2 languages
Bobby Orlando
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Bobby Orlando, also known as Bobby O, is an American producer, songwriter, musician and owner of an independent label, born on 10 January 1958. He is the son of a teacher from a suburb of New York and turned down a scholarship for classical music because he would rather make glam rock. In the late 1970s he turned to disco and shortly afterwards started his own label, O Records. He is regarded as one of the founders of Hi-NRG, a fast dance music with synthesizers.
Music and breakthrough
His productions are recognisable by dense synthesizers, rolling bass lines and loud percussion, with a powerful beat and vocals in new wave style. He played many instruments himself, from keyboards and guitar to trumpet and saxophone. The sound of little bells and robotic sequencers can be heard in She Has a Way, The Best Part of Breakin' Up and Native Love (Step by Step). As a solo artist he had hits such as She Has a Way and How to Pick Up Girls. With the project The Flirts, with constantly changing female singers, came Passion, Danger and Helpless. With the film star Divine he made club anthems such as Native Love (Step by Step) and Love Reaction. He also produced The Fast, later Man 2 Man.
Influence
In 1983 Neil Tennant sought him out in New York. Tennant and Chris Lowe admired his sound, and they later called Passion by The Flirts the most important song of their lives. Orlando produced the first two singles of the Pet Shop Boys, including the original version of West End Girls from 1984, and recorded twelve songs with them, including the first versions of It's a Sin and I Get Excited. In this way his influence reaches far beyond his own hits.
Listening
Discography
Studio albums
- 1983Freedom in an Unfree World
- 2005Outside the Inside
- 2010Bright Nothing World
- 2012Self‐Evident Truth
- 2014Twilight of the Masses
Mentioned in other articles
- Synth disco and Hi-NRG Genre
Hi-NRG itself took shape in the early 1980s in gay clubs in San Francisco, New York and London: fast, electronic dance music, with producers such as Patrick Cowley and Bobby Orlando.