Spider (American band)
| Company type | Band |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1977 |
| Defunct | 1984 |
| Headquarters | New York , United States |
| Products | Studio albums, singles |
Spider was a rock band originating from New York, active between 1977 and 1984. During the early 1980s, they produced two studio albums under Dreamland Records, a division of RSO Records, and attained moderate chart success in the United States. Their 1981 release Between the Lines featured two songs, "Change" and "Better Be Good to Me," which subsequently became popular hits for John Waite and Tina Turner, respectively. In 1982, the group adopted the name Shanghai and issued their third and final album.
Prior to the third album's production, Holly Knight left the band and was succeeded on keyboards by Beau Hill. Knight went on to achieve acclaim as a songwriter, earning induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013, and later founded the band Device. Hill had already established himself as a record producer. Drummer Anton Fig and bassist Jim Lowell had previously toured with Link Wray and appeared on his 1979 live recording Live at the Paradiso. Fig subsequently gained recognition as a leading session drummer and joined Paul Shaffer’s CBS Orchestra on Late Night with David Letterman.
Band members
- Amanda Blue Leigh – lead vocals
- Keith Lentin – guitar
- Jim Lowell – bass guitar
- Holly Knight – keyboards
- Beau Hill – keyboards (1982–1984)
- Anton Fig – drums
Studio albums
- Spider (Dreamland Records, 1980) U.S. chart peak: No. 130
- Between the Lines (Dreamland Records, 1981) U.S. chart peak: No. 185
- Shanghai (Chrysalis Records, 1982)
Singles
- "New Romance (It's a Mystery)" (1980) U.S. peak: No. 39, Australia peak: No. 56
- "Everything Is Alright" (1980) U.S. peak: No. 86
- "Little Darlin'" (1980)
- "It Didn't Take Long" (1981) U.S. peak: No. 43
- "Better Be Good to Me" (1981)
Other sources
- Joel Whitburn, The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. 7th edition, 2000
- [ Spider] at Allmusic