Violinski
Encyclopedia
Violinski is a rock band formed in 1977 by Electric Light Orchestra
member Mik Kaminski
on violin
s, and former member Mike de Albuquerque on guitar
and vocals
; plus Barry Dunnery (formerly of Necromandus
), John Hodgson (drums
), Paul Mann, John Marcangelo (keyboards
) and Iain Whitmore (bass guitar
and vocals, formerly with Starry Eyed And Laughing). At one point, former Wizzard
member Bob Brady was lead vocalist, and Rod Butler, who played lead guitar for a while, also appeared on the BBC
show
, Top of the Pops
. At the time Kaminski was still a member of the Electric Light Orchestra, who were then enjoying their greatest success. John Hodgson had been a member of Rick Wakeman
's band, the English Rock Ensemble, performing on percussion. He appeared on The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
and Lisztomania
albums. He toured with Wakeman to North and South America, Japan, Australia and New Zealand during the period 1974-1976.
The group had been formed out of The Camden Rats, a group consisting of Kaminski, Hodgson, Geoff Crampton and two singers, one of them named Verdie. Kaminski and Hodgson then contacted ex-Cow member Marcangelo. The band Cow was formed while Kaminski, Hodgson and Marcangelo were students at Leeds College of music 1968-1970. With Andy Brown (bass and vocals) and Dunnery (guitar) the first Violinski line-up was complete. The first recording
session started on 14 December 1977. Recordings for their first album
continued throughout 1978 with Brown and Dunnery being replaced by de Albuquerque and Mann. The latter was replaced for their second album by Whitmore.
They released two albums, No Cause For Alarm
(1979), and Stop Cloning About (1980); and later featured on the Electric Light Orchestra's compilation album
, Friends & Relatives
.
In addition, in early 1979 Violinski made the UK Singles Chart
Top 40, thus becoming a one hit wonder
with their instrumental
single
, "Clog Dance
", which made Number 17 in March. The track was written
by Marcangelo.
However, they almost had a second hit with their fourth single "Silent Love
", which received great airplay, but wasn't in shops due to an account problem with Jet Records. In 1984 and through to 1985, Violinski played some gigs with the British guitarist Ronnie Caryl
(Phil Collins
Band and ex Flaming Youth
.
Hodgson is now head of Boomba-bomba Records, and a percussion teacher in Huddersfield, Yorkshire.
Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones...
member Mik Kaminski
Mik Kaminski
Mik Kaminski is best known for playing violin in the Electric Light Orchestra between 1973 and 1979.-Biography:...
on violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
s, and former member Mike de Albuquerque on guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and vocals
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
; plus Barry Dunnery (formerly of Necromandus
Necromandus
Necromandus were a rock band from Cumberland, United Kingdom. They were formed in 1970 and were discovered by Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath in 1972. After recording one album in 1973, they split up. The album was not released until 1999. In 2007 they were mentioned in an article in Classic Rock...
), John Hodgson (drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
), Paul Mann, John Marcangelo (keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
) and Iain Whitmore (bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and vocals, formerly with Starry Eyed And Laughing). At one point, former Wizzard
Wizzard
Wizzard was a Birmingham-based band formed by Roy Wood, former member of The Move and co-founder of Electric Light Orchestra. The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits states, "Wizzard was Roy Wood just as much as Wings were Paul McCartney."-Biography:...
member Bob Brady was lead vocalist, and Rod Butler, who played lead guitar for a while, also appeared on the BBC
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
show
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
, Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
. At the time Kaminski was still a member of the Electric Light Orchestra, who were then enjoying their greatest success. John Hodgson had been a member of Rick Wakeman
Rick Wakeman
Richard Christopher Wakeman is an English keyboard player, composer and songwriter best known for being the former keyboardist in the progressive rock band Yes...
's band, the English Rock Ensemble, performing on percussion. He appeared on The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is the second studio album from the English keyboardist and composer Rick Wakeman...
and Lisztomania
Lisztomania (album)
Lisztomania is a 1975 progressive rock soundtrack album by Rick Wakeman to the movie of the same name.It is the soundtrack to the 1975 film Lisztomania by Ken Russell of a biography of Franz Liszt.Some tracks feature Roger Daltrey...
albums. He toured with Wakeman to North and South America, Japan, Australia and New Zealand during the period 1974-1976.
The group had been formed out of The Camden Rats, a group consisting of Kaminski, Hodgson, Geoff Crampton and two singers, one of them named Verdie. Kaminski and Hodgson then contacted ex-Cow member Marcangelo. The band Cow was formed while Kaminski, Hodgson and Marcangelo were students at Leeds College of music 1968-1970. With Andy Brown (bass and vocals) and Dunnery (guitar) the first Violinski line-up was complete. The first recording
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
session started on 14 December 1977. Recordings for their first album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
continued throughout 1978 with Brown and Dunnery being replaced by de Albuquerque and Mann. The latter was replaced for their second album by Whitmore.
They released two albums, No Cause For Alarm
No Cause for Alarm
No Cause For Alarm was the first album released by Violinski. It became a minor hit in the album charts, and it contained their only hit single - "Clog Dance". Another single form the album, "Save Me", failed to chart. The album was re-released in the U.S...
(1979), and Stop Cloning About (1980); and later featured on the Electric Light Orchestra's compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
, Friends & Relatives
Friends & Relatives
Friends & Relatives is a compilation album released by Eagle Records in 1999.Featuring various artists that have a common linkage or former members of Brumbeat bands notably Electric Light Orchestra, The Move and Wizzard.-Track listing:...
.
In addition, in early 1979 Violinski made the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
Top 40, thus becoming a one hit wonder
One-hit wonders in the UK
This is a list of artists who have achieved one #1 hit on the UK Singles Chart and no other entry whatsoever on the chart. The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles uses this definition of "one-hit wonder", which is a controversial term with various other proposed definitions.-Methodology:A hit is...
with their instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, "Clog Dance
Clog Dance (song)
Clog Dance was the first single released by Violinski, and became their only charting single. It was written by band member John Marcangelo, inspired by a shop in his town called Brew's which sold clogs....
", which made Number 17 in March. The track was written
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
by Marcangelo.
However, they almost had a second hit with their fourth single "Silent Love
Silent Love
Silent Love is the fourth single released by Violinski, and also the lead single from their last album Stop Cloning About, and was also included on the compilation album "Clog Dance: The Very Best of Violinski"...
", which received great airplay, but wasn't in shops due to an account problem with Jet Records. In 1984 and through to 1985, Violinski played some gigs with the British guitarist Ronnie Caryl
Ronnie Caryl
Ronnie Caryl is an English musician. Over the years Caryl has worked alongside Phil Collins, plus David Hentschel, Michel Polnareff, Lulu, Stephen Bishop, Eric Clapton, Gary Brooker, Maggie Bell and John Otway.-Biography:...
(Phil Collins
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
Band and ex Flaming Youth
Flaming Youth
Flaming Youth can refer to:* Flaming Youth , a 1923 film starring Colleen Moore and Milton Sills* Flaming Youth , a 1960s British rock group* Flaming Youth , a novel by Samuel Hopkins Adams...
.
Hodgson is now head of Boomba-bomba Records, and a percussion teacher in Huddersfield, Yorkshire.
Singles
- "Clog DanceClog Dance (song)Clog Dance was the first single released by Violinski, and became their only charting single. It was written by band member John Marcangelo, inspired by a shop in his town called Brew's which sold clogs....
" / "Time To Live" (1979) - "Save Me" / "Cricket Bloody Cricket" (1979)
- "Scenario" (aka "In The Distance") / "What's Your Game" (1980) - promoPromotion (marketing)Promotion is one of the four elements of marketing mix . It is the communication link between sellers and buyers for the purpose of influencing, informing, or persuading a potential buyer's purchasing decision....
only - "Silent LoveSilent LoveSilent Love is the fourth single released by Violinski, and also the lead single from their last album Stop Cloning About, and was also included on the compilation album "Clog Dance: The Very Best of Violinski"...
" / "Captain Dandy" (1980) - "Ruby Rhythms" / "Clear Away" (1980)
Albums
- No Cause for AlarmNo Cause for AlarmNo Cause For Alarm was the first album released by Violinski. It became a minor hit in the album charts, and it contained their only hit single - "Clog Dance". Another single form the album, "Save Me", failed to chart. The album was re-released in the U.S...
(1979) - Stop Cloning About (1980)
- Whirling Dervish (1982) - U.S.United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
only - re-release of No Cause For Alarm
CDs
- Clog Dance: The Very Best of ViolinskiClog Dance: The Very Best of ViolinskiClog Dance: The Very Best of Violinski is a compilation album by Violinski. It marked the first time a lot of Violinski's songs had appeared on CD, the reason being that their original master tapes had been missing for over 20 years and had only just been discovered in an unmarked London tape...
(2007) - including previously unreleased material