Debbie Gibson
b. 31 August 1970, Long Island, New York, USA. This pop singer/songwriter generated massive sales in the late '80s, particularly in her homeland. Following training in piano and early songwriting ventures, Gibson was signed to the management of Doug Breithart by the time she was 13 years old. The following three years saw her apprenticeship in recording studios as she produced and wrote over 100 original compositions, mostly in her own multi-track home studio. Before leaving school she had signed to Atlantic and was only turned down for the lead role in a US production of Les Miserables when the producers discovered her age. By the end of 1987 she emerged alongside a rash of female teenage singers in the US charts, hitting number 4 twice with Only In My Dreams and Shake Your Love. Her songwriting status and production involvement on OUT OF THE BLUE was duly noted by critics. When Foolish Beat topped the charts in 1988 she became the youngest artist to have written, produced and performed a US number 1 single. Lost In Your Eyes, a sentimental ballad replaced the high energy pop of previous singles, and topped the US charts once more after the disappointing Staying Together. The equivalent accolade in the album chart would be hers for five weeks with ELECTRIC YOUTH, co-produced, as was her debut, by Fred Zarr. However, a batch of subsequent singles, including the album's title track, No More Rhyme and We Could Be Together fared progressively worse in the US charts. The sales of the third album ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE proved similarly disappointing, despite the appearance of Freddie Jackson and Lamont Dozier in the studio.