5000 Volts

U.K. disco just wasn't the same after the electro-vamping two-hit wonders 5000 Volts shook up the scene in 1975. 5000 Volts was formed by two fairly well known session vocalists, ex-Wild Honey singer Tina Charles and Martin Jay - the pair had previously worked together in a band called Northern Lights and, reunited as a duo, they recorded their first single, "Bye Love", for producer Tony Eyers, adding the Eyers-penned "I'm On Fire" as the b-side. It was that song, of course, rather than the staid a-side, which would actually make a U.K. splash and ignite the band's fast burning flame. "Bye Love" was initially released under the band name Airbus on Phonogram in West Germany, just a few weeks before the U.K. imprint Philips snatched up the single for itself. Flipping the sides after encouragement from club DJs around the country, Philips also renamed the band the more electric sounding 5000 Volts. "I'm On Fire" was released in September and ultimately spent over two months on the charts -- a run which culminated in a stellar #4 hit for the group. Riding that frothy wave, "I'm on Fire" began to sizzle worldwide, even hitting the U.S. Top Twenty in late October, 1975. With Philips now crying out for a follow-up single, and demand for an album also swelling, Jay and Charles added drummer Kevin Wells, bassist Martin Cohen (both ex-Northern Lights) and keyboardist Mike Nelson to the mix, giving 5000 Volts a truly supercharged, disco-pounding vibrant dimension. Now a complete band, 5000 Volts hoped to work the magic again with their second single, "Look out I'm Coming". Unfortunately, the group's hopes were dashed, at least in the United Kingdom, when the song failed to find any real commercial success. But, while the band seemed to founder on their own shores, they...