Spys was an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band formed in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

in 1981 by

Al Greenwood Alan Greenwood (born October 20, 1951) is an American rock musician who was a founding member and keyboardist of the rock band Foreigner from 1976 to 1980. He performed on the albums '' Foreigner'' (1977), '' Double Vision'' (1978) and '' Head ...

and

Ed Gagliardi Edward John Gagliardi (February 13, 1952 – May 11, 2014) was an American bass guitarist, best known as the original bass player for the 1970s rock band Foreigner. He was a member of Foreigner from the beginning in 1976. Gagliardi, most notably ...

, who had been keyboardist and bassist, respectively, of Foreigner.Spys
at

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

They signed with

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...

and released their debut album, ''Spys'', in 1982, produced by

Neil Kernon Neil Kernon is an English musician, record producer, mixer and recording engineer from London. He is a Grammy Award winner and has worked on over 100 Gold and Platinum records. Biography Born to a musical family, Kernon's formal musical trai ...

. The album reached #138 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart and the single "Don't Run My Life" reached #82 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #19 on the

Hot 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 i ...

chart.

Joel Whitburn Joel Carver Whitburn (November 29, 1939 – June 14, 2022) was an American author and music historian, responsible for setting up the Record Research, Inc. series of books on record chart placings. Early life Joel Carver Whitburn was born in Wa ...

, ''Rock Tracks 1981-2008''. Record Research, 2008, p. 239. A follow-up album, ''Behind Enemy Lines'', was released in 1983, but it did not sell well, and after a contract dispute with the label, the group disbanded.

Members

John Blanco John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

– vocals (1981–1983) *

John DiGaudio John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Seco ...

– guitar (1981–1983) *

– keyboards (1981–1983) *

– bass (1981–1983) * Billy Milne – drums (1981–1983)

Discography

*''Spys'' (EMI, 1982) *''Behind Enemy Lines'' (EMI, 1983)

References

{{reflist Musical groups from New York City American rock music groups Musical groups established in 1981 Musical groups disestablished in 1983 1981 establishments in New York City 1983 disestablishments in New York (state) EMI Records artists