Variety Playhouse

Camera Obscura
Not to be confused with the Scottish twee pop outfit with the same name, this Camera Obscura hailed from San Diego and augmented their hardcore influences and propulsive rhythms with synthesizers and other electronics....

Swing Out Sister
Although Swing Out Sister's music is unashamedly commercial pop, their impeccable indie credentials (keyboardist Andy Connell and drummer Martin Jackson were formerly of A Certain Ratio and Magazine, and singer Corrine Drewery had no professional experience at all before joining), jazz-tinged arrangements, and knack for clever hooks move them closer to the indie dance territory of St....

Midnight
Not to be confused with several bands using the same name, Midnight -- the man -- began his career as the singer for Florida's famously silver-masked progressive metal band Crimson Glory, who spent much of the late '80s and early '90s playing second fiddle to the world conquering Queensrÿche, then quietly split when grunge sent metal packing....

Living Colour
During the 1980s, rock had become completely segregated and predictable, the opposite of the late '60s/early '70s, when such musically and ethnically varied artists as Jimi Hendrix, Sly & the Family Stone, and Santana ruled the Earth....

The Psychedelic Furs
The Psychedelic Furs, whose name was inspired by the 1966 Velvet Underground song "Venus in Furs," were formed in England in 1977 by brothers Richard Butler (vocals) and Tim Butler (bass), along with saxophone player Duncan Kilburn and guitarist Roger Morris....