Bad Boys Blue | |
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John McInerney
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Background information | |
Origin | Germany |
Genres | Euro disco, Eurodance, Hi-NRG, dance-pop |
Years active | 1984–Present |
Labels | Coconut, Intercord, Bros Music, Modern Romantics Productions |
Website | www.badboysblue.eu |
Members | John McInerney |
Past members |
Trevor Taylor (deceased) Andrew Thomas (deceased) Trevor Bannister Mo Russel Kevin McCoy Herb McCoy (The Real Bad Boys Blue) Carlos Ferreira Jerome Cummins (The Real Bad Boys Blue) Kenny Lewis |
Bad Boys Blue are a multinational pop group that was formed in Cologne, Germany. The group performed many international hits including "You're a Woman", "Pretty Young Girl", "I Wanna Hear Your Heartbeat", and "Come Back and Stay".
Bad Boys Blue was formed in the summer of 1984 by German producer Tony Hendrik and his lyricist wife Karin van Haaren. The original trio consisted of Jamaican Trevor "Supa T" Taylor (the original lead vocalist), Briton John McInerney, and American Andrew Thomas. Their debut single "L.O.V.E. In My Car" failed to make an impression in the pop charts but the follow-up "You're a Woman" was a success, reaching the top 10 in many European countries.
The group became massively popular in Eastern Europe and South Africa, with the band performing to sell-out crowds in Russia and Ukraine. In contrast, the group never charted in the UK, and their only charting U.S. singles were "Save Your Love" (1993) and "Luv 4 U" (1994) which became successful chart hits. Those singles were from two of their albums that were released stateside: Bad Boys Blue (1993) and To Blue Horizons (1994).
The group has experienced numerous line-up changes. In 1988, Trevor Taylor left the group a year after being gradually demoted from his role of the lead singer. He was asked to rejoin the group the following year just for recording sessions for the "Hungry for Love" single that was to be featured on the group's first compilation album Bad Boys Best. Trevor Taylor's departure permanently secured John McInerney's position as the band's new lead vocalist. Trevor Taylor was replaced by Trevor Bannister (born August 5, 1965 in Grimsby, England), whose function in the group was mainly to perform Trevor Taylor's hits in live gigs. It is during Bannister's tenure with the band that Bad Boys Blue began touring in Eastern Europe thus gaining much popularity there. Trevor Bannister left in 1993 and the remaining two members performed as a duo. During its entire South African tour, the duo was briefly joined by Owen Standing, who left the group shortly thereafter, and therefore was not considered to be a permanent band member. Multi-talented Irmo Russel (born March 15, 1956 in Aruba, Caribbean Sea) joined the group in 1995, who in addition to stepping into Bannister's shoes was instrumental in revitalizing the group's creative potential, by becoming a composer, video director, and occasionally assuming the role of lead singer on some of the tracks. At the end of 1999, Kevin McCoy (stage name JoJo Max) replaced Irmo Russel by joining Bad Boys Blue full-time after being the group's rapper since 1998, but left in early 2003 leaving Bad Boys Blue as a duo again. However, in 2005, Kevin McCoy rejoined Andrew Thomas' Bad Boys Blue line-up.