Biography
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Years Active
1986 – 1998 (12 years)
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Founded In
Sacramento, Sacramento County, California, United States
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Members
- David Agent (1988 – present)
- Denzil Foster (1986 – 1988)
- Jay King
- Kevin Irving (1988 – present)
- Samuelle Prater (1986 – 1988)
Club Nouveau is an R&B band that was formed by producer/performer Jay King in 1986 in Sacramento, California, subsequent to the break up of the Timex Social Club. Other members of Club Nouveau included original members Denzil Foster, Thomas McElroy, Samuelle Pratter, and Valerie Watson.
From their debut album, Love, Life, and Pain, which showed up in 1986, they scored four consecutive hits: "Jealousy" (essentially a rewrite of and response to Timex Social Club's hit "Rumours"), "Situation #9", a remake of Bill Withers' "Lean on Me", and "Why You Treat Me So Bad". The latter two both made it to #2 on the R&B charts the next year, with "Lean On Me" becoming a huge pop hit.
Foster and McElroy soon left to form their own group and focus on producing other acts, and Pratter eventually left as well. The replacements were David Agent and Kevin Irving. The group's next albums - beginning with Listen To The Message - were laced with an evolving social consciousness, though they weren't as successful commercially as the debut. Notable recordings include a dancehall-influenced version of the gospel classic "Oh Happy Day" from the album A New Beginning.
Albums
Life, Love and Pain (1986) #2 R&B, #6 Pop
Listen To The Message (1988) #44 R&B, #98 Pop
Under A Nouveau Groove (1989) #39 R&B
A New Beginning (1992) #80 R&B
Singles
"Jealousy" (1986) #8 R&B
"Situation #9" (1986) #4 R&B
"Lean On Me" (1987) #1 Pop, #2 R&B
"Why You Treat Me So Bad" (1987) #39 Pop, #2 R&B
"Heavy On My Mind" (1988) #42 R&B
"No Friend Of Mine" (1989) #12 R&B
"Oh Happy Day" (1992) #45 R&B
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