Robbed hit of the week 11/3/14 - Wax UK's "Right Between The Eyes"...

Wax UK - "Right Between The Eyes"
from the album Magnetic Heaven (1986)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #43

This week's "robbed hit" comes from the pairing of a soft-rock singer/songwriter with a former member of a British art-rock band for a slice of bouncy power-pop that sounded like none of their earlier work. Andrew Gold had been enjoying a successful solo career, with hits on both sides of the Atlantic with a top-10 hit in both the U.S. ("Lonely Boy", #7 in 1977) and England ("Never Let Her Slip Away", #5 in 1978). He lent his talents to the guys in 10cc for their 1981 album Ten Out of 10, but refused to join the group as an official member. However, in a couple of years, 10cc was disbanded, and Graham Gouldman started working with Gold for a new project called Wax. They released their first full-length album in 1986, and the first single from the record, "Right Between The Eyes" was a bright and flashy single that fit right in with the sound on radio in the mid-80s, even though it certainly must have jarred the fans of either musician...


Wax - Right Between The Eyes by jpierrev

"Right Between The Eyes" stopped right short of the American pop Top-40 in May of 1986, while stalling down at #60 on the British chart (it was a top-40 single in Holland, mind.).  The pair would release a second album a year later, and from it "Bridge To Your Heart" became their biggest success in the UK, reaching #12 in 1987, but the fun single didn't even make a dent in the States. In 1989, they released their third and final album as Wax, and nicked the English chart with "Anchors Aweigh" (#95).

The 90's would find Gouldman back with a reformed 10cc, although Gold would show up on a couple of the band's albums again as a guest, as well as each appearing on each other's solo forays. Sadly, Gold passed away in 2011 from heart failure.