The Romantics

A band whose career falls into two distinct halves; the Knack-like pop of the '70s dressed in tight red leather pants, and the near stadium rock-like success of the early '80s. The Romantics started out as four factory workers from Detroit, USA; Wally Palmer (vocals, guitar), Mike Skill (guitar, vocals), Rich Cole (bass, vocals) and Jimmy Marinos (drums, vocals). They originally formed in February 1977, releasing their debut single, Little White Lies, on their own Spider Records. It was followed by I Tell It To Carrie on Greg Shaw's Bomp label in 1978. The music was uptempo and pop-like, much in the vein of the Flamin' Groovies or the Raspberries, but in the '80s they developed a much more sophisticated, and familiar, US rock sound, for which they were rewarded with a US Top 10 hit with Talking In Your Sleep. However, despite their sudden success Jimmy Marinos left in 1983 and the band effectively disappeared with him.