Violinski

Formed in the UK during 1979, the group brought together Mik Kaminksi on violin, Mike De Albuquerque handling guitar and vocals, John Hodgson at the drums, John Marcangelo on keyboards, Baz Dunnery also covering guitar and vocals, Paul Mann on vocals and bass, and Andy Brown likewise responsible for vocals and bass. Kaminski and De Albuquerque had both played earlier in the Electric Light Orchestra. Their first release arrived that January as the instrumental single “Clog Dance,” which BBC Radio 1 immediately adopted as backing music for its weekly Top 40 countdown and thereby propelled the track into the UK Top 20. Although the band quickly earned a reputation as an instrumental outfit, the debut album No Cause For Alarm and its follow-up single “Save Me” both included vocals, leaving reviewers uncertain how to categorize the music. Once that initial notice faded, a handful of further singles that failed to chart and one additional album could not sustain momentum, and Violinski soon dropped from view.