LATE 80S BAND....THEY WERE SORT OF LIKE A BRITISH VERSION OF THE JACKSONS

I only remember one song....LET ME BE THE ONE

[img:$uid]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a0/Five-Star-Find-The-Time-239547.jpg[/img:$uid]

Been a few threads 'bout em here @ The Org...here's a couple...

http://prince.org/msg/8/355658

http://prince.org/msg/8/342186

http://prince.org/msg/8/246609

also..I believe they have a long rumored new release they are "working on".....?

Two of them now work at the checkouts at Tesco Bethnal Green.

JamFanHot said:

Been a few threads 'bout em here @ The Org...here's a couple...

http://prince.org/msg/8/355658

http://prince.org/msg/8/342186

http://prince.org/msg/8/246609

also..I believe they have a long rumored new release they are "working on".....?

thank you.

TheDigitalGardener said:

Two of them now work at the checkouts at Tesco Bethnal Green.

All fall down!

HotGritz said:

LATE 80S BAND....THEY WERE SORT OF LIKE A BRITISH VERSION OF THE JACKSONS

I only remember one song....LET ME BE THE ONE

Um... no they weren't but they were very successfull for a short period of time.

HotGritz said:

LATE 80S BAND....THEY WERE SORT OF LIKE A BRITISH VERSION OF THE JACKSONS

I only remember one song....LET ME BE THE ONE

[img:$uid]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a0/Five-Star-Find-The-Time-239547.jpg[/img:$uid]

You only remember one song? They have had some pretty big hits.

All very 80's....probably why i like 5star so much.

I still listen to them now and than.

When they first came out they were popular in the US with both teen and older R&B audiences. They were consistantly in the Top 10 and received alot of support from BET and black radio. For a teen group, they had a very sophisticated, mature, groove-oriented, universal sound that was very accessible to both young and old. They even wrote some very jazzy instrumentals as b-sides (one of which was nominated for a Grammy). Then they became VERY popular in the UK with their 2nd album and their visibility in the US decreased significantly. I personally think the group, their label, management, whoever, spent too much time and energy concentrating on the UK pop market. By the 3rd album everything was very pop sounding (the Diane Warrens of the world were brought in) but from what I could see/hear RCA was not making the effort to promote them in the pop arena. I never heard them on Top 40 stations or saw them on MTV or VH1. By the 4th album, the UK had had their fill of Five Star and were done with them. The group attempted to rebuild their US R&B fanbase but the momemtum they made with their first album was long lost and they just didn't get a second chance in the US despite some really good records and a new label. Just my . I still think they are great and grossly underappreciated. Would love some new material from them!

[Edited 6/23/11 13:17pm]

yanowha said:

When they first came out they were popular in the US with both teen and older R&B audiences. They were consistantly in the Top 10 and received alot of support from BET and black radio. For a teen group, they had a very sophisticated, mature, groove-oriented, universal sound that was very accessible to both young and old. They even wrote some very jazzy instrumentals as b-sides (one of which was nominated for a Grammy). Then they became VERY popular in the UK with their 2nd album and their visibility in the US decreased significantly. I personally think the group, their label, management, whoever, spent too much time and energy concentrating on the UK pop market. By the 3rd album everything was very pop sounding (the Diane Warrens of the world were brought in) but from what I could see/hear RCA was not making the effort to promote them in the pop arena. I never heard them on Top 40 stations or saw them on MTV or VH1. By the 4th album, the UK had had their fill of Five Star and were done with them. The group attempted to rebuild their US R&B fanbase but the momemtum they made with their first album was long lost and they just didn't get a second chance in the US despite some really good records and a new label. Just my . I still think they are great and grossly underappreciated. Would love some new material from them!

[Edited 6/23/11 13:17pm]

I wasn't aware they had 4 albums. What poor business practice to let the group fade in the US markets but heavily promote them in the UK market. R&B music mixed with Pop is a universally appreciated sound. If they were selling albums their record label should have supported them better. One would think that a sophmore album would be heavily promoted if the debut was a success.

HotGritz said:

I wasn't aware they had 4 albums. What poor business practice to let the group fade in the US markets but heavily promote them in the UK market. R&B music mixed with Pop is a universally appreciated sound. If they were selling albums their record label should have supported them better. One would think that a sophmore album would be heavily promoted if the debut was a success.

Maybe The Jets (Wolfgramm siblings) took their spot in the US. They were on MCA Records which had more chart success than RCA did during that time.

One of them (I think it was Lorraine) was engaged to Eddie Murphy at one time.

bigd74 said:

HotGritz said:

LATE 80S BAND....THEY WERE SORT OF LIKE A BRITISH VERSION OF THE JACKSONS

I only remember one song....LET ME BE THE ONE

Um... no they weren't but they were very successfull for a short period of time.

Well....they sure did LOOK like the Jacksons!

and nuh uh....that lead singer sounded just like Janet and MJ mixed together.

Here's a pic from 2009 of Denise Pearson (lead singer of 5 Star) & Tito Jackson.

^ JANET JACKSON MEETS OMAROSA!

HotGritz said:

^ JANET JACKSON MEETS OMAROSA!

LOL!!!!

HotGritz said:

I wasn't aware they had 4 albums. What poor business practice to let the group fade in the US markets but heavily promote them in the UK market. R&B music mixed with Pop is a universally appreciated sound. If they were selling albums their record label should have supported them better. One would think that a sophmore album would be heavily promoted if the debut was a success.

They put out 8 studio albums in total. 4 with RCA/BMG, 2 with Epic/Sony, and 2 on their own Tent Records label. I don't know what was going on with the group and RCA by the end but their last RCA album got absolutely no promotion (I only knew it existed because of a tiny blurb about upcoming releases in Right On magazine). And RCA didn't even release their 1989 Greatest Hits album in the US. There were a couple Soul Train appearances during the Epic years but nothing got played on the radio or the video channels during this time. The public had just moved on and forgotten about them. When the group went independent they at least got BET to play "I Love You For Sentimental Reasons" but radio didn't pick it up. Delroy has been producing some popular acts. I read Doris is a dance teacher. Deniece has been writing songs under her married name and performing in the UK "Thriller" stage musical. I never understood why no one was interested in signing her as a solo act. She had the voice, the drop dead gorgeous looks, and could definately keep up with Janet, Paula and 'nem in the dance department. I think Five Star would make for an excellent episode of Unsung or Behind The Music. But I don't see any US station making the effort. The group has been forgotten. The hits they had don't even get played on the oldies stations in the US. And I don't get the sense that the UK media give a damn about them. They've become a punchline for many. A classic example of people building you up just to tear you down.

[Edited 6/23/11 16:09pm]

MickyDolenz said:

Nice song.

Thanks for posting these. I need to get reacquainted with this group.

Lorraine was engaged to Eddie Murphy? Damn that dude sure got around in his younger days.

I like their song "Let Me Be The One" Excellent mid-80s R&B jam.

I just went to iTunes to purchase "Let Me Be The One" and it's not there In fact,hardly any of their 80s tunes or albums are on iTunes.A bunch of recent albums are there instead

SoulAlive said:

I just went to iTunes to purchase "Let Me Be The One" and it's not there In fact,hardly any of their 80s tunes or albums are on iTunes.A bunch of recent albums are there instead

None of their '80s tunes or albums are on iTunes. I see none of Diana Ross' RCA albums are on there either. What other black acts were on RCA in the 1980s? I'm curious to know if it's what it appears to be. I see all of Rick Springfield and Hall & Oates' RCA recordings on there.

[Edited 6/25/11 18:46pm]

RCA is owned by Sony now.

getxxxx said:

Cherry Pop recently reissued their first two projects Luxury of Life & Silk & Steel with bonus tracks

Hi, getxxx:

I wanted to orgnote you about a purchase you recently made but you have me blocked even though I have never orgnoted you! Is there any way I could orgnote you? I would really appreciate it. I want to ask your advice on something.

purplethunder3121 said:

getxxxx said:

Cherry Pop recently reissued their first two projects Luxury of Life & Silk & Steel with bonus tracks

Hi, getxxx:

I wanted to orgnote you about a purchase you recently made but you have me blocked even though I have never orgnoted you! Is there any way I could orgnote you? I would really appreciate it. I want to ask your advice on something.

ask me here

HotGritz said:

Thanks for posting these. I need to get reacquainted with this group.

Lorraine was engaged to Eddie Murphy? Damn that dude sure got around in his younger days.

Remember in Raw when he talked about his failed engagment? He was talking about her

I just found out New Edition's "Hide And Seek" was a cover and it was done originally by 5 Star