Aaah, i quite by accident remembered Tommy Page the other day. i think I was trying to be funny with XO and it reminded me of the Daniel Powter of the early 90s... Actually if Tommy was around now (er, he is) he would probably come 3rd in X Factor or something....
I first discovered TP in 1988 when taping songs from American Top 40 on a saturday afternoon was the only way to get music before it was released in those days. Qu'elle horreur! It was pretty much how i discovered Debbie Gibson and spent many afternoon shaking my love in the privacy of my bedroom. Any moving swiftly on... One Sat pm I heard a song called A Shoulder To Cry On which i think peaked at 29. I just thought it was the most beautiful song, and actually i remain startled that Westlife have yet to cover it... And thus began a brief but torrid love affair with Tommy Page...
Between 1988 and 1991 he released 3 albums which pretty much stuck to the same formula - cheesy ballads with lots of piano and sax or more uptempo dance tunes. His only other top 40 hit stateside was a duet with New Kids On The Block called I'll Be Your Everything which topped the Billboard 100 and therefore naturally is his worst track ever.
My fave tracks of his from his early career are Republic of Idols - a great breezy track that was released on some Japan only EP and the second single from his third album From The Heart called Under The Rainbow. I think harnessed in the right way TP could have been quite the talent, but there is something quite guilty pleasure about his songs that makes me ashamedly love them to this day. Check them out for yourself!
MP3: A Shoulder To Cry On
MP3: Republic of Idols
MP3: I'll Be Your Everything
MP3: Under The Rainbow
Tommy released an internet only album in 2001 called Ten til Midnight which not too successfully took a much dancier direction. Best of the bunch is below - and hey at least he got better looking with age ;)
MP3: Kissing In The Rain
I remember "Shoulder To Cry On" being on some "battle of the songs"-type show on a local radio station back in like '89 or '90. Did he also do that "No more hope of holding your body in the moonlight" song? Was that "Shoulder To Cry On?" Did I really just muster the strength to type that?
All these manchildren will eventually star in a touring production of "Joseph And The Amazing Fucking Technicolor Dreamcoat"