Wang Chung

Forming out of the ashes of two different bands called The Intellektuals and 57 Men, Wang Chung originally formed as Huang Chung in 1980, and thanks to the contacts that the trio had made while in those previous bands, signed to 101 Records soon after forming. The band, made up of singer and guitarist Jeremy Ryder (A.K.A Jack Hues), bassist Nick Feldman (Nick DeSpig) and Darren Costin (Darren Darwin) on the drums, debuted their first tracks on a set of 101 Records compilation albums before signing a two-album deal with Arista Records in 1981. Their first album sank without a trace, but after they changed their name to Wang Chun in 1983 and had their record deal switched from Arista to Geffen in the same year, the band's career was saved after the release of their second album “Points On The Curve”. The album was released in January 1984, and it was the record's second single “Dance Hall Days” that certified the band as possible stars, hitting number 21 in the UK and number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The band were poised to make a huge breakthrough, and that's exactly what happened with the release of September 1986's “Everybody Have Fun Tonight”. The single rocketed to the number two spot on the Billboard Hot 100, and it's follow up “Let's Go” was another huge hit as well, placing in the top 10 of the same chart. However, the band couldn't keep up their run of hits and split up in 1990. However, ever since 1997, the band have been back together and releasing albums that are even more acclaimed than their 80's heyday, the band are also playing the best live shows of their career, so now has never been a better time to be a Wang Chung fan, which isn't something you can say about many bands who made their name in the 1980's. For constantly improving with age, and proving a far better band than many would assume them to be, Wang Chung come highly recommended.