Escape Club

The Escape Club was an English rock band based in London and formed in 1983. The band was composed of former Mad Shadows members lead singer/rhythm guitarist Trevor Steel and guitarist John Holliday, along with former Expressos members bassist Johnnie Christo (a.k.a. John Christoforou[1]) and drummer Milan Zekavica. Zekavica had also previously played with Steel and Holliday on an album by the obscure early 80s new wave outfit, Planning by Numbers[2]. In 1986, they signed with EMI and recorded the album White Fields which was released in 1987. Later in 1987 the group moved to Atlantic Records for their next album, Wild Wild West. The album was released in the summer of 1988. The first single, "Wild, Wild West" climbed to no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the song's distinctive video received a lot of MTV airplay. In 1989 they released two further singles from Wild Wild West; "Shake for the Sheik", which climbed to #28, and "Walking Through Walls", which peaked at #81. Hitting their stride, The Escape Club had a cover single of The Doors' "20th Century Fox" on the The Wonder Years: Music From the Emmy Award-Winning Show & Its Era which also received long airplay on MTV. The band's official website reports that the song was produced by Ray Manzarek. In 1990, the band returned to the studio to record their what would be their final album, Dollars & Sex, which saw a March 1991 release. The first single, "Call It Poison" failed to crack the U.S. Top 40 which did not bode well for the quartet. Atlantic Records then released the song "I'll Be There". The group said the song was heavily influenced by the 1990 box office hit movie, Ghost. "I'll Be There" reached no. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and achieved gold status in the U.S. The group disbanded in 1992. The Escape Club is the only British band to have a number 1 hit in the U.S. but not chart at all in Britain.