"Why wasn't this a huge hit?!"

You're kidding right? This was Donnie's highest charting hit reaching #25 in the US.

"Sweet Merilee", which stalled at #80, now THAT should've been a hit, even "Tough World" which stalled at #57 deserved a better fate. Alas, he was on the dreaded MCA label.

 

Nope. #97 in '91. Ain't that a kick in the pants?

 

Eye to Eye recorded some fun stuff in the mid 80s like this one:

 

The song was a total dud here. I don't think it was higher than 50 or 60 on the east coast.

 

If nothing else this thread demonstrates that most of us, if we'd got jobs as A&R men, would've been quickly fired.

 

Donnie always did well on PA radio, Philly and Pittsburgh.

 

Cleveland, too - he's like an "adopted son" there. But regardless of chart positions, "Ah! Leah!" is by far his biggest hit, followed by "Love Is Like A Rock." Cleveland radio also played "Do You Compute?" back in '83 and MTV showed the video. When his Out Of The Blue collection came out in the early '90s, Cleveland rock/alt radio played "That's The Way Love Ought To Be" quite a bit.

 

It's just a shame the two core members (Leslie Howe and Louise Reny) never had that huge breakthrough like they deserved. I know of 5 albums in total across the various bands:

One To One - Forward Your Emotions (1985 - Canada; 1986 - US)
One To One - 1-2-1 (1988; Canadian only release)
One 2 One - Imagine It (1992)
Sal's Birdland - So Very Happy (1994 - Canada)
Sal's Birdland - Nude Pictures Inside (1995 - reworked US release of the So Very Happy album)
Artificial Joy Club - Melt (1997)

Notable chart action:
One To One - "Angel In My Pocket" - #24 Canada, #92 US
One To One - "There Was A Time" - #14 Canada
One 2 One - "Peace Of Mind" - #11 Canada, #95 US
Artificial Joy Club - "Sick & Beautiful" - #17 Modern Rock (US) - a Wikipedia entry also states it went to "#1 on the Canadian top 40" but not sure of the validity.

 

Britney Spears - Autumn Goodbye.

 

Pink Floyd - One Slip. One of the finest pop songs from the 80's.

 

Correct, "Ah Leah" and "Love Is Like A Rock", along with The Jaggerz "The Rapper", are the three major songs that Donnie Iris is still remembered for, here in Northeast Ohio.

 

The above information from you, is clearly today's winning lesson for me in "things I never knew before", thanks! I never knew that Ian wrote "Runner" or "As The Days Go By" and I had absolutely no idea that Ian was brother to Dave of "Bob & Doug McKenzie" fame??? The crazy stuff that I learn on this forum is priceless, I tell you.

 

I always liked a lot of Tony's solo "A Curious Feeling" album, as it, in my opinion, kind of made up a little for Genesis' recently released "And Then There Was Three" album, which I found a little flat, especially after the one/two knockout punch of "A Trick Of The Tail" and "Wind And Wuthering". The problem that I originally had with "A Curious Feeling" was that the original mix of the album wasn't anywhere near "punchy" enough for me, but that was fixed when the album was remixed and remastered in 2009, for it's 30th anniversary, with an added DVD which featured both a 5.1 surround mix and the album's promo films. Lead singer on this album, the late Kim Beacon was no Phil or Peter, but he still provided some decent heart in those "Curious Feeling" songs with lead vocals.

I still love the opening instrumental "From The Undertow" the most from this album. Truly classic Tony Banks, all the way ...

Tony Banks - A Curious Feeling - From the Undertow (30th Anniversary Remaster)

 

Always wondered why "The Riddle" by Nik Kershaw wasn't a moderate hit in the U.S.

Would love to grab a 45 of it.

 

I repeat, the song was an airplay dud. At the time, I could count on one hand the times I heard it on the radio. Merilee was all over the radio, I bought the single. Asking for My Baby at stores got me a blank look, that's how bad it was.

 

U2 has played the song as the band enters the stage during The Joshua Tree Tour 2017.

U2-Intro-The Whole Of The Moon-Sunday Bloody Sunday. Croke Park. Dublin. 22.07.2017

 

This one. He was the right age, and this was the right blend of good hooks, clever lyrics, and enough alt-rock restraint that it should have blown up. Am somewhat surprised that a larger label wasn't after him at that point. Maybe they were and he wasn't willing to give up artistic control.

 

Great song. It got no airplay in my area whatsoever. I only became aware of the song in the summer of 2013 when I heard it on Sirius XM's 80s channel. I downloaded the song from Itunes immediately. After searching in vain for a CD copy of the album, I settled for the Itunes download. I upgraded to an Flac download when the Pono store arrived in Canada in late 2015.

 

Was he popular in Canada? I got turned on to him in the late-70's... I always assumed that he must have been very difficult to work with or get along with; the record companies never gave him a push.

 

Yeah, the whole album is great. My favorite on the first album is Progress Ahead. Jeff Porcaro's drumming on that song (and the rest of the album) is just sick.

 

Love that Michel Pagliaro song in the OP. I discovered him thanks to the last 'It Should Have Been A Hit Record!' thread here. Also love his song "Some Sing, Some Dance".

Agreed that Donnie Iris should have had at least 5 top 20 Billboard pop hits. For instance, his "My Girl" puts Huey Lewis & The News' similar "If This Is It" to shame IMO.

 

Pagliaro had some English language hits in Canada during the early to mid 1970s but his greatest success was with his French language recordings which remained popular in Quebec well into the 80s.

 

He's genuinely awful at picking first singles more often than not.

 

A more recent one that I cannot believe wasn't an official single (five singles from Ceremonials, none of them this one). I truly believe this album should have been Thriller big. Every song is great (which isn't even true of Thriller!)

 

Everything by The Great Park aka Stephen Burch



Love him. Have a listen.