Taxxi were an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
rock band best known for the song "I'm Leaving". The band formed in the late 1970s and first came to prominence in the early 1980s with a few minor
AOR hit single
A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...
s and some
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
airplay.
The band received club play in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
with the album tracks "Not Me Girl", "Girl (New York City)" and "Metro Boulot Dodo". Their most successful U.S. album was ''States Of Emergency'', which featured three tracks that received rock radio airplay: the aforementioned "I'm Leaving", "Cocktail Queen (Don't She Love To Rock & Roll)" and "The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter". "Still In Love" was remixed for a 12" single which received minor club airplay in the U.S.
History
Scottish-born singer and guitarist David Cumming, keyboardist Colin Payne, and drummer Jeffrey Nead formed the band in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
in the late-1970s. Through an association with
Kit Lambert the band recorded demos and were eventually signed by
Berkeley's
Fantasy Records. Teamed with producer Phil Kaffel the band recorded three albums for Fantasy Records. Filling out the trio's sound were session musicians including bassist
Randy Jackson, keyboardist
Tim Gorman
Tim Gorman is an American pianist, composer, arranger and record producer. Gorman studied music composition at the University of Portland in Oregon, under Philippe De La Mare, himself a former student of Nadia Boulanger.
Biography
Gorman graduat ...
, guitarists Danny Chauncey and Marlon McClain, and saxophonist
Steve Douglas.
Journey drummer
Steve Smith lent a hand on
tambourine
The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called " zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, tho ...
for their second album. Touring members of the band also included Los Angeles-based musicians Glenn Rueger (keyboards) and David Resnik (guitar).Moving to
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group.
Pre-history
MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 w ...
in 1985, Taxxi recorded their fourth album with
Tom Dowd. A fifth album that included Kevin Russell from the band
707 was recorded but never released.
In 2001, ''Chequered Past'', a compilation CD was remastered with participation by the band and their original producer. Although released by Fantasy Records, it ignored the band's fourth album and their unreleased material.
The last release, ''Traxx,'' was a new album of unreleased "lost" tracks from 1987-1988 recording sessions. At the request of MelodicRock Records, Melodicrock.com’s Andrew McNeice, the band went back into their archives and pulled out 11 songs from 1987-1988, which were remastered by the legendary JK Northrup (Billy Thorpe, Paul Shortino, Northrup, King Kobra).
The band opened in concert for
the Police,
Triumph,
Foreigner,
Night Ranger,
Loverboy,
Blue Öyster Cult,
Joan Jett and
the Motels; they released five
music videos.
Discography
*''Day For Night'' (1980)
*''States Of Emergency'' (1982) — including "I'm Leaving", #39 ''
Billboard''
Mainstream Rock Tracks
Mainstream Rock is a music chart in '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in ...
chart
*''Foreign Tongue'' (1983) — including "Maybe Someday", #31 Mainstream Rock Tracks chart
*''Exposé'' (1985) — including "Still In Love", #36 Mainstream Rock Tracks chart
*''Chequered Past'' (2001) — remastered CD collection of 15 tracks from their first three albums for Fantasy Records
*''Traxx'' (2014) — eleven previously unreleased songs were released on 4 November 2014
Soundtracks and compilations
*''
Weird Science'' (1985) — including "Forever"
*''
The Secret of My Succe$s'' (1987) — including "Heaven And The Heartaches"
References
{{Authority control
English rock music groups
English new wave musical groups