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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZADAMS, Bryan(b 5 Nov. '59, Kingston, Ontario) Singer, guitarist, songwriter, lead singer of Sweeney Todd, whose 'Roxy Roller' was a US hit '76. He co-wrote (with Jim Vallance) hits for Ian Lloyd in Canada, Prism in USA, then formed his own band and signed with A&M '78. Supporting Foreigner on tour led to USA top 20 hits 'Cuts Like A Knife' and 'Straight From The Heart'; the act had 'outlaw' overtones à la Bruce Springsteen and was popular on MTV. You Want It, You Got It '82 did not make the top 100 USA albums; Cuts Like A Knife '83 went top ten and Reckless '85 was no. 1. He wrote 'Tears Are Not Enough' for a Canadian Band Aid disc, and toured with Tina Turner '85. As Reckless sold 7m copies and Into The Fire went top ten he played London's Marquee club on 48 hours' notice in June '87 (with co-star second guitar Keith Scott), but with success he began to lose his outlaw edge. He played a cameo in Clint Eastwood's Pink Cadillac '89; his next album Waking Up The Neighbors '91 yielded five hit singles, but '(Everything I Do) I Do It For You' went crazy: no. 1 USA for seven weeks, it set a record in the UK, hogging the top for 16 weeks until nobody could figure out who was still buying it, and was used to disfigure the ending of the otherwise amusing Kevin Costner film (stolen by Alan Rickman as the sheriff of Nottingham) Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves (a rock band in Sherwood Forest?). To judge from the aptly titled compilation So Far So Good '93, his success is a mystery: his songs are rockish jingles, his voice merely brash and his drummer's function apparently to show everyone where he thinks the beat is. Live! Live! Live! came out '94; he was described by one critic as a 'terrifyingly expert purveyor of banality'; 18 Till I Die '96 was a new studio album, followed by a duet with Barbra Streisand on 'I Finally Found You', schmaltz from her latest movie. When 'Unplugged' had become a brand name rather than a good idea, Adams's Unplugged '97 presented versions that are often more ornate than the originals. This was followed by On A Day Like Today 2000, a compilation The Best Of Me, and Room Service in 2004. There is also Live At Budokan. Bryan tours incessantly; he wrote songs for the animated Western Spirit - Stallion Of The Cimarron 2002 and in 2004 was working on another film, Colour Me Kubrick. |