REPOST: Charlie - Selftitled (1983)

(U.K 1971 - 1986, 2009)

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Charlie was a British rock band that was formed in 1971 by singer/songwriter Terry Thomas. A jazz-inflected, London-based group, Charlie was as well known for the sexy babes on their album covers as they were for their close, smooth harmonies and slick, catchy singles like "Turning" and "Watching TV."

The band's core lineup consisted of vocalist / guitarist Terry Thomas (who had also been in a band with Free and Bad Company's Simon Kirke), bassist/vocalist John Anderson (formerly of Axe), and drummer Steve Gadd, and a wide array of supporting players, including keyboardist Julian Colbeck, guitarist Martin Smith, auxiliary drummer Shep Lonsdale, and former Argent members Bob Henrit and John Verity.

Their radio-friendly sound debuted in 1976 with Fantasy Girls and the group managed a steady stream of moderate FM hits in the U.S. and the U.K., including 1978's "Killer Cut" and "She Loves to Be in Love."
However, Charlie's biggest success came with the 1983 hit "It's Inevitable," which received considerable airplay from MTV and was featured on their selftitled seventh album. Despite the added prominence this single and tours with the Doobie Brothers, Styx, BTO, and the Kinks brought them, the group remained primarily a cult favorite for their nearly decade-long career. Charlie's swan song came in with 'In Pursuit of Romance', which featured Thomas as the only original member.
Charlie, to most people in Oz were virtually unknown so it was tempting to treat their selftitled album as a debut.

In many ways it was — they had a new front man in Terry Slesser (sounding very much like Daryl Braithwaite or Steve Perry, and looked like Brian Mannix from the Uncanny X-Men), a new Production Team - Kevin Beamish and Terry Thomas and a new Record Label - Mirage, headed by Jerry Greenberg (ex Atlantic Records President).
Charlie's recording career began in 76 with their debut Album "Fantasy Girls" and they followed this up with one album per year - "No Second Chance" (77); "Lines" (78); "Fight Dirty" (79); "Here Comes Trouble" ('80) and "Good Morning America" ('81)
Of the above only "No Second Chance" and "Lines" were released in Australia. Both received good critical acclaim but failed to spawn that vital ingredient - a HIT Single. They did however have two Top 40 Hits in the States with "She Loves To Be In Love" and "Killer Cut".

Charlie in '83 undertook a new direction. As Terry Thomas the Band leader/Spokesman put it - "There was a lot of re-evaluation going on in the band after "Good Morning America". We had been working for a long time to attain the kind of success we all wanted but hadn't quite achieved. The frustration level for the whole band was very high at that point. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that a major change was needed to freshen up a stagnant situation. Hence, I stepped down from the role of Lead Singer and directed my energies into the Songwriting/ Producing and Guitar work. As soon as I took this approach the material I had written for the album took on a new clarity and direction about it".
The addition of Kevin Beamish as Co-Producer/Engineer as well as help from John "Mutt" Lange (Producer of Foreigner, AC/CD, Def Leppard) has really added depth and a knife like edge to all of Thomas'songs.

The Songs
"It's Inevitable" kicks it off, a song that deserved it's minor hit status. The song is an up tempo rocker with the great layered harmonies expected of the lads. The same can be said of "Tempted" which follows the same path with a superb chorus. "Spend My Life With You" is more mid tempo, but with a beautiful verse and if anything these guys were on a roll. "Never Too Late" features a highly dramatic bridge, with synth work that stabs over and over. Side one ends with another ultra melodic classic "Playing To Win". The buildup to the chorus is almost palpable in its tension, it fits perfectly. The background vocals are so rich in melody you might overdose of an AOR attack! And this is only side one! Not to worry because side two is every bit as memorable, notably "This Time" and "Can't Wait 'Til Tomorrow", undeniable AOR feasts which can be described as any of the previous songs.
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The rip was taken from CD in FLAC format and includes full album artwork.
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Track Listing

01 - It's Inevitable
02 - Tempted
03 - Spend My Life With You
04 - Never Too Late
05 - Playing To Win
06 - The Heartaches Begin
07 - You're Everything I Need
08 - This Time
09 - Can't Wait 'Til Tomorrow
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Band Members
Terry Wilson Slesser - vocals
Terry Thomas - guitars, vocals
John Anderson - bass, vocals
Steve Gadd - drums
Bob Henrit - drums

Guest Artists:
Andy Clark - keyboards
Richard Cottle - saxophone, keyboards
Adrian Lee - keyboards
Chris Parren - keyboards
Nick Payne - saxophone

REPOSTED in FLAC format
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Charlie Link (254Mb)
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Charlie - Fantasy Girls (1976)

(U.K 1971 - 1986, 2009)
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Having posted Charlie's 1983 Selftitled album, which featured their hit single "It's Inevitable", I received a request by a blog follower Vergervc to post their first album 'Fantasy Girls' from 1976.  I have therefore decided to make this my first post for October, and in future will  post any other requests I receive, at the start of each month.
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Charlie was a British rock band that was formed in 1971 by singer/songwriter Terry Thomas. The group was most active as a recording unit from the mid-1970s through 1986. Charlie never charted in their home country, but had four minor hits in the US: 1977's "Turning To You"; 1978's "She Loves to Be In Love"; 1979's "Killer Cut" and 1983's "It's Inevitable".
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The band was briefly called "Charlie Cuckoo" (after a racehorse), but soon became known simply as "Charlie".  The band debuted as a recording act in 1976, with the album 'Fantasy Girls'. They toured the UK in the spring of 1976 as support act to the Dutch progressive rock band Focus to promote the album. Their second album, No Second Chance, began the practice of featuring a photograph of a female model as the album's cover. "Turning To You", off that album, became Charlie's first chart hit, peaking at US #96.
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Early Charlie

Charlie had a more substantial hit in 1978 with "She Loves to Be In Love," which peaked at #54 in the United States. The following year, the band again had a minor hit with "Killer Cut", which rose to US #60.
Julian Colbeck, who had replaced Martin Smith after the first album, departed four albums later in 1980 amid some turmoil. He writes, "Finally, the touring band line-up of Terry Thomas, John Anderson, Eugene Organ, Steve Gadd, and myself ceased operations once Arista refused to release Here Comes Trouble, and our caring, sharing management company immediately cut off all our money in 1980. That's a whole other story but, for the record, our final gig was in 1979 at the Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island on Monday 29 October, alongside Foreigner." Thomas commented "Arista our new label in the U.S. wanted more songs - our company in the UK - Trident Audio Productions - refused to put us in the studio or spend any more money. The UK record company - Polydor - wouldn't release it until it had a U.S. release. Effectively Charlie had no record label and no money to live on. Eugene and Julian decided to leave."

In 1982, Terry Slesser joined the group as new lead singer, while Thomas, still a member of the band, began concentrating more on the instrumentation. In 1983, the group had their most successful hit single, "It's Inevitable", which peaked just inside the US Top 40 at #38. The MTV music video featured a rousing pie fight. The accompanying self-titled album was a flop, however, and the band folded.
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In 1986, Thomas resurrected the band with a new crew and released In Pursuit of Romance. Thomas writes, "This was basically a contractual album - Steve had gone off to work with Iron Maiden as a drum tech and John had a job in the telecommunications industry. I ended up making the whole album by myself - it put me in the hospital!".  After a long lay off, in 2009 Charlie released their first album of new material in 23 years, 'Kitchens Of Distinction'. The album began life as a Terry Thomas solo project, but as the finished product included contributions from Martin Smith and Julian Colbeck, the decision was made to credit the CD to Charlie.
Drummer Steve Gadd died on 27 March 2013, after a year long battle with cancer.
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Album Review
The core of Charlie's sound is derived from veterans of such bands as Argent, Axe, and lead singer/songwriter Terry Thomas, so right away one who is familiar with the groups can derive what the group would sound like without even listening. But what's surprising about Fantasy Girls is the level of gloss that's thrown over a layer of raw rock grit. The guitars are compressed and the arrangements are quite similar to their contemporaries, specifically that of Boston (especially on "Miss Deluxe"), but the quality on this ten-song session is erratic at best and shows a group just starting to get its footing and identity together. To Charlie's credit, they take bits and pieces of their contemporaries and take only what really works, but when listened to as a whole, Fantasy Girls can be inconsistent but wonderful for those looking for no-frills rock & roll. [Review by Rob Theakston]
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Post consists of an MP3 rip (320kps) taken from Vinyl and includes full album artwork along with the alternative European cover (see above).  My favourite tracks on this album are "Prisoners", "Greatcoat Guru" and "It's Your Life" with their catchy riffs, lyrics and extended guitar breaks.
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Track Listing

01 - Fantasy Girls
02 - Miss Deluxe
03 - TV Dreams
04 - Prisoners
05 - First Class Traveller
06 - Greatcoat Guru
07 - Please Let Me Know
08 - Don't Let Me Down
09 - It's Your Life
10 - Summer Romances
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Band Members:
Terry Thomas (Lead vocals, guitar)
John Anderson (Backing vocals, bass)
Steve Gadd (Drum)
Martin Smith (Backing vocals, guitar)
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Fantasy Girls Link (98Mb)  New Link 16/01/2025