Everything about Mr Mister totally explained
Mr. Mister was a popular
American atmospheric
pop rock band of the
1980s. The band's name came from an inside joke about a
Weather Report record called
Mr. Gone where they referred to each other as "Mister Fister" or "Mister (insert word here)." Mr. Mister may be considered as representative of the melodic and sophisticated sound of '80s
pop rock. The band consisted of
Richard Page on vocals and bass guitar,
Steve George on keyboards,
Pat Mastelotto on acoustic and electronic drums and
Steve Farris on guitars.
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. All four members had done extensive session work for other artists and brought numerous influences to the band.
Mainstream success
When the first Mr. Mister album,
I Wear the Face, was released in 1984, 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, 1985's
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 later sampled on the
2Pac single "
Until the End of Time"). They had several number 1
MTV videos and headlined the first
MTV Spring Break show in 1986. Mr Mister had several
Grammy Award nominations including the 1986 Grammy for "
Best Pop Band" (which was awarded to the"
We Are the World" ensemble).
During this time, Mr. Mister toured with other popular acts including
Don Henley,
The Bangles,
Eurythmics,
Tina Turner, and
Adam Ant, 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... wasn't a commercial success.
Guitarist Steve Farris left around 1989, replaced by
Buzz Feiten and later
Trevor Rabin. 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 2001 greatest hits collection by the band.
Post-breakup
After Mr. Mister broke up, Page released a solo record and a band record as
Third Matinee (with
Patrick Leonard) in 1994, and continued to write hit songs for many artists including "
I'll Remember" (with Leonard and Madonna), a 1993 hit for
Madonna. Two years later, he released
Shelter Me, his first solo album. Steve George worked extensively as musical director with Kenny Loggins and
Jewel. Steve Farris went on to work with
Rod Stewart,
Whitesnake,
Tori Amos, and
4 Non Blondes. Pat Mastelotto recorded several hits with
The Rembrandts,
Jude Cole,
Cock Robin,
Martika, as well as alternative bands (
XTC,
Robyn Hitchcock,
The Sugarcubes), and many others. Since 1994, Mastelotto has been a member of
King Crimson and done thousands of live shows and participated in several Crimson records, including producing and mixing the
King Crimson Projects. He also currently runs several side projects including
Mastica,
TU,
Tuner, and
KTU. Pat is also a member of the critically acclaimed melodicrock band Mecca, their new album is due out late 2008.
Discography
Albums
US Compilations
1999 -
2001 - The Best of Mr. Mister
Singles
Further Information
Get more info on 'Mr Mister'.
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