Stacey Q

Stacey Q (born Stacey Lynn Swain) is a pop singer, dancer and actress. She is best known for her 1986 hit single "Two of Hearts".

Childhood
Stacey Swain was born on November 30, 1958 in Fullerton, California. She is the youngest of three children. Her mother, Joyce Swain, was a dog breeder whose Cardigan Welsh Corgis have appeared in various Hollywood films and television series. From the beginning, Swain demonstrated a passion for music, dance and theater. She once stated in a 1989 interview that she had asked for dance lessons as early as age three, but her mother "made me wait until I was five". By 1963, Swain was studying classical ballet and aspired to become a ballerina. In her spare time, she would spend hours with friends listening to records.

Throughout the 1960s, Swain auditioned for singing parts in various live operas and community theater performances. Although she impressed friends with her singing ability, she mainly spent time focusing on dance training. In 1969, at the age of ten, Swain became the youngest member of the Dance Theater of Orange County, a local company that performed at benefit shows in Anaheim. Swain spent a total of eleven years studying ballet and flamenco dancing.

Adolescence
In 1970 Swain became an entertainer at Disneyland while completing dance training at the Wilshire Theater of Arts in Los Angeles. For three years, Swain participated in the Fantasy on Parade, an annual event scheduled every Christmas at the theme park. She performed in costume as the "Dutch Puppet", a name she used as a publishing alias during her early recording career. In 1972 she began attending Loara High School. After her graduation in 1976, Swain auditioned for and won a position in the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, where she performed her first year as a showgirl and her second year as an elephant rider. In 1977 she left Disneyland and the circus for a career in the recording industry.

Early adulthood
Swain started concentrating more on singing following her completion of dance training. Her first official singing project began on Los Angeles radio, where she would introduce and announce programs impersonating members of The Go-Go's. She also worked at other locations across Southern California, according to her mother Joyce Swain:One time Stacey was a hostess at Ruby Pagonia's. She also worked as a cashier for the valet parking lot at the Mariott. She dyed her hair magenta, they suggested it was a little too wild for their employees. She was nineteen at the time. It was kind of funny because they wanted to keep her on because they really liked her work so they suggested she dye her hair back. She said, "Not on your life!" and was out of there.

As a teenager through to early adulthood, Swain bought and listened to records by David Bowie. Her favorite albums were Hunky Dory and The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Swain has claimed her style of music was actually influenced by Bowie and other hard rock artists, including Hanoi Rocks, The Rolling Stones and Depeche Mode.

Q
Swain was introduced to the recording industry by her then-boyfriend, a local musician. Her career as a recording artist began in 1981, when she met producer, future manager and longtime collaborator Jon St. James. Like Swain, St. James had been a "sound-alike" announcer for Los Angeles radio and was proprietor of Fullerton's Casbah Recording Studio, which had hosted Berlin and Social Distortion. Synth programmer Keith Walsh recalled St. James sharing the same musical preferences as Swain and being impressed by her "star qualities":Jon was a big fan of synth bands like Kraftwerk and M; when he met Stacey Swain in 1981, he knew right away that this impossibly stylish former Ringling Bros. elephant girl and veteran of the Disney Main Street parade possessed star qualities perfectly compatible with electronic music, a genre Stacey also adored. She was enamored with the obscure Japanese band The Plastics and The B-52's, and simply could not get over David Bowie. As a student of style, Swain could literally turn rags into a fashion statement. On one occasion she went to the renaissance fair in Agoura dressed simply in two large pieces of soft leather she bought from a shop in Anaheim.

In 1981 Swain and St. James formed the synthpop outfit Q. Q was composed of St. James on guitars, Dan Van Patten and John Van Tongeren on vocoder and synthesizer, and Swain as assistant producer (Van Patten and Keith Walsh had previously collaborated on Berlin's single The Metro). When the band was recording basic tracks for The Q EP, St. James realized someone was needed to provide vocals for the final track, "Sushi." Swain, who had previously recorded demos at St. James's studio, was asked to sing the lyrics, and her vocals were featured on the final record. Swain became the band's lead singer based on that performance, even though she was primarily trained as a dancer. According to a statement on her official website:My voice was pleasant enough, but it was barely above a whisper. My mother couldn't even get me to sing for her. I was not confident about singing. Acting yes, dancing sure, because I had so much training, but singing no.

For the rest of her career Swain found most of her success from singing, although she still considers herself a dancer rather than a singer.

SSQ
Although The Q EP was played almost exclusively on college radio, it was successful enough for St. James and Swain to continue on other projects. In 1982 Q reformed with two new members, drummer Karl Moet and synth player Rich West, alongside the official lineup of Van Tongeren, St. James and Swain. After the reformation, St. James was forced to change the name of Q because of copyright problems (famed producer Quincy Jones reportedly had "established use of the 'Q' moniker"). Swain explained in a 2006 radio interview that the band was renamed SSQ after Jon St. James "was fishing in a lake 'no bigger than a bathtub' and made a joke that the boat was the 'S.S. Q,'" referring to the current band Q. St. James had another reason for the name: "SS" stood for "Stacey Swain", who had become the most recognized of the band's members.

SSQ first released their debut album Playback in 1983 under Enigma Records. The album contained three of the band's most popular singles: "Synthicide", "Big Electronic Beat" and "Screaming In My Pillow". The video for "Synthicide" premiered on West Coast television and brought greater notoriety for the five-member band. By 1984 Swain was already eclipsing her bandmates in popularity. Programmer Keith Walsh observed that her "star was rising, though no one knew exactly how high it would go." The band ultimately shifted its focus on Swain specifically, with Moet, West, Skip Hahn and St. James as backup performers. Hahn officially replaced John Van Tongeren just before the release of Playback.

Independent success
In 1985 Swain signed a recording contract with On the Spot Records, an independent label. Her first solo single, "Shy Girl", was released the same year, while her first solo album, Stacey Q, was distributed in cassette format to limited release (the album contained an early version of "Two of Hearts", which actually originated with another artist, Sue Gatlin). As a solo artist, Swain adopted the name "Stacey Q" in reference to the original Q project:In 1981, Q (the original project) was Jon, Dan and myself hence Jon Q, Dan Q and Stacey Q. Q, the original name of the project, references James Bond and the scientist responsible for all his high-tech gadgets.

"Shy Girl" and other singles sold approximately one hundred thousand copies, enough to attract the attention of major record labels. Swain was signed to Atlantic Records in 1986 as a solo artist, with Jon St. James as manager and the other members of SSQ as backup musicians. Better Than Heaven, Swain's debut record on the Atlantic label, was recorded in three weeks, with tracks co-written by Berlin ("Better Than Heaven"), Jon Anderson of Yes ("He Doesn't Understand") and Willie Wilcox of Utopia ("We Connect").

"Two of Hearts" and Better Than Heaven
Swain's most successful period as a recording artist began in 1986. "Two of Hearts", the first single off Better Than Heaven, became a best-selling effort, reaching #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "Two of Hearts" could have hit the #1 spot, but Swain was signed to Atlantic and On the Spot Records at the same time, and both labels released and promoted the single simultaneously, therefore competing with one another. The follow-up single, "We Connect", was released in 1987 and became a Top 40 hit.

"Two of Hearts" received heavy radio airplay during the later half of 1986, and the promotional video for the single premiered at the same time on MTV. By the end of the year Swain had performed live on several talk shows, appeared as a panel member on The Gong Show and The New Hollywood Squares. As Better Than Heaven hit #59 on the charts and eventually hit Gold status, Swain went from being a moderately popular singer to an international star, and even a teen idol. The artist recalled her newfound fame in a 2007 interview with Las Vegas talk radio:I was already almost thirty years old when that record came out, and everybody thought I was a teenager, but I wasn't...and I had already been on a major label, and I didn't hold out a lot of hope for riding that wave forever!

At the height of the success of "Two of Hearts", Swain was approached by "Weird Al" Yankovic for permission to record a parody single, "Two Pop-Tarts". The parody was never released, as Swain explained in a January 2007 interview:Royalties at the record company level were held up because of the 'Two of Hearts' songwriters, so we nicely advised our friend Al, 'Don't bother'.

Following the release of Better Than Heaven, Swain embarked on a national club tour and European club tour, performing live in several countries. One of the millions of fans to see her in concert happened to be a writer for the NBC television network. That fall Swain auditioned for and won an acting role specifically written for her on the television series The Facts of Life.

Off-Broadway Baby
Swain's first guest appearance on The Facts of Life was an episode titled "Off-Broadway Baby", first airing on November 1, 1986. The episode was set in New York City, where Tootie applies for the lead singing part in a Broadway musical, using "Two of Hearts" as her audition song. She is befriended by Cinnamon (played by Swain), an aspiring singer competing for the same role. When Tootie discovers Cinnamon is also auditioning with "Two of Hearts", she tries to talk her out of the competition, in the process causing Cinnamon to miss her audition entirely. By the episode finale, Tootie allows Cinnamon to audition in her place, and Cinnamon goes on to win the part ahead of Tootie. Swain performed "Two of Hearts" in character in the episode.

"Off-Broadway Baby" proved more successful than anticipated. The episode performed well in the ratings during a season when viewership had declined, and also became one of the top-rated episodes of the entire series. The show's writers immediately made plans to bring back the Cinnamon character. Some producers went further, suggesting creating a Cinnamon Barbie Doll and possibly even a Cinnamon spin-off sitcom. Swain's record label, however, was against the idea, believing if the singer concentrated too much on acting, she would produce fewer hit singles and be perceived as a one-hit wonder.

"A Star Is Torn"
Swain's final appearance on The Facts of Life was titled "A Star Is Torn", premiering on January 31, 1987. The episode featured the character of George Burnett, a recurring guest star played by a young and then-unknown George Clooney. The plot involved Cinnamon visiting the regular cast at home in Peekskill after claiming to be fired from her singing role on Broadway. She offers to work at the Over Our Heads shop, where she catches the attention of George and 13-year-old Andy (Mackenzie Astin). When Jo discovers Cinnamon is about to start a national concert tour, Cinnamon confesses she ran away from her rising fame after the success of her debut album, Color Me Cinnamon. Swain performed "We Connect" in her second and final appearance.

By the end of the episode, George and Cinnamon officially start dating, and George announces his decision to become a roadie for Cinnamon's concert tour. The ending was written to explain Clooney's departure from the series and provide the possibility of a spin-off sitcom starring Clooney and Swain. When Swain's managers voiced their opposition, however, NBC canceled all plans for a spin-off series.

Although Clooney claimed he was fired by NBC producers, he has since referred to his time on The Facts of Life as a "fantastic" experience. Swain also fondly remembers her time on the series, and reportedly became friends with Cloris Leachman and other cast members.

Hard Machine
Following the success of Better Than Heaven, Swain released her second album, Hard Machine, in 1988. The singer changed her image for Hard Machine, dying her hair from blond to red (she is a natural brunette) and adopting a new wardrobe influenced by punk artists. Hard Machine also employed other producers besides Jon St. James, resulting in more musical symbolism and tributes for two historic musical personalities, Karen Carpenter and Jimi Hendrix. The album's final track, "Another Chance", was written almost entirely by Swain herself. The track was never released as a single, but Swain has said in interviews she considers it one of the greatest songs she has ever recorded.

Hard Machine was not nearly as successful as Better Than Heaven, although the single "Don't Make A Fool Of Yourself" hit #66 on the Billboard Hot 100, and a remixed version by Shep Pettibone was a top five hit on the Hot Dance chart. "Don't Make A Fool Of Yourself" was featured on an episode of Full House where Swain briefly appeared as herself ("D.J. Tanner's Day Off").

Nights Like This
Nights Like This, Swain's last record under the Atlantic label, was released in 1989. The singer changed her image again for Nights Like This, this time adopting short blond hair and going for more of an underground appearance. Her new tour wardrobe, a black dress with a white arrow down the front, was popularized in the music video for the album's first single, "Give You All My Love". Nights Like This was recorded with backing vocals by The Weather Girls, best known for their hit single "It's Raining Men". The second single from the album, "Heartbeat", featured backing vocals by Timothy B. Schmit of The Eagles. Like Hard Machine, Nights Like This experimented instrumentally, including songs using Kawai keyboards. The members of SSQ had largely stopped working with Swain after the release of Hard Machine.

Both Hard Machine and Nights Like This were considered stronger albums than their predecessors and received more praise from critics, but were virtually unheard compared to Better Than Heaven and earlier singles. After the release of Nights Like This, Swain began another national tour performing at clubs across the United States. She continued her acting career in an episode of Mama's Family, where she played a member of an all-girl band, "The Bonecrushers" ("Bubba's House Band"). She also starred in the action film One Man Force, featuring two songs from Hard Machine, "The River" and "Another Chance".

One-hit wonder status
In 1990 Swain left Atlantic Records, two years following the departure of her SSQ bandmates. The 1990s also brought a decline in the popularity of 1980s synthpop and dance-pop. Swain and other artists initially tried to update their sound, while at the same time not driving away longtime fans.

In 1992 Swain and producer Jon St. James began production on Stacey Q's Greatest Hits, a digitally remastered collection of some of the artists's singles. The following year Swain recorded her first single of the new decade, "Too Hot For Love", released by Thump Records. The single was structured toward an early-1990s dance sound and featured sexually suggestive lyrics, representing another change in direction for the singer. She later followed with a guest appearance on the 1993 compilation album ''Rap Rhymes! Mother Goose On The Loose'', produced in part by Jon St. James.

Stacey Q's Greatest Hits was released in 1995 and received decidedly mixed reviews from fans and critics. Many fans agreed the album was the definitive compilation of Swain's career, since it contained tracks from Q and SSQ that had never been released on compact disc (including "The Model", which was recorded for the soundtrack of the 1986 film Crystal Heart). Most of the tracks, however, were either remixed slightly or re-edited entirely from their original versions, and no songs were included from Hard Machine or Nights Like This. The public had also largely forgotten any of Swain's songs aside from "Two of Hearts" and wondered how her career warranted a "Greatest Hits" album if she was only a one-hit wonder. Because the artist was so associated with "Two of Hearts" and 1980s dance-pop, some critics had written her off as another Madonna wannabe of the 1980s.

Conversion to Buddhism
Although Swain had found her fame as a synthpop and dance-pop musician, she had grown up listening to rock artists and was mainly interested in genres like glam and punk rock. She had tried to branch out musically on her last two Atlantic Records records, but wasn't allowed to stray too far from the electronic dance genre that made her a best-selling artist. By the 1990s Swain had the opportunity to experiment with a much broader range of styles.

After deciding on a different direction for her future releases, Swain traveled to Tibet, where she was introduced to the monastic dance and song of the Far East. For a time she lived in Nepal, where she studied at monasteries with Buddhist lamas and was trained in the ancient art of cham dance (she is "one of the few Westerners trained and authorized to teach" in this area). Swain's experience abroad profoundly affected her as a person, and resulted in changes in her musical style. After the release of Stacey Q's Greatest Hits, she began recording "an inspirational, pop-oriented album" and her first collection of new material in almost a decade.

Boomerang
Swain demonstrated the new spiritually minded side of herself on the 1997 album Boomerang, released by ENo Records. Boomerang was an album completely different from previous Stacey Q records. The album was a reflection of Swain's conversion to Buddhism, evidenced by a cover version of George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord". It also focused more on folk-leaning tracks rather than dance-pop or technopop. Boomerang never gained the popularity of Swain's Atlantic Records releases and didn't prove to be the comeback album some fans had hoped for. However, the follow-up single "Tenderness", a cover from Janis Ian, hit #5 on the Jamaican charts. The album was generally well received by fans and critics, who were impressed by Swain's musical maturity.

Career to present
In the years following the release of Boomerang, Swain became a lead and background vocalist on records by various house music musicians in the United States and Europe. In 1998 her vocals were featured on "Delicious", a single by the Dutch trance duo Rudy & Grey. She returned to acting with an appearance in the gay-themed art film Citizens of Perpetual Indulgence and a "special non-sexual appearance" as a "Chinese Food Delivery Girl" in the gay porn film Playing the Odds. Swain and director Geoffrey Karen Dior began a brief collaboration after the film's release, even performing "Two of Hearts" at the Gay Erotic Video Awards. Swain subsequently appeared with Dior on the 1999 compilation album Porn to Rock and Dior's 2001 album S E X.

Swain began 1999 by providing vocals for "Falling", a single by DJ Auratone. She also recorded an unreleased remix album including new versions of "Two of Hearts" and various songs from Boomerang. In 2000 she returned to theater in "The Life of Padmasambhava", a musical dramatization of one of the most revered characters in Buddhism, produced by the San Francisco-based Namsay Dorje Theater Company. Swain played the lead female character, Yeshe Tsogyal, in a multicultural cast of actors and musicians. As a singer Swain appeared on "American Dream", a 2001 single by DJ Jakatta. The single was a sampling of tracks featured on the soundtrack of the 1999 film American Beauty. It became a top five hit in the United Kingdom and a Hot 100 hit in Australia.

In 2002 Swain appeared on the short-lived VH1 version of Never Mind the Buzzcocks as a guest star on the show's "Identity Parade" round. Two vocal appearances followed up to 2003: "I Need", a single by the German DJ Oscar, and "Hear The Feeling" with DJ Simply Jeff (credited as "Divine Frequency featuring Stacey Q"). The latter is featured on the soundtrack of a documentary on raves. Swain also appeared as one of the singers on Taste The Secret, an album by the hip hop trio Ugly Duckling. Her appearance came at the behest of Jon St. James, who was brought in for mixing certain tracks on the album. In 2004 Swain became a voice actor by providing the voice of "Karin Kikuhara" on the English-language version of Stratos 4, a Japanese anime series. Her vocals for Ugly Duckling were featured on the trio's third album, Combo Meal (Taste the Secret + The Leftovers EP).

Swain continues to perform at live arenas, often venues involving a retro theme or a celebration of 1980s music. Although she was mainly popular during the 1980s, her hit song "Two of Hearts" was featured on the soundtracks of three recent motion pictures: the 2000 Adam Sandler comedy Little Nicky, the 2003 film Party Monster and the 2007 Andy Samberg comedy Hot Rod.

Swain next appeared as one of the female singers on the debut album of the Echo Junkies, a duo formed in 2004 by Jon St. James and Skip Hahn. In April 2007, Swain announced she'll be collaborating with St. James on an upcoming Stacey Q album.

In 2008 Swain provided guest vocals on Liquid, the debut album of the Australian-American rock duo Hydra Productions. The album featured appearances by other dance-pop artists of the 1980s, including Tiffany and Gioia Bruno of Exposé.

On Nov. 13, 2008, Stacey Q appeared on CBS's "The Early Show" to perform "Two of Hearts" as part of the show's 1980s flashback segment.

On March 1, 2009, a new interactive fan community website, Stacey Q Online, was launched. The site, designed as a dedication to Stacey Q and her music, features news, rare photos and videos, music, memorabilia and much more. The site closed Sept. 23, 2010.

Stacey Q's "Two of Hearts" appeared as the "Lipsynch for Your Life" elimination challenge on the February 22, 2010 episode of "RuPaul's Drag Race."

Color Me Cinnamon
On February 14, 2010, Stacey Q released her most-recent album Color Me Cinnamon by Hydra Productions. The first single, "Trip," was released August 4, 2009, and the second single, "Pandora's Box" was released January 19, 2010, both on CD maxi-singles and via iTunes.

Her first album in 13 years, “Color Me Cinnamon” features the classic Stacey Q sound with a modern edge, but doesn’t copy what many other artists are doing today, said longtime Stacey Q producer Jon St. James.

“Our goal was to make an album that had our signature Stacey Q sound and to hell with what is trendy at the mo-ment,” St. James said. “After ‘Better Than Heaven,’ we were always tortured by record company opinions about what we should do. That’s not conducive to creativity. We worked long, passionate hours to achieve these results. I’m very proud of this musical journey called ‘Color Me Cinnamon.’ ”

The 14-track disc, which marks a return to dance music for Stacey Q, features the lead single “Trip,” written by Hydra Productions’ Shawn Winstian and Shane Condo and Jon St. James. “Lyrically, I wrote ‘Trip’ about allowing yourself to tune in to what it is you really want, not to be afraid of what’s holding you back,” Winstian said.

On “Color Me Cinnamon,” Stacey Q takes listeners on a musical journey, assuming several personas throughout the album. She transforms from a woman of the night on “Candy Apple” to a wealthy French socialite who has every-thing money can buy but nothing she really want on “Sad Cafe.” Other standout tracks include the pulsating “Euphoria,” about achieving extreme content and fulfillment; the radio-friendly “Below the Surface,” about an extreme burning desire; “Masquerade,” about living behind a mask; and the retro-80s sounding “The Lion’s Den,” about the New York City party scene.

The idea for “Color Me Cinnamon” was formed when Winstian asked St. James to remix a few singles from Hydra Productions’ debut CD, “Liquid.”

“As we went into our third remix, it became obvious to Shawn, Stacey and I that we were creating a little bit of magic,” St. James said. “When I suggested to Shawn and Miss Q that we do a full-length album, they both loved the idea.”

The album title, “Color Me Cinnamon,” taps into a unique part of Stacey Q history. The title references the album title that was used on the popular 1987 episode of “The Facts of Life,” in which Stacey played the character Cinnamon, a bud-ding rock star. The acting role was specifically written for Stacey.

“Cinnamon was a very popular character for Stacey and a lot of fans thought it was her name,” Winstian said. “After recording the song ‘Cinnamon Girl’ for this album, we decided to call it “Color Me Cinnamon” as an homage to the album her character had released on the show. For me, this is that lost album.”

Singles

 * 1 "Synthicide" / "Big Electronic Beat" charted together on the U.S. dance chart.
 * 2 "Shy Girl" recorded in 1985, charted in 1987.

Q

 * 1982 "Sushi"

SSQ

 * 1983 "Synthicide"
 * 1984 "Screaming in My Pillow" (directed by Bradley Friedman)


 * Three different videos were released for "Screaming in My Pillow". The first version was a PG-13-rated version that received airplay on MTV. A more controversial, "uncensored" version was aired on Playboy TV depicting full-frontal nudity and lesbianism by Stacey Swain and an unknown model. A third video, called the NC-17 version, was considered too graphic for mainstream airplay. It was included on Red Hot Rock, a VHS compilation of uncensored music videos.

Stacey Q

 * Stacey Q shooting scenes for the "Insecurity" video (photos by Skip Hahn)
 * The teen couple in the "Give You All My Love" video (on the street at the end of the video, dancing with Stacey) was played by Justin Nylander and Christiana Eastman, who went on to become T.H.E.M. Thee Human Egomaniacs

Trivia

 * According to a July 1995 interview with Dance Music Authority, Stacey Q's appearance on The Facts of Life was broadcast in Australia before the release of "Two of Hearts", causing some Australians to believe "Two of Hearts" was borrowed from the actual television series.

Filmography

 * Stratos 4 (2003) ...as Karin Kikuhara (voice, English version)
 * Never Mind the Buzzcocks (2002) ...as herself
 * Citizens of Perpetual Indulgence (2000) ...as Stacey
 * Playing the Odds (1998) ...as Chinese Food Delivery Woman
 * One Man Force (1989) ...as Leah Jennings
 * Mama's Family (1989) ...as Ciji
 * Full House (1988) ...as herself
 * The Facts of Life (1986; 1987) ...as Cinnamon
 * The New Hollywood Squares (1986; 1988–1989) ...as herself
 * Cavegirl (1985) ...as Brenda
 * Red Hot Rock (aka "Sexy Shorts") ...as herself