Silver Convention

Infobox musical artist 2
Name = Silver Convention
Background = group_or_band
Alias = Silver Bird Convention; Silver Bird
Origin = Munich, Germany
Genre = R&B, pop, disco
Years_active = 1974 - 1979
Label = Magnet, Durium, Jupiter
Past_members = Linda G. Thompson
Penny McLean
Ramona Wulf
Zenda Jacks
Rhonda Heath

Silver Convention was a German disco recording act of the 1970s. The group was originally named "Silver Bird Convention" or "Silver Bird".

The group was founded in Munich by producers and songwriters Sylvester Levay and Michael Kunze. "Silver" is actually Sylvester Levay's nickname. Using female session vocalists for their first recordings, they scored a hit single in the United Kingdom in 1975 with the song "Save Me". They then realised they would need to find a public face for what was at the time only a studio group.

They recruited vocalists Linda Thompson (real name Linda Übelherr, who would be billed on her solo records as Linda G. Thompson, formerly a member of Les Humphries Singers), Penny McLean (real name Gertrude Wirschinger) and Ramona Wulf (real name Ramona Kraft). Their first production was the minor hit single ironically named "There is always another girl".

As "Silver Convention" they scored two major U.S. hit singles. "Fly, Robin, Fly," of which the complete lyrics consisted of only six words, spent three weeks at #1 in 1975, and won the group a Grammy Award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance. Initially the song was titled "Run, Rabbit, Run," changed by the writers moments before the recording took place. Their follow-up hit "Get Up and Boogie", which also consisted of only six words, spent three weeks at #2 in 1976. Their next release, "No No Joe," only went to #60 in September 1976. The further singles released by the trio attempted to duplicate the sound that had made them briefly successful, but they were only minor hits.

Michael Kunze actually wrote the lyrics on the first two albums under the pseudonym Stephan Prager. During this time the three singers released their own solo work. McLean and Thompson achieved hit singles with "Lady Bump" and "1, 2, 3, 4 ... Fire!", and "Ooh What a Night" respectively. Wulf's solo effort was only a moderate success.

Silver Convention represented Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977 with a song entitled "Telegram", finishing eighth. The entry had only English lyrics (with considerably more words than their past hits), but was allowed to enter in spite of the language rule being reintroduced this year, because the song was chosen to represent Germany before the reintroduction was announced. In 1994, Rhonda Heath returned to Eurovision, providing backing vocals and keyboards for the German entry "Wir Geben 'Ne Party" performed in German by Mekado. This entry did better than Silver Convention's effort, placing 3rd out of the 25 entries in Dublin.

With a new producer (John Davis), and a revised line-up of singers (Suzie McClosky aka Zenda Jacks, Rhonda Heath and Ramona Wulf), Silver Convention hit it big again in the clubs in 1978 with the album "Love in a Sleeper". The 12" single release from the LP was "Spend the Night With Me" backed with "Mission to Venus".

Levay also worked with Giorgio Moroder, and Kunze went on to work with Jim Steinman. The solo careers of the three singers faded quickly and they left the music business. Levay and Kunze later collaborated on the highly successful Vienna productions of the musicals Elisabeth, Mozart! and Rebecca.

ee also

*List of number-one hits (United States)
*List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
*List of number-one dance hits (United States)
*List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart

External links

* [http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/silverconvention/ Silver Convention message board at Yahoo]
* [http://geocities.com/thesilverconvention/ Silver Convention Photo Gallery]
* [http://geocities.com/scpennymclean/ Penny McLean Photo Gallery]