Blue Angel

Blue Angel was the band that featured Cyndi Lauper before her rise to fame as a solo singer. The lineup also included John Turi on keyboard instrument and saxophone, Arthur "Rockin' A" Nelson (guitar), Lee Brovitz (bass guitar) and Johnny Morelli (drums). The sound engineer's name is Patrick P. Norton. Lauper and Turi wrote the bulk of their material, and the group also covered pop standards, such as Mann/Weil's "I'm Gonna Be Strong" (which Lauper covered again in a 1994 album). Blue Angel was briefly popular on the New York club scene, playing a kind of retro-rockabilly that was then hip (see X, some early The B-52's and The Cramps), but was far more accessible and romantic than many practitioners of the period.

Their only album, the self-titled Blue Angel, was released in 1980 to critical acclaim and moderate sales. It featured a sparse punk rock and New Wave-styled cover in primary red and floating band member photos. Like much of Lauper's later solo career, the sales for the album was more successful overseas than in America, but even so the only track to achieve high chart status was "I'm Gonna Be Strong", which reached #37 in the Netherlands. Another song from the album, "Maybe He'll Know", was rerecorded by Lauper on her second solo album, True Colors, in 1986.

In 1984, after Lauper's subsequent success, the record was re-released, this time with a yellow cover, and finally in an exclusive 5,000 copy limited compact disc pressing in 2005 from Hip-O Select Records. The band reformed without Lauper in 1987 under the name "Boppin' the Blues". Lauper joined them on stage for a one-time performance. The band has since disbanded completely.

Discography

• Blue Angel (1980)
• I'm Gonna Be Strong (1980, single)
• I Had a Love (1980, single)
• Late (1980, single)
• Fade (1980, single)

External links

• Blue Angel at All Music Guide
• Discography

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