Device (band)
Encyclopedia
Device was a short-lived American
pop-rock trio
formed by keyboardist
, bassist
and vocalist Holly Knight
, vocalist Paul Engemann
and guitarist
Gene Black.
Device's only album
, 22B3, was released in the spring of 1986. It produced a Top 40 single in the U.S. with "Hanging on a Heart Attack," which peaked at #35 on the Hot 100. The band's second single, "Who Says," peaked at #79. Both of these songs were promoted by music videos which garnered MTV
rotation, and both were released as 12" singles with remix and dub versions which received club play. A third single, "When Love is Good" was released, while the album peaked at #73 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums
chart. Mike Chapman produced the album.
, Knight started her career with the band Spider
during the early 1980s. She wrote hit songs for Pat Benatar
, Scandal, Heart
, Cheap Trick
, Tina Turner
and many others. Turner had covered Spider's "Better Be Good To Me" for her Private Dancer
album and had a major hit with the song in 1984.
After Device disbanded, Holly Knight released a 1988 self-titled solo album featuring the single "Heart Don't Fail Me Now" and her own version of "Love Is a Battlefield
," which she had written for Benatar, and continued writing songs for other performers.
Paul Engemann, who previously sang on soundtrack
cuts produced by Giorgio Moroder
, joined Animotion
. He took over for the original lead singer, Bill Wadhams, and sang opposite Cynthia Rhodes
on Animotion's 1989 Top Ten hit "Room to Move." Coincidentally, Knight had recorded the original version of Animotion's biggest hit, "Obsession
," as a duet with Michael Des Barres
; the two co-wrote the song, which appeared on the soundtrack to the 1983 film A Night in Heaven
.
Gene Black continued to be involved in session work, including a similarly themed 1980's band, Wild Blue, best known for the aggressive dance-rock singles "Fire with Fire" and "International Language of Dance."
22B3 was re-released on CD by Renaissance Records in 2007 with the same track list as the original release, and is currently in print.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pop-rock trio
Trio (music)
Trio is generally used in any of the following ways:* A group of three musicians playing the same or different musical instrument.* The performance of a piece of music by three people.* The contrasting section of a piece in ternary form...
formed by keyboardist
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
, bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
and vocalist Holly Knight
Holly Knight
Holly Knight is a songwriter, vocalist and musician of pop and rock music.- Biography :She was born in New York City and started playing classical piano as a young child. She soon became interested in rock music, and left home at about sixteen to pursue her dreams...
, vocalist Paul Engemann
Paul Engemann
Paul Robert Engemann is a 1980s pop musician best known for his 1983 song "Scarface ". The song featured prominently in the film Scarface, which was released in the same year....
and guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
Gene Black.
Device's only album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, 22B3, was released in the spring of 1986. It produced a Top 40 single in the U.S. with "Hanging on a Heart Attack," which peaked at #35 on the Hot 100. The band's second single, "Who Says," peaked at #79. Both of these songs were promoted by music videos which garnered MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
rotation, and both were released as 12" singles with remix and dub versions which received club play. A third single, "When Love is Good" was released, while the album peaked at #73 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart. Mike Chapman produced the album.
History
Better known as a songwriterSongwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, Knight started her career with the band Spider
Spider (band)
Spider were an American rock band from New York. They formed in 1977 and disbanded up in 1984. The band released two studio albums through Dreamland Records in the early 1980s, and scored a few moderate hit singles in the United States...
during the early 1980s. She wrote hit songs for Pat Benatar
Pat Benatar
Pat Benatar is an American singer and four-time Grammy winner. She had considerable commercial success particularly in the United States...
, Scandal, Heart
Heart (band)
Heart is an American rock band who first found success in Canada. Throughout several lineup changes, the only two members remaining constant are sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson. The group rose to fame in the 1970s with their music being influenced by hard rock as well as folk music...
, Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973. The band consists of members Robin Zander , Rick Nielsen , Tom Petersson , and Bun E...
, Tina Turner
Tina Turner
Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
and many others. Turner had covered Spider's "Better Be Good To Me" for her Private Dancer
Private Dancer
Private Dancer is the fifth solo album by Tina Turner, released on Capitol Records in 1984, which became her breakthrough solo album. Turner's success with the album came after several challenging years of going solo after a public divorce from husband and performing partner Ike Turner. It is her...
album and had a major hit with the song in 1984.
After Device disbanded, Holly Knight released a 1988 self-titled solo album featuring the single "Heart Don't Fail Me Now" and her own version of "Love Is a Battlefield
Love Is a Battlefield
"Love Is a Battlefield" is a song written by Holly Knight and Mike Chapman, after Pat Benatar asked Chapman to write her a hit song. It was released as a single from Benatar's album Live from Earth. The single has been certified gold and is her highest charting single in the United States...
," which she had written for Benatar, and continued writing songs for other performers.
Paul Engemann, who previously sang on soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
cuts produced by Giorgio Moroder
Giorgio Moroder
Hansjörg "Giorgio" Moroder is an Italian record producer, songwriter and performer based in Los Angeles. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records...
, joined Animotion
Animotion
Animotion is a 1980s U.S. New Wave/synthpop band from Los Angeles, California best known for their songs "Obsession" , "Let Him Go", "I Engineer" and "Room to Move"...
. He took over for the original lead singer, Bill Wadhams, and sang opposite Cynthia Rhodes
Cynthia Rhodes
Cynthia Rhodes is an American actress, singer and dancer most noted for her roles in Dirty Dancing, Flashdance and Staying Alive.- Career :...
on Animotion's 1989 Top Ten hit "Room to Move." Coincidentally, Knight had recorded the original version of Animotion's biggest hit, "Obsession
Obsession (song)
"Obsession" is a 1983 song covered in 1984 by the Synthpop-New Wave group Animotion. The song hit number six in the United States, and number five in the United Kingdom in early 1985, helped by a distinctive video that received heavy rotation on MTV....
," as a duet with Michael Des Barres
Michael Des Barres
Lord Michael Philip Des Barres is a British actor and rock singer. He is known for playing the recurring role of Murdoc on the television show MacGyver and for replacing the late Robert Palmer in the band Power Station, fronting the band at the 1985 Live Aid concert...
; the two co-wrote the song, which appeared on the soundtrack to the 1983 film A Night in Heaven
A Night in Heaven
A Night in Heaven is a 1983 romance film directed by John G. Avildsen, starring Christopher Atkins as a college student and Lesley Ann Warren as his professor. The screenplay is written by Joan Tewkesbury. Film critics widely panned the movie....
.
Gene Black continued to be involved in session work, including a similarly themed 1980's band, Wild Blue, best known for the aggressive dance-rock singles "Fire with Fire" and "International Language of Dance."
22B3 was re-released on CD by Renaissance Records in 2007 with the same track list as the original release, and is currently in print.