Short lived, Blue Angel came and went in the blink of an eye in 1980, and most people probably to this day don't even know who they are. Their sound was reminiscent of 60's malt shops, with a hint of new wave pop, and for fans of both styles, it's a match made in heaven.
The five member group formed in 1978, and featured John Turi on keyboards / saxophone, Johnny "Bullet" Morelli on drums, Lee Brovitz on bass, Arthur "Rockin' A" Neilson on guitar, and an at the time unknown, Cyndi Lauper on vocals. Together, they recorded a demo, which caught the attention of Steve Massarsky, manager of The Allman Brothers Band, who would buy their contract for $5,000.00.
While Lauper was offered solo recording contracts, she continued to hold out, hoping to secure one for the band. This eventually came from Polydor Records, and with it, their self titled debut in 1980. Despite its critical success, the album sold poorly, and led to the group eventually disbanding.
However, before this would happen, the group would record a second album, which would be cancelled by Polydor under new management. This also led to them being dropped by the label.
Blue Angel also fired Massarsky, who in turn sued them for $80,000.00, forcing Lauper into bankruptcy. She would ultimately end up working in retail stores, an IHOP restaurant, and singing in clubs to earn a living. For her, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as her solo career soared with her debut album in 1983.
As for the rest of the group, their moment of time remains locked in a brief moment of history in 1980, packed in a single album which many people don't even know exists. It's a shame, because it's actually pretty good.
I thoroughly enjoyed hearing this. It was the best of both worlds. It was a great album on one hand that had strong roots in a classic Americana sytle of malt shop memories, blended smoothly with an up and coming new wave scene. On the other hand, it had familiarity thanks to Lauper leading the charge.
What's all the more intriguing about this album is its inclusion of songs that Lauper would later re-record and use on her solo albums. The most notable of the bunch being Maybe He'll Know, which is quite frankly better than the 1986 version from True Colors. Originals usually are.
Blue Angel, the album, was great to hear. It was fun, not only because of the music, but because of that special feeling of being in an exclusive club of people who knew about its existence. Which now all the tens of thousands of people reading this post do as well.
The album, as a whole, is relatively hard to find in abundance. It's also interesting to note that vinyl versions are far more expensive than CD copies. That's unusual.
After disbanding, Blue Angel remained relatively quite until reforming in 1987 as Boppin' The Blues, sans Cyndi Lauper. She did, however, join them on stage in 1987 for a single appearance. They don't appear to have released any albums.
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| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS February 2, 1980 |
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| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS February 2, 1985 |
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