1979 - 1986
Where were you in the 80s?
THe Vivabeat Story
Vivabeat was an LA-based techno-pop band that was active from 1978 into the mid-1980s. It was most well-known for being discovered and signed to its first record deal by Peter Gabriel, as the first American band on the British label, Charisma Records.
The band released one album on Charisma, "Party in the War Zone", which was produced by Jeffrey Lesser and included the band's most successful song, "Man From China". The song became a Top 20 dance hit in Europe, the US and in Hong Kong.
A second release was an eponymously titled EP featuring the production of Earle Mankey and the guitar playing of Rob Dean. It featured the song "The House is Burning (but there's no one home)" which, along with its video, appeared in Brian DePalma's film "Body Double" and won an 80s music MTV Award for best video from a new band.
The band spent several years touring and playing shows with iconic groups like the B-52s, Depeche Mode, Gang of Four, Human League, The Thompson Twins and Wall of Voodoo, before slowly winding down in 1984.
In 2001, Permanent Press Records released a best of Vivabeat album titled "The Good Life 1979 - 1986" which also featured tracks from See Jane Run, a Vivabeat spin-off band.
Band Members
Original members included:
Terrance Robay - Vocals
Marina del Rey (Marina Muhlfriedel) - Keyboards and Vocals
Connie de Silva - Keyboards and Vocals
Mick Muhlfriedel - Bass Guitar
Alec Murphy - Guitar
Doug Orilio - Drums
Additional members. through the years. included: guitarists Rob Dean, Steve Lynch and Jeff Gilbert, vocalists Cindy Hope and Peggy Max, and drummer Chris Schendel
Three of Vivabeat's original members died of AIDS, Alec Murphy in 1986, Connie de Silva in 1991 and Terrance Robay in 1994. Original Vivabeat drummer, Doug "Bug" Orilio, passed away on January 13, 2021, from complications related to a motorcycle accident decades earlier.