Connells
Formed in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, rock sextet the Connells quietly began building a local fanbase following their 1984 inception. A steady stream of albums followed, each delivering a combination of strong musicianship with accomplished, if rarely inspired, songwriting. However, the band, which includes lead singer Doug MacMillan, lead guitarist George Huntley and Mike Connell, failed to secure mainstream interest, despite steady sales. In 1992, they brought a lawsuit in an unsuccessful attempt to leave their record label, TVT Records. By the time this was resolved the following year, the band had begun work on Ring. This proved to be their most successful album, particularly in Europe, where the single "74-75" hit the number 1 spot in Germany, Norway and Sweden, as well as Israel. The band set about building on this success with extensive tours in those regions, gathering new experiences which triggered both the title and the contents of the follow-up collection, Weird Food & Devastation. For this the band made a concerted effort to translate their overseas popularity into domestic sales - an ambition made more likely by the commercial success of similar artists such as the Gin Blossoms and Dishwalla. The most notable song was "Friendly Time", an acidic put-down of music critics, written by Mike Connell. The band had also been busily engaged in extracurricular activities: Huntley released a solo album, Brain Junk, for TVT in 1996, while MacMillan played a tour manager in the independent movie, Bandwagon.
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Top Tracks
- I Got You
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