Editing Baltimora (section)

==History==

===Early years===
In early 1984, [[Maurizio Bassi]], a music producer and musician from Milan, met [[Jimmy McShane]], a native of [[Derry]], Northern Ireland. They decided to form an act fronted by McShane, a trained singer, dancer and actor, who had previously tried to break into the [[West End theater]] scene and toured with [[Dee D. Jackson]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DykffzkFALoC&q=jimmy+mcshane&pg=PA18 |title=Knocking on Heaven's Door: Rock Obituaries – Nick Talevski |publisher=Omnibus Press |date= 7 April 2010|access-date=23 June 2012|isbn=9780857121172 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first= Claire |last= McNeilly |title= Tragic Derry pop star Jimmy McShane's Tarzan Boy a big hit again thanks to new Wonga ad |newspaper= [[Belfast Telegraph]] |date= 27 April 2016 |access-date= 4 January 2018 |url= https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/news/tragic-derry-pop-star-jimmy-mcshanes-tarzan-boy-a-big-hit-again-thanks-to-new-wonga-ad-34662956.html}}</ref> McShane and Bassi chose the name Baltimora when, one evening together, McShane took a map of the United States, closed his eyes and happened to place his finger on [[Baltimore]]. They changed the final letter to an 'a' to make the name more in keeping with the act's Italian roots.<ref>{{cite AV media |people=Jimmy McShane (Baltimora) |date=23 August 1985 |title=[[Bravo TV (TV series)|Bravo TV]] |medium=TV |publisher=[[RTL Zwei|RTL II]]}}</ref>

Bassi recruited prominent Italian [[Session musician|sessionmen]] to record their first album, including Giorgio Cocilovo on guitar and Gabriele "Lele" Melotti on drums. Fellow Italo disco producer [[Tom Hooker]] has claimed that Baltimora's lead vocals were performed by Maurizio Bassi,<ref name="Interview"/> as he'd done with [[Carrara (singer)|Carrara]], with McShane sometimes providing the backing vocals.<ref>{{cite web|first= Tommy |last= Marx |title= One Hit Wonder: Baltimora |publisher= [[PopMatters]] |date= 17 July 2009 |access-date= 19 April 2021 |url= https://www.popmatters.com/108359-one-hit-wonder-baltimora-2496057533.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= Tom Hooker |year= 2004 |website= Euro-Flash.net |url= http://www.euro-flash.net/deejays.php?djID=2 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131109143139/http://www.euro-flash.net/deejays.php?djID=2 |archive-date= 9 November 2013}}</ref> The bulk of Baltimora's song writing fell on Bassi and American lyricist Naimy Hackett, though McShane wrote the lyrics to their track "Survivor in Love".<ref>{{cite AV media notes|title= Survivor in Love |others= Baltimora |year= 1987 |type= liner notes |publisher= ESonCD |access-date= 4 January 2018 |url= https://img.discogs.com/5tqc0v7G0ARHLEwS0xXil7TbwL0=/fit-in/600x460/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-918828-1352211420-1312.jpeg.jpg}}</ref>

===Success with "Tarzan Boy"===
Baltimora's first single, "[[Tarzan Boy]]", was released in April 1985, and became a huge European success, peaking at No. 6 on the Italian single chart and entering the top 5 in numerous European countries, including West Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, France, the Netherlands and Norway.<ref>{{cite web|title= Baltimora – Tarzan Boy |publisher= [[Ultratop]]. Hung Medien |access-date= 7 November 2014 |url= http://www.ultratop.be/nl/song/4ea/Baltimora-Tarzan-Boy |language= nl}}</ref><ref name="Germany">{{cite web|title= Baltimora |publisher= Official Charts |url= http://www.officialcharts.de/ersuche.asp?kategorie=chart&interpret_suche=Baltimora&titel_suche=&jahr=&cat=s |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141107234135/http://www.officialcharts.de/ersuche.asp?kategorie=chart&interpret_suche=Baltimora&titel_suche=&jahr=&cat=s |archive-date= 7 November 2014 |url-status= dead |language= de}}</ref> The song eventually made it to the United Kingdom charts, where it reached No. 3 in August 1985.<ref name="UK"/><ref>{{cite news|first= Cheryl |last= Wanner |title= Baltimora: Living in the Background |newspaper= [[The Morning Call]] |page= 59 |date= 29 March 1986 |access-date= 3 January 2021 |url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/65862488/the-morning-call-29-mar-1986/}}</ref>

"Tarzan Boy" was released in Canada in October 1985 and peaked on the Canadian charts at No. 5 by the end of the year.<ref>{{cite magazine|title= RPM 100 Singles |magazine= [[RPM (magazine)|RPM]] |volume= 43 |issue= 15 |date= 21 December 1985 |access-date= 12 May 2016 |url= http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.0614&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.0614.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.0614}}</ref> However, it took a while for the single to enter the Hot 100 single chart in the United States (where it was released on [[EMI]]). When it did, it remained on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] chart for six months, peaking at No. 13 in February 1986.<ref>{{cite magazine|title= ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Singles |magazine= Billboard |date= 1 March 1986 |volume= 98 |issue= 9 |page= 66 |issn= 0006-2510 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=NCQEAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22tarzan+boy%22&pg=PT68}}</ref> Baltimora performed on the American TV show ''[[Solid Gold (TV series)|Solid Gold]]'', which helped further their success in America. The second single, "[[Woody Boogie]]", which also gained notable success, entered the top 20 in West Germany, Switzerland and Sweden.<ref name="Germany"/><ref>{{cite web|title= Baltimora – Woody Boogie |publisher= [[Ultratop]]. Hung Medien |access-date= 7 November 2014 |url= http://www.ultratop.be/nl/song/52b/Baltimora-Woody-Boogie}}</ref>

Baltimora's first album, ''[[Living in the Background (album)|Living in the Background]],'' was released in Europe at the end of 1985 and in United States in 1986. Despite the success of "Tarzan Boy", ''Living in the Background'' only charted moderately, entering the top 20 album charts only in a few countries in Europe, including Sweden,<ref>{{cite web|title= Baltimora – Living in the Background |publisher= Swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien |access-date= 7 November 2014 |url= http://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Baltimora&titel=Living+In+The+Background&cat=a}}</ref> reaching the no. 49 spot on the US charts.<ref name="US">{{cite web|title= Baltimora – Awards |publisher= [[AllMusic]] |access-date= 30 November 2010 |url= http://www.allmusic.com/artist/baltimora-mn0000065000/awards}}</ref>

When Baltimora's second album, ''[[Survivor in Love]]'' (1987) and the single "[[Key Key Karimba]]" failed to chart, Baltimora lost label support and Bassi decided to disband.

Jimmy McShane died of an AIDS-related illness in March 1995.<ref>{{cite book|first= Nick |last= Talevski |year= 2006 |title= Rock Obituaries: Knocking on Heaven's Door |publisher= [[Omnibus Press]] |page= 18 |isbn= 978-1-84609-091-2 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=DykffzkFALoC&pg=PA18}}</ref>