Animotion

Genre	new wave, synthpop, 80s, pop, synth pop

Animotion is a 1980s U.S. New Wave/synthpop band best known for their songs "Obsession" (originally written by Michael Des Barres and Holly Knight), "Let Him Go", "I Engineer" and "Room to Move". Formed in 1983 from the remnants of a retro science-fiction band called Red Zone, they signed a record deal with Polygram Records in 1984 and made three albums. During 1986 and 1987, Animotion toured extensively, appearing alongside famous performers such as Depeche Mode, Howard Jones, INXS, Eurythmics, Simply Red, Phil Collins, and Genesis. They had great success in Germany and South Africa with their two first albums, thanks to the singles "Obsession" and "I Engineer" (both Top 10 in those countries), and entered several European charts in high positions during this period.

In the midst of recording their third album, Animotion went through personnel changes as all three founding members (Bill Wadhams, Astrid Plane and Charles Ottavio) departed. Following their departure, Ottavio and Plane married. Actress/dancer/singer Cynthia Rhodes, known for her performance as the character "Penny Johnson" in the 1987 film Dirty Dancing, replaced Plane as female lead singer, and former solo artist/Device member Paul Engemann replaced Wadhams as the male lead for Animotion's eponymous second album, informally known as "Room to Move" (due to the success of this song) to distinguish it from their first LP. The single "Room to Move" became a radio hit in April 1989, and their second Top 10 hit in the U.S., after "Obsession" in 1985; but the album itself failed to chart and Animotion disbanded for good after that.

The members reunited on February 8, 2001 in response to a request from KNRK in Portland, Oregon. In the summer of 2005, founding members Wadhams, Plane and Ottavio appeared as "Animotion" in the American version of the TV show Hit Me Baby One More Time, performing their hit "Obsession" and a cover of Dirty Vegas' "Days Go By".

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