Matt Bianco is a UK band that was formed in 1983. They are mainly known for their success in the mid-1980s and their jazz, Latin-flavoured music.
Very popular during the mid-1980s in continental Europe, Matt Bianco was part of the new jazz pop genre, that they shared with acts such as Working Week, Sade, Everything but the Girl, and The Style Council. The name suggests that Matt Bianco is a person, often assumed to be an alias for the main constant member and frontman, Mark Reilly, but Matt is in fact "a made up spy, a secret agent; we loved spy TV themes and film scores".
Matt Bianco was initially formed in 1982 by Mark Reilly (vocals), Danny White (keyboards), and Kito Poncioni (bass), all of whom had just left art pop group, Blue Rondo A La Turk. Also on board from the beginning was then-unknown Polish vocalist Basia Trzetrzelewska. Initially, the band was known as "Bronze", before settling on the name Matt Bianco in 1983.
The group was pictured as a quartet for their first single ("Get Out Of Your Lazy Bed"/"Big Rosie"), although Poncioni only played on the non-album B-side "Big Rosie". Poncioni then dropped out of the group before the recording of Matt Bianco's first album, 1984's Whose Side Are You On?. For the album, the group was officially a trio of Reilly, White and Trzetrzelewska. Although he does not appear on the album in any capacity, Poncioni did receive a co-writing credit on the track "Half A Minute".
Matt Bianco was the second album by the British band Matt Bianco, released in 1986 for WEA. For this album, the band's line-up comprised vocalists Mark Reilly and Jenny Evans, and musician Mark Fisher.
Jenny Evans and Mark Fisher were brought in after the departure of Polish singer Basia Trzetrzelewska and keyboard player Danny White, who left the original trio to establish the singer's solo career under the name of Basia.
Evans would leave Matt Bianco shortly after this album, but Fisher would become a long-term member of the group. Fisher, a keyboardist, composer, and studio wizard, contributed a more contemporary sound compared to the band's earlier work. The use of synthesizers increased notably: Yamaha's DX-7 can be heard providing the slap bass in most songs, but the choice of noted studio musicians remained consistent for this album, with Ronnie Ross being the most prominent example.
In terms of its chart position in the United Kingdom, this album was more successful than the group's debut release, reaching #26. It also provided three chart singles, although the only one to make the top 50 was "Yeh Yeh". This was issued as a single in September 1985, about six months prior to the album. A cover version of a song which had been a UK Number One for Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames in 1965, Matt Bianco's version of "Yeh Yeh" reached #13 and stayed in the British charts for 10 weeks.
Bianco is a town and comune in the Province of Reggio Calabria, in southern Italy. It is a seaside town and a popular tourist resort. The main attractions are the remainings of an old abbey and the ruins of a Roman house.
Eugene Bianco (March 29, 1927 – May 7, 2007), known professionally as Bianco, was a harpist who recorded for RCA Victor Records.
With Ruth Brown
Bianco, or occasionally Lo Bianco, is a surname of Italian origin, meaning White. Bearers of the name include the following.
Going down to the barrio
what you'll find you'll never know
all around people in the street
come alive you can feel the heat
tonight will be something
we don't have to hide
we're crossing the borderline
our hearts will be racing
we're taking a ride
so hold on to me we can dance all night
cha cha cuba- it's my kind of music
cha cha cuba- come on, let's go
cha cha cuba- everybody do it
cha cha cuba cha cha cha cha cuba
cha cha cuba- everybody do it
cha cha cuba - the only kind of music
cha cha cuba cha cha cha cha cuba
everyone needs a place to go
put the life back into your soul
picks you up when you're feeling low