John Parr "Man With A Vision (Germany, Edelton, EDL 2589-2)"

Man with a Vision is the third studio album by John Parr, released in 1992. The majority of the album was produced by Parr, except "Man With a Vision", produced by John Wolff, and "Restless Heart", produced by Harold Faltermeyer. The album was released in the UK by Music for Nations, in Germany by Edelton, Switzerland by Blue Martin Records, and Austria and Scandinavia by Generation Records.

Two singles were released from the album, "Man with a Vision" and "It's Starting All Over Again". "Restless Heart" had been previously released for The Running Man soundtrack in 1987, and as a single in the UK and Germany in 1988. "Man with a Vision" was originally recorded by Seven in 1990, with Parr as producer.

Speaking to the Get Ready to Rock! webzine in 2011, Parr spoke of the litigation he suffered from in the 1990s:

"I was dead in the water long before Under Parr [Parr's 1996 studio album]. From the nineties onwards I was locked in the litigation. I was ducking and diving doing little deals here and there to try and stay afloat. All my income was frozen for almost twenty years so I had to really bob and weave. Man with a Vision was really a bunch of demos but as there were no deals on the table I was forced to release it through Blue Martin a small label in Switzerland. [After Under Parr], I walked away from music for the next ten years. It broke my heart. I was making records that only my family and friends heard - some of my best work I think, that nobody was going to hear. The guitar stayed untouched in the box for ten years and I never sang a note."

Tracklisting:

1. "Wilderness Years" John Parr 1:33
2. "Man With a Vision" Parr, Keith McFarlane, Simon Lefevre 3:59
3. "It's Starting All Over Again" Parr, Peter Goalby 3:25
4. "Restless Heart" Harold Faltermeyer, Parr 4:35
5. "Ghost Driver" Parr, Tom Whitlock 4:10
6. "Bedtime Story" Betsy Durkin Matthes, Parr 5:03
7. "Come Out Fightin'" Matthes, Parr 5:16
8. "Everytime" Parr, Goalby 4:54
9. "Killer on the Sheets" Parr 3:47
10. "Dirty Lovin'" Parr, Mark Scott 4:41
11. "This Time" Parr, Goalby 5:16
12. "Sarah" Parr 4:00

John Parr "Running The Endless Mile (US, Atlantic Records, 7 81689-2)"

Running the Endless Mile is the second album by John Parr, released in 1986. The lead single "Blame It on the Radio" reached U.S. #88, the only song to reach the U.S. singles charts. The first track on the album, "Two Hearts", was taken from the soundtrack to the film American Anthem. However, an earlier soundtrack hit, Parr's #1 hit of the previous summer "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)" from the film of the same title (and also on the Atlantic label) was not included on this album, which may have limited its sales (the album failed to crack the Top 200 in the U.S.). Instead, a song that was on his first album, "Don't Leave Your Mark on Me" was repeated in a different version.

Running the Endless Mile was recorded in various studios over a period of five months in 1986. Parr told Billboard in 1986, "I needed to have an album out this year because it's been two years since my last one. The only way to do it was in between promotion and gigs in Europe. So wherever I wrote, I recorded at the same time."

Track listing

All songs written by John Parr unless noted.

1. "Two Hearts (American Anthem)" - 6:09
2. "Don't Worry 'Bout Me" - 4:05
3. "King of Lies" - 4:08
4. "Running the Endless Mile" - 4:19
5. "Don't Leave Your Mark on Me (Mark 2)" (Julia Downes, Parr) - 4:19
6. "Scratch" - 4:39
7. "Do It Again" - 4:08
8. "Blame It on the Radio" - 4:16
9. "The Story Still Remains the Same (Vices)" (Downes, Parr) - 3:52
10. "Steal You Away (Flight of the Spruce Goose)" - 5:30

Recording information:

Co-producer - Jerry Hey

Will Gosling - engineer

Producer - John Parr

Various Artists "Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: St. Elmo's Fire"

It was the first soundtrack written by Canadian composer/producer David Foster. "When I was writing the score to St. Elmo's Fire, I loved it," he said. "But for that month and a half or so that I had to write the songs, it just felt like doing my regular job."

The theme song "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)" was written by Foster and English musician John Parr, and also performed by Parr. Foster had been impressed by Parr's song "Naughty Naughty" and invited him to perform the title track. Originally another song was chosen which Parr disliked. "That song sounded like `Fame II' or "Flashdance II," said Parr later. "I thought the movie was supposed to have more class than that. It was a regurgitated song and I didn't really want to sing it."

Parr urged Foster to try another song. They wrote it together, "very fast, between 2 and 4 on Friday afternoon," Parr recalled. "We wrote it together, with David sitting at the piano." Schumacher had given Parr rough guidelines for the lyrics. "He wanted a song about determination," Parr recalled. "He wanted a song about kids who are growing up and have to make decisions about what to do with their lives. That's what the movie is about." Schumacher told them not to use "St Elmo's Fire" in the lyrics but Parr did it regardless. "I thought it fit in the song," he said. "In the movie, St. Elmo's is a bar. But to me St. Elmo's Fire is a magical thing glowing in the sky that holds destiny to someone. It's mystical and sacred. It's where paradise lies, like the end of the rainbow."

Parr was inspired to write the lyrics not by the movie (which he had not seen) but by the Canadian athlete Rick Hansen who, at the time, was traveling around the world via his wheelchair to raise awareness for spinal cord injuries, a trip called the "Man in Motion Tour." The song did not appear on any Parr album until Letter to America was released in July 2011.

The song "Give Her a Little Drop More", which plays during the movie when the characters enter St. Elmo's Bar & Restaurant, was written by British jazz trumpeter John Chilton.

"St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)" hit No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart for two weeks in September 1985, and "Love Theme from St. Elmo's Fire" (the instrumental theme to the movie by David Foster) reached No. 15. Another version of the "Love Theme from St. Elmo's Fire" with lyrics, titled "For Just a Moment", was performed by Amy Holland and Donny Gerrard, and was included as the final song on the soundtrack album.

Track list:

1. John Parr St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion) 4:08
2. Billy Squier Shake Down 4:07
3. Elefante Young And Innocent 4:34
4. Jon Anderson This Time It Was Really Right 4:39
5. Fee Waybill Saved My Life 3:45
6. David Foster Love Theme From St. Elmo's Fire (Instrumental) 3:27
7. Vikki Moss If I Turn You Away 4:38
8. Airplay Stressed Out (Close To The Edge) 4:14
9. David Foster Georgetown 1:34
10. David Foster Love Theme From St. Elmo's Fire (Just For A Moment) 3:48

Various Artists "Time Life: Sounds Of The Eighties - 1985"

Time Life: Sounds of the Eighties was a 10-volume series issued by Time-Life.

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