Mr. Mister
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| Mr. Mister | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1982 |
| Split | 1989 |
| Genre | Pop/Soft-Rock |
| Labels | RCA |
| Line up | |
| Vocals, Bass | Richard Page (* 1953) |
| Guitar | Steve Farris (* 1957) (till 1989) Howard "Buzz" Feiten (sessions, 1989) |
| Drums | Pat Mastelotto (* 1955) |
| Keys, Vocals | Steve George (* 1955) |
Mr. Mister was an American Pop-Band of the 1980s.
Richard Page had formerly worked as a session musician (e. g. for Quincy Jones) and had composed for Michael Jackson, Donna Summer, Kenny Loggins, Al Jarreau and many more, when in the late 1970s he and his childhood friend Steve George founded the band Pages (most notable song: I Do Believe In You) in Phoenix, Arizona, from which Mr. Mister was founded in 1982.
When the first Mr. Mister album I Wear the Face was released, Page was offered the chance to replace Bobby Kimball, lead singer of Toto, and later on was offered Peter Cetera's place in Chicago; he refused both offers. The second album Welcome To The Real World, with lyrics from Page's cousin John Lang, was the breakthrough for Mr. Mister, with three top 10 singles, two of which hit #1 on the U.S. pop charts. In those days of success they toured with Tina Turner, for whom the song Stand And Deliver was written. This song eventually appeared on Mr. Mister's third album Go On, which the band said was "some of the best stuff we ever did", showing a much more mature band and a sound that hinted at progressive rock. Nevertheless, Go On was not a commercial success. Farris left in 1988 or 1989, and the band began working on a fourth album with session guitarists, but they were dropped by the label before it could be released, and the band decided to break up.
After the band's split, Richard Page was working as composer again (co-author for Madonna's I'll Remember) and also as background singer for many artists; later on he did the solo album Shelter Me. Steve Farris toured with Whitesnake and recorded songs with Tori Amos, the 4 Non Blondes and others. Mastelotto played with XTC, King Crimson, Mastica and many more. Steve George was musical director for Kenny Loggins until 1997 and toured with Jewel. John Lang founded the band Djinn.
Mr. Mister can be seen as representative of the typical sound of 80s Pop-Rock.
Discography (Top chart positions)
Albums
- 1984 - I Wear The Face
- 1985 - Welcome To The Real World (USA: #1, UK: #6, D: #8)
- 1987 - Go On
- 1988 - Pull (was never released officially)