Animotion

All Music Guide:

Riding the wave of MTV-friendly synth pop of the mid-'80s, Animotion took the coldly catchy "Obsession" to the Top Ten in the beginning of 1985. After that, success was elusive -- the follow-up, "Let Him Go," barely cracked the Top 40 just four months later. In 1988, over half of the band left the lineup, including the leaders Bill Wadhams and Astrid Plane; actress Cynthia Rhodes and former Device member Paul Engemann became the lead vocalists. (Fortunately, the personnel changes apparently didn't cause any animosity -- Plane married Charles Ottavio, Animotion's bassist and one of the founding members of the group.) The new lineup was lucky enough to score a Top Ten hit with "Room to Move," a lightweight song from a Dan Aykroyd movie that was even more lightweight (My Stepmother Is an Alien). After that brief flash of success, Animotion disappeared from the picture.

Wikipedia:

Animotion is a 1980s U.S. New Wave/synthpop band from Los Angeles, California best known for their songs "Obsession" (written by Michael Des Barres and Holly Knight), "Let Him Go", "I Engineer" and "Room to Move". Formed in 1983 from the remnants of a retro science-fiction band called Red Zone, they signed a record deal with Polygram Records in 1984 and made three albums.

Biography

Animotion originally had six members, four of whom (lead singer Astrid Plane, keyboardist Paul Antonelli, bassist Charles Ottavio, and drummer David "Frenchy" O'Brien) had originally been members of the band Red Zone. After the demise of that band, the four aforementioned members set about creating a new group. Lead singer/guitarist Bill Wadhams joined soon thereafter to co-front the new band with Plane. After the formation of Animotion around this nucleus, lead guitarist Don Kirkpatrick was brought on board, completing the line-up. They released their self-titled debut album in 1984. The following year, a single from this album, "Obsession" had a worldwide success and became the band's first Billboard Hot 100 Top Ten single. The follow-up single from this album, "Let Him Go" also cracked the U.S. Top 40. The radio edit of "Let Him Go" was remixed for release in order to sound more like its predecessor, "Obsession".

Session keyboardist Greg Smith, who had played on the band's debut, became an official member of the band prior to the recording of the follow-up album, Strange Behavior (1986), which also saw Jim Blair replacing O'Brien on the drum kit. While several singles were released from this album, its success in the U.S. paled in comparison to the debut, whereas the band became very famous in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and South Africa, thanks to the LP's single "I Engineer", which reached the Top 20 (and sometimes the Top 5) in those countries. During 1986 and 1987, Animotion toured extensively, appearing alongside performers such as Phil Collins, Depeche Mode, Eurythmics, Genesis, Howard Jones, INXS, and Simply Red.

In the midst of recording their third album, Animotion went through personnel changes, as all three of the remaining founding members (Bill Wadhams, Astrid Plane and Charles Ottavio) departed. Following their departure, Ottavio and Plane married. Actress/dancer/singer Cynthia Rhodes, known for her performance as the character "Penny Johnson" in the 1987 film Dirty Dancing, replaced Plane as female lead singer, and former solo artist/Device member Paul Engemann replaced Wadhams as the male lead for Animotion's second self-titled album, informally known as "Room to Move" (due to the success of this song) to distinguish it from their first LP. By the time of this album's release, only Kirkpatrick and Smith remained officially in the "band" backing Rhodes and Engemann, and other session musicians were used during its recording. The single "Room to Move," is a remake of the 1988 song by the group Climie Fisher and was aided by its inclusion in the movie My Stepmother is an Alien, became a radio hit in April 1989, and their second Top 10 hit in the U.S., after "Obsession" in 1985; but the album itself failed to chart and Animotion broke up after that.

The members reunited for the first on February 8, 2001 with a sold out crowd in response to a request from Alex Hart and 94.7 NRK Radio Station in Portland, Oregon. In the summer of 2005, founding members Wadhams, Plane and Ottavio appeared as "Animotion" in the American version of the TV show Hit Me Baby One More Time, performing their hit "Obsession" and a cover of Dirty Vegas' "Days Go By".

As of 2008, Animotion have again reunited in a line-up including original members Wadhams, Plane, Ottavio, and Kirkpatrick; veteran keyboardist Greg Smith; and drummer Kevin Rankin for a few touring dates along the West Coast.

In 2009 Animotion was thrust into pop culture again as it was featured on VH-1's Top 100 One Hit Wonders of the 80s (in spite of the fact that Animotion are technically not one-hit wonders, as their second single "Let Him Go" made it into the top 40 in 1985, and "Room to Move" cracked the top ten in 1989, albeit with an almost entirely different line-up). Animotion came in at #12 with the hit "Obsession." Both Astrid Plane and Bill Wadhams were interviewed and featured.

"Obsession" was also featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

Animotion performed a cover of "Dancing in the Street" which featured in the 1985 film Girls Just Want to Have Fun (film).

UK based specialist reissue label Cherry Red Records will be re-releasing both the Animotion (1984) and Strange Behavior (1986) albums via its Cherry Pop imprint on 17 August 2009 (UK) and a week later in the US (according to Amazon.com). Sleeve notes are by long-time fan Steve Thorpe, and the remastering has been carried out by Tim Turan in Oxford, UK. The CDs will each include several bonus tracks including 7" remixes and 12" remixes gathered from various singles released between 1984 and 1986 in Europe and the United States.

Other activities

Bill Wadhams

Original frontman Bill Wadhams worked as a graphic designer at NBC, BBD&O, Wieden & Kennedy for awhile. He's kept a hand in music composition and production, and currently manages Animotion. Wadhams, a Portland, Oregon resident, has three sons, and one daughter. Two of his sons, Charlie and Chris Wadhams have formed their own band in Los Angeles, Rex Aquarium, and his daughter, Natalie is a singer and violinist. His youngest son, Will is a drummer with a talent for illustration.

Astrid Plane & Charles Ottavio

Original frontwoman Astrid Plane married bassist Charles Ottavio shortly after they both left Animotion in the latter half of the 1980s. They are currently living on the West Coast, raising their daughter Victoria. When not playing with Animotion, Astrid is still involved in the music business, having recently released her album, If I Was Magic. She also gives voice lessons at The Voice Shop in Fresno. She also has a MySpace page.

Don Kirkpatrick

According to Animotion's MySpace page, original lead guitarist Don Kirkpatrick also currently tours with Rod Stewart.

Kevin Rankin

Full-time Animotion drummer since 2002, Kevin Rankin (drummer) has been a member in a series of other successful bands, including guitar phenom Jennifer Batten and Columbia Recording artists Craving Theo. Rankin also owns a successful Web design agency, Silver Lining Media, LLC based in Portland, Oregon, has been married to his junior high school sweetheart Jennifer Seeley Rankin since 1992, and has two sons, Kaleb and Nolan.

Paul Antonelli

Original keyboardist Paul Antonelli, who left the band sometime in the mid-1980s, began composing and directing music for various TV series programs. Immediately after leaving Animotion, Antonelli had played in the band Radio Werewolf. While he does not currently participate in Animotion reunion tours, he has attended some of the band's recent performances. Antonelli currently composes the music for As The World Turns, a daytime drama on CBS.