Loose Ends (band)
| Company type | Musical group |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1980 in London, England |
| Founder | Steve Nichol |
| Headquarters | London , England |
Area served | United Kingdom, United States |
Key people | Carl McIntosh, Jane Eugene, Steve Nichol, Linda Carriere, Sunay Suleyman |
| Products | Music albums and singles |
| Parent | Virgin Records (early), MCA Records (U.S. distribution) |
Loose Ends—also referred to as Loose End—was a British R&B ensemble that found success with numerous hit records during the 1980s and into the early 1990s. Established in London in 1980, the group originally included vocalist and guitarist Carl McIntosh, vocalist Jane Eugene, and keyboardist and vocalist Steve Nichol.
Although the band enjoyed popularity throughout the 1980s, Nichol and Eugene departed in 1990 due to creative disagreements.
Career
In 1981, Loose Ends signed a contract with Virgin Records under the name 'Loose End.' Early recordings featured songwriting contributions from Chris and Eddie Amoo of The Real Thing. The trio adopted the name Loose Ends in 1983 and continued releasing music through Virgin, with their U.S. distribution handled by MCA Records.
Steve Nichol formed the band after completing studies at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama and joined The Jam on tour in 1982. The group's major breakthrough arrived in 1985 with "Hangin' on a String (Contemplating)", which climbed to No. 13 on the UK charts and secured the No. 1 spot on the US Billboard R&B chart—making them the first African-British band to achieve this feat. That same year, "Magic Touch" reached No. 16. Their recordings were produced stateside, including the 1986 single "Slow Down," which later served as the theme for Canadian MuchMusic's Soul in the City. Carl McIntosh contributed arrangements and instrumentation for Five Star, notably on their UK No. 2 hit "Let Me Be The One" (1986). While subsequent sales waned, Loose Ends attained one final transatlantic hit in 1988 with "Watching You (Watching Me)."
Following artistic differences in 1990, Eugene and Nichol exited the group and were succeeded by Linda Carriere and Sunay Suleyman. The album Look How Long marked their last studio project as Loose Ends, featuring their final hit single "Don't Be a Fool" (1990). McIntosh continued his production work with this revamped lineup and later collaborated with artists such as Caron Wheeler, Ruth Joy, and Kwesi.
The original trio briefly reunited in 1998 to feature on "Take Your Time," a track from Pete Rock's debut solo album, Soul Survivor, also appearing in the accompanying music video.
2015–present
In 2015, McIntosh gave an interview to Female First highlighting his top ten career achievements and took part in a charity event in Glasgow supporting causes in Gambia. The following year, Toronto’s Now newspaper published an article featuring McIntosh discussing his influence on introducing UK soul music to that city during the 1980s and 1990s. In 2017, he delivered a talk at Melbourne’s Red Bull Music Academy focusing on producing Loose Ends’ tracks. In 2020, Smooth Radio host Angie Greaves interviewed him regarding his continuation of Loose Ends after former members left, stressing that the band had not officially disbanded.
Shortly thereafter, Roland Corporation invited McIntosh to explain his drum programming techniques using the Roland TR-808 on their hit "Hangin' on a String (Contemplating)," providing insight into its production.
McIntosh remains active writing and performing under the Loose Ends name alongside Linda Carriere and Sunay Suleyman from the 1990 lineup. In 2021, Loose Ends partnered with British hip hop label Digital Jukebox Records to release new singles and albums.
Studio albums
| Year | Album information | Highest chart rankings | Certifications | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | NLD | NZ | US | US R&B | |||
| 1984 | A Little Spice | 46 | — | — | 46 | 5 | |
| 1985 | So Where Are You?
|
13 | — | 33 | — | — |
|
| 1986 | Zagora
|
15 | — | — | 59 | 7 |
|
| 1988 | The Real Chuckeeboo
|
52 | 66 | — | 80 | 16 | |
| 1990 | Look How Long
|
19 | — | — | 124 | 28 |
|
| "—" indicates releases that either failed to chart or were not issued in that region. | |||||||
Compilation albums
| Year | Album information | Peak position(s) |
|---|---|---|
| UK | ||
| 1992 | Tighten Up Vol. 1
|
40 |
| 2003 | The Best of Loose Ends
|
— |
| "—" denotes albums that did not enter the charts. | ||
Singles
1985 |"Golden Years" 59 — — — — — — 1986 |"Stay a Little While, Child" 52 — — — — 18 49 '-align=left rowspan=4| Zagora 1986 "Slow Down" 27 — — — — 1 42 1986 1987 1987| Year | Single title | Highest chart placements | Associated album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK |
IRE |
NLD |
NZ |
US |
US R&B |
US Dance | |||
| 1982 | "In the Sky" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | N/A |
| 1982 | "We've Arrived" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1983 | "Don't Hold Back Your Love" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1984 | "Tell Me What You Want" | 74 | — | — | — | — | — | 29 |
A Little Spice |
| 1984 | "Emergency (Dial 999)" | 41 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984 | "Choose Me (Rescue Me)" | 59 | — | — | — | — | 47 | 25 | |
| 1985 | "Hangin' on a String (Contemplating)" | 13 | 26 | 33 | 12 | 43 | 1 | 12 |
A Little Spice / So Where Are You? |
| 1985
|"Magic Touch" 16 23 — — — — — | align=left rowspan=2| So Where Are You? | |||||||||
| "Nights of Pleasure"
42 &— &— &— &— 58 &— | |||||||||
| "Ooh, You Make Me Feel"
77 &— &— &— &— &— &— | |||||||||
| "You Can't Stop the Rain"
&— &— &— &— &— 32 &— External links |
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- Musical groups formed in 1980
- Musical groups that disbanded in 1990
- British contemporary R&B ensembles
- Contemporary R&B groups originating from London
- Artists signed to Virgin Records
- Artists signed to MCA Records
- Black British music groups
- British soul ensembles
- British post-disco bands
- Musical groups disestablished in 1990