Nick Gilder

Remembered mainly for his big 1978 hit Hot Child In The City, songwriter Nick Gilder made stomping, catchy, androgynous pop tunes and had his tracks covered by Pat Benatar, Joe Cocker and Bette Midler. Born in London but raised in Vancouver, Canada, he initially found success with glam rock act Sweeney Todd when their single Roxy Roller topped the national charts and became the biggest selling single of the year in Canada in 1976. In an attempt to break the international market, he moved to Los Angeles and signed a solo deal with Chrysalis Records to release albums You Know Who You Are and City Nights. His glitzy, soulful soft rock chimed with the disco glamour of the era and Hot Child In The City, written about the young prostitutes he saw on Hollywood Boulevard, climbed to the top of the US charts. Follow-up singles Here Comes The Night, (You Really) Rock Me and Wild Ones didn't have the same impact, but Patty Smyth's band Scandal did have a top ten hit in the US with his song The Warrior in 1984. He returned to Canada in the 1990s and continued to release albums including Stairways and Longtime Coming, and in 2005 DJ Arman Van Helder sampled his track Rockaway to create the club anthem When The Lights Go Down.

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