Biography

Matt Bianco was formed in 1983 by Mark Reilly (vocals), Danny White (keyboard), Kito Poncioni (bass) – all of whom had just left art pop group Blue Rondo A La Turk) – and vocalist Basia Trzetrzelewska. The band called itself Bronze before settling on the name Matt Bianco in 1983.

The group was pictured as a quartet for their first single (’Get Out of Your Lazy Bed’/'Big Rosie’), although Poncioni only played on the non-album B-side ‘Big Rosie’. He dropped out of the group entirely before the recording of their first album WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON? (1984), although he received a co-writing credit on the track ‘Half A Minute’. The album spawned several UK and European hits, including ‘Get Out of Your Lazy Bed’, ‘More Than I Can Bear’, ‘Half a Minute’ and ‘Sneaking Out The Back Door’. The album was top 3 in Germany and No. 1 in Austria. The title track was not a hit in the UK, although it was a minor hit in Canada and Australia.

Basia and White formed a romantic relationship, and left the group soon after the first album so Basia could pursue an international solo career. Jenni Evans became the new female singer, and Mark Fisher became songwriter, producer, and keyboard player. This line-up recorded the Matt Bianco album, which was released in 1986. The hit ‘Yeh Yeh’, a cover of Georgie Fame, was No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart, and No. 7 on Germany.

With the addition of Mark Fisher, the sound changed considerably. Fisher, a keyboardist, composer and studio wizard, contributed a more contemporary sound, compared to that of the early Matt Bianco. The use of synthesizers increased notably: Yamaha’s DX-7 can be heard providing the slap bass in most songs, but the choice of noted studio musicians remained consistent with Ronnie Ross being the most prominent example. After the first album with the new line-up, they took a 13-piece band on to a European tour that saw them perform in front of an audience of more than 250,000 attendees in total. Jenni Evans left the group shortly after the recording of the group’s self-titled album and was not replaced.

Bianco was now a household name in Europe, and Warner Brothers sought to market them in the United States. They hired Gloria Estefan’s husband and producer Emilio Estefan to produce a few songs, and recorded their third album, Indigo, with the Estefan productions being chosen as singles. 1988’s ‘Don’t Blame It On That Girl’ and ‘Good Times’ only made a moderate impact. WAP-BAM-BOOGIE, an album track originally on the B-side of the first single, which did well on the dance charts, pushed the joint single release up to Number 11 on the UK Singles Chart,[5] making it Matt Bianco’s most successful single.

Their first Greatest Hits album, entitled THE BEST OF MATT BIANCO, collecting their greatest hits from 1983 to 1990, was released in 1990 and made the UK Top 50. Another studio album was released in 1991 by Warner Brothers, the fractured SAMBA IN YOUR CASA, the fourth long-playing by the group. Reilly and Fisher then split from their record company and went freelance. From then on, they recorded their albums in their own studios, and then offered them to independent distributors worldwide.

They scored contracts with ZYX Music and Intercord in Europe, and Victor Entertainment in Asia, but failed to sign on with another major label. The next albums did not sell well in Europe, but they created a loyal fan base in Japan and the rest of Asia. The albums Another Time Another Place, Gran Via, World Go Round, A/Collection (not a greatest hits album, but more of a compilation album, compiling a number of remakes of Matt Bianco’s stand-out album tracks plus remixes of a few of their hits), Rico, and Echoes sold well enough for a comfortable lifestyle in the South-East of England.

After twenty years recording and touring, the two split amicably.

Mark Reilly recorded a collaborative album with New Cool Collective in 2016. THE THINGS YOU LOVE featured nine new tracks and a re-recording of ‘Don’t Blame It On That Girl’; the collaboration was billed to New Cool Collective/Matt Bianco (Mark Reilly).

Mark Fisher died on 12 December 2016. The official Matt Bianco site made it clear that Reilly intended to carry on under the Matt Bianco banner, indicating that a new album was in the process of being recorded. This (GRAVITY) was released in 2017.

In October 2017, Cherry Red Records re-issued Matt Bianco in 2CD Deluxe Edition format, having re-issued a similarly packaged version of WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON? in June 2016.