Radio Stars

After Jet's lackluster run as a glam supergroup concluded in 1976, Andy Ellison—formerly the vocalist of John's Children—teamed with Sparks veteran Martin Gordon, who handled bass and songwriting duties, along with guitarist Ian MacLeod to launch the Radio Stars in 1977. Steve Perry soon joined on drums, enabling the band to ink a deal with Chiswick Records and issue its first full-length, Songs for Swinging Lovers, that same year. Although skirting the edges of the punk and new wave movements, the group essentially operated as an off-kilter rock outfit whose sound revolved around Gordon's compositions and Ellison's spirited delivery. Trevor White, another shared alumnus of Sparks and Jet, came aboard in 1978, after which the band delivered its follow-up, the rather underwhelming Holiday Album. Gordon's departure shortly after that release's poor showing effectively dissolved the lineup, even as Ellison made unsuccessful attempts to resurrect the Radio Stars moniker during the 1980s. Two compilations later gathered the group's output: the obscure Moonlight label's 1982 collection Two Minutes Mr. Smith, followed by Ace's 1992 anthology Somewhere There's a Place for Us.