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BRYAN ADAMS BIOGRAPHY |
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With his distinctive vocals and blue-collar songwriting skills,
Canadian icon Bryan Adams' take on rock 'n' roll basics found a
niche that has lasted for over 20 years. Adams solo career was
launched with the release of his self-titled debut album Bryan
Adams in February of 1980 on A&M Records. Adams had already been
touring, recording demos and working as a studio musician paying
his rent for a few years, but it was when Adams formed a song-writing
partnership with drummer Jim Vallance that things started to
happen.
The first album was not initially released in the U.S. (although
"Hiding from Love" was issued as a single and reached No. 43 on
the dance chart), so Adams assembled a backup band and embarked
on his first Canadian tour as a solo act, spending four months
playing clubs and colleges. The tour was to be the foundation
for his second album, You Want It, You Got It, which was
recorded in NYC in two weeks and released in the spring of 1981.
The original album title was Bryan Adams Hasn’t Heard Of You
Either but that title was rejected by A&M as being too
provocative. This 2nd album became Adams' first ‘official’
release in the U.S. He toured America for six months, opening
for the Kinks and Foreigner and by January of 1982 the album
broke into the Billboard charts peaking at No. 118 in 13 weeks.
The single "Lonely Nights" became his first Hot 100 entry at No.
84 and peaked at No. 3 on the mainstream rock chart.
His third album, Cuts Like a Knife was released in January of
1983, with the single "Straight from the Heart", leading the way.
It broke his career open, peaking in the Top Ten of the Hot 100
and setting up the LP, which followed. The album also reached
Top Ten, selling platinum and spawning further Top 40 hits with
the title song and "This Time". The album's success was
stimulated by Adams' extensive touring in support of it, which
began in Canada and continued into the U.S., where he opened for
Journey. From there he toured Europe followed by dates in Japan
and then back to Canada. Adams’ fourth album Reckless was
released on his 25th birthday, November 5, 1984, and was
preceded by the single "Run to You", which reached the Top Ten.
It was followed by no less than five Top 20 singles drawn from
the album: "Somebody", "Heaven" (which hit number one), "Summer
of '69" (Top Ten), "One Night Love Affair", and a duet with Tina
Turner, "It's Only Love".
Reckless reached No. 1 in the U.S. selling five million copies
in America and a reported three million more in the rest of the
world. Adams also earned his first two Grammy nominations, Best
Male Rock Performance for the album as a whole, and Best Rock
Performance by a Duo or Group for "It's Only Love". As per
usual, Adams toured extensively in support of it. His World Wide
in '85 tour began in December of 1984 finally wrapping in
November 1985. One of the highlights that year included being
the first artist to open the American side of the Live Aid
concert from Philadelphia on July 13th. Into the Fire, followed
in March of 1987, prefaced by the single "Heat of the Night,"
which became Adams' fifth Top Ten hit in the U.S. The album
reached the Top Ten in the U.S. and sold a million copies, with
another million sold overseas. It also spawned the Top 40 hits "Hearts
on Fire" and "Victim of Love". Adams' worldwide tour in support
of the album went on for more than a year. One of the final
shows, in Werchter, Belgium, was filmed for a television special,
Bryan Adams: Live in Belgium, broadcast in Canada the following
year.
Live! Live! Live! a concert album drawn from the 1988 Belgium
show, was initially released only in Japan but later garnered a
wider audience. In a departure from earlier years, Adams did not
tour extensively but opted to spend his time in England with
writer/producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange, preparing for his next
album. In June of 1991, Adams went back on the road in Europe co-headlining
with ZZ Top. This coincided with the release of the single "(Everything
I Do) I Do It for You" which topped the U.S. charts for seven
weeks - the longest any song had remained at No. 1 in eight
years. Its international success was even greater; spending 16
weeks at No. 1 in the U.K., making it the longest-running chart-topper
in the history of the British charts. Waking Up the Neighbours
was released in September of 1991, and Adams once again hit the
road this time until July of 1993. The album featured two Top
Ten hits "Can't Stop This Thing We Started" and of course, "(Everything
I Do) I Do It for You". Before it finished running its course
there would be three more Top 40 hits, "There Will Never Be
Another Tonight", "Do I Have to Say the Words?" and "Thought I'd
Died and Gone to Heaven". Waking Up the Neighbours sold four
million copies in the U.S. and another six million in the rest
of the world. It also earned Adams a Grammy nomination and his
first Academy Award nomination.
Adams began to look forward to his next studio album, but in the
interim released a hits compilation, So Far So Good, in November
1993 featuring the single "Please Forgive Me," a new Adams/Lange
track. The song would also find its way into the Top Ten. Then
came the Adams' theme song for the movie The Three Musketeers, "All
for Love", recorded with Rod Stewart and Sting, which hit No. 1
in the U.S. in January of 1994. That same month, Adams embarked
on an ambitious tour of the Far East, including countries like
Vietnam that were rarely visited by Western pop artists.
Throughout the better part of 1994, Bryan kept a low profile
with the exception of a song called "Rock Steady" written for
Bonnie Raitt's live album Road Tested. He performed the song as
a duet with her, and the two soon shared a chart single. At the
beginning of 1996 Adams released a new album 18 'Til I Die. The
album featured the flamenco-tinged "Have You Ever Really Loved a
Woman?" from the Johnny Depp/Marlon Brando film Don Juan DeMarco.
Adams was rewarded with yet another No. 1 hit, as well as a
Grammy nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and his
second Oscar nomination for Best Song.
An 18-month world tour followed and the album soon went platinum
in the U.S. The singles _Lets Make A Night To Remember_ charted
briefly in the Top 40 and the provocatively titled_The Only
Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You_ proved to do well outside of
the US, but didn’t dent the US charts, perhaps due to the fact
that his record company (A&M) transferred his contract in the
middle of the release to independent rap label, Interscope
Records. Adams filmed an appearance for MTV's popular Unplugged
series in the fall of 1997, and it was released as an album in
December. It was a modest success, and served as a stopgap until
the appearance of his next studio album, On a Day Like Today,
which was released in October 1998. Overseas, the disc featuring
the Melanie C duet "When You're Gone", reached the UK No. 3 spot
in December of 1998 and spent 10 weeks in the Top 10. This was
followed by the Top 10 dance re-mix of _Cloud Number Nine_. The
album also hit No. 3 in Canada.
In November 1999, Adams issued a second hits compilation, The
Best of Me, but the American branch of A&M/Interscope declined
to release it. The title track _The Best Of Me_ charted all over
Europe and in Canada. Adams returned in the spring of 2002
collaborating with Hans Zimmer on his first full-length song
score for a film, the animated DreamWorks feature Spirit:
Stallion of the Cimarron. The soundtrack made it into the Top 40
and Adams and Zimmer earned a Golden Globe Nomination for their
collaboration. His most recent work is entitled Room Service,
which was released in September of 2004 where it debuted at No.
1 on the Billboard European Top 100 albums Chart. Room Service
is currently pending a US release in 2005. |
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