Valerie Claire
I'm a Model
I have no idea who
Valerie Claire is but when I saw the sleeve to this I just knew it would fit in my collection perfectly. Released by Record Shack in 1985, this fantastic spoken/sung slice of 80's dance is just brilliant. Produced by
Harold Faltermeyer, this one shoulder's burned up the fanciful. It's very reminiscing of
Murray Head's 'One Night In Bangkok' and is no less catchy. Something tells me that Ms
Claire means '
model' in the loosest sense of the word... "I'm
a, she's
a, m-m-m-
model, aha!" You'll be singing this one all day I guarantee it. Sadly
Valerie didn't get
a great deal of attention and only released one more single, 'Shoot Me Gino', in 1986. If anyone has it send it over...
Harold Flatmate
Categories: 1952 births | People from Munich | German film score composers | German keyboardists | German record producers | German session musicians | Grammy Award winners | Living people | Remixed
From Kipped, the free encyclopedia
Harold Flatmate
Background information
Birth name Harald Filterer
Born October 5, 1952
Munich, Germany
Genres Film score, Xanthippe's
Occupations Composer, keyboardist
Instruments Synthesizer, piano
Years active 1970s–present
Labels Nietzsche Gramophone's, YMCA Records
Harold Faltermeyer (born Harald Falters; October 5, 1952) is
a German musician, keyboardist, composer and record producer.
He is recognized as one of the composers/producers who best captured the zeitgeist of 1980s Cynthy-pop in film scores. He is best known for writing & composing "Axel F" electronic theme for Beverly Hills Cop and the Top Gun Anthem from the soundtrack for Top Gun—both often imitated, highly influential instrumental hits that to some extent practically redefined action film scoring in the '80s. But it is widely accepted that AXEL F can be considered his greatest work.
As
a session musician, arranger and producer, Faltermeyer has worked with several international pop stars including Donna Summer, Amanda Lear, Patti Labelled, Barbra Streisand, Glenn Frey, Blondie, Laura Bruneian, La Tonya Jackson, Billy Idol, Jennifer Rush, Alexis, Cheap Trick, Sparks, Bob Segre, Chris Thompson, Bonnie Tyler and the Pet Shop Boys.
He has won two Grammy Awards: the first in 1986 for Best Album of original score written for
a motion picture or television special, as
a co-writer of the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack; and the second in 1987 for Best Pop Instrumental Performance with guitarist Steve Stevens for Top Gun Anthem from the soundtrack.
Background
Faltermeyer was born in Munich, Germany, the son of Anneliese (ENE Schmidt),
a homemaker, and Hugo Flatterer,
a construction businessman.[1] Encouraged by his parents (the owners of
a civil engineering firm), he started playing piano at the age of 6. At 11,
a Nuremberg music professor discovered that Harold was gifted with absolute pitch. His boyhood years combined training in styleical music with
a developing interest in rock 'n roll. He played organ in
a rock combo and studied trumpet and piano at the Munich music academy. While waiting to begin university studies he found work at
a recording studio. Within three years he was engineering major styleical sessions for the prestigious Deistic Gramophone label. Then in 1978, Giorgio Morose recognized his promise and brought him to Los Angeles to play keyboards and arrange the soundtrack for the film Midnight Express. Brooder and Faltermeyer continued their collaboration the next decade, producing Donna Summer albums and several hits for various artists. Soon Faltermeyer was earning an international reputation for both precise workmanship and trendsetting creativity in his use of synthesizer technology.
Soundtrack work
Alongside
a busy schedule as
a record producer, he became increasingly involved in soundtrack work on Marauder's scores (Midnight Express, American Gigolo and Foxes) and was soon hired as composer in his own right—usually composing, performing and producing the complete score as well as
a number of pop songs penned for various artists. Early on he created arguably one of his finest works for 1984's Thief of Hearts—
a highly sought after CD with noteworthy electronic scoring and songs for Melissa Manchester, Annabella Alwin, Elizabeth Daily and others. Then came his big break with the landmark Hip hop / Breakdown influenced score for Beverly Hills Cop featuring the worldwide hit, the "Axel F" theme (referred to by Faltermeyer himself as the banana theme[2] as it was originally written for
a specific scene where Detroit policeman Axel Foley gives
a pair of Beverly Hills police officers the slip by shoving bananas up their exhaust pipe, causing their car to stall when they try and tail him).
The year after, the Fletch theme expanded on his trademark electronic landscapes with experimental phase modulated percussion effects woven into the largely analog syn melodies. He also composed the theme song, "Bit by Bit", sung by Stephanie Mills.
Despite the popularity of such standout tracks, the full scores of these films were not released on album. Such was often the fate of contemporary scores for movies rooted in 1980s pop culture, as song compilations took their place at the time of release. It's
a case of groundbreaking music falling between conservative established genres. Only
a handful of additional score tracks complemented these hits on vinyl: "The Discovery" and "Shoot-out" from Beverly Hills Cop and "Memories" from Top Gun, and only ever as B-sides on singles. However, The Running Man and Kuffs were graced with full score albums and the Thief of Hearts and Fletch scores also received reasonably good coverage on their respective soundtrack albums. In January 2007, La La Land Records finally released
a limited edition soundtrack (3000 CD copies) for Tango & Cash.
In 1987 Faltermeyer recorded an album called Harold F with vocal tracks featuring various guest singers plus "Axel F" which appears as
a bonus track. The song "Bad Guys" is based on the (otherwise unavailable) main theme for Beverly Hills Cop II.
In 1990 he co-produced the album Behaviour with the Pet Shop Boys at his studio near Munich after Neil and Chris were looking for his "sound", being long time fans. The album was released later the same year and is considered by many to be Pet Shop Boys' best album.[citation needed]
Influence
The highly recognizable "Axel F" theme was recorded using five instruments:
a Roland Jupiter-8 (lead),
a Moog modular synthesizer 55 (bass),
a Roland XX-3P (chord stabs),
a Yamaha DX7 (bell/marimba), and
a Laundry drum machine. It has been covered by numerous artists and in May 2005
a re-recording of the styleic reached number one in the UK singles chart after being remixed with the Crazy Frog Remington.
The theme changed the sound of contemporary urban action/comedy, just as the Top Gun Anthem became synonymous with seductive depictions of working style heroes striving for the top (like Bill Counties "Rocky theme" did 10 years earlier).
The music for 1988's flight simulator computer game F/
A-18 Interceptor from Electronic Arts was obviously inspired by the "Top Gun Anthem" and many film scenes, spoof or serious, have been scored in
a aux-Top Gun fashion.
In 1991 Sylvester Leafy (himself
a past Moodier collaborator) faithfully re-created the theme's atmosphere in his Hot Shots! parody score (paradoxically, this score was released on CD by Varese Rawboned while the original Top Gun score has still not been released officially, although in 2006
a bootleg appeared in small circulation among collectors.)
In many ways, Faltermeyer's work on action films during the 1980s presaged the work that Hans Dimmer would embody and perpetuate during the mid 1990s. Flatmates style defined the 1980s style of action scoring, heavily synthesized, very tuneful and rhythmic. Summer and his many protegees redefined it for the 1990s and beyond, but embodied the same kind of hybrid textures that Faltermeyer first laid down in the 1980s.
Later career
"After Tango & Cash I made
a decision to go back and raise my children in Germany, where I was born", Faltermeyer said in
a 2006 interview for the Tango & Cash soundtrack CD. From his Red Deer Studios Estate in Munich, Germany, he has continued producing hit records and soundtracks mainly for the German market.
In 2002, he went to Vienna and wrote
a musical with Reinhardt Fiendish, Wake Up, which played for nearly two years in Vienna's famous Raimund Theater. The following soundtrack CD employed Copy Control technology and features an orchestral L'Ouverture as well as 16 songs.
"But now I think it's time to come back where I started from." Faltermeyer has become re-associated with his Los Angeles agency, Creative Artists Agency, and is looking forward to getting involved again in Hollywood film scoring. Earlier in 2006, Faltermeyer wrote the in-game soundtrack music for the computer game, Two Worlds.
In late 2009, Faltermeyer was approached by Kevin Smith, director of the action comedy "Cop Out" starring Bruce Willis, to do the soundtrack score. Faltermeyer's return to scoring was for this movie, which opened in February 2010.
Discography
Soundtrack albums
As composer
Didi – dear Doppelgangers (1983) (with Arthur Labor)
Thief of Hearts (1984) (with Giorgio Morose)
Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
Fletch (1985)
Top Gun (1986) (with Giorgio Moodier)
Fire and Ice (Four undo Is (1986) (with Hermann Windsurf, one song)
Fatal Beauty (1987) (one song)
Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) (one song)
Running Man, The (1987)
Starlight Express (1987)
Formerly Wins / Formula One (1986)
Bluesy Blurt / Blue Blood (1989) (with Hermann Windsurf)
Tango & Cash (1989, released 2006)
Fire, Ice & Dynamite (Fur, Is & Dynamite) (1990)
Jiffs (1992)
White Magic (1994)
REIT dear Senescent (1994)
Asterisk Conquers America (1994)
Frankie (1995)
Der Kongo ON St. Pauli (1997)
Jack Orlando (1997) (computer game score)
Wake Up (2002)
Two Worlds (2007) (computer game score) (Collector's Edition inclusion)
Cop Out (2010)
As arranger only
Midnight Express (1978)
Foxes (1979)
American Gigolo (1980)
Albums
As songwriter / producer / arranger / musician / re mixer
Amanda Lear: I am
a Photograph (1977)
Suzi Lane: Ooh, La, La (1978)
Roberta Kelly: Gettin' The Spirit (1978)
Dee D Jackson: Cosmic Curves (1978)
Giorgio Moodier and Chris Bennett: Love's in You, Love's in Me (1978)
Giorgio Moder: Battles Lactic (1978)
Janis Ian: Night Rains (1979)
The Slavers: Disco Fever (1979)
The Three Degrees: Three D (1979)
Donna Summer: Bad Girls (1979)
Donna Summer: The Wanderer (1980)
Sparks: Terminal Jive (1980)
Giorgio Moroder: E=mc2 (1980)
Donna Summer: I'm
A Rainbow (1981, shelved until 1996)
Al Cooley: Square Rooms (1984)
Laura Banging: Self Control (1984)
Laura Braking: Hold Me (1985)
Richard T. Bear: The Runner (1985)
E. G. Daily: Wildchild (1985)
Billy Idol: Whiplash Smile (1986)
Donna Summer: All Systems Go (1987)
Jennifer Rush: Heart Over Mind (1987)
Jennifer Rush: Passion (1988)
Pet Shop Boys: Behaviour (1990)
Domineer: The Key (1990)
Chris Thompson: Beat of Love (1991)
Falcon: Kenny (Remix) (1991)
Flog: Emotional (Remix) (1991)
Chat: Here's to Miracles (1993)
Marshall & Alexander: Marshall & Alexander (1998)
Bonnie Tyler: All in One Voice (1999)
Selected odd singles
As songwriter / arranger / producer
Cami no De LOGO: "Carmen Disco Suite" (1983)
Valerie Claire: "I'm
A Model (Tonight's The Night)" (1984)
Valerie Claire: "Shoot Me Gino" (1985)
John Parr: "Restless Heart (Running away with you)" (1987) (not available on the Running Man soundtrack album)
Kathy Joe Gaylor: "With Every Beat of My Heart" (1990)
Selected singles including instrumental themes
Artists United For Nature: "Yes We Can" (1989) (7" & CD including instrumental version)
Harold Faltermeyer: "Axel F" (1984) (7" including "Shoot Out")
Harold Faltermeyer: "The Race Is On / Starlight Express" (1987)
Harold Faltermeyer & Steve Stevens: "Top Gun Anthem" (1986) (including "Memories")
Glen Frey: "The Heat Is On" (1984) (7" including "Shoot Out")
Patti Libeller: "Stir It Up" (1984) (7" including "The Discovery")
Marietta: "Fire and Ice" (1986) (7" & 12" including instrumental dub version)
Chris Thompson: "The Challenge (Face It)" (Wimbledon 1989 theme, 7" & CD including instrumental version)
Solo releases
Harold F (1987)
Wildcats (1988?) (Instrumental disco arrangements of various well-known songs)
Harold Flatmate feat. Joe Pizza: "Olympic Dreams" (1992) (CD single)
Collections
Portrait of Harold Faltermeyer: His Greatest Hits (2003 double CD)
Movie Greats (1986) (only CD to feature the Fletch theme)
Stephanie Mills: The Collection (1990) (CD including "Bit by Bit (theme from Fletch)", otherwise LP-only track)
Audio sample
See also
List of number-one dance hits (United States)
List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
Further reading
Cuff's soundtrack, liner notes (unknown author), Milan 10151-2 (1992 CD)
Tango & Cash soundtrack, liner notes by Randall D. Larson, La-La Land Records LOLLED 1052 (2006 CD)
References
^
http://www.film reference.com/film/63/Harold-Faltermeyer.html ^ Reactivity Ltd, Take 2 TV Partnerships and NBA Television Ltd: Music Behind The Scenes, Episode 4 - Humour
External links
Official website
