Time Bandits (band)
Time Bandits are a Dutch band from the 1980s, best known for their hits "I'm Specialized in You", "Endless Road" and "I'm Only Shooting Love".
Time Bandits | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Genres | New wave, post-disco, synthpop |
| Years active | 1981-1988 |
The band
The band was formed in 1981 by Dutch born Alides Hidding, who wrote all songs and sang lead vocals. The band's four albums made the charts all over the world. Time Bandits established a presence on the American music scene with two entries on the dance charts with the number 6 dance hit "Live It Up" in 1982 and "I'm Only Shooting Love", which peaked at number 2 in 1985.[1]
By the mid-1980s, Time Bandits had also achieved great success in Australia, where "I'm Only Shooting Love" and "Endless Road" (where its music video was filmed) were both Top 10 hits and are now widely considered '80s classics. These singles and other hits such as "Listen to the Man with the Golden Voice", "Dancing on a String" and "I'm Specialized in You" were also successful in the Netherlands, Germany, France and New Zealand (where "I'm Only Shooting Love" hit number one in June 1984).
After moving to Los Angeles from Europe in 1989, Alides' songs have been recorded by such artists as Jennifer Rush, The Nylons, and various European performers. He has established songwriting collaborations with such writers as Charlie Midnight (producer of Alides' last album Can't Wait for Another World together with Dan Hartman), Jackie DeShannon, Pamela Phillips Oland, Dwayne Hitchings, Donny Markowitz, and Todd Smallwood.
The versatility of Alides Hidding is reflected in his capacity to adapt to a wide range of songwriting and producing styles. His works vary from R&B, blues, dance, rock and pop.
Other band members were Marco Ligtenberg (keyboards), Guus Strijbosch (bass) and Dave van den Dries (drums).
After an absence from the stage, Alides began touring with his new band in 2006.
Discography
Albums
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NLD [3] |
AUS [2] |
BEL (Fl) [4] |
NZ [5] | |||
| 1981 | "Live It Up" | 15 | — | 21 | — | Time Bandits |
| 1982 | "Sister Paradise" | 45 | — | — | — | |
| "I'm Specialized in You" | 2 | — | 4 | — | Time Bandits (1984) | |
| 1983 | "Listen to the Man with the Golden Voice" | 9 | 53 | 8 | — | Tracks |
| "I'm Only Shooting Love" | 10 | 9 | 8 | 1 | ||
| 1984 | "Reach Out" | 30 | — | — | — | N/A |
| 1985 | "Endless Road" | 18 | 5 | 19 | 41 | Fiction |
| "Dancing on a String" | 24 | 76 | 21 | — | ||
| 1986 | "I Won't Steal Away" | 24 | — | 21 | — | |
| "Only a Fool" | 48 | — | — | — | ||
| 1987 | "We'll Be Dancing" | 59 | — | — | — | Can't Wait for Another World |
| "Wildfire" | 65 | — | — | — | ||
| 1988 | "Can't Wait for Another World" | — | — | — | — | |
| 1996 | "Specialized in You" (reissue) | — | — | — | — | N/A |
| 2008 | "Live It Up 2008" (Johan Gielen vs. Time Bandits) | 17 | — | — | — | |
| 2013 | "Love Is a Wild Thing" | — | — | — | — | Out of the Blue |
Trivia
- The "Endless Road" music video was filmed in Australia during the band's 1985 tour.[6] The band are seen driving in a Toyota Tarago minivan, driving on country roads and through the streets of the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, where the pedestrian overpass and exterior of the Paradise Centre and the waterslides at Grundy's[7] in Surfers Paradise, and shots of the band performing at the Seagulls Club in Tweed Heads are featured. Other brief shots show them at the Big Pineapple, in a banana plantation, and viewing the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge from a boat on Sydney Harbour.
References
- Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 260.
- Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, Australia: Australian Chart Book. p. 310. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- "Time Bandits - Live It Up - dutchcharts.nl". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
- "ultratop.be - Time Bandits - Live It Up". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
- "charts.nz - Discography Time Bandits". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
- "RetroUniverse: Beware of Time Bandits On An Endless Road". 17 August 2008. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
- Potts, Andrew (29 November 2013). "Take a look back at the Gold Coast's first theme parks including Magic Mountain and Grundy's". Gold Coast Bulletin. Gold Coast.
