Mr. Mister
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| Mr. Mister | ||
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| Background information | ||
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, USA | |
| Genre(s) | Pop rock Soft rock |
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| Years active | 1982 – 1989 | |
| Label(s) | RCA Records | |
| Members | ||
| Richard Page Steve George Pat Mastelotto Steve Farris |
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Mr. Mister was an American atmospheric pop rock band of the 1980s. The band took its name from the Mr. Misty frozen drink that was sold by Dairy Queen[citation needed]. Mr. Mister is considered by many as representative of the typical sound of '80s pop rock. The band consisted of Richard Page on vocals and bass guitar, Steve George on keyboards, Pat Mastelotto on drums and Steve Farris on guitars.
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[edit] Early work
Richard Page had formerly worked as a session musician (for Quincy Jones) and had composed for Michael Jackson, Donna Summer, Kenny Loggins, Al Jarreau, and many more. 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. The two continued to apply their tight harmonies to background vocals on albums by successful pop artists like Laura Branigan and the Village People while working to break their own material.
[edit] Albums
When the first Mr. Mister album, I Wear the Face, was released, Page was offered the chance to replace Bobby Kimball as lead singer of Toto, and later 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 (most notably "Broken Wings", the chorus of which was sampled on the 2Pac single "Until the End of Time"). The video for "Kyrie" features a poster for the Tears for Fears album Songs from the Big Chair, which was also a major success.
In those days of success, Mr. Mister 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[citation needed]. Nevertheless, Go On was not a commercial success.
Guitarist Steve Farris left around 1989. The band began working on a fourth album, Pull, with session guitarists, but were dropped by their label before it could be released, and the band decided to break up. The album remains unreleased to this day, although one track ("Waiting in My Dreams") later appeared on a greatest hits collection by the band. There were plans for a Japan release of the album in 2001, but the release was canned, ostensibly due to disagreements over artwork for the album.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- 1984 - I Wear the Face - #170 US
- 1985 - Welcome to the Real World - #1 (1 week) US
- 1987 - Go On... - #55 US
- 1989 - Pull - (unreleased album)
[edit] Singles
| Year | Song | US Hot 100 | US MSR | US A.C. | Canada | UK singles | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | "Hunters Of The Night" | 57 | - | - | - | - | I Wear The Face |
| 1985 | "Broken Wings" | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | Welcome To The Real World |
| 1986 | "Kyrie" | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | 11 | Welcome To The Real World |
| 1986 | "Is It Love" | 8 | 17 | - | 20 | 87 | Welcome To The Real World |
| 1986 | "Black/White" | - | - | - | 93 | - | Welcome To The Real World |
| 1987 | "Something Real (Inside Me/Inside You)" | 29 | 27 | - | 38 | - | Go On... |
