The System -

The System was an American synth-funk duo that released the 1983–85 Mirage albums Sweat, X-Periment, and The Pleasure Seekers, followed by the 1987–89 Atlantic discs Don’t Disturb This Groove and Rhythm and Romance. They scored club hits with “It’s Passion,” “You Are in My System,” and “The Pleasure Seekers,” plus four Top 10 R&B hits: “This Is for You,” “Nighttime Lover,” “Midnight Special,” and the Hot 100 crossover “Don’t Disturb This Groove.”

Members: Mic Murphy (vocals, guitar, electronics), David Frank (keyboards, synthesizer, sampler, drums)

Background

The System formed in New York in 1982 when singer-guitarist Mic Murphy teamed with keyboardist David Frank after the two met through Kleeer.

Murphy was born Michael Austin Murphy on Jan. 9, 1958, in Raleigh, N.C., and grew up in Jamaica, Queens. He formed Mic and the Soul Shakers at fourteen and attended Queens College while he sang with New York club bands. Murphy led the Jack Sass Band for five years and took the group through club dates along the East Coast. Sass recorded “Much Too Much” at a Manhattan eight-track studio in 1981, and 25 West issued the song as a 12-inch single the next year. Murphy also sang on Change recordings and managed road dates for Change, Kleeer, and the B.B. & Q. Band.

Frank was born David Martin Frank on Nov. 13, 1957, and grew up in Weston, Mass. He studied classical piano at the New England Conservatory and played keyboards in high-school rock bands. Frank continued his studies at Berklee College of Music. He moved to Manhattan in 1979 and first earned money at weddings as accompanist to Frank Sinatra imitators. Frank spent early New York earnings on an Oberheim OB-Xa, DSX sequencer, and DMX drum machine. Kleeer subsequently hired him as touring keyboardist.

In 1982, Frank used studio time accumulated through session trades to build a dance track called “In Times of Passion.” He asked Murphy to write and sing a new song over the track. Murphy wrote the lyric and vocal line through the night, and the pair recorded and mixed “It’s Passion” in a Long Island studio the next day. Murphy took the finished master to Atlantic contacts and secured a Mirage deal for the record. He named the duo the System within two days of the deal. New York DJs put “It’s Passion” into heavy rotation within three weeks. Murphy and Frank used a Mirage album advance to begin Sweat.

Discography: