Eighth Wonder
| Eighth Wonder | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Pop, dance-pop |
| Years active | 1983–1989 |
| Labels | CBS Records |
| Past members |
Patsy Kensit Jamie Kensit Steve Grantley Geoff Beauchamp Jake Walters Lawrence Lewis |
Eighth Wonder were an English pop band, formed in 1983 in London. The band were composed of singer (future model and actress) Patsy Kensit, her brother Jamie Kensit, Steve Grantley and Geoff Beauchamp. The band enjoyed number-one singles in Japan and Italy between 1985 and 1987, as well as hit singles in the UK and across Europe in 1988.
Eighth Wonder's roots are with a band called Spice. In 1983, Jamie Kensit auditioned his sister Patsy Kensit, then aged 16, for the vacant job of lead singer in his new band. The line-up consisted of her on vocals, Jamie Kensit and Geoff Beauchamp on guitar, Lawrence Lewis on bass, Jake Walters on drums and Nigel Davis on percussion. Spice made their live debut in autumn 1983, and then spent the next year playing further gigs, hoping to gain some attention from record labels.
In late 1984, Nigel Davis left to start the band 'Slipstream' and keyboard player Alex Godson joined the band. They renamed themselves Eighth Wonder and Patsy Kensit began to write songs for the band. Their first gig as Eighth Wonder was in November 1984 in Wimbledon, London and further gigs followed. It was at one of these that Steve Wooley, co-owner of Palace Films, and director Julien Temple offered Patsy Kensit the role of 'Crepe Suzette' in their 1986 movie musical Absolute Beginners. Eighth Wonder contributed a song to the soundtrack.
In April 1985, Eighth Wonder was signed by CBS Records and began recording in London, working around Patsy Kensit's filming on Absolute Beginners. In October 1985, with the filming completed, Eighth Wonder's first single "Stay With Me" was released and achieved success in Japan and Italy reaching #4 (it charted only at No. 65 in the UK Singles Chart). Shortly after, Lewis and Walters left. The band then started using drum machines and using keyboards for their bass sound.
In August 1986, they went to Los Angeles to record new tracks for their debut album, Fearless. There they worked with producer Mike Chapman, best known for his work with Blondie. They were also approached by many songwriters, including Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics (although the song was eventually not used) and Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, writers of many hit singles including Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors", Whitney Houston's "So Emotional" and Madonna's "Like a Virgin".
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