Wax (British band)
| Company type | Duo |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1980s |
| Founder | Andrew Gold, Graham Gouldman |
| Headquarters | Manchester , United Kingdom |
| Products | Music albums, singles |
Wax was a Manchester-based new wave duo consisting of American singer-songwriter Andrew Gold and 10cc's guitarist and bassist Graham Gouldman. They gained recognition primarily for their European hits such as "Bridge to Your Heart" and "Right Between the Eyes". In the United States, they were known as Wax UK or simply Andrew Gold & Graham Gouldman.
Formation
During 10cc's production of the album Ten Out of 10 in 1981, Andrew Gold contributed by playing keyboards, percussion, and providing backing vocals. He also co-authored three tracks on the US edition: "Power of Love," "Runaway," and "We’ve Heard It All Before". Despite being invited to join 10cc, Gold declined due to other obligations.
Early collaborations
Following 10cc's disbandment in 1983, Gouldman reached out to Gold for a collaborative project at his residence in Mottram St Andrew, England. Together, they composed enough songs for an album initially released under the name World in Action with the single "Don't Break My Heart". Subsequent pressings rebranded the project as Common Knowledge. They released a second single titled "Victoria", but neither achieved commercial success and the album was ultimately shelved.
Under the management of Harvey Lisberg, who had long managed Gouldman, they adopted the name Wax and secured a deal with RCA Records. Between 1986 and 1989, they produced three studio albums. Their standout singles included "Right Between the Eyes" and "Bridge to Your Heart", with the latter promoted through television appearances across Europe such as on the UK's Top of the Pops and Germany's Peter's Pop Show.
The third studio album, A Hundred Thousand in Fresh Notes, did not achieve comparable success, prompting both Gold and Gouldman to explore other musical directions.
Hiatus
In early 1990, Gouldman reunited with Eric Stewart to revive 10cc and recorded their comeback album ...Meanwhile, which featured Andrew Gold playing guitar on the track "Charity Begins at Home". Meanwhile, Gold reassembled Bryndle with original members to produce their debut release.
Gouldman and Stewart continued operating as 10cc, issuing Mirror Mirror, where Gold contributed backing vocals on "Grow Old with Me" and lead vocals on "Ready to Go Home", a track co-written by Gold and Gouldman. Although not officially part of 10cc, Gold's lead vocals were utilized for the single version.
Subsequent activities
After 10cc's second dissolution, Andrew Gold and Graham Gouldman resumed working together both as Wax and on individual projects. In 1997, Wax issued The Wax Files, a compilation featuring six new tracks alongside unreleased material from the 1980s.
Their previously unreleased Common Knowledge album was finally launched in 1998 as Common Knowledge.com under the Wax moniker, including bonus tracks. This was followed by a rarities collection entitled Bikini in 2000. In 2019, a live recording from a 1987 concert was made available.
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK |
AUS |
GER |
NLD |
SWE |
US | ||
| Magnetic Heaven |
|
— | — | 65 | — | 47 | 101 |
| American English |
|
59 | 86 | — | 41 | 8 | — |
| A Hundred Thousand in Fresh Notes |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — |
| Common Knowledge.com |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — |
| "—" signifies titles that did not chart or were not distributed in that region. | |||||||
Live albums
| Title | Album information |
|---|---|
| Live in Concert 1987 |
|
Compilation albums
| Title | Album information |
|---|---|
| Works: Best of Andrew Gold & Graham Gouldman |
|
| The Wax Files |
|
| Bikini |
|
Box Sets
| Title | Album information |
|---|---|
| Box of Wax |
|
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart rankings | Album | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | AUS | BEL | GER | IRE | NLD | SPA | SWE | US | |||
| 1984 | "Don't Break My Heart" (credited as World in Action / Common Knowledge) |
137 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | common knowledge.com |
| 1985 | "Victoria" (credited as Common Knowledge) |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| "Ball and Chain" | – | 89 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 'Magnetic Heaven' | |
| 1986 | "Right Between the Eyes" | "60" | "68" | "18" | "–" | "28" | "24" | "1" | "–" | "43" | |
| "Shadows of Love" | "151" | "–" | "–" | "–" | "–" | "–" | "–" | "–" | "–" | ||
| "Systematic" | "155" | "–" | "–" | "–" | "–" | "–" | "–" | "–" | "–" | ||
| 1987 | "Bridge to Your Heart" | "12" | "17" | "3" | "19" | "11" | "6" | "8" | "9" | "–" | 'American English' |
| "American English" | "–" | "–" | "29" | "–" | "–" | "96" | "–" | "–" | "–" | ||
| '88 | 'In Some Other World' | '–' | '–' | '37' | '–' | '–' | '–' | '–' | '–' | '–' | |
| '89 | 'Wherever You Are' | '–' | '–' | '–' | '–' | '–' | '–' | '–' | '–' | '–' | 'A Hundred Thousand in Fresh Notes' |
| 'Anchors Aweigh' | '95' | '–' | '–' | '–' | '–' | '–' | '–' | '–' | '–' | ||
| '2022 | 'Ready to Go Home' | '–' | '–' | '–' | '–' | '–' | '–' | '–' | '–' | '–' | |
Music videos
| Year | Song | Director(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | "Don't Break My Heart" | Common Knowledge.com | |
| 1985 | "Ball and Chain" | Magnetic Heaven | |
| 1986 | "Shadows of Love" | John Scarlett-Davis | |
| "Shadows of Love (North American version)" | Storm Thorgerson | ||
| "Right Between the Eyes" | |||
| 1987 | "Bridge to Your Heart" | Storm Thorgerson | American English |
| "American English" | Storm Thorgerson | ||
| "In Some Other World" | Storm Thorgerson | ||
| 1989 | "Wherever You Are" | A Hundred Thousand in Fresh Notes | |
| "Anchors Aweigh" |
Additional Gold-Gouldman Projects
| Year | Album | Performer | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Ten Out of 10 | 10cc | Andrew Gold contributed as co-writer, co-producer, and musician on the tracks "The Power of Love", "We've Heard It All Before", and "Run Away" |
| 1992 | ...Meanwhile | 10cc | Andrew Gold provides 12-string guitar on the song "Charity Begins at Home" |
| 1995 | Mirror Mirror | 10cc | Andrew Gold delivers lead vocals on "Ready To Go Home" and backing vocals on "Grow Old With Me" |
| 1996 | ...Since 1951 | Andrew Gold | The majority of songs co-written and performed alongside Graham Gouldman; features tracks later included on The Wax Files and Common Knowledge.com |
| 1997 | Thank You for Being a Friend: The Best of Andrew Gold | Andrew Gold | Contains "Can Anybody See You" and "The King of Showbiz" originally from ...Since 1951 |
| Greetings From Planet Love | The Fraternal Order of the All | "Love Tonight" was co-written by Andrew Gold, Graham Gouldman, and Mike Botts; also includes "The King of Showbiz," which later appeared on Common Knowledge.com | |
| 1998 | Leftovers | Andrew Gold | "Tail Lights" (1989) was co-written by Andrew Gold and Graham Gouldman |
| 2000 | And Another Thing... | Graham Gouldman | Andrew Gold contributed performance and co-production to six tracks alongside Gouldman |
| 2011 | The Essential Collection | Andrew Gold | A compilation album featuring selected Wax songs among other works |