Breakfast Club (band)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Breakfast Club
Breakfast Club.jpg
Background information
OriginNew York, United States
Genres
Years active1979 (1979)–1988 (1988)
Labels
Past members

Breakfast Club was an American musical group. Their biggest hit single was "Right on Track", which peaked at no. 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song was remixed for a commercial release in a 12" version for dance and club play by John "Jellybean" Benitez and became a top 10 hit on the Billboard Magazine Hot Dance Club Play chart.

History[]

The group was formed in New York City in 1979 and went through several line-ups, including one in which future pop star Madonna was the drummer. In the early 1980s, the band included Madonna, Angie Smit on bass, and the Gilroy brothers, Dan and Ed, both on guitar (Dan sang lead vocals as well).[2] Dan Gilroy was also briefly Madonna's partner, and he eventually allowed her to sing some lead vocals. Madonna ultimately left to form a new band, Emmy and the Emmys.[3]

In the mid-1980s, the band consisted of the Gilroys (with Dan exclusively on vocals, while Ed provided all guitars), Gary Burke (bass), Paul Kauk (keyboards), and Stephen Bray (drums). Both Bray and Burke previously had been Madonna's bandmates in Emmy and the Emmys.[3][4]

The group signed with ZE Records and released its eponymous album in 1987 on MCA Records, which spawned the US hit "Right on Track". A majority of their music videos, including "Right on Track", were filmed by Jeff Stein, director of The Who documentary The Kids Are Alright. They were nominated in the category of Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards in 1988.[5] Later,[when?] Randy Jackson (bass) and E. Doctor Smith (The Drummstick) joined the band.[6]

A second album was recorded but never released. The band's last single was a cover version of The Beatles' song "Drive My Car" for the 1988 feature film License to Drive.[7] Shortly afterwards the band broke up.

Bray co-wrote several big hits with Madonna in the 1980s. Dan Gilroy later starred in Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme (1990) and Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle (1994).

In 2008, The Daily Beast published a previously unreleased tape of the Breakfast Club. The tape included pillow talk between Dan Gilroy and Madonna, as well as several previously unheard songs such as "Tell the Truth", which she says is the first song she ever wrote.[8]

On April 5, 2016, Breakfast Club released a new EP, Percolate, which features songs from the group's unreleased second album. It was the group's first release of new material in almost three decades.[9]

Madonna and the Breakfast Club[]

In 2019, the docudrama film Madonna and the Breakfast Club was released on digital and on-demand platforms.[10] Directed by Guy Guido and starring Jamie Auld as Madonna, the film explores Madonna's struggling pre-fame years in New York with the Breakfast Club leading up to her first solo record deal.[11]

Discography[]

Studio albums[]

  • 1987 – Breakfast Club US #43,[12] AUS #26[13]

EPs[]

  • 2016 – Percolate

Singles[]

Year Title US US Dance UK AU[13] NZ
1984 "Rico Mambo" - - - - -
1986 "Right on Track" 7 7 54[14] 4 30
1986 "Rico Mambo" (new version) - - - - -
1987 "Kiss and Tell" 48 - - - -
1987 "Never Be the Same" - 8 91 - -
1988 "Expressway to Your Heart" - 30 - - -
1988 "Drive My Car" - - - - 20

References[]

  1. ^ Morton, Andrew (2001). Madonna. Macmillan. p. 86. ISBN 9780312287863.
  2. ^ Walters, Barry (1 June 1987). "The Breakfast Club: The Breakfast Club". Spin. SPIN Media LLC. p. 34. Retrieved 8 April 2017 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Cross, Mary (2007). Madonna: A Biography. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-313-33811-3.
  4. ^ "Breakfast Club - Biography, Albums, Streaming Links". AllMusic.com. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  5. ^ "GRAMMY Rewind: 30th Annual GRAMMY Awards". grammy.com. 24 January 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  6. ^ "The Breakfast Club". Stereo Review. CBS Magazines. 1 January 1987. p. 90. Retrieved 8 April 2017 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ Castile, Meredith (2015). Driver's License. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 74. ISBN 9781628925647. Retrieved 8 April 2017 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ Morton, Andrew (2008-10-20). "The Lost Madonna Tapes". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
  9. ^ "Percolate - EP by Breakfast Club". apple.com. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  10. ^ "'Madonna and the Breakfast Club' Trailer: Like A Doppelgänger". Nonfics. 2019-03-15. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
  11. ^ "Early Years Documentary 'Madonna and the Breakfast Club' First Trailer | FirstShowing.net". www.firstshowing.net. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
  12. ^ https://www.billboard.com/music/the-breakfast-club/chart-history/TLP/song/310667
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 45. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  14. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 77. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""