Matt Bianco is a UK band that was formed in 1983. They are mainly known for their success in the mid 1980s and their jazzy, Latin-flavoured music.
Popular during the mid 1980s in continental Europe, Matt Bianco epitomised the new jazz pop genre, that they shared with acts such as Working Week, Sade, Everything but the Girl, and The Style Council. The name suggests that Matt Bianco is a personal name, often referred to the main constant member and front man, Mark Reilly, but Matt is in fact "a made up spy, a secret agent; we loved spy TV themes and film scores"
The early years as a trio
Formed by Mark Reilly (vocals), Danny White (keyboards), & the late Kito Poncioni (bass) in 1982 from the shards of the abandoned art pop group, Blue Rondo A La Turk, for their first album, Whose Side Are You On?, they hired then unknown Polish vocalist Basia Trzetrzelewska. Her vocal arrangements gave the album a jazzy dimension that Reilly and White could not anticipate but made good use of. Mixmaster Phil Harding applied what would become his signature style to the recordings. Hits like "Get Out of Your Lazy Bed" and "Half a Minute," which Basia would feature live throughout her solo career, turned Matt Bianco into one of the biggest acts of Europe in 1984. Basia & Danny White, subsequently a couple in real life too, left the group soon after the first album to pursue an apparently more lucrative solo career with Sony, under the name Basia, on the Epic label. They maintained their working relationship with Phil Harding, who would continue to work with Matt Bianco as well. Mark Reilly, now without a musical partner, found ex-Wham keyboarder and session musician, Mark Fisher, and recorded the next (self-titled) Matt Bianco album.
Albums
* 1984 - Whose Side Are You On? (UK Albums Chart #35)
* 1986 - Matt Bianco (UK #26)
* 1988 - Indigo (UK #23)
* 1991 - Samba in Your Casa
* 1994 - Another Time Another Place
* 1995 - Gran Via (German edition)
* 1995 - Gran Via + 5 (Japanese edition + 5 extra tracks)
* 1997 - World Go Round (first Japanese edition)
* 1998 - World Go Round (second Japanese edition + Lost in You 1997)
* 1998 - World Go Round Spanish Version (third Japanese edition + 5 new tracks in Spanish)
* 2000 - Rico
* 2002 - Echoes
* 2004 - Matt's Mood
Compilations
* 1990 - The Best of Matt Bianco (UK #49) (collection of best tracks from the European period 1983 to 1990)
* 1993 - Yeah Yeah
* 1998 - A/Collection (collection of remakes of hits and of stand-out album tracks) (Japanese edition including 17 tracks)
* 2000 - A/Collection (collection of remakes of stand-out album tracks and remixes of a few hits) (European edition including 16 tracks)
* 2005 - The Best of Matt Bianco: Platinum Collection (re-release of 1990 Best-Of album)
* 2006 - Wap Bam Boogie
* 2008 - The Best of Matt Bianco - Volume 2 (collection of best tracks from the German/Asian period 1991 to 2008 - Internet release)
Singles
Singles Europe 1983-1990
* February 1984 - "Get Out of Your Lazy Bed" (#15 UK Singles Chart - 8 weeks in the charts), #8 Ireland.
* April/May 1984 - "Sneaking Out the Back Door"/"Matt's Mood" (#44 UK - 7 weeks), #22 Ireland.
* November 1984 - "Half a Minute" (#23 UK - 10 weeks)
* February 1985 - "More Than I Can Bear" (remix) - (#50 UK - 7 weeks)
* September 1985 - "Yeh Yeh" (#13 UK - 10 weeks), #15 Ireland.
* February 1986 - "Just Can't Stand It" (#66 UK - 2 weeks)
* June 1986 - "Dancing in the Street" (#64 UK - 3 weeks)
* May 1988 - "Don't Blame It on That Girl / Wap-Bam-Boogie" (double A-side) (#11 UK - 13 weeks), #8 Ireland.
* August 1988 - "Good Times" (#55 UK - 3 weeks)
* January 1989 - "Nervous / Wap-Bam-Boogie (re-mix)" (#59 UK - 2 weeks), #22 Ireland.
* April 1989 - "Say It's Not Too Late" (UK -)
* September 1990 - "Fire in the Blood" (UK -)
* December 1990 - "Wap-Bam-Boogie 1990" (UK -)
* February 1992 - "What a fool believes" #23 Ireland.
Singles Germany/Asia 1991-1998
* October 1991 - "Macumba"
* 1992 - "What a Fool Believes"
* September 1993 - "Our Love" (Japan)
* 1994 - "Our Love" (Germany)
* December 1994 - "Buddy Love"
* August 1995 - "Lost in You" (Germany)
* October 1995 - "Lost in You" (Japan)
* June 1997 - "Altozano"
* July 1997 - "Sunshine Day / Lost in You 1997"
* 1998 - "Boogie Mi Vista"
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