Transvision Vamp

With raunchy singer Wendy James as the focal point, Transvision Vamp attracted huge interest during the late 1980s, applying pure pop appeal to the alternative, jagged and rebellious edge created by the group's two central characters - James and guitarist/songwriter Nick Sayer - both strongly influenced by punk music. James, who met Sayer when she was singing covers in a club in Brighton, didn't conform to the usual stereotype of British female singers, relishing the gritty power the rest of the band created around her. Her strident image was supported by outspoken opinions and apparent cockiness (she once said she was destined to get an Academy Award). Signed by MCA Records in 1986, Vamp's early singles like Revolution Baby and Tell That Girl To Shut Up - a cover of a Holly & The Italians song - weren't huge hits, yet still established them as a potent rock force as their album Pop Art charted in various parts of the world. Their most successful single, I Want Your Love, reached Number 3 hit in both Britain and Australia in 1989, and they followed it with the chart-topping album, Velveteen, which stayed in the UK chart for 26 weeks. Other hits included The Only One, Landslide Of Love and Born To Be Sold, but they then pursued a much less successful, mellower direction with the album Little Magnets Versus The Bubble Of Babble. The band officially split in 1992 when James decided to launch her solo career with an album written for her by Elvis Costello. She later formed the band Racine and in 2010 released the solo album I Came Here To Blow Minds. Tex Doughty went on to form Max and bassist David Parsons joined Bush.

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