Marshall Hain
| Company type | Duo |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1978 |
| Founder | Julian Marshall, Kit Hain |
| Defunct | 1979 |
| Headquarters | United Kingdom |
| Products | Music recordings (albums, singles) |
Marshall Hain was a British pop rock pair, recognized primarily for their 1978 single "Dancing in the City", which climbed to No. 3 on both the UK singles chart and Australian charts.
Overview
The partnership featured Julian Marshall on keyboards and vocalist/bassist Kit Hain, who initially connected while attending Dartington Hall School.[1]
Co-authored by both musicians,[2] "Dancing in the City" achieved widespread acclaim throughout Europe and Australia, remaining on Australian charts for 24 weeks and peaking at No. 3. In early 1979, the song reached No. 43 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[3] It also secured the top position on South African charts and was included in the Pop Shop compilation series.
Their next release, "Coming Home", a string-accompanied ballad featuring fretless bass, attained No. 39 on the UK charts. Both singles were issued through Harvest Records. The duo also produced the album Free Ride, which reached No. 56 on Australian charts before their split in 1979.[4]
Following the breakup, Hain embarked on a solo path, releasing two UK albums: Spirits Walking Out (1981), which included the modest hit "Danny", and School For Spies (1983).[5] As a songwriter, she penned tracks for artists such as Roger Daltrey, Kiki Dee, Barbara Dickson, Aimee Mann, Heart, Cyndi Lauper, Peter Cetera, Chaka Khan (notably the top 5 AC hit "Feels Like Heaven"), Cher, and Fleetwood Mac. After relocating to the United States in 1985, she concentrated on composing for prominent performers and licensing music for television programs like MTV's The Hills and series including The Unit and Sex and the City. In 1995, she released a third solo album titled Cry Freedom in Belgium.[6] Beginning in 2012, she started a writing career under the name Kit Grindstaff.[7]
Marshall stayed in Britain and became a member of the Flying Lizards, whose rendition of "Money (That's What I Want)" reached top ten positions in both the UK and Australia and peaked at No. 50 in the US during 1979. Subsequently, he formed the duo Eye to Eye with Deborah Berg. Their single "Am I Normal?", co-written by Marshall and Berg, did not chart in the UK; however, their track "Nice Girls" climbed to No. 37 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in summer 1982, while "Lucky" reached No. 88 in autumn 1983.
In 1983, David (Virginia David) recorded a cover of "Am I Normal?", which despite receiving support from BBC Radio 1's playlist did not enter the charts.[8]
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS | GER | ICE | ||
| Free Ride | 56 | 44 | 4 | |
Singles
| Song Title | Release Year | Highest Chart Rankings | Certifications | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | AUS | AUT | CAN | GER | IRE | NL | NZ | SA | SWE | SWI | US | ||||||||||||||||||
| "Dancing in the City" | 1978 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 40 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 15 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 43 |
| |||||||||||||||
| "Coming Home" | 39 | — | — | — | — | — | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
| "Real Satisfaction" (Australia-exclusive release) | 1979 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
| "Dancing in the City" (Summer City '87) | 1987 | 81 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | "Dancing in the City" (Summer '92 Remix) | 1992 | |||||||||||||||