Johnny Colla, Ron Stallings, Sean Hopper, Bill Gibson, Rob Sudduth, Huey Lewis, John Pierce, Stef Burns, Marvin McFadden

Huey Lewis and the News evolved out of the Monday Nite Live sessions and thus their date of birth would be the year 1978. As a matter of fact the band released their 10th Anniversary Tour Book in 1988. So the year 2005 would actually be year number 27 in the band's history. On the other hand, they didn't call themselves Huey Lewis and the News in 1978, thus it looks like the year 1979 marks year number one in the history of this outstanding Bay Area band. But even in 1979 they were not Huey Lewis and the News. In 1979 their name was Huey Lewis and (the) American Express. Under this name they released a single and secured their recording contract with Chrysalis at the end of the year. As a matter of fact Chrysalis didn't like the addition 'American Express' to the band's name. They feared that the company of the same name could sue them. If we believe one of the band's later tour books, it was in January 1980 that the band finally decided to call themselves Huey Lewis and the News. In addition, it is the year their debut album had been released. Thus the year 2005 marks the band's 25th Anniversary. It all started with Huey Lewis, Sean Hopper, Mario Cipollina, Johnny Colla, Bill Gibson and Chris Hayes.

Huey and Sean already knew each other from their work with Clover. Mario, Johnny and Bill had been playing in Sound Hole which was some kind of rival band to Clover - although Bill who left Sound Hole earlier, was playing with Jack Casady and Brian Marnell in SVT. Chris Hayes had joined them during the Monday Nite Live sessions. He was more of a jazz guitar player - known for his work with Esther Phillips, David Liebman, Pee Wee Ellis and Merl Saunders to name a few. Nevertheless the band saw him as a good addition. With this line-up they released their self-titled debut album in 1980. The album was recorded within three weeks and the producer was Bill Schnee (Boz Scaggs, Pablo Cruise). Although the album got some very good reviews, even in Europe, it only helped to enlarge the band's local Bay Area following. Had they just tried to capture some kind of live sound with their first album - doing only two or three takes of every song - they changed production of their second album Picture This totally. This time they produced the album themselves and took the time to do it. They also accepted outside tunes because they knew they had to have a hit record to make it. One of these tunes was 'Do You Believe In Love' written by Robert John Lange, ex Clover producer. Although 'Do You Believe In Love' was what Huey later would call 'a deal with the devil' (because it was pure pop), it turned out to be their first hit single reaching the top ten of the Billboard single charts. Even the follow up single 'Hope You Love Me Like You Say You Do' managed to reach the top forty. 1983 saw the release of their breakthrough album Sports - featuring such hits as 'The Heart Of Rock'n'Roll', 'I Want A New Drug' and 'If This Is It'. The album's release was delayed for some time, though. Chrysalis was going through some kind of re-organisation and Bob Brown (the band's manager) and the band held back the master tapes because they felt that Chrysalis wasn't able to do its job. Eventually the tapes were handed over to Chrysalis and Sports hit the charts as soon as it was released. The album made its way all up to the top of the charts. Huey and his News heard this good news while touring small clubs in order to make their living (Workin' For A Livin' Tour). From one day to the other Huey Lewis and the News were one of the biggest bands in the U.S.A. All singles released went straight to the top of the charts - supported by their talented music videos being played on MTV over and over again. A musician's dream had come true. They toured the world and were also involved in Bob Geldorf's 1985 U.S.A. for Africa project. They were the only band allowed to take part at the recording session for "We Are The World". After that they wrote 'Power Of Love' for the movie "Back To The Future" which gave them another hit. In 1986 they released Fore!. Like Sports the album became a hit album and maintained Huey Lewis and the News' success. They continued to tour and produce outstanding videos. The video for their number one hit single 'Stuck With You' was produced in the Bahamas - a project even filmed by filmmaker Les Blank; their video for 'Hip To Be Square' was directed by Godley and Creme... Small World became the band's next album in 1988 and although sales numbers were good it also marked the end of Huey Lewis and the News' success. Not because the music became worst. Small World probably displays the best music the band ever produced from a musical point of view. As a matter of fact the band got great press reviews for this album. What happened was that Huey Lewis and the News decided to make an album with music they liked (zydeco, reggae, jazz), and the simple thruth is that this wasn't what 1988 main stream required. Did the band care? Maybe, but on the other hand they had had their share of success and were all aware of the fact that the mass would drop them someday. Still making enough money, though. Another thing dropped was Chrysalis - the band decided that their record company didn't do a good job anymore and left. Their new label being EMI. What also came to an end was Huey Lewis and the News' cooperation with the Tower of Power horn section who had worked with the band since Picture This days. For EMI the band produced Hard At Play in 1991 which compared to Small World was more of a rock album. Nevertheless it couldn't bring back fame and fortune (if this was what the band had in mind anyhow). It was time to take a break. 1994 saw the return of Huey Lewis and the News, but not with an album of songs written by them. Four Chords and Several Years Ago was an album filled with R'n'B cover songs - paying tribute to American music history. The band had even expanded, featuring background singers Conesha Owens and Sandy Griffith, and a new horn section. The horns were called News Brothers, featuring Marvin McFadden, Rob Sudduth and Ron Stallings. The album was recorded for yet another label - Elektra. With this album the band started a world tour and despite good reviews the album failed to succeed in the charts. Back at home Mario Cipollina decided to quit the band and head in a different direction. He was replaced by John Pierce, who also helped record four new songs which were released on the bands 1996 Best Of album Time Flies.... For this albums no more singles were released - only those promotional ones for the radio stations. Nevertheless the band managed to have a hit on the AC charts with 'It's Allright' which was on Time Flies ... and a Curtis Mayfield tribute CD. Although the band kept touring constantly and play their music as good as ever they lost their recording contract. They had new material but it took them a few years to find a new label to release it. Silvertone released Plan B in 2001. The album was recorded with the help of original guitar player Chris Hayes who then left the group. He was replaced by Stef Burns. Only two promotional singles were released to radio stations - one being a duet with Wynonna Judd. Although none of the singles turned out to be hit singles, Plan B is one of Huey Lewis and the News' best albums ever. Todays music business has pretty much changed and to expect the return of those 80s heydays the band experienced might be a too great expectation. Huey Lewis and the News have been touring the USA constantly since the release of Plan B. In 2003 they even managed to tour England with the entire band. Later that year Huey and Johnny joined the Night of the Proms tour in Germany. Backed by a classical orchestra and choir they played several of their hits. Constant touring of the U.S. followed in 2004 and by the end of the year one of the concerts was filmed to be released on DVD in 2005, celebrating Huey Lewis and the News' 25th Anniversary. "live at 25" - released on CD and DVD in May 2005 - was filmed in December 2004 at two shows at the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Chico, CA (12/14/2004 & 12/15/2004). These shows capture Huey Lewis and the News' musical output from past to present. In addition it's the first time that the band releases a live album. Featured are songs from their first studio album in 1980 to their last release "Plan B" in 2001. Yes, it always takes a few years before Huey Lewis and the News do have a new album to offer - but once they do, you can expect to get the best!

Huey Lewis and the News' Discography: