The BB&Q Band

The BB&Q Band name was an abbreviation of The Brooklyn, Bronx and Queens Band, in recognition of the three famous "other" boroughs of New York City (the most famous one of course being Manhattan).

The BB&Q Band was a very similar project to all other Jacques Fred Petrus and Mauro Malavasi projects, in that most tracks were written, recorded and produced in

Italy

. The vocals were added later in New York.

The band first reached prominence in 1981 via their single and 12" release "On the beat". This track was also featured on their first album simply called "Brooklyn, Bronx & Queens Band" (Capitol). It featured six excellent other tracks, most notably "Starlette".

Lead singer were Ike Floyd and Gordon Crody. The latter singer also featured on Change releases. Luther Vandross featured as back-up singer, and further backing vocalists such as Fonzi Thornton and Diva Gray (both also worked with Chic) and others completing the line up.

The first album was succeeded in 1982 by the 7" and 12" single "Imagination". This track came from the second album "All night long" also released on Capitol. This album had far less impact than their first, with the songs becoming edgier even compared to the previous release (punk was rearing its ugly head...). Some of the tracks even included a rock influenced guitar solo.

The line-up of BB&Q Band changed to include Kevin Robinson as singer and guitarist. The back-up singers again comprised the finest of the session musicians and included Alyson Williams (who was part of High Fashion), Leroy Burgess (who sang with the Peter Jacques Band) and others.

In 1983 the "Six Million Times" album was released. It did not produce any hits and was the last album on Capitol. The sound was still "edgy", with vocals and instrumentation somewhat remeniscent of Prince's 1999. The line-up of the band had changed yet again, with only Kevin Robinson as lead vocalist consistent. Background vocals came from Timmy Allen (Change) and Eric McClinton (High Fashion).

Album number four "Genie" did not appear until 1985, bringing The BB&Q Band back to dance prominence. It featured the singles/maxi-singles "Genie" and "Ricochet". "Ricochet" was remixed on 12" by Dutchman Ben Liebrand. Other remixes were done by Shep Pettibone.

Although the band name was still the same, the line-up had changed with Kay Williams taking writing credits. The tracks shared a similar sound as made popular by The SOS Band and Change under the direction of Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis.