Mr. Mister was an american pop band of the 1980s.
Richard Page had formerly worked as a session musician (e.g., for Quincy Jones) and had composed for Michael Jackson, Donna Summer, Kenny Loggins, Al Jarreau, and many more, when in the late 1970s, he and his childhood friend Steve George founded the band Pages (most notable song: I do Believe in You) in Phoenix, Arizona, from which Mr. Mister was founded in 1982. The two continued to apply their tight harmonies to background vocals on albums by successful pop artists like Laura Branigan while working to break their own material.
When the first Mr. Mister album, I Wear the Face, was released, Page was offered the chance to replace Bobby Kimball as lead singer of Toto, and later was offered Peter Cetera’s place in Chicago; he refused both offers. The second album, Welcome to the Real World, with lyrics from Page’s cousin John Lang, was the breakthrough for Mr. Mister, with three top 10 singles, two of which hit #1 on the U.S. pop charts (most notably Broken Wings). In those days of success, they toured with Tina Turner, for whom the song Stand and Deliver was written. This song eventually appeared on Mr. Mister’s third album, Go On, which the band said was “some of the best stuff we ever did,” showing a much more mature band and a sound that hinted at progressive rock. Nevertheless, Go On was not a commercial success. Guitarist Steve Farris left around 1989. The band began working on a fourth album, Pull, with session guitarists, but were dropped by their label before it could be released, and the band decided to break up. The album remains unreleased to this day, although one track (“Waiting in My Dreams”) later appeared on a greatest hits collection by the band. There are currently plans to release “Pull” in October 2010 on indy label Little Dume Recordings where Richard’s most recent solo album “Peculiar Life” is also available.
After the band’s split, Richard Page continued to work as composer (he co-authored Madonna’s I’ll Remember) and as background singer for many artists. Page produced a solo album, Shelter Me, in 1996, which featured guest appearances by all his former bandmates. Steve Farris toured with Whitesnake and recorded songs with Tori Amos, the 4 Non Blondes, and others. Pat Mastelotto played with XTC, King Crimson, MasTicA, and many more. Steve George was musical director for Kenny Loggins until 1997 and toured with Jewel. John Lang founded the band Djinn. |
