Gina X Performance were singer Gina X and producer Zeus B. Held. The band was active between 1979 and 1984 or 5, releasing around four LPs and a few singles.The producer had been active in rock bands before starting this project, and after meeting Gina X, his solo performances eventually evolved into what became Gina X Performance. He also did a lot of production and remix work in the 80s, for Nina Hagen, Alphaville, Dead or Alive, Simple Minds, Tranvision Vamp and Gary Numan.

I love Gina X's voice. She's a vixen, and the secret daughter of Nancy Nova and Nico. I really like the likable weirdness and the softly cold delivery of words. Ech, I hope you know what I mean.

And -- their first ever concert was with Boney M.

This song is from their first album 'Nice Mover', which came out in 1979. That album also contained two other amazing songs, 'No G.D.M.' and 'Plastic Surprise Box', but this one is my favorite.

Gina X Performance - Nice Mover
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This one is from their last album, 'Yinglish', released in 1984. It's so large and grand and dramatic and so f'in cool.

Listen closely to the lyrics.

Gina X Performance - Waiting
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I've been busy seeing fantasticly amazing concerts, meeting wonderful people, and swallowing some sun rays (and some food). Just saw múm play two shows, and FM Belfast go totally berserk at the afterparty. I discovered that jumping and shouting is hard. I seriously thought I would expire on the middle of the floor.

Lio, born in Portugal, raised in Belgium, a star in France. This song is from her 1980 album 'Lio', and is a cover of an excellent Billie Holiday song. As most of her albums, this one is produced by geniuses Dan Lacksman and Marc Moulin from Telex, with one song produced by Jacno (and containing lyrics by Elli).

I recommend you try and get your hands on her albums, as they are excellent.

I just listened to this song four times in a row, and as I'm writing this short sentence the silence is killing my poor lil' ears.

Lio - You Go To My Head
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I need to make a 15 minute edit of this song.

A whole lot of artists have covered this song, but apart from the one I'm posting, my favorites are Judy Garland (loung-y latino feel) and Bryan Ferry.

Nancy Nova is the goddess of likable weirdness. I wrote about her before, please read it, that way I don't have to write it again, har har.

This song puts her and a bunch of music styles into a juicy sausage, and sprinkles it with elements from her other songs. She does her wobblyvoice, sings like a dude, belches out some chorusbits, goes high, the bass, the brass, then discoish, a bit diva like, and all the time it's oh so good, but then you get the chorus and Hi-NRG and everything gets goooooood.

I want to play this LOUD.

Nancy Nova - Masquerade
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This is from her 2004 compilation/album/CD, which contained some previously unreleased material (at least I think so, I've never seen the song above on vinyl), plus her hits-y hits.

Why why why have I not posted this before? I was so sure that I had...

This track is so smooth and lovely. It's like these guys stole all the 150bpm electric smoothness from Mike & The Mechanics, the jollyness and jump and sing like melting cream from Joe Jackson, broke into Brucy Hornsby's studio and took his piano, and then rushed off to someplace warm to record this song with New Musik's microphones.

But NO! Not "stole", because that doesn't apply.

Of course this love Cube of pleasure is made by geniuses who don't need the above stuff to create songs as good as this. They worked with Peter Jacques Band and B.B.Q. Band (and other Jacques Fred Petrus bands), My Mine, and other goodness.

Fast and friendly.

Cube - Concert Boy
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These songs are the type of Italo Disco and Synthpop that too many people don't want to listen to, because "it's too cheesy" or something. I don't get it.

Roxanne is a babe who released three songs, all produced by the couple behind Bad Boys Blue, Venus, and...well, a bunch more stuff by Bad Boys Blue, and a 1990 cover of Prince's 'Nothing Compares 2 U', which I haven't heard but expect to be fascinating.

This song has so much goodness going on. The lyrics, the guy in the chorus, the drop-like synth. I'd love to receive a letter from Roxanne, she sounds so passionate.

Roxanne - Charlene (Extended Version)
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Hot Cold is Ivana Spagna, one of the most prolific singers in Italo Disco, who was more famous as just Spagna. She also made some kind of cover of Disney's Lion King, but I haven't heard it so I don't know if it's club friendly. One of the guys behind this song also produced 'Dancing All The Night' by Paul Sharada, 'Fairy Tale' by Rose, and 'Touch Me' by 49ers, which I danced to a billion times.

And because you asked, most of Spagna's other releases as Hot Cold, as well as the majority of her records were produced by two other guys, who also worked with countless other Italo Disco artists (the list is pretty impressive): Angie St. Philip, Fun Fun, Mike Cannon ('Voices In The Dark'), Salvy And Giuly (I want their 12" so, so bad), Baby's Gang, and...

...our favorite lip-syncing act, Whigfield, who released 'Saturday Night'!

The universe is all cross linked.

Anyways, I like this track because it's so happy, and isn't shy about all the jollyness or the growling guitar licks. I also love the synth chords.

Hot Cold - I Can Hear Your Voice
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Florence is also known as Florence Magic Group. I have no idea why this song isn't one of the classic synthpop hits of the magical 80s, as it has all the ingredients and is just so f'ing good.

It's sung by Marco Faragli, who also sang my Max Him favorite, 'Japanese Girl', and produced by Romano Trevisani (who also produced 'Japanese Girl'), one of my favorite producers, who has done so, so, so much good stuff. I've talked about him before here and here.

Again, I can't stress enough just how much I love this song. I don't know why I never heard this song in a John Cusack movie, but then again I'm glad that it was never ruined for me.

This is so romantic, so heart-on-their-sleeve, so GOOD! Play it on repeat, and play it loud.

Florence - Trading Love
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