Vanessa-Mae

Vanessa-Mae (born Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn on October 27, 1978 in Singapore) is a talented violinist who was successful in the United Kingdom and managed to chart on the Billboard charts as well. Her music style is self-described as "violin-techno-acoustic fusion."

She was born to Vorapong Vanakorn (an English hotelier of Thai descent) and Pamela Soei Luang Tan (a Chinese lawyer and a semi-professional concert pianist). After her parents separated, Vanessa-Mae's mom married a British attorney named Graham Nicholson who adopted Vanessa-Mae. She and her family moved to England when she was 4 years old.

At the age of 3, Vanessa-Mae began playing the piano and the violin when she was 5 years old. In 1989, she made her debut with the London Philiharmonia at the age of 10. When she was 11 years old, Vanessa-Mae became the youngest student to attend the Royal College of Music.

In October of 1990, Vanessa-Mae recorded her debut album "Violin" and it was finally released in March of 1991. On the album, she performed with the Mozart Players and contributed her royalites from the album to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

During that same year, Vanessa-Mae released her sophomore album "Kids' Classics" on Tritico Records. The album was recorded in Ghent, Belgium and recorded in association with the New Belgian Chamber Orchestra.

Also in that same year, Vanessa-Mae released her third album "Tchaikovsky & Beethoven Violin Concertos." According to the Guinness World Records, she was the youngest soloist to record both the Beethoven and Tchaikovsky violin concertos. 

As she reached her adolescent years, Vanessa-Mae broke away from her traditional classical music influences.

In January of 1995, Vanessa-Mae released her first techno-pop music single "Toccata & Fugue" which peaked at #16 on the U.K. Singles chart and #24 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play Singles chart.

In May of 1995, Vanessa-Mae released her fourth (and first techno/pop music) album "The Violin Player" on EMI Records.

In the U.K., the album peaked at #11 on the U.K. Albums chart. In the U.S., the album managed to chart at #32 on Billboard's Heatseekers Albums chart and #2 on Billboard's Top Classical Crossover chart.

The album sold over 8 million copies worldwide and was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry in June of 1995.

The second single from the album "Red Hot" peaked at #37 on the U.K. Singles chart. The last single from the album "Classical Gas" peaked at #41 on the U.K. Singles chart.

In 1996, Vanessa-Mae released her fifth album "The Alternative Record from Vanessa-Mae" which was only released in Poland and Asia.

During that same year, she released her sixth album "The Classical Album 1" which peaked at #47 on the U.K. Albums chart, topped Billboard's Top Classical Albums chart and sold over 500,000 copies.

The only single released from the album was "I'm A-Doun For Lack O'Johnnie (A Little Scottish Fantasy)" which peaked at #28 on the U.K. Singles chart.

In 1997, Vanessa-Mae released her seventh album "China Girl: The Classical Album 2" which peaked at #56 on the U.K. Albums chart and #3 on Billboard's Top Classical Albums chart.

The only single from the album "Happy Valley" didn't appear to make the charts at all. Vanessa-Mae toured in the U.S. and made some appearances on television.

In October of that same year, Vanessa-Mae released her eighth album "Storm" which peaked at #27 on the U.K. Albums chart. The album was released in the U.S. a year later and peaked at #2 on Billboard's Top Classical Crossover chart.

The first single from the album, the title song managed to peak at #53 on the U.K. Singles chart.

The follow-up single from the album, a cover version of Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" peaked at #41 on the U.K. Singles chart and #19 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. In 1998, Vanessa-Mae made her film debut in the movie "The Violin Fantasy."

During that same year, Vanessa-Mae released her ninth album "The Original Four Seasons And The Devil's Trill Sonata" which peaked at #5 on Billboard's Top Classical Albums chart, but didn't make the U.K. Albums chart.

The only single to chart was "The Devil's Trill/Reflection" which peaked at #53 on the U.K. Singles chart. 

Vanessa-Mae appeared on the title track to Janet Jackson's "The Velvet Rope" album. In 1999, she fired her mother as her manager and in 2000, she appeared in the television movie "Arabian Nights."

In September of that same year, Vanessa-Mae released her first compliation album "The Classical Collection, Part 1."

In May of 2001, Vanessa-Mae released her tenth album "Subject to Change" which peaked at #58 on the U.K. Albums chart, but hasn't been released in the United States.

The first single "Destiny" failed to make the charts. The follow-up single "White Bird" managed to peak at #66 on the U.K. Singles chart.

In 2002, Vanessa-Mae released her second compliation album "The Best of Vanessa-Mae" which peaked at #5 on Billboard's Top Classical Albums chart.

In 2003, Vanessa-Mae appeared on Prince's album "Xpectation." During that same year, she released her third compliation album "The Ultimate Vanessa-Mae."

In 2004, Vanessa-Mae released her eleventh album "Choreography" peaked at #66 on the U.K. Albums chart.

In April of 2006, Vanessa-Mae was ranked as the wealthiest young entertainer under 30 years old in the United Kingdom in the Sunday Times Rich List, having an estimated fortune of about £32 million which stemmed from concerts and record sales of over an estimated ten million copies worldwide.

During that same year, Vanessa-Mae announced she would be releasing a new album sometime between 2007 and 2008. A new album was expected to be released in 2009, but it was never released. During that same year, she moved to the Swiss alpine resort of Zermatt.

In 2011, Vanessa-Mae attended a celebration in Chechyna for the birthday of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov along with other celebrities, playing excerpts from Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" and reportedly received $500,000 for her performance.

Human rights groups urged the celebrities to cancel their appearances of because of human right abuses carried out under Kadyrov and were criticised by them for attending the event. The celebrities apologized and donated their fees to charity, but Vanessa-Mae has not done that.

These days, Vanessa-Mae has taken up alpine skiing. She had been skiing since she was 4 years old and wanted to compete in the Olympics since she was 14 years old. She attempted to represent Thailand in the 2002 Winter Olympics, but she was unable to do so because the Thai Olympic Committee requested that Vanessa-Mae give up her British citizenship which she wasn't ready to do.

In 2009, Vanessa-Mae took up residence in the alpine resort of Zermatt and began training competitively in 2010. 

On February 18, 2014, she competed in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. During that same year, she was later banned from skiing because a qualifying race for her benefit was allegedly corrupt, but in June of 2015, the ban was nullified by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, citing lack of evidence for her own wrongdoing or any manipulation.

As for her music career, it's unknown whether or not Vanessa-Mae plans on releasing another album anytime soon.

To see the music video for "Toccata & Fugue," go to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euOu89d3npA

To see the music video for "Red Hot," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bDNJAzREQY

To see a fan-made video for "Classical Gas," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmShzud0G_8

To see the music video for "I'm a Doun for Lack O' Johnnie (A Little Scottish Fantasy)," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh9j0-Ey3kw

To see a fan-made video for "Happy Valley," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=misPSq6gQ-U

To see the music video for "Storm," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tgb0jK143MI

To see the music video for "I Feel Love," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MnQbC0ctGk

To see the music video for "The Devil's Trill," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlO87SiSuek

To see the music video for "Destiny," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eCvTx5nDDA

To see the music video for "White Bird," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MNoUDNavyw

[updated on 04\10\2016]

Teri DeSario

Teri DeSario (born Teri Lynn DeSario on November 27, 1951 in Miami, Florida) is a former pop singer from the late '70s/early '80s.

Out of high school, Teri worked within various music genres. From 1970 to 1977, she sang & played recorder and harp with a medieval and Renaissance music group called the Early Music Consort.

She began her career as a folk music singer-songwriter. She later expanded her love of folk music with her passion for jazz.

After Teri married horn player/arranger/composer Bill Purse, they formed a pop-folk-jazz collaborative called Abacus.

One night, a long-haired man named Albhy Galuten walked into the club where Teri was performing. He claimed to be the producer of the Bee Gees and as it turned out, he actually was.

The Bee Gees' Barry Gibb heard Teri's demo of original music and was so inspired by her vocals, he wrote a song for Teri called "Ain't Nothing Gonna Keep Me From You" & helped her get a recording contract.

In July of 1978, "Ain't Nothing Gonna Keep Me From You" was released and managed to peak at #43 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The song also managed to peak at #52 on the U.K. Singles chart. Barry Gibb provided background vocals on the song while Teri's husband Bill played horns.

In October of 1978, Teri released her debut album "Pleasure Train" on Casablanca Records. It's unknown how or if the album ever made the charts.

The follow-up single from Teri's debut album "The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of" managed to peak at #41 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.

Despite the moderate success of her first single, Teri didn't enjoy the recording experience and wanted to move in a new direction.

She later bumped into an old schoolmate of hers from her teenage years, K.C. and the Sunshine Band's Harry Wayne Casey (also known as K.C.)

In 1979, Teri released her sophomore album "Moonlight Madness" which peaked at #80 on the Billboard 200 and #57 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart.

The first single from the album was a cover version of Barbara Mason's 1965 hit song "Yes I'm Ready" K.C. liked the original version of "Yes I'm Ready" and wanted to record a cover version of it.

At the time, he was producing Teri's second album and the president of Casablanca Records, Neil Bogart had an idea to record the song as a duet.

The song became Teri's only biggest hit to date, peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, #20 on Billboard's Hot Soul Singles chart, staying on the chart for 13 weeks and topped Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart.

The follow-up single, a cover version of "Dancin' in The Streets" managed to peak at #66 on the Billboard Hot 100. The title song was released as a single, but didn't make the charts.

In 1980, Teri released her third album "Caught." The album didn't appear to make the Billboard 200 chart. The album reflected Teri's situation with her record company.

The title song and "All I Wanna Do" were released a singles, but failed to make any impact on the Billboard charts at all.

Teri recorded another album "Relationships," but after Casablanca Records changed directions, the album was shelved.

In 1982, Teri performed a duet with K.C. & The Sunshine Band on the single "Don't Run (Come Back To Me)." The song managed to chart at #103 on Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.

In 1983, Teri released her fourth album (and first Contemporary Christian album) "A Call To Us All" on DaySpring Records. The album peaked at #32 on Billboard's Top Contemporary Christian albums chart.

In 1984, Teri released her fifth album "Overnight Success" (featuring Joey Carbone and Richie Zito which was released only in Japan. It's unknown how successful the album was in Japan.

In 1985, Teri released her sixth album "Voices in the Wind" which peaked at #34 on Billboard's Top Contemporary Christian chart.

In 1986, she received a Grammy nomination in the gospel music category for "Best Female Performance." During that same year, she requested to be released from her record label.

In 1989, Teri performed & recorded a version of "Lifeline" with The Maranatha! Singers on a a compliation album for Maranatha! Music.

 In 1993, she did production work on volume one of the "Laughing Medusa Theme Series." Teri also produced vocals on the 1996 album "Truth & Light: Music From The X-Files."

In 1999, Teri released a self-titled CD sampler that was released & exclusively recorded in the Philippines as a tie-up to promote Gloria Jeans Coffee.

These days, Teri resides in Miami & Germany where she sings with The Marschfellows. She also performs in various Christian music groups.

To see a fan-made video for "Ain't Nothing Gonna Keep Me From You," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZKXGfNfqbc

To see a video of Teri & K.C. performing "Yes I'm Ready," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbVA6vcas1o

To see a video of Teri performing "All I Wanna Do" on "Solid Gold," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=713VUL0dZ0Y

To see a fan-made video for "Don't Run (Come Back to Me)," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o07bqAo_br8

To see a fan-made video for "The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GYmIqGaTAI

To see the music video for "Overnight Success," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2faeeJxdCUg

Jeanna Cie

Jeanna Cie was a female pop/dance singer from the '80s. Not much information is given about her, but she was signed to MCA Records.

In 1987, Jeanna released her first single "Don't Believe in Love" which peaked at #23 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.

Her follow-up single "Red Light, Green Light" failed to make the charts. After that, it seemed as if Jeanna faded into obscurity. Her whereabouts are unknown.

[There are no videos available for this entry]

Blancmange

Blancmange are an English synthpop duo from Harrow, Middlesex, England that consisted of singer Neil Arthur (born on June 15, 1958 in Darwen, Lancashire, England) and instrumentalists Stephen Luscombe (born on October 29, 1954 in Hillingdon, Middlesex, England) & Laurence Stevens.

The band was formed in 1979. Laurence left the band shortly after it was formed, leaving Neil and Stephen as a duo.

In 1980, they released their first EP "Irene and Mavis." The duo earned their first real exposure when they were featured on a track on the album "Some Bizzare Album" along with music acts Soft Cell and Depeche Mode. This later led to Neil and Stephen signing a record deal with London Records.

In 1982, Blancmange released the double A-sided single "God's Kitchen/I've Seen the World" which peaked at #65 on the U.K. Singles chart. Their second single "Feel Me" fared better, peaking at #46 on the U.K. Singles chart.

In September of 1982, Blancmange released their debut album "Happy Families" which peaked at #30 on the U.K. Albums chart. The album was certified Gold.

Their third single "Living on the Ceiling" became a hit, peaking at #7 on the U.K. Singles chart. In the United States, the song managed to peak at #52 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart (along with "Feel Me").

The song was certified Silver by the BPI for sales in excess of 200,000 copies. One of the lyrics in the song "up the bloody tree" was edited as "up the cuckoo tree" on BBC radio and when the duo performed the song on "Top of the Pops."

The last single from Blancmange's debut album "Waves" was moderately successful, peaking at #19 on the U.K. Singles chart.

In 1984, the duo released their second album "Mange Tout" which peaked at #8 on the U.K. Albums chart. The album become Blancmange's most successful album to date. It was certified Gold by the BPI for sales in excess of 100,000 copies.

The first single from the album "Blind Vision" peaked at #10 on the U.K. Singles chart. The song also peaked at #3 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.

The second single "That's Love, That Is" peaked at #33 on the U.K. Singles chart. It also managed to peak at #16 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart (along with the song "Game Above My Head").

The third single from the album "Don't Tell Me" peaked at #8 on the U.K. Singles chart and #44 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.

The last single from the album, a cover version of ABBA's single "The Day Before You Came" peaked at #22 on the U.K. Singles chart which was slightly higher than when ABBA's version was released two years earlier.

In 1985, Blancmange released their third album "Believe You Me" which peaked at #54 on the U.K. Albums chart and stayed on the chart for only two weeks. The lead single from the album "What's Your Problem" peaked at #40 on the U.K. Singles chart.

The follow-up single "Lose Your Love" peaked at a low #77 on the U.K. Singles chart, but managed to peak at #2 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart and #36 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart (along with the song "Ave Maria").

The last single from the album "I Can See It" peaked at #71 on the U.K. Singles chart. In 1987, Blancmange disbanded.

In 1989, Stephen released an album of Indian-influenced music entitled "New Demons" along with Pandit Dinesh, Peter Culshaw, Priya Khajuria and Asha Bhosle under the name "West India Company." In 1994, Neil released his solo album "Suitcase."

In 2011 (26 years after the release of their last album), Blancmange released their fourth album "Blanc Burn" which peaked at #163 on the U.K. Albums chart.

In July of 2013, Blancmange announced on their official website that they will be going on tour in November across the United Kingdom. They'll also be releasing a new album "Happy Families Too" that features updated recordings of their 1982 debut album.

Blancmange's new album will only be available on their tour, but a digital download will soon follow.

To see Blancmange's official website, go to:
http://www.blancmange.co.uk/

To see Blancmange's official Facebook page, go to:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Blancmange/116356598425703

To follow Blancmange on Twitter, go to:
https://twitter.com/_blancmange_

To see the music video for "Living on the Ceiling," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ8qPOk0Zvc

To see the music video for "Blind Vision," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YAvhMTgE8o

To see the music video for "Lose Your Love," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N81UChK78WY

To see the music video for "That's Love That Is," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qadZXcN0brc

To see a fan-made video for "Don't Tell Me," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YS_dDg_Dx10

To see the music video for "The Day Before You Came," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFNs_-LGgQs

To see the music video for "Waves," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbMi1Wg3uQU

To see a fan-made video for "God's Kitchen," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gArgTD2PQB0