MUSIC

C. C. Catch Caroline Catherine Müller (born 31 July 1964), known professionally as C. C. Catch, is a Dutch-born German pop singer, also known for her collaboration with Dieter Bohlen (one half of Modern Talking) in the 1980s. https://youtu.be/p6W5it9-xyY

Bonnie Tyler Gaynor Sullivan MBE, known professionally as Bonnie Tyler, is a Welsh singer who is known for her distinctive husky voice. Tyler came to prominence with the release of her 1977 album The World Starts Tonight and its singles “Lost in France” and “More Than a Lover”.  Her 1977 single “It’s a Heartache” reached number four on the UK Singles Chart, and number three on the US Billboard Hot 100. In the 1980s, Tyler ventured into rock music with songwriter and producer Jim Steinman. He wrote Tyler’s biggest hit “Total Eclipse of the Heart”, the lead single from her 1983 UK chart-topping album Faster Than the Speed of Night. Steinman also wrote Tyler’s other major 1980s hit “Holding Out for a Hero”.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=lcOxhH8N3Bo She had success in mainland Europe during the 1990s with Dieter Bohlen, who wrote and produced her hit “Bitterblue”. In 2003, Tyler re-recorded “Total Eclipse of the Heart” with singer Kareen Antonn. Their bilingual duet, titled “Si demain… (Turn Around)”, topped the French charts. Rocks and Honey was released in 2013 and features the single “Believe in Me”, which she performed representing the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden.  After reuniting with the producer David Mackay, she released Between the Earth and the Stars (2019) and The Best Is Yet to Come (2021). Her work has earned her three Grammy Award nominations and three Brit Award nominations (including twice for British Female Solo Artist), among other accolades. In 2022 she was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to music.  

Boney M. Boney M. were a German vocal group that specializes in disco and funk, created by German record producer Frank Farian, who was the group’s primary songwriter.  Originally based in West Germany, the four original members of the group’s official line-up were Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett from Jamaica, Maizie Williams from Montserrat, and Bobby Farrell from Aruba. The group was formed in 1976 and achieved popularity during the disco era of the late 1970s. Since the 1980s, various line-ups of the band have performed with differing personnel.  The band has sold more than 100 million records worldwide and is known for international hits including “Daddy Cool”, “Ma Baker”, “Belfast”, “Sunny”, “Rasputin”, “Mary’s Boy Child/Oh My Lord” and “Rivers of Babylon”.   https://youtu.be/16y1AkoZkmQ

Billy Joel Experience A sparkling ode to Billy Joel by Alexander Broussard (Najib Amhali’s PlusSupportAct, De Corona’s, Crazy Pianos and many other such acts) & his five-piece band ‘003’, based in The Netherlands. Billy Joel’s songs certainly need no introduction. They have fused with our collective memory. He is among the most successful artists in pop history, with more than 30 top-ten hits to his name. His repertoire pretty much spans the entire pop spectrum: think of the classic sing-along number ‘The Piano Man’, but also swinging rock numbers such as ‘My Life’, beautiful ballads like ‘Honesty’ or good old Rock & Roll, like ‘Only the Good Die Young’. Each one of them probably has more impact live than on vinyl. And, although Billy is still performing at the age of 69, there is only a very slim chance that he will ever tour in Germany again. High time for a tribute, then. Hence The Billy Joel Experience. https://youtu.be/9Rx-Qt7ndCE

Bananarama Bananarama are a British and Irish pop group, formed as a trio in 1980 by friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O’Sullivan until 1991, when the trio became a duo. Their success on both pop and dance charts saw them listed in the Guinness World Records for achieving the world’s highest number of chart entries by an all-female group. Between 1982 and 2009, they had 30 singles reach the Top 50 of the UK Singles Chart. https://youtu.be/d4-1ASpdT1Y

Bad Boys Blue Bad Boys Blue are a German pop group formed in Cologne in 1984. The group performed many international hits including “You’re a Woman”, “Pretty Young Girl”, “I Wanna Hear Your Heartbeat”, and “Come Back and Stay”.  The group became massively popular in Eastern Europe, South America, and South Africa, with the band performing to sell-out crowds in Russia and Ukraine. In contrast, the group never charted in the UK, and their only charting U.S. singles were “Save Your Love” and “I Totally Miss You” (1993) which became successful chart hits. In June 2015, Bad Boys Blue released a new album titled 30.  It contains four new and four unreleased songs, along with some remixes of older songs. In August 2023, Bad Boys Blue embarked on a multi city US tour along with Samantha Fox and Boney M, which included stops in Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City and San Jose. The shows were put together by Los Angeles based promoters LA Concert Group. https://youtu.be/5dkpk1gmaDc

Baccara Baccara was a Spanish female vocal duo formed in 1977 by Spanish artists Mayte Mateos (born 7 February 1951) and María Mendiola (4 April 1952 – 11 September 2021). The duo rapidly achieved international success with their debut single “Yes Sir, I Can Boogie”, which reached number one across much of Europe and became the best-selling single of all time by a female group, eventually selling more than 16 million copies worldwide.  A successful follow-up single (“Sorry, I’m a Lady”) and European tour led to a number of album releases, numerous television appearances and the duo’s selection to represent Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978. https://youtu.be/32wDFCM7iSI

Ara Malikian Ara Malikian is a Lebanese-born violinist of Armenian descent. He was educated in Germany and now based in Spain. Since 1995, Malikian has played in a duo with the pianist Serouj Kradjian, also of Armenian origin, recorded the complete cycle of Sonatas by Robert Schumann (Hänsler) with him, as well as the record “Miniatures” (Malkrafon), an anthology of music for violin and piano written by Armenian composers.  He has also recorded numerous discs for record companies such as BMG, Auvidis, Trittico Classics and Elite Music, including, among many other compositions, “The Four Seasons” of Vivaldi (more than 80,000 copies sold for UNICEF). Malikian maintains a close collaboration with José Luis Montón. As well as working with the Lebanese singer Fairuz, the flamenco dancers Joaquín Cortés and Belén Maya, the Ensamble Nuevo Tango and the jazz pianist Horacio Icasto.  https://youtu.be/xH_sltxrHok He has also collaborated with film-music composers like Alberto Iglesias, with whom he recorded the soundtrack for Hable Con Ella, a movie by Almodóvar, or Pascal Gainge in Otro Barrio by the director Salvador García Ruiz. Ara Malikian has released albums “Manantial” and “De la felicidad” accompanied by the flamenco guitarist José Luis Montón.  This last CD was nominated by the Spanish Academy of Music for the best New Music CD of the year. With Warner Bros., Malikian recorded a double CD, which contained some of the most significant works of Paganini, including his “24 Caprices for Violin Solo”, an album with some compositions by Sarasate accompanied by the Armenian pianist Serouj Kradjian, the “Six Sonatas” for violin by Ysaÿe and the “Sonatas and Partitas” by J. S. Bach.  Ara Malikian was nominated twice for the best classical performance in the 2007 Music Prizes in Spain, by the Spanish Academy for his recording of the Poema Concertante by Xavier Montsalvatge, along with the Castilla y León Symphonic Orchestra; as well as for a piece with Joan Valent, Suso Sáiz and Marc Blanes. He participated as a guest artist in the film J: Beyond Flamenco, by Carlos Saura (2016).

Al Bano and Romina Power Al Bano and Romina Power are an Italian-American pop music duo formed in 1975 by then-married couple Italian tenor Albano Carrisi and American singer Romina Power, the daughter of Hollywood actor Tyrone Power. They have recorded over 22 albums, which have sold in 150 million copies across six decades. Their best known international hits include “Felicità”, “Sharazan”, “Tu, soltanto tu (Mi hai fatto innamorare)”, “Ci sarà”, “Sempre sempre”, and “Libertà!”. They participated twice in Eurovision Song Contest in 1976 and 1985 and performed five times at Sanremo Music Festival, winning in 1984 with the song “Ci sarà”. The couple also shot seven films, based on their songs, between 1967 and 1984. The two separated in 1999 and divorced in 2012, but reunited professionally in 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-GMYDoTfI0