Baltimora was an Italian music project from Milan, active from 1984 to 1987.
They are best known for their 1985 single "Tarzan Boy" and are often considered a one-hit wonder in the United Kingdom and the United States.
In other European countries, including their native Italy, Baltimora scored a follow-up hit "Woody Boogie" the same year.
In early 1984, Maurizio Bassi, a music producer and musician from Milan, met Jimmy McShane, a native of Derry, Northern Ireland.
They decided to form an act fronted by McShane, a trained singer, dancer and actor, who had previously tried to break into the West End theatre scene and toured with Dee D. Jackson.
McShane and Bassi chose the name Baltimora when, one evening together, McShane took a map of the United States, closed his eyes and happened to place his finger on Baltimore.
They changed the final letter to an 'a' to make the name more in keeping with the act's Italian roots.
Bassi recruited prominent Italian sessionmen to record their first album, including Giorgio Cocilovo on guitar and Gabriele "Lele" Melotti on drums.
Fellow Italo disco producer Tom Hooker has claimed that Baltimora's lead vocals were performed by Maurizio Bassi, as he'd done with Carrara, with McShane sometimes providing the backing vocals.
The bulk of Baltimora's song writing fell on Bassi and American lyricist Naimy Hackett, though McShane wrote the lyrics to their track "Survivor in Love".
Baltimora's first single, "Tarzan Boy", was released in April 1985, and became a huge European success, peaking at No. 6 on the Italian single chart and entering the top 5 in numerous European countries.
"Tarzan Boy" was released in Canada in October 1985 and peaked on the Canadian charts at No. 5 by the end of the year. However, it took a while for the single to enter the Hot 100 single chart in the United States (where it was released on EMI).
When it did, it remained on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for six months, peaking at No. 13 in February 1986.
Baltimora performed on the American TV show Solid Gold, which helped further their success in America.
The second single, "Woody Boogie", which also gained notable success, entered the top 20 in West Germany, Switzerland and Sweden.
Baltimora's first album, Living in the Background, was released in Europe at the end of 1985 and in United States in 1986. Despite the success of "Tarzan Boy", Living in the Background only charted moderately, entering the top 20 album charts only in a few countries in Europe, including Sweden, reaching the no. 49 spot on the US charts.
When Baltimora's second album, Survivor in Love (1987) and the single "Key Key Karimba" failed to match the success of previous releases, Baltimora lost label support and Bassi decided to disband.
Track listing
1. Tarzan Boy (Single Version) - 3:50
2. Woody Boogie - 5:50
3. Juke Box Boy (Maxi) - 5:53
4. Key Key Karimba - 6:02
5. Living In The Background - 6:06
6. Global Love (Featuring – Linda Wesley) - 4:40
7. Running For Your Love - 5:50
8. Call Me In The Heart Of The Night - 4:55
9. Chinese Restaurant - 5:14
10. Set Me Free - 4:45
11. Pull The Wires - 4:46
12. Come On Strike - 4:47
13. Jimmy's Guitar - 3:57
14. Survivor In Love - 5:02
15. Tarzan Boy (Summer Version) - 6:45
Companies, etc.
- Marketed By – EMI
- Distributed By – EMI
- Phonographic Copyright ℗ – EMI Music Italy S.r.l.
- Copyright © – EMI Music Italy S.r.l.
- Remastered At – IMS Group
- Glass Mastered At – ims Manufacturing
- Pressed By – ims Manufacturing
Credits
- Artwork [Progetto Grafico] – Michele Peretti
- Remastered By [Digital] – Gianluca Lazzarin
- Written-By – James McShane (tracks: 14), Maurizio Bassi, Naimy Hackett (tracks: 1 to 3, 5 to 13, 15)
Notes
Released: Nov 26, 2010
Genre: Italo-Disco, Synth-pop
Runtime: 1:18:22
Label: EMI
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