# 1970         Waterfront -             CRY

                                                                                        

Waterfront, PolyGram Records, 1989                                                 BILLBOARD CHART ACHIEVEMENTS:                          Adult Contemporary:   #  2                             Hot 100 Singles:        # 9                                                                                    # 17  in the UK, May '89                                 top 10 hit at MATT RADIO

After Rick Astley's slick blue-eyed soul began to dominate Top 40 radio in England and America in the late '80's, a number of sharply dressed and handsome British bands, such as Johnny Hates Jazz, Curiosity Killed the Cat, and Breathe, started appearing on MTV.

Consisting of Chris Duffy (vocals), Phil Cilia (guitar), Chris Childs (bass), and Greg Haver (drums), Waterfront released their self-titled debut in 1989.  Panned by critics, most of the album was vapid adult contemporary filler, lushly produced but utterly forgettable.  It did include the group's only American smash, "Cry," a song about falling in love with a minor.

Waterfront's lightweight, R&B-influenced pop was too blatantly derivative for them to sustain a career: follow-up single "Nature of Love" was a virtual rewrite of the Johnny Hates Jazz 1988 number two hit "Shattered Dreams," even mimicking Clark Datchler's heartbroken falsetto.  "Nature" failed to crack the Top 40, and Waterfront disappeared from the charts completely shortly thereafter.  Perhaps wisely, Waterfront never released a second album.

 In May 2000, Duffy and Cilia reunited as Waterfront at the Kashmir Klub/BMI Showcase in London, England, a concert that was broadcast on the internet.

source:  Michael Sutton and William Cooper, allmusic.com