The Helicopters were a South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

n pop rock

Pop rock

Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...

 band active in the 1980s. They formed in 1981 in Vereeniging and were stylistically similar to the New Wave

New Wave music

New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...

 bands Duran Duran

Duran Duran

Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...

 and A Flock of Seagulls

A Flock of Seagulls

A Flock of Seagulls are an English New Wave band originally formed by brothers Michael "Mike" Score and Alister "Ali" James Score , with Frank Maudsley , Michael Kuby , H.J...

. Benjy Mudie signed the group to Warner Bros. Records

Warner Bros. Records

Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...

 in 1984, where they released one album and several singles; in 1987 they moved to Epic

Epic Records

Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...

 and released a second full-length before disbanding. The band scored several hit single

Hit single

A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...

s in South Africa, including "Mysteries and Jealousy". The group was a popular concert draw, able to fill stadiums in its home country.

After the band's breakup, lead singer Bernard Binns moved to England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, where he has released several solo albums.

Discography

Albums

• Love Attack (1985, WEA)
• In the Flesh (1987, Epic
  Epic Records
  Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
  
  )
• What Affair EP (1988, Gallo)
• The Best Of The Helicopters (2002, RetroFresh)

Singles

• "Flying High" (Klingel, 1981)
• "Mysteries and Jealousy" (Warner, 1984)
• "Miles and Miles Apart" (Warner, 1984)
• "Kissing For Pleasure" (Warner, 1984)
• "Only for You" (Warner, 1985)
• "Come and Dance" (Warner, 1985)
• "I Wanna Live in Hollywood" (Warner, 1986)
• "Whisper Your Secret" (1987, Epic)

Members

• Bernard Binns
• Bert Askes
• John Mason
• Andre van den Heever
• Piet Koen
• Franco de Nuzzo
• Nick Matzukis
• Macjek Scheibel
• Paul Hughes
• Martin Ledger
• Alistair Broadhead
• Carole Walsh
• John McKeen

External links

• Discography