Quantum Jump

Last updated

Quantum Jump were a 1970s British band, consisting of singer and keyboard player Rupert Hine, guitarist Mark Warner, bass player John G. Perry (then of Caravan), and drummer Trevor Morais (who had previously played in The Peddlers). The band is best remembered for its 1979 UK hit single "The Lone Ranger". [1]

Contents

Career

Quantum Jump were formed in 1973 at Farmyard rehearsal studios by Trevor Morais and Jeffrey Levinson. The idea for the name came from a conversation Rupert Hine had with Anthony Stern, an ex-Cambridge University friend and filmmaker. "He had told me about the relatively recent discovery at Cambridge of the manner in which an electron's energy increases and decreases, not linearly as had been long assumed, but in a discrete step, known as a "quantum". The term "quantum jump" (later to be commonly referred to as "quantum leap") was coined by the Cambridge team. I preferred "jump", as it had more of a "soul / funk" music connotation".

Quantum Jump's sound was a hybrid of fusion, funk, and jazz rock. The first album was written and arranged in 1973–1974, and recorded (with equipment hired from AIR London) at Farmyard. Hine produced the sessions, with Steve Nye as sound engineer. The sessions were independently financed by Jeffrey Levinson (of Mountain Fjord) but, explained Hine, after some 18 months of managerial and contractual problems, the rights to the album were sold to The Electric Record Company in 1975. The label's MD, Jeremy Thomas, believed that the song "The Lone Ranger" was a potential hit single if only it had something more "interesting" for the intro.

Hine picked up on his remark and sang the longest word in the world (listed in The Guinness Book of Records ) a capella , replacing the original intro to the song altogether. [2] The word in question, taken from the language of the Maori, New Zealand's indigenous people, was the name of the hill Taumata­whakatangihanga­koauau­o­tamatea­turi­pukaka­piki­maunga­horo­nuku­pokai­whenua­ki­tana­tahu in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. On the record, the word (made to sound as if it were Native American, in keeping with the Lone Ranger and Tonto theme) is chanted as follows:

Taumata-whaka-tangi-hanga-kuayuwo
tamate-aturi-pukaku-piki-maunga
horonuku-pokaiawhen-uaka-tana-tahu
mataku-atanganu-akawa-miki-tora

"The Lone Ranger" was first released in 1976. After it was chosen as Tony Blackburn's BBC Radio 1 "Record of the Week" (the nationwide morning radio show with the highest ratings in the UK at the time), it was banned when some fragments of lyrics were deemed to contain references to drugs and homosexuality. The BBC stopped playing the record, and it failed to chart. Disillusionment with the length of time it had taken to get the original record deal, and the lack of any really cohesive management, led to guitarist Mark Warner's decision to leave and join Cat Stevens' live band.

Quantum Jump soldiered on for a second album, recorded in late 1976 as a trio with the help of various musician friends, most notably Caravan multi-instrumentalist Geoffrey Richardson. Barracuda was released in April 1977, coinciding with the band going out on the road for a couple of UK tours with Roye Albrighton (of Nektar) on guitar. The album had been expensive to record, and when it did not sell well enough, Quantum Jump disbanded at the end of 1977.

The band would, however, make an unexpected return two years later when a re-release of "The Lone Ranger" single became an unexpected hit. The song had been widely played by Kenny Everett on both his radio and TV shows. Re-released in 1979, it eventually reached number 5 in the UK Singles Chart [3] and number 67 in Australia. [4] The band (including Mark Warner) reconvened for an appearance on Top of the Pops . A third Quantum Jump album was released to coincide with this unexpected "smash" single. Titled Mixing, it was essentially a collection of the best tracks from the first two albums, albeit heavily reworked and remixed.

Hine went on to become the producer of more than 100 albums for artists as varied as Tina Turner, Bob Geldof, Chris de Burgh, the Thompson Twins, Stevie Nicks, Rush, the Waterboys, Suzanne Vega, Duncan Sheik, the Fixx and Howard Jones. He would also appear to form another band in the mid-1980s, called Thinkman, but this was simply another name for his solo recordings. In addition, there is the Soundtrack album Better Off Dead on A&M Records, featuring Rupert Hine, Cy Curnin (the Fixx), Martin Ansell, Terri Nunn, Thinkman, and E. G. Daily. The production is centered on Rupert Hine, and this is the first appearance of Thinkman.

Discography

Albums

Singles

YearTitle UK
[5]
1976"The Lone Ranger"5 (1979)
"No American Starship"
1977"(Oh My Lord) Don't Look Now"
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Related Research Articles

The identity of the longest word in English depends on the definition of a word and of length.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taumatawhakatangi­hangakoauauotamatea­turipukakapikimaunga­horonukupokaiwhen­uakitanatahu</span> Hill in New Zealand

Taumata­whakatangihanga­koauau­o­tamatea­turi­pukaka­piki­maunga­horo­nuku­pokai­whenua­ki­tana­tahu is a hill near Porangahau, south of Waipukurau in southern Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. The height of the hill is 305 metres (1,001 ft). The hill is notable primarily for its unusually long name, which is of Māori origin; it is often shortened to Taumata for brevity. It has gained a measure of fame as it is the longest place name found in any English-speaking country, and possibly the longest place name in the world, according to World Atlas. The name of the hill has also been listed in the Guinness World Records as the longest place name. Other versions of the name, including longer ones, are also sometimes used.

<i>Better Off Dead</i> (film) 1985 film

Better Off Dead is a 1985 American dark comedy film written and directed by Savage Steve Holland. It stars John Cusack as high school student Lane Myer, who becomes suicidal after his girlfriend breaks up with him shortly before Christmas.

<i>Reach the Beach</i> 1983 studio album by the Fixx

Reach the Beach is the second studio album by English new wave band the Fixx, released on 15 May 1983 by MCA Records. It was the group's most successful studio album, reaching No. 8 on the Billboard albums chart and eventually selling two million copies in the United States alone. The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA. It was certified platinum in Canada in November 1983. The album's cover art was provided by George Underwood, who went on to illustrate future Fixx releases including Phantoms (1984), Calm Animals (1989), and Beautiful Friction (2012).

<i>Phantoms</i> (The Fixx album) 1984 studio album by the Fixx

Phantoms is the third studio album by English new wave band the Fixx, released in 1984 by MCA Records.

<i>Walkabout</i> (The Fixx album) 1986 studio album by the Fixx

Walkabout is the fourth studio album by the English new wave band the Fixx, released in 1986. The first single, "Secret Separation", spent two weeks atop the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart in July 1986; it was the band's second No. 1 single on the chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Fixx</span> English new wave rock band

The Fixx are a new wave rock band from London, England, founded in 1979. The band's hits include "One Thing Leads to Another", "Saved by Zero", "Are We Ourselves?", and "Secret Separation", each of which charted in the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100, as well as mainstream rock chart hits "Red Skies", "Stand or Fall", "Driven Out" and "Deeper and Deeper", which was featured on the soundtrack of the 1984 film Streets of Fire. Despite their success in North America, the band achieved comparatively little recognition in their native United Kingdom, failing to make the top 40 in either the album or singles charts with any of their releases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rupert Hine</span> English musician (1947–2020)

Rupert Neville Hine was an English musician, songwriter and record producer. He produced albums for artists including Rush, Kevin Ayers, Tina Turner, Howard Jones, Saga, the Fixx, Bob Geldof, Thompson Twins, Stevie Nicks, Chris de Burgh, Suzanne Vega, Underworld, Duncan Sheik, Formula and Eleanor McEvoy. Additionally, Hine recorded eleven albums, including those billed under his own name, the pseudo-band name Thinkman, and as a member of the band Quantum Jump; with the latter, he achieved a number 5 hit on the UK Singles Chart in 1979, "The Lone Ranger". Additionally, he composed for film and television soundtracks, including the 1989 Ian Fleming biopic Goldeneye and the black comedy Better Off Dead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Better Be Good to Me</span> 1984 single by Tina Turner

"Better Be Good to Me" is a song written by Mike Chapman, Holly Knight, and Nicky Chinn, recorded by Tina Turner for her solo record Private Dancer (1984) and released as a single in August 1984. The song was originally recorded and released in 1981 by Spider, a band from New York City that featured co-writer Knight as a member. Turner's version was successful in the United States and peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 6 on the then-Hot Black Singles charts. At the 27th Annual Grammy Awards in 1985, it won Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female, one of four Grammys awarded to Turner's Private Dancer album at that ceremony. The song was also included on the Miami Vice soundtrack.

The Wildest Wish to Fly is a solo album by Rupert Hine. It was originally released in 1983 on A&M Records and Island Records and re-released on CD in 2001 on VoicePrint. The album peaked at #31 on the Swedish album chart.

<i>Worlds Apart</i> (Saga album) 1981 studio album by Saga

Worlds Apart is the fourth studio album by the Canadian neo-progressive rock band Saga and was originally released in 1981. The album was produced by Rupert Hine, and has been released with several different covers. Frontman Michael Sadler stated in the band's video DVD Silhouette (2002) that Hine told him to stop "singing like a choir boy". Sadler's vocal style was noticeably different on Worlds Apart than on the first three Saga albums; he kept that style in successive performances with the band. Hine reportedly had Sadler climb to the roof of the English barn where the band was recording in order to get the proper emotion from Sadler for "On the Loose".

The Peddlers were a British jazz/soul trio of the 1960s and 1970s. Led by organist Roy Phillips, they had hits with "Birth" and "Girlie". They were very popular in New Zealand during the 1970s.

<i>Man on the Line</i> 1984 studio album by Chris de Burgh

Man on the Line is the seventh studio album by Chris de Burgh, released in 1984.

Eight Seconds was a Canadian synthpop/progressive rock band formed in 1982 in Ottawa. They are perhaps best known for their 1986 single "Kiss You " which peaked at #14 in 1987 and was on the charts for 28 weeks in Canada from the album Almacantar. The band's lineup included Andrés del Castillo (vocals/guitar), March Cesare (bass), Frank Levin (keyboards), Scott Milks (drums), and Marc Parent (guitar).

Stephen William Negus is a Canadian drummer, songwriter, who was a member of the progressive rock band Saga for twenty-six years. In the late 80s, he and keyboardist Jim Gilmour left Saga and formed GNP.

<i>Happy Landings and Lost Tracks</i> 2001 compilation album by the Fixx

Happy Landings and Lost Tracks is a compilation album by the Fixx released on 11 December 2001.

Ke-mo sah-bee is the term used by the fictional Native American sidekick Tonto as the "Native American" name for the Lone Ranger in the American television and radio programs The Lone Ranger. Derived from gimoozaabi, an Ojibwe and Potawatomi word that may mean 'he/she looks out in secret', it has been occasionally translated as 'trusty scout' or 'faithful friend'.

<i>Pick Up a Bone</i> 1971 studio album by Rupert Hine

Pick Up a Bone is the first album by Rupert Hine, released in 1971. Pick Up a Bone was the only album by Hine that he did not produce himself.

John G. Perry is an American-born British bass guitarist and singer. He was born in the U.S. to British parents and when he was young, the family moved back to England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">December (The Waterboys song)</span> 1983 single by The Waterboys

"December" is a song from Scottish-Irish folk rock band The Waterboys, which was released in 1983 as the second and final single from their debut studio album The Waterboys. The song was written and produced by Mike Scott, with additional production by Rupert Hine. A music video was filmed to promote the single.

References

  1. Evans, Christopher. "Biography". AllMusic . Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  2. Tony Augarde (2003). The Oxford Guide to Word Games (2nd, illustrated ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN   9780198662648.
  3. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 444. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  4. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 242. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  5. "QUANTUM JUMP - full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 15 April 2022.