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New England set the music world on fire with their AOR anthem Don't Ever Wanna Lose Ya in 1979. John Fannon (guitar & vocals), Hirsh Gardner (drums and vocals), Jimmy Waldo (keyboards and vocals) and Gary Shea (bass) broke out of the local Boston scene with the release of their self-titled album on Infinity/MCA in 1979. The album was produced by Mike Stone and Paul Stanley of Kiss, whom New England toured with for much of 1979 and 1980. For their sophomore effort, entitled Explorer Suite, the foursome once again called upon veteran knob-twirler Mike Stone. Highlights from this album are the orchestral title track, It's Never Too Late, and Conversation, which features New England's trademark lush background vocals. The touring never let us for the boys from Boston as they split their time on the Explorer Suite tour between headlining large clubs and sharing arena billing with Journey, AC/DC, Cheap Trick, and Kiss among others. For the third album, Walking Wild, the legendary Todd Rundgren was at the helm. The results of these sessions were hard-driving tunes such as Don't Ever Let Me Go, L-5 (co-written by Fannon, Waldo & Rundgren) and the kick-ass rocker Holdin' Out On Me, which features Hirsh Gardner on lead vocals. The frustration over the lack of label support grew and the band parted ways. While Fannon & Gardner went on to successful careers as producers and Shea & Waldo former Alcatrazz with Graham Bonnet & Yngwie Malmsteen, nothing seemed to match the excitement of New England. The real strength of New England was the combination of four strong & diverse individuals: Fannon's lead vocals & songwriting, Waldo's whirling keyboards, Gardner's driving skin-pounding and high-pitched vocals and Shea's thunderous bass lines. While the records speak for themselves, the fans are the reason New England lives. Waldo explains,"I would tour all over the world with Alcatrazz and every country we'd go to people would have New England albums for me to sign. It really shows you the power of music. We have fans all over Europe & Japan, places we never even toured. It's amazing." 1998 marked the 20th anniversary of the birth of New England. The first new music heard from New England in 15 years was released as part of the CD entitled 1978, which features the original versions of seven classic New England tunes plus three never before released songs. The CD was released worldwide along with the re-issues of Walking Wild and Explorer Suite. All titles are available on the GB Music label in the United States & Europe, and Maquee/Avalon in Japan. It's 2003 and the members find themselves working on a variety of projects, however the demand for a full New England reunion CD and tour is strong. "We all got together to record a song for my solo CD. Who knows where it will lead," Gardner quips. "We have been talking about a reunion album and world tour. We will take it one step at a time, but you never know." Check out the artist's website: http://www.newenglandrocks.com Track List: 1. Honey Money 2. Livin' In The Eighties 3. Conversation 4. It's Never Too Late 5. Explorer Suite 6. Seal It With A Kiss 7. Hey You're On The Run 8. No Place To Go 9. Searchin' 10. Hope 11. You'll Be Born Again Suggested CDs:Other Genres: |