The Captain of her heart - Double - 1986

Double

The Captain of her heart

Double

Source: doublecity.com

Double - Kurt Maloo (vocals, guitar) and Felix Haug (drums, keyboard) - joined forces in 1981. Before that, the two Zurich natives had pursued different but parallel musical paths. Maloo, a former painter, made his first musical appearances in the early '70s at gallery 

openings and similar events in Zurich. From 1976-78, he was part of Troppo, a nine-piece experimental band of which he was a founding member. In 1979, he released "Giant Lady", a solo single; the following year came the innovative Luna, Luna + 7 Notorious Maloo 

Home Works, the format for which consisted of seven songs at 33 1/3rpm on one side and a 45rpm "maxi-single" on the other. The album side, made at home as the title suggests, was originally intended for demo purposes but met with considerable success as a commercial release.

Haug spent the mid-'70s drumming his way around Europe, the Far East, Asia and the United States. In 1977 he joined the Lipschitz Orchestra, an experimental big-band; two 

years later, he joined YELLO for the recording of the album Solid Pleasure. The European electronic ensemble made their mark in the States on the notorious Ralph Records label, home of the Residents, Snakefinger and other leaders of the rock avant-garde.

When their paths converged in '81, Kurt and Felix, with the addition of a bass player, formed a trio called Ping Pong. Along with recording several never-released (due to legal entanglements) tracks with guitarist Phil Manzanera of Roxy Music, Ping Pong built a 

following through their own recordings (among them a minor hit single entitled "Rhythm Walk") and live appearances at a number of European open-air festivals, including the Montreux Jazz Festival.

In 1983, Maloo and Haug decided to make a go of it as a duo. As Double, they first recorded a 12" single called "Nanningo". It was followed in 1984 by two more singles - 

"Rangoon Moon" and "Woman of the World", both of which appear on Blue in updated or remixed versions - and a self-produced black and white video, that became a cult classic on a variety of European television formats and got several plays on VH1.

In the fall of 1985, Switzerland's Double started invading the world with their beautifully

crafted, catchy single "The Captain of Her Heart" from their first album Blue. The sound of Double certainly has caught on. Blue has been released in more than 50 countries and „The Captain of her Heart“ became a modern-day classic.

In 1987 Kurt Maloo and Felix Haug recorded their album DOU3LE. Guest musicians on the album include Herb Alpert (trumpet) and Michael Urbaniak (violin).....and not to forget the 

unique performance of the legendary "Mummenschanz" in the music video of „Devils Ball“, a weird easy-listening tune, feat. Herb Alpert on trumpet. The video, directed by Hannes Rossacher and Rudi Dolezal was an award winner in Cannes in 1988.

After a studio session for a third album both, Maloo and Haug needed a rest from Double and went separate ways for a while. Haug wrote some music for films, while Maloo released two solo albums „Single“ (1990) and "Soul and Echo (1995).

By the end of the 90s they joined forces again in the legendary Can Studio near Cologne, where they‘ve already recorded parts of „Blue“ back in the 80s. There were plans to record more songs together for the 20th anniversary of the band, but in 2004 Felix Haug unexpectedly died from a heartattack.

In 2006 Kurt Maloo decided to cast a retrospective glance at the work of Double and asked Pit Baumgartner of De-Phazz to rework a selection of old and new songs from the group‘s 

repertoire. The result is the album Kurt Maloo vs. Double - Loopy Avenue, where you hear the hits from the 80s together with the previously unheard songs from the 90s as well as brand new compositions.

2009 Kurt Maloo releases the album Summer Of Better Times on the legendary jazz label Verve Forecast and in 2014 What About on his own label CafeSwizz Productions. For more activities of Kurt Maloo visit.

Fonte: Wikipedia

Originariamente conosciuti con il nome di Ping Pong, i Double è stato un duo svizzero, principalmente ricordato per il brano del 1986 The Captain of Her Heart.

I Double si formarono nel 1981 a Zurigo, da Felix Haug (batteria e tastiere) e Kurt Maloo (chitarra e voce). Il loro primo singolo Rhythm Walk, favorito da numerose apparizioni in vari festival europei, ottenne un discreto successo.

Prima del loro album di debutto, il duo pubblicò numerosi singoli che contribuirono a renderli popolari, fra cui Nanningo, Rangoon Moon, e Woman of the World.

Tuttavia il punto più alto della loro carriera arrivò negli ultimi periodi del 1985, quando, dopo l'uscita dell'album di debutto Blue, venne pubblicato il singolo The Captain of Her Heart, che ottenne un enorme successo in tutto il mondo.

L'album seguente Dou3le, pubblicato nel 1987, pur contenendo il singolo Devils Ball di discreto successo, non riuscì a raggiungere le vette dell'album precedente, ed il gruppo si sciolse subito dopo.

Kurt Maloo in seguito intraprese la carriera solista, pubblicando il suo primo album "solo" nel 1990, a cui sono seguirono altri due album di discreto successo. Felix Haug invece è morto d'infarto il 1º maggio 2004.