The Flying Pickets
| The Flying Pickets | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | A cappella |
| founding | 1982 |
| Website | http://www.flyingpickets.com |
| Founding members | |
| David Brett Ken Gregson Brian Hibbard Rick Lloyd Red Stripe Gareth Williams |
|
| Current occupation | |
| Christopher "Chris" Brooker (1998–2001, since 2012) Simon John Foster (since 2004) Martin George (since 2012) Michael "Mike" Henry (1991–1995, since 2002) Andy Laycock (since 1999) |
|
| former members | |
|
Brian Hibbard (1982–1986) Red Stripe (1982–1986) Ken Gregson (1982–1989) Rick Lloyd (1982–1989) David Brett (1982–1990) Gareth Williams (1982–1991) Hereward Kaye (1986–1999) Gary Howard (1986–2002) Lex Lewis (1989–1991) Nick Godfrey (1989–1994) Ricky Payne (1990–1994) Hamlet Edwards (1994–1996) Henrik Wager (1994–1999, 2001–2004) Paul Kissaun (1995– 2001) Fraser Collins (1996–1998) Dylan Foster (1999–2007) Andrea Figallo (2001–2012, bass and percussion) Damion Scarcella (2007–2012) |
|
The Flying Pickets are a British a cappella formation that has been in alternating line-up since 1982. Members of a theater formation had the idea to name themselves after the mobile picket lines of the English miners and to appear in public.
biography
The Flying Pickets' first release was Live at the Albany Empire , a live recording of one of their performances. This sold so well that the Virgin Records label offered them a record deal in 1983 .
In 1984 the group landed a number one hit in Germany with a cover version of the Yazoo hit Only You . In November 1983, the piece reached the top spot of the singles charts in the UK; it was also the number one Christmas hit of that year. The single was also very successful in Austria (third place) and Switzerland (fourth place). The accompanying album Lost Boys was placed 44th in Germany and eleventh in England. With When You're Young and in Love (number seven) and the Eurythmics cover Who's That Girl (number 71), two more releases made it into the British singles chart.
The Flying Pickets traditionally have five members, at times there were six. 1986 Brian Hibbard and Red Stripe left the band with the first line-up change . Since 1991, with the departure of Garreth Williams, no member of the original line-up has been there. Since then, the band has been subject to frequent member changes, but still releases new albums and often tours Europe. The Flying Pickets' repertoire mainly includes cover versions such as Prince's and a few own compositions. The album Blue Money reached number 17 in the Austrian charts in 1990.
At the end of 2012, bass Andrea Figallo switched to the German a cappella group Wise Guys , where he remained a member until 2016.
Discography
Studio albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 AT
|
 CH
|
 UK
|
|||
| 1983 | Live at the Albany Empire! | - | - | - |
UK48  (11 weeks)UK |
First release: 1982
Producers: The Flying Pickets, John Sherry |
| 1984 | Lost Boys |
DE44 (3 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK11 (11 weeks)UK |
Producers: The Flying Pickets, John Sherry
|
| 1990 | Blue money | - |
AT17 (12 weeks) AT |
- | - |
Producer: Herwig Ursin
|
More albums
- 1985: The Flying Pickets Live
- 1987: Waiting for Trains
- 1989: At Work
- 1992: The Warning
- 1994: The Original Flying Pickets (Volume One)
- 1996: Politics of Need
- 1998: Vox Pop
- 2003: Next Generation: Live in Hamburg
- 2005: Everyday
- 2008: Big Mouth
- 2010: Only Yule
Compilations
- 1988: The Best of the Flying Pickets
- 1991: The Best Of
- 2005: Only You: The Best of the Flying Pickets
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks / months, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks / months, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
AT
|
CH
|
UK
|
|||
| 1983 |
Only You Lost Boys |
DE1 (20 weeks) DE |
AT3 (3 months) AT |
CH2 (12 weeks) CH |
UK1  (12 weeks)UK |
|
| 1984 | When You're Young and in Love Lost Boys |
- | - | - |
UK7 (8 weeks) UK |
|
| So Close Lost Boys |
- | - | - |
UK88 (2 weeks) UK |
Author: Rick Lloyd
|
|
|
Who's That Girl Lost Boys |
- | - | - |
UK71 (1 week) UK |
||
| 1985 |
Only the Lonely The Best Of |
- | - | - |
UK79 (3 weeks) UK |
|
More singles
- 1984: Si no estás (Spanish version of Only You )
- 1984: Nur dein Clown (German version of Only You )
- 1984: Remember This
- 1985: Groovin ' (EP)
- 1986: Take My Breath Away
- 1991: Crazy Love
- 1991: Englishman in New York
- 1992: Mama Loo
- 1994: Under the Bridge
- 1996: Set Me Down Easy
- 1996: Dream a Little Dream
- 1997: Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon
- 1997: Les yeux revolver
- 1998: Eternal Flame
- 1998: Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
- 1998: The Look in Her Eyes
- 1999: Only You Remix 2000
swell
- ↑ Announcement ( Memento of the original dated November 4, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. and confirmation ( memento of the original from March 11, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. the wise guys
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original dated February 12, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b Chart sources: DE Singles DE Albums AT CH UK
- ↑ a b UK gold / platinum database
