Fiona -

Fiona Flanagan is an American hard-rock singer who debuted with the 1985 Atlantic release Fiona, which spawned the MTV hit “Talk to Me.” She followed with the 1986 album Beyond the Pale and appeared in the 1987 Bob Dylan musical drama Hearts of Fire. On her 1989 third album Heart Like a Gun, she dueted with Kip Winger on “Everything You Do (You’re Sexing Me).”

Background

Fiona was born Fiona Eileen Flanagan on Sept. 13, 1961, in Phillipsburg, N.J. Her parents emigrated from Dublin and raised Fiona in a Catholic household with a brother and sister. Flanagan learned clarinet at school and finished fifth in her high-school graduating class. At age eighteen, she moved to New York City and pursued music despite a scholarship offer for drama study.

Flanagan sang with No Excuse alongside guitarist Fritz Doddy and worked in New Jersey cover bands. She also took unpaid New York gigs while circulating original material in Manhattan. Flanagan recorded a four-song demo with members of The Dregs in December 1982 at Remote Studio in Atlanta, produced by Yes/ELP soundman Eddy Offord.

Columbia offered Flanagan a 12-inch release after hearing a recording she made for a proposed three-singer project. Atlantic A&R executive Jason Flom used the competing offer to secure label approval for Flanagan. Flom first paired her with guitarist Dick Wagner for studio work, then introduced her to Good Rats singer-songwriter Peppi Marchello, who wrote and produced “Love Makes You Blind,” which Flanagan recorded for the No Small Affair soundtrack. Atlantic retained Marchello for the sessions that became Fiona.

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