Matt Bianco first came on the scene in the 80s and while many thought Matt Bianco was the name of a person in the band, it was Mark Reilly who founded the British band that came to be known as Matt Bianco. “We were into spy movie theme tunes of the 50s, 60s, 70s which had a Latin, Jazz, Film noir influences. So for the concept of the first album we invented our own fictitious character called Matt Bianco,” states Reilly in an email interview.
Back then in 1983, Matt Bianco consisted of vocalist Mark Reilly, keyboard player Danny White and Polish emigré singer Basia Trzetrzelewska. Their music is a blend of Jazz, Latin and sixties' spy film music and pop elements.
Reilly began his music career as vocalist with the band “Blue Rondo a la Turk” where he and keyboardist White played at live shows. “Danny, myself and Kito Poncioni struck up a song writing collaboration and decided to leave and form our own band. While working on demo songs, we wanted to get some female vocals on some of the tracks and Danny suggested we ask Basia who was also in a band called “Bronze”. It sounded great and the sound was complete”.
As a trio, Reilly, White and Basia soon released an album, ‘Whose Side Are You On?’ in 1984 which spawned the hit song Get Out of Your Lazy Bed, besides other tracks like Half a Minute, More Than I Could Bear and the title track. Reilly and White wrote the songs, with Reilly taking lead vocals on most tracks, and Basia bringing in backing harmonies and occasional lead vocals.
The band’s music brings genre-bending musical styles that carve a niche all its own. Reilly clarifies, “Our mix seems to come naturally as it is a combination of our influences and musical tastes we have grown up with”, while adding, “we loved the jazzier side of Latin like Bossa nova and jazz influenced spy movie theme tunes, R&B soul, mixed with percussion grooves and so these songs bring all those influences”.
However, after just one album, the band split in 1985. “Danny and Basia became a couple and wanted to concentrate on Basia as a solo artist, so we disbanded and I moved on”, states Reilly.
Keeping alive Matt Bianco, Reilly brought in keyboardist Mark Fisher as his collaborator. They released a 1965 cover song Yeh-Yeh originally recorded by Georgie Fame.
In 1988 at the insistence of Warner Brothers and alongwith Fisher, Reilly collaborated with Gloria Estefan’s husband Emilio and released an album ‘Indigo’ which spurned the super hit Don’t Blame It on That Girl that went on to becoming a massive hit.
After 15 years of touring the world and recording seven albums, Reilly and Fisher parted ways in 2000. Three years later Basia, White and Reilly reunited for a new album, ‘Matt’s Mood’ that consisted of ballads to danceable tracks, with Reilly this time offering Basia a prime spot on the vocals. “It was the idea of our first manager and A & R man to get back together and make a new album”, recalls Reilly about the reunion. But soon after a world tour to promote the album, Basia and Danny once again departed Matt Bianco.
Reilly connected with Fisher to keep the band alive, soon bringing out the 2009 album ‘Hi-Fi Bossanova’. But a few years later tragedy struck in December 2016, when Matt Bianco suffered a blow when Mark Fisher died from cancer. With troubles with the band on and off, Reilly took on a new path working with a big band sound in the Dutch jazz ensemble the New Cool Collective releasing the Matt Bianco album ‘Gravity’ in 2019.
In June 2022, the band released a double album ‘The Essential Matt Bianco. Re-imagined, Re-loved’ that features new versions of 15 of the band’s classic songs, probably a way to introduce Matt Bianco to a new generation of fans. “It was an opportunity for me to revisit all those songs in the Covid lockdown and present the songs in a way that represents how I perform them now”.
It’s over 40 years since the band was formed and surely there have been songs that touch his heart. “I think I appreciate it even more now and can’t believe it’s been over 40 years, Collaborating with different musicians over the years keeps the music progressing. “More Than I Can Bear”, has been a long standing favourite of the fans and is always well received at the live shows”.
So what’s on the table for the show next week? “We will be performing a mix of our hits from the past mixed with new songs from the current albums”, says Reilly ahead of his performance at the Jamshed Bhabha theatre next Sunday.
The performance of Matt Bianco in Mumbai will consist of Reilly, who will be accompanied by Elisabeth Antwi on backing vocals, Graham Harvey on piano, Sebastian de Krom on drums, Geoff Gascoyne on bass, Martin Shaw on trumpet, David O’Higgins on saxophone, all of who feature on Matt Bianco’s new album ‘Masquerader’ out 19th September and features the singles Playing With Dynamite and Deep Space.
Sharing his joy at visiting India, Reilly expects a cultural experience and looks forward to a great experience that he would share for many years. “I have been asking people who have been to Mumbai for recommendations and contacts in order to make the most of this trip”. While he claims to have definitely heard of Bollywood, he confesses that he doesn’t know anyone in particular.
(Matt Bianco will perform on September 7, 2025, 6.30 pm at Jamshed Bhabha Theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point, Mumbai)
