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Huey Lewis & The News
Huey Lewis hit the charts with his best song 'I Want A New Drug' in 1983 and went on to rule the rest of the decade. Aided by a disarmingly low-key attitude and strong music videos, the News had a string of big-selling albums and singles, but Lewis' main audience started raising families and stopped buying music in the 1990s. He went back to doing the rootsy bar rock that was always at the foundation of his work.
In 1972 Huey returned to San Francisco after hitchhiking through Europe with his harmonica. He and Sean Hopper joined a country-rock band called Clover. At a nightclub in Los Angeles (1976), Clover was spotted by English singer/producer Nick Lowe and Jake Riviera who then took the band to the U.K., but Clover disappeared in the punk fever that had gripped Europe at the time.
This highly successful AOR band was formed in Marin County, California, USA in 1980 by ex-Clover members Huey Lewis (b. Hugh Anthony Cregg III, 5 July 1950, New York City, New York, USA; vocals, harmonica) and Sean Hopper (keyboards). They recruited guitarist and saxophonist Johnny Colla, Mario Cipollina (bass), Bill Gibson (drums) and Chris Hayes (lead guitar), all fellow performers at a regular jam session at local club Uncle Charlie's. Their debut album was produced by Bill Schnee and released by Chrysalis Records, and a single from it, 'Do You Believe In Love' reached the US Top 10 in 1982 aided by a tongue-in-cheek video. The band's easy-going rock/soul fusion reached its peak with Sports, which provided five US Top 20 hits in 1983 and 1984. Among them were the Chinn And Chapman and song 'Heart & Soul', 'The Heart Of Rock & Roll', 'If This Is It' and 'I Want A New Drug'. Lewis sued Ray Parker Jr. over the latter song, claiming it had been plagiarized for the Ghostbusters theme. Between 1985 and 1986, three Huey Lewis & The News singles headed the US charts. They were 'The Power Of Love' (chosen as the theme tune for Robert Zemeckis' movie Back To The Future), the Hayes-Lewis composition 'Stuck With You' and 'Jacob's Ladder', written by Bruce Hornsby. 'Perfect World' (1988) from the fifth album was also a success although Hard At Play did less well. Lewis' status with AOR audiences was underlined when he was chosen to sing the national anthem at the American Bowl in the 80s.
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Artist Biography - Huey Lewis & The News
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The band maintained a lower musical profile in the 90s, with Lewis electing to concentrate on his acting career instead. A beautiful a cappella cover version of Curtis Mayfield's 'It's All Right', released in June 1993, was followed by Four Chords And Several Years Ago, a tour of the band's musical mentors. The band's comeback album, the soulful Plan B, was released in July 2001.
The News took three years to follow up Small World with Hard at Play, which was released on their new label, EMI. Hard to Play failed to break the Top 20 and only produced one hit, 'Couple Days Off.' The group's commercial heyday had clearly passed, and the group took the remainder of the '90s rather easy, touring sporadically and releasing the covers album Four Chords & Several Years Ago in 1994. Their first release for Elektra Records, the album generated one adult contemporary radio hit, 'But It's Alright,' and failed to go gold.
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For more information , enjoy the official homepage of HueyLewis
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