Originally called Huang Chung which is Chinese for “perfect pitch” (though they later claimed it was the sound a guitar made on American Bandstand), the band formed in 1979. The lineup consisted of vocalist/guitarist Jack Hues, bassist Nick Feldman, saxophonist David Burnand a.k.a “Hogg” and drummer Darren Costin. Their self-titled debut was released by Arista Records in 1982 after several singles, including the minor post-punk hit “Isn’t It About Time We Were On TV”. In 1983, after being dropped by Arista and signed to Geffen Records, they changed their name to Wang Chung (at Geffen’s suggestion, to make pronunciation easier for English-speakers) and subsequently they released Points On The Curve, which yielded two major hits, “Don’t Let Go” and “Dance Hall Days” In 1986, Costin left the band and Hues and Feldman continued to record. The same year, they had their biggest hits: “Everybody Have Fun Tonight” and “Let’s Go”, both from the album Mosaic. Not long after releasing their final album The Warmer Side of Cool in 1989, Wang Chung disbanded in 1991. In June 2005, Hues and Feldman reunited as Wang Chung on the reality TV series Hit Me Baby One More Time, performing “Everybody Have Fun Tonight” and a cover of “Hot in Herre” by Nelly. Shortly after, in postings at WangChung.com as well as the band’s MySpace site, there was news of a new Wang Chung album being worked on by Hues and Feldman. In an e-mail response from Hues, he said, “We are shooting for a release around the March 2006 time frame and a tour in May. We are not sure who we are touring with yet, maybe Heaven 17 or Devo”. Also on the band’s MySpace, you can hear new clips such as “Hot In Herre” (The Nelly Cover) and a new song “I Was Abducted by the 80’s”. |
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