Cyndi Lauper

In 1977, Lauper joined forces with keyboardist John Turi and began writing music under the name Blue Angel. They started to form a following around the New York traps and were signed up to Polydor records in 1980. The album flopped and shortly after Lauper filled for bankruptcy and Blue Angel disbanded. Cyndi continued to sing solo in restaurants and clubs around New York until 1983, when her manager and boyfriend David Wolff secured her a contract with Portrait.

She then released her debut album, She’s so unusual, which included the single 'Girls just want to have fun', which received heavy MTV play. The debut album became a hit in 1984 all around the world. The follow-up album Time after time, (which produced the singles 'She bop' and 'All through the night')went onto sell five million copies. Her celebrity had quite an impact on many teenage girls fashion with bright colourful mis-matched clothes being very popular.

With the success of She's so unusual in 1985 Cyndi released the single 'The Goonies 'r' good enough', the theme song to the Stephen Spielberg children's adventure film The Goonies. In 1986 she released her second album True colors that housed number one single 'True colours'. The album peaked at number four.

After appearing in her first film Vibes, her third album A Night to Remember was released to weak reviews in 1989. It included the top ten hit 'I drove all night', but suffered from disappointing sales, peaking at number 37.

Cyndi Lauper returned in 1993 with Hat full of stars, an album where she co-produced and co-wrote all of the tracks. The album peaked at 112. In 1994 she released Twelve Deadly Cyns...and then some in the U.K. The album reached number two, and a re-mix of 'Girls just want to have fun' became a number one hit. The US weren’t as receptive to Twelve Deadly Cyns. Four years later Cyndi released Sisters of Avalon, to generally positive reviews, but the record didn't chart. Merry Christmas...Have a Nice Life! followed in late 1998.

In 1999 she co-headlined a tour alongside Cher, and contributed a cover version of The Trammp’s classic 'Disco inferno' to the soundtrack of the film A Night at the Roxbury, the remixed version becoming a club hit.

In 2001 Lauper prepared an album, Shine, but just weeks before the album's release her label, Edel America Records, folded, and the tracks were leaked to the public. The full length album concept was scrapped. In 2002 she toured again with Cher. Also in 2002, Sony issued a new greatest hits CD entitled The essential Cyndi Lauper. She then re-signed with Sony/Epic Records, the label that made her a star, and a new album called Naked city (which she changed to At last) was in the works. In 2003 the album broke into top 40 in Australia and the US.

In March of 2004 the full length Shine album was finally released, though exclusively in Japan. She was nominated for a 2005 Grammy award for "Best Instrumental Composition Accompanying a Vocal" for her interpretation of the song 'Unchained melody' on the At last album.

In November of 2005, Lauper released The body acoustic, an album which featured acoustic reinterpretations of tracks from her back catalog as well as two new songs. In March of 2006 Lauper took on her first starring Broadway role as "Pirate" Jenny Diver in the musical The Threepenny Opera.

Countdown appearances

• 14th September 1986 Cyndi Lauper co-hosted Countdown (pre-recorded) from Tokyo
• 18th March 1984 Cyndi co hosts with Molly (episode 408)
• 5th October 1986 Cyndi interview via satellite from the Gold Coast (episode 529)

Links:
http://www.cyndilauper.com