder member of The Sinceros , and former member of the London R&B band The Strutters. After the demise of The Sinceros in 1981, François joined The Teardrop Explodes and stayed with Epic Records releasing a solo single, "If You Love Me", in 1982 before departing to live in...

     — bass guitar, backing vocals (1982–1987)
  • Scott Saunders — piano
    Piano
    The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

     (1983)
  • Rex Goh — guitar (1988–1989)
  • Lindsay Jehan — bass guitar (1988–1989)
  • Guy Le Claire — guitar (1988–1989)
  • Joy Smithers — backing vocals (1988–1989)
  • Steve Sowerby — drums (1988–1989)

Studio albums

  • Pink Suit Blue Day
    Pink Suit Blue Day
    Pink Suit Blue Day is the debut album by Australian Indie pop, rock band Eurogliders released in 1982. Their debut single, "Without You", was released in June and peaked into the top 40 of the Australian Kent Music Report singles chart. A follow-up single, "Laughing Matter" in September did not...

    — Mercury/Polygram (1982) AUS #54
  • This Island
    This Island (Eurogliders album)
    This Island is the second studio album by Australian Indie pop, rock band Eurogliders, and was released in May 1984 on Columbia Records. It peaked at #4 on the Australian Kent Music Report albums chart, it spawned their #2 hit single, "Heaven ".The album appeared on the United States, Billboard 200...

    — CBS (1984) AUS #4; US (Billboard 200) #140
  • Absolutely
    Absolutely (Eurogliders album)
    -Personnel:Eurogliders members* Crispin Akerman — guitar* John Bennetts — drums, percussion, drum programming* Ron Francois — bass synthesiser, bass guitar* Grace Knight — vocals...

    — CBS (1 January 1985) AUS #7
  • Groove
    Groove (Eurogliders album)
    -Personnel:Eurogliders members* Crispin Akerman — guitar* Guy Le Claire — guitar* Rex Goh — guitar* Lindsay Jehan — bass guitar* Grace Knight — vocals, keyboards* Bernie Lynch — vocals, guitar, keyboards...

    — CBS (1988) AUS #25
  • Eurogliders — Universal/MGM Distribution
    MGM Distribution
    MGM Distribution is the largest independent distributor of Australian music and music related merchandise and was established in April 1998 by Sebastian Chase....

     (2005)
  • Blue Kiss — Deluxe (2007)

Compilation albums

  • 12" MixesCBS
    CBS
    CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

     (1988)
  • Greatest Hits - Maybe Only I Dream — Columbia (1991)
  • The Essential Eurogliders — Sony (2007)

Singles

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