Number One or nothing ...
Chaz Jankel is an English singer, songwriter, best known for being one of the guitarists of the group “The Blockheads”.
He will also have a very extensive solo career with the flagship title "Number one", a title which will reach the top of the hits in 1985.
He is also the author of 2 now cult pieces, namely “Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll” performed by Ian Dury and “Ai no corrida” covered by the essential Quincy Jones.
Just for these 3 flagship titles and for the rest of his work, we had to dedicate this article to him. To discover or rediscover. Discography (among others ...) :
• Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll 1977
• Ai no corrida 1980
• 109 1981
• Questionnaire 1981
• Glad to know you 1981
• Without you 1982
• I can get over it 1983
• Number One 1985
• Looking at you 1985
• Rhythm in my life 1985
• You're my occupation 1986
• Nicaragua 1988
• Intoxication 2001
• Saudade 2001
• Lewie's inspiration 2005
• Experience 2005
• Still 2005
• I come alive 2009
• Hey now 2010
• Wherever we go 2010
• The farside 2010
• Wise up baby 2010
• Sheffield steel 2016
• The ladder 2018
• Do it (Just do it) 2018
• Moments like these 2018
• Connection 2018
• I don't wanna lose this feeling 2018
• Equanimity 2018
• Breakthrough 2019
• Move into the light 2020
• Supermoon 2020
• Tightrope 2020
• Step back 2020
• Time shows the way 2021
• Taking it all back 2021
• Changes 2021
• Never stop believing 2022
• Disillusioned 2022
• Water 2023
• Believing 2023
• On this beautiful day 2023
• Bodies without a soul 2023
Clips :
1977 ... an early career that combines with many and sees the creation of this musical monument of the 70s, title he co-wrote with Ian Dury. Mighty reference !
1980 ... surely one of the BIGGEST hits of the 80s ! This version is not the most famous but it has the merit of being the original !
1981...a year later this copy was released which is, to say the least, particularly close to the original. A copy that will take all the honors and glory for itself...
1981 ... the singer has everything to succeed but for the moment his compositions benefit more to others than to himself. At some point, it will still end up paying at least hopefully !
1981 ... he will have to be still patient to reap the fruits of his labor because what he offers on this title is not enough to allow him to enter the big leagues, it's obvious
1981 ... and it finally pays off with this first hit which will appeal to many others. The best is yet to come and we imagine that the rest will be great !
1982 ... a Chaz Jankel now at cruising speed and driven by a dynamic of success finally worthy of the name. A recognition that will have taken a long time to come, but largely deserved !
1983 ... on a reggae rhythm, an astonishing thing on his part, he delivers here a title which is otherwise nice but which is not likely to set fire to the Dancefloor unfortunately ...
1985 ... this one on the other hand will really set fire to all the Dancefloor ! The artist here simply signs one of the biggest Dance hits of the 80s and offers himself a direct ticket for posterity. MAS-TER-FUL !
1985 ... we go from one extreme to another. No more fire at Dancefloor, we go directly to the Intimist quarter of an hour. A title that will not really have the same level of success as its predecessor ...
1985...a title which will go somewhat unnoticed but it would have been a shame to hide it. Here it is somewhat brought back to light...
1986...we start again in Dance mode but this time he abandons his place as singer in favor of Brenda Jones just to end the adventure in style. With a more than pleasant result !
1988...the last title of the decade and we imagine the last title at that time. So will the adventure end there for good ?
2001...that could have been the case but here it is again, certainly 13 years later, but here he is again in any case. And this to the delight of the core fans...
2001...on the other hand he returns in a musical mode which no longer has anything to do with what he offered before. We really wonder if we are dealing with the same artist as a result...
2005...finished the jazzy mode, here he is now in pure instrumental mode. Clearly, it's really hard to imagine that it's the same artist who produced 'N° 1'...
2005...we know from experience that the second parts of a career often differ from the first but this is a brutal change to say the least...
2005...afterwards there is quality in all that so we cannot say that these new titles are devoid of interest, far from it...
2009...then return of the voice. Of course, it's not his but it still means that we're probably going to return to a musical mode to which he's more accustomed us...
2010...after a decade in the 2000s where he tried to take new musical paths, we will find him in this new decade of 2010 in a musical mode that is clearly more adapted to his time...
2010...we're not going to lie to each other, the best years are now behind him. But what he now offers fully deserves our attention, and above all our full hearing...
2010...he will multiply diverse and varied partnerships during this 2010 decade and often it will be other artists who will sing in his place...
2010...another way to live his passion for music while allowing others to benefit as much as possible. Who would blame him...
2016...as they say, music is made to be shared. And he decided that he would now share it as much as possible...
2018...the start of the decade will have been rather poor in terms of production of titles while the end of the decade will be quite the opposite...
2018...fortunately there will also be quality, which doesn't spoil anything, quite the contrary. A sudden level of productivity that clearly impresses...
2018...like many other artists of his generation who decided to come back like him, this 2010 decade is truly that of renewal and this in an undeniable way...
2018...a decade that inspires them to the highest degree and gives them an irrepressible desire to produce new titles...
2018...we are definitely takers. It's really nice to see all these more or less disappeared artists come back to the forefront...
2018...and most don't come back to just make up the numbers. There is a real desire to rediscover the sensations of success they experienced in the past...
2019...as for the others, they come back to simply have fun and rediscover the extreme sensations linked to any creative process...
2020...and here he is quietly starting this new decade 2020 with the firm intention of not giving up and going as far as possible...
2020...the level of production of titles remains particularly high and is all the more impressive. We imagine that the decade will be particularly busy...
2020...the question now is whether he will succeed in producing THE title that will really bring him back to the forefront like in the good old days...
2020...in any case he is working on it as they say. There is therefore no reason why at one time or another the miracle should not happen...
2021...as soon as he can share the poster he doesn't fail to do so. For him, music is necessarily shared and he likes to remember it...
2021...not only does he like to share but also in all possible styles and sounds. There is definitely a moment when a title will break through more than the others...
2021...he also works with all generations, both his own and the youngest. What's better to feel the spirit of the times...
2022...we can't stop him and the titles are multiplying at a speed that we would never have imagined a few years ago...
2022...the start of the 2020 decade which sees him in brilliant form and above all in full possession of his means. Let's hope it lasts...
2023...every year from now on a complete batch of titles come out and are of more than certain interest. What ask for more...
2023...here he is releasing a new opus to show his level of inspiration at the start of the 2020 decade...
2023...he hadn't released an album for almost 13 years, which is no small thing. And whether on the Singles or album side, the quality is there...
2023...so last title or not ? Given his current level of motivation, it's really hard to imagine that he won't come back later, that's for sure...
Wiki :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaz_Jankel
Official Website :
Greatest Hits :
https://www.deezer.com/us/artist/336380
Discography :
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjF0kbt_YMEADTwRkdcqUSw/featured