Night (band)
Encyclopedia
Night was a rock band
formed in 1978 in Los Angeles
whose personnel were veteran British-based session musicians.
for the 1978 album Watch by Manfred Mann's Earth Band
then fronted by Thompson. Soon afterwards Thompson invited Vann to join him in a new outfit, Vann's session group known as Bones having recently disbanded and Thompson having reduced his involvement with Manfred Mann's Earth Band.
Richard Perry
produced two albums by Night for his Planet label; the group's eponymous 1979 debut album yielded two US Top 40 hits: "Hot Summer Nights" (#18) and "If You Remember Me" (#17).
"Hot Summer Nights", a cover of a minor Walter Egan
hit, featured Lange on lead vocals and gave Night their one international hit most significantly in Australia at #3 with more moderate success in Canada (#23), the Netherlands (#21) and New Zealand (#28).
"If You Remember Me", recorded as the theme song for the film The Champ
, was introduced the Night album but in its single release credited solely to Chris Thompson with another album track "Cold Wind Across My Heart" - featuring both Thompson and Vann - being marketed as the second Night single; the latter track failed to chart and the Night album peaked at a moderate #113, the group's gig opening for the Doobie Brothers
failing to significantly boost their popularity.
A second album release by Night in 1980 entitled Long Distance produced a minor hit in its single release: "Love on the Airwaves", and was otherwise overlooked. Night had no further recordings released but did not officially disband until 1982.
Night can be seen in the 1980 film The Monster Club
performing "The Stripper".
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
formed in 1978 in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
whose personnel were veteran British-based session musicians.
History
Night's vocalists Stevie Vann (aka Stevie Lange) and Chris Thompson had met when Vann had provided backing vocalsBacking vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
for the 1978 album Watch by Manfred Mann's Earth Band
Manfred Mann's Earth Band
Manfred Mann's Earth Band is a British progressive rock group formed in 1971 by Manfred Mann.-Formation:Having started in the 1960s with a British band that had such hits as "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" and "The Mighty Quinn", then moving on to Jazz Fusion with Manfred Mann's Chapter Three, Manfred's third...
then fronted by Thompson. Soon afterwards Thompson invited Vann to join him in a new outfit, Vann's session group known as Bones having recently disbanded and Thompson having reduced his involvement with Manfred Mann's Earth Band.
Richard Perry
Richard Perry
Richard Perry is an American music producer. Perry began as a performer in his adolescence, but shifted gears after graduating college and rose through the late 1960s and early 1970s to become a highly successful and popular record producer with over a dozen gold records to his credit by 1982...
produced two albums by Night for his Planet label; the group's eponymous 1979 debut album yielded two US Top 40 hits: "Hot Summer Nights" (#18) and "If You Remember Me" (#17).
"Hot Summer Nights", a cover of a minor Walter Egan
Walter Egan
Walter Egan is an American rock musician, best known for his 1978 gold status hit single "Magnet and Steel" from his album Not Shy, produced by Lindsey Buckingham and Richard Dashut of Fleetwood Mac fame...
hit, featured Lange on lead vocals and gave Night their one international hit most significantly in Australia at #3 with more moderate success in Canada (#23), the Netherlands (#21) and New Zealand (#28).
"If You Remember Me", recorded as the theme song for the film The Champ
The Champ (1979 film)
The Champ is a 1979 remake, directed by Franco Zeffirelli, of the 1931 Academy Award-winning film of the same name which was directed by King Vidor. It stars Jon Voight, Faye Dunaway, and Ricky Schroder. It is also the final film for actress Joan Blondell....
, was introduced the Night album but in its single release credited solely to Chris Thompson with another album track "Cold Wind Across My Heart" - featuring both Thompson and Vann - being marketed as the second Night single; the latter track failed to chart and the Night album peaked at a moderate #113, the group's gig opening for the Doobie Brothers
The Doobie Brothers
The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band. The group has sold over 40 million units worldwide throughout their career. The Doobie Brothers were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004.-Original incarnation:...
failing to significantly boost their popularity.
A second album release by Night in 1980 entitled Long Distance produced a minor hit in its single release: "Love on the Airwaves", and was otherwise overlooked. Night had no further recordings released but did not officially disband until 1982.
Night can be seen in the 1980 film The Monster Club
The Monster Club
The Monster Club is a 1980 British horror film directed by Roy Ward Baker and starring Vincent Price and John Carradine. An anthology film, it is based on the works of the British horror author R. Chetwynd-Hayes...
performing "The Stripper".
Albums
- Night (1979) US #113
- Long Distance (1980) US 204
1978
- Chris Thompson (vocals)
- Stevie Lange (vocals)
- Robbie McIntoshRobbie McIntoshRobbie McIntosh is an English guitarist. McIntosh is well known as a session guitarist and member of The Pretenders from 1982 until 1987. In 1988 he began doing session guitar work for Paul McCartney joining his band full time until early 1994...
(guitarGuitarThe 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...
, vocals) - Billy Kristian (bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
) - Nicky HopkinsNicky HopkinsNicholas Christian "Nicky" Hopkins was an English pianist and organist.He recorded and performed on noted British and American popular music recordings of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s as a session musician....
(keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA 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...
) - Pete Baron (drumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s)
1979
- Chris Thompson (vocals)
- Stevie Lange (vocals)
- Robbie McIntosh (guitar, vocals)
- Billy Kristian (bass)
- Bobby Wright (keyboards)
- Bobby Guidotti (drums)