Alternate vintage Matt Bianco vid

I'm not sure why they need gas masks, but this tongue-in-cheek video is pretty cool.

Also, hear the b-side, "Big Rosie."

Good ol' 1984.

Looking for that one version of "More Than I Can Bear"?

Probably a top five Basia question is: what is with the with-Basia version of the Matt Bianco song "More Than I Can Bear" not being on CD, and where can I get it? Thankfully Andrzej noticed that it appears on Marek Niedzwiecki zaprasza do Smooth Jazz Cafe 5 (2003, Universal Music Poland). So you have to order it on import, but it does exist!

Alternately, you can stick with the cassette or LP version of Whose Side Are You On-- the CDs are the only one that contains the weird de-Basia-fied version (actually the original mix!)

A (Christmas) Gift

Just in time for the holiday's full swing is the Matt Bianco Christmas song, "The Happy Christmas Song"! We also have the demo to "Half A Minute." You might remember these from the '04-'05 official Matt Bianco site, here's the background from then:

“Half A Minute” demo (early 1983)-- right click to save
This was the first song we wrote as Matt Bianco. It was recorded on a 4 track Portastudio in a damp basement of a house I was sharing with Andy & Peter Ross (who introduced us to their dad - Ronnie). When Basia recorded her vocals it was the first time she had met Mark. She arrived as we were finishing the lyrics; she read them, learnt the melody, recorded it, tracked it and added backing vocals; all within a couple of hours.

Also playing with us for the first time was Ronnie Ross, on baritone sax. Peter Ross plays percussion and Kito Poncioni plays bass and guitar. Although it sounds rough it does have a certain charm.

The Happy Christmas Song” demo-- right click to save
In the run up to the Christmas of '83, having just signed our record deal with WEA, we presented them with this portastudio demo as a joke. It was never meant to be taken seriously and never saw the light of day - until now. Peter Ross plays drums and sleigh bells.

Many thanks to Danny for sharing these with us again!

Downloads section is back

The former Files section is now called Downloads and again contains the one extant Bronze demo, Danny solo and Danny singing in a lost Blue Rondo demo, original Time and Tide demos, the last Matt Bianco track which evolved into a Basia one, Basia singing a Ronnie Ross composition, and Danny and Andy Ross just being ridiculous.

Treasures all! So download away.

Matt Bianco clips

Here's Matt Bianco on Top of the Pops. Here's Matt Bianco miming with gusto on a European show. And here's Matt Bianco's electronic press kit from 2004. Consider your world rocked. Thanks to Bev for finding these gems.

EDIT: OK, I am just GUTTED that one is gone! :(

mattbianco.com goes back to its roots

Now that Matt Bianco have again split into two, our sister site (or should we say brother?), the official Matt Bianco fansite, is back and looking for contributions. It's great to see Dirk back in the game!

"More Than I Can Bear" video

Basia as a flapper. That's really all you need to motivate you to click this link, doncha think?

Approximately thirty seconds

The video for "Half A Minute" has found it's way onto YouTube (thanks to Frank Johnson for the alert). This track, later covered for Basia on Broadway, was well-received by jazz-dance club DJs at the time, though the English pop world had figured MB were just a novelty act after the runaway success of "Get Out Of Your Lazy Bed". But this video shows Matt Bianco were in on the joke, too, and winking right along. And this first look at Basia as lead vocalist would prove a glimpse of things to come.

Top of The Pops, 1984

Much to my surprise I read today that the venerable UK music show Top of the Pops is dunzo. Let us take this opportunity to remember the one time Basia, Danny and Mark were featured on it, shall we? It's about five seconds long but we do what we can. RIP TOTP.

Live on American TV, and some natty jewel thieves

Long ago a bunch of fans gathered up their videocassettes (remember those?) and their LDs and sent them to the one guy who had the equipment in an age before iDVD to dub them onto CD-ROM- and thus the Basia Video Project was born. Our esteemed site founder, Ben, then got everyone hooked up with their own copy. The fandom rejoiced.

Ten years later and during another (thankfully finite) slow period we have the endless fun that is YouTube, something that couldn't even be conceived of in those days. Even more video goodness: First, there's the second number from that Tonight Show episode, this time "Astrud." Check out who I think might be Marc Antoine on guitar, in a look he'd probably just as soon forget.

At this point I'm feeling quite spoiled, but there's also the video to "Until You Come Back To Me" (shot at Seattle's Paramount) and another fab Matt Bianco mini-movie, "Sneaking Out the Back Door," in which Basia out-hustles street thugs at cards and Danny engages in print-on-demand the old fashioned way. I really love those old Matt Bianco videos. Let all this booty tide you over until the next album update.

EDIT: Clips removed by YouTube.

Riveting dominoes match on YouTube

Well, it's actually the Matt Bianco "Get Out of Your Lazy Bed" video, from the days where there was a fourth Bianco (Kito Poncioni, on bass). I wonder what the stakes were of this game? EDIT: Removed by YouTube.

Matt Bianco, "Undercover" (original demo)

Today's song, the long-rumored last original-lineup Matt Bianco song from 1985, is going to sound familiar. And much like the original Matt Bianco, this song also split into two entities: a Basia song and a lyrical theme for a future Reilly/Fisher song. Anyway, check it out to see what I mean.

Revisit everyone's favorite Christmas ditty!

It's "The Happy Christmas Song"! Recorded by Matt Bianco for their record company in 1983, it's archived on the official MB site. Get the earworm all over again! EDIT: Since removed as the Matt Bianco site was taken down.

Remastered Best of Matt Bianco out next week in the UK

Matt Bianco's 1990 Best Of compilation will be rereleased in the UK on Tuesday September 27. It includes some of Danny and Basia's work on Whose Side Are You On as well as Mark Reilly's songs from Matt Bianco and Indigo. You can order it on Amazon now.

A Chrismas Gift from Danny

As a gift to fans, two MB demos are available on the Matt Bianco website. One is the first version of "Half a Minute" — and the first meeting between Mark and Basia. For the full story click here. EDIT: site has since been taken down by Universal.