Channel Channel

2009, they only ever played two gigs in their entire existence. Their album was recorded at Pink Floyd's studio in London. Most of the band can't even remember who their manager was. Incredibly, some members are still unsure if they actually ever broke up. Meet Channel, central characters of one of the most fascinating melodic rock stories that you'll ever encounter...When it comes to high-tech mid eighties melodic AOR there are few better examples than Channel's sole album. Released in 1984, to virtually zero acclaim, except by a select few, the band featured a bevy a heavy hitters from the LA session world including guitarist Tony Berg, drummer Gary Ferguson, bassist Trey Thompson and top-top vocalist Robert Fleischman, a man who, at one time, had been plucked out of obscurity to join AOR super gods Journey before being cruelly sidelined in favour of a hastily auditioned Steve Perry. Together, they wrote and recorded one of the most coveted and revered melodic rock albums of the era, a record that set the bar about as high as is humanly possible. The main attraction, apart from the stylishly crafted songs and pin-point production (courtesy of Styx collaborator John Ryan) is undoubtedly the triumphant and hugely compelling vocal performance of Robert Fleischman - a man with an operatic range and a tone to die for. Arguably this is the performance of a life time and one that still sends shivers up the backs of AOR fans the world over.