Precious Wilson

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Precious Wilson


Background = solo_singer
Birth_name =
Born = birth date and age|1957|10|18
Origin = Spanish Town, Jamaica
Occupation = Singer
Genre = Dance-pop, dance, soul
Years_active = 1975–1993
Label = Hansa Records, Jive Records
Instrument =
Associated_acts = Eruption, Boney M.

Precious Wilson (born 18 October 1957, Spanish Town, Jamaica) is a soul singer. Though from Jamaica, Wilson now lives in London.

Background

Wilson started out as a backing singer for the all-male group Eruption. The group enjoyed a minor hit when they won a talent competition in 1975 with the song "Let Me Take You Back in Time". Unable to sustain their momentum, the lead singer left the group, and Precious stepped forward to front the band.

While on the road in Germany, Eruption was discovered in 1977 by German producer Frank Farian who hired them to support Boney M. on their tour. Signing them to Boney M.'s label, Hansa Records, Farian released the single "Party Party" but it was their cover version of Ann Peebles', "I Can't Stand the Rain" from their first album which broke big, giving them a UK #5 hit and a US #18 hit. After a second album and another hit single with the Hank Hunter and Jack Keller penned "One Way Ticket" (UK #9), Wilson left the group to pursue a solo career.

olo career

Wilson's debut single was a cover version of Sam & Dave's "Hold On I'm Coming", released in August 1979. The song was also included in Boney M.'s fourth album "Oceans of Fantasy" which also yielded a guest performance by Wilson on the opening track "Let It All Be Music". Wilson's single fared poorly in the charts.

Her debut album "On the Race Track" was completed during 1980 with high expectations from Hansa. It was released in October, heralded by the single "Cry to Me" which Wilson performed on TV, backed by the dancing troop Sky Train. The single reached #3 in Switzerland but did not chart in Germany. The second single "We Are on the Race Track" gave her a #11 hit single in Germany in early 1981, but the album still sold disappointingly.

In October 1981, she released a cover version of "I Need You" which peaked at #6 in Switzerland where her popularity was strong. In Germany, it only mustered #39. Six months later, the electro-pop track "I Don't Know" was released, followed in the summer of 1982 by her second album "All Coloured in Love". The album was released with a different track selection in the UK, Italy and France under the name "Red Light" followed by several different single releases.

Wilson was growing frustrated by the lack of success of her records and when Farian cancelled the German single release of "Red Light" and put out the song "Let's Move Aerobic" in March '83, the relationship between the two became frosty. Her third album "Funky Fingers" (December 1983) was a low-key affair - consisting of two side-long medleys of soul standards, it was released in December in an anonymous cover and sank without a trace. She was released from her contract with Hansa and went back to the United Kingdom. In 1985, she signed with Jive Records and teamed up with multiple producer teams for the album "Precious Wilson" released the following year. Launching several singles, "I'll Be Your Friend" (a U.S. Top 40 R&B hit), the theme song from the movie "The Jewel of the Nile", and "Nice Girls Don't Last" ("Love Can't Wait" in the U.S.), the record label had high hopes for Wilson's breakthrough but once again, the anticipated success did not happen. A dance cover of Jerry Butler's "Only the Strong Survive" in 1987, produced by Stock Aitken Waterman, failed to chart as well. After another flop single with "I May Be Right 4U" in 1990, she suddenly achieved two major hit singles in the early 1990s with a cover of Sheila and B. Devotion's "Spacer" (a hit single in France, 1992) and a cover of Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" (a UK #19 hit single with techno group Messiah, 1992cite book
first= David
last= Roberts
year= 2006
title= British Hit Singles & Albums
edition= 19th
publisher= Guinness World Records Limited
location= London
pages= p. 361
id= ISBN 1-904994-10-5] ). Since then, Wilson has not had an active career but has frequently toured as Eruption feat. Precious Wilson on the cabaret circuit.

Discography

Albums

*"On the Race Track" (October 1980)
*"All Coloured in Love" (July 1982)
*"Funky Fingers" (December 1983)
*"Precious Wilson" (1986)

ingles

*"Hold On I'm Coming" (1979)
*"Cry to Me" (1980)
*"We Are on the Race Track" (1981)
*"I Need You" (1981)
*"I Don't Know" (1982)
*"Raising My Family" (1982)
*"Red Light" (1982)
*"Let's Move Aerobic" (1983)
*"River Deep, Mountain High" (1984)
*"I'll Be Your Friend" (1985)
*"The Jewel of the Nile" (1986)
*"Nice Girls Don't Last" (1986)
*"Love Can't Wait" (1986)
*"Only the Strong Survive" (1987)
*"I May Be Right 4U" (1990)
*"Spacer" (with the Funky French Guy) (1992)
*"I Feel Love" (with Messiah) (1993)

ee also

*List of disco artists

References

External links

* [http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/precious_wilson Biography and discography at Rateyourmusic.com]
* [http://www.discomuseum.com/Eruption.html Eruption and Precious Wilson biography at Discomuseum.com]
* [http://www.discomusic.com/records-more/2598_0_2_0_C/ Further discography]