The Belle Stars

The Belle Stars were a British pop/rock band. Formed in 1980, they are best known for their 1983 hit single "Sign of the Times" as well as their cover of "Iko Iko" originally released in 1982 and featured on the soundtrack to the film Rain Man in 1988.

Career

After the two-tone band The Bodysnatchers broke up in 1980, guitarists Stella Barker and Sarah-Jane Owen, saxophonist Miranda Joyce, keyboardist Penny Leyton, and drummer Judy Parsons formed a new band, recruiting bass player Lesley Shone and lead vocalist Jennie Matthias (also known as Jennie Bellestar). Their first performance was on Christmas Day 1980, before they had chosen a name.

Within a short time, the group became well-known around London, notably appearing on the front cover of Sounds magazine early in 1981. Shortly thereafter, they were signed by Stiff Records, then highly successful through its star act, Madness.

The band's debut single, "Hiawatha", was released in the late spring of 1981; it was produced by Madness producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley. The band promoted the single by playing support slots at gigs by ska acts The Beat and Madness. However, the single failed to chart, despite continuing media attention. In May 1981, the band opened for The Clash on tour dates in Brussels, Lille, and Paris.

The same production team were responsible for "Slick Trick", the second single. It too failed to chart. Keyboard player Penny Leyton left the band late in the year, to be replaced on saxophone and keyboards by Clare Hirst.

When the third single, the radio-friendly "Another Latin Love Song" again failed to break into the chart, the band tried cover versions instead, with some success. "Iko Iko", a cover of The Dixie Cups' 1965 hit, was The Belle Stars' long-hoped-for UK Singles Chart debut, peaking at number 35 in June 1982. This single was released at the same time as another version by Natasha England, whose version went on to reach the UK Top Ten. The Belle Stars furthered this with "The Clapping Song" (their first top 20 hit), a remake of the 1965 Shirley Ellis hit, and then "Mockingbird", a hit for Inez and Charlie Foxx in 1963 and James Taylor and Carly Simon in 1974.

In January 1983, the Belle Stars released what would be their signature single, "Sign of the Times", peaking at number three, and a chart success throughout Europe. The song's music video, showing the Belle Stars in dinner jackets, was also played frequently by MTV in the United States. The song went on to become the 30th-best selling single of 1983 in the UK. "Sign of the Times" was produced by Peter Collins for Loose Ends Productions, a company managed by Pete Waterman before he became famous as a third of the Stock/Aitken/Waterman production team.

"Sign of the Times" was followed a month later by the band's eponymous debut album, which reached number 15 on the UK Albums Chart. As with the band's singles, it was a mix of original songs and cover versions, including Bob and Earl's "Harlem Shuffle" (covered three years later by the Rolling Stones on Dirty Work) and Al Wilson's "The Snake".

However, "Sign of the Times" proved to be the peak of the band's success. Each follow-up single was less successful than its predecessor: "Sweet Memory" reached number 22 in the chart in April 1983; "Indian Summer" number 52 in August; whilst "The Entertainer" did not chart. It took another year before the band had a minor hit, "80's Romance", which made number 71 in August 1984 before it dropped out after a week. Following this release, the band broke up.

In March 1989, the Belle Stars finally had a big US chart hit, when "Iko Iko" reached number 14 on the Billboard Top 100 after it was included on the soundtrack of the film Rain Man, starring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman. She also performed at the Let's Rock 2019 festival.

In September 2019, four previously unreleased Belle Stars songs from the Anne Dudley sessions for the second album, and a live concert from 1983, were included in a comprehensive box set, Turn Back the Clock from Edsel Records.

Personnel

Jennie Matthias: lead vocals (1981–1984)
Sarah Jane Owen: lead guitar, vocals
Stella Barker: rhythm guitar, percussion, vocals (1981–1984)
Lesley Shone: bass, vocals
Judy Parsons: drums, percussion (1981–1984)
Miranda Joyce: alto saxophone, percussion, vocals
Penny Leyton: keyboards, piano (1981–1982)
Clare Hirst: tenor saxophone, keyboards, piano, vocals (1982–1984)

Discography

Albums

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

! rowspan="2" |Year

! rowspan="2" style="width:15em;" |Title

! rowspan="2" |Details

! colspan="8" |Peak chart positions

!UK

!AUS

!CAN

!NL

!NOR

!NZ

!SWE

!US

|1983

| align="left" |The Belle Stars

Released: January 1983
Label: Stiff

|15

|76

|96

|25

|15

|27

|28

|191

|1994

| align="left" |The Very Best

Released: 1994
Label: Stiff

|—

|2004

| align="left" |Belle-Issima! Sweet Memories...

Released: 24 May 2004
Label: Edsel

|—

|2010

| align="left" |80's Romance: The Complete Belle Stars

Released: 25 October 2010
Label: Salvo

|—

|2019

| align="left" |Turn Back the Clock

Released: 20 September 2019
Label: Edsel
Box set with DVD

|—

| colspan="11" style="font-size:9pt" |"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released

Singles and EPs

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

! rowspan="2" |Year

! rowspan="2" |Single

! colspan="10" |Peak chart positions

|- style="font-size:smaller;"

!UK

!GER

!IRE

!NL

!NZ

!SA

!US

!US Dance