52nd Street: The Music of Billy Joel

52nd Street was a jazz funk band formed in Manchester UK in late 1980, around the period in which both punk/new wave and jazz funk rocked the club scene. Throughout the 1980s they would enjoy success not only in the UK, but also on the Billboard charts stateside. The original line-up consisted of Tony Henry (guitar), Derrick Johnson (bass), Desmond Isaacs (keyboards), Tony Thompson (drums) and Beverly McCloud (vocals). Within six months vocalist Rose Williams and saxophonist Eric Godden both came and departed before the line-up settled with John Dennison (keyboards) replacing Desmond Isaacs and Beverley McDonald (lead vocals) replacing Beverly McCloud. McDonald was replaced by Diane Charlemagne (later lead vocalist with Moby). Charlemagne, even in 1984, was one of the strongest female soul voices in the UK.