Landscape

After leaving the soft rock band Easy Street, Richard Burgess formed a slick synth pop/jazz group called Landscape in 1975. In addition to Burgess, who sang and played drums, Landscape included Andy Pask (bass), Chris Heaton (keyboards), John Walters (keyboards, woodwinds), and Pete Thomas (trombone, keyboards). After building a following through touring, the band released its self-titled debut in 1980, which sold rather poorly. 1981's From the Tea-Rooms of Mars...to the Hell-Holes of Uranus firmly accented synthesizers as the focus of Landscape's sound, and they scored a Top Five U.K. hit with "Einstein A-Go-Go." 1982's Manhattan Boogie-Woogie was the group's most danceable effort, but by the following year, the lineup had been pared down to a trio, and the band broke up for good in 1984. Burgess had already begun a production career, working with artists like Spandau Ballet, Living in a Box, Visage, and King.