Chart entered : 20 July 1985
Chart peak : 17
This is an odd one, a group making its exit so soon after their biggest success with no obvious cause. At the start of the year "Neutron Dance" had given them a fifth Top 40 hit from their album "Break Out " which made the Top 10 on both sides of the Atlantic and won two Grammys. "Automatic" reached number two here in 1984.
"Dare Me" was the lead single from their next album , "Contact". It was written by the Nashville-based songwriting duo Sam Lorber and Dave Innis with the Sisters in mind. It continues where "Break Out" left off in setting their rich R & B vocals against a modern electro- funk backing. The song is a sexual come-on with lines like "Touch Me one more time" but not too saucy for radio play. It's not really my cup of tea but an effective single which made number 11 in the States .
The album made number 34 here and 25 in the US but then interest in the group just seemed to melt away. The follow-up single "Freedom" a slow burner with vogue-ish Oriental keyboard sounds only made 59 in the States and failed over here. It's a grower but didn't get the airplay it needed to take hold. "Twist My Arm" got to number 83 in the US with the help of a video where the girls show a generous amount of cleavage. It sounds pretty close to "Jump ( For My Love )" to me. Here RCA released a different track for a third single "Back In My Arms" a mid -tempo R & B number with excellent vocals which again could have done something had it got radio support.
The following year "Goldmine" , a brassy pop dance number bubbled under but didn't make the chart which meant the parent album "Hot Together" didn't chart either. They fared slightly better in the US where the single made number 33 and the album got to number 38. The next single "All I Know Is The Way I Feel" a well-performed but bland corporate soul number scraped its way to 93 in the US but wasn't released over here. Neither was "Mercury Rising", an erotic, synth-driven R & B number which failed to chart in the US.
In 1987 they got a song on the Beverley Hills Cop II soundtrack. With a hard-slamming back beat it's an uptempo song with lots of brass but pretty vacuous. It didn't quite make it here but was their last US hit peaking at 42. Anita had a solo album "Love For What It Is out that year without creating much interest.
Their last album for RCA "Serious Slammin" made a minor impression on the US chart. The first single "He Turned Me Out" sees them going further down the contemporary R & B route with a robotic backing track but there's not much of a tune. The follow-up was a ballad "I'm In Love" which sounds like an average Tina Turner single. They were not released in the UK.
In 1989 a compilation album reached number 11 in the UK but didn't chart in the US. June recorded a second ( her first was in 1983 ) , eponymous album which failed to make an impression
In 1990 they re-surfaced on Motown with the album "Right Rhythm". The singles followed the same pattern with the uptempo contemporary " Friends ' Advice ", which sounds like something TLC might record and on which the girls don't sound entirely comfortable with its robotic rhythm , followed by a Tina Turner -esque ballad "After You" . Neither made any impression . A third single , the house-y "Insanity " didn't reverse the trend.
The group gave it a last shot with an album "Only Sisters Can Do That " on SBK Records in 1993. There was just the one single "Don't Walk Away " written by the Bucks Fizz writing team of Andy Hill and Pete Sinfield which is contemporary but forgettable dance pop. hen that failed the girls largely called it a day as a recording act.
In 1994 they started touring in a production of the musical Ain't Misbehavin . The following year they re-recorded a track "Feel for the Physical " with former Modern Talking man Thomas Anders for his album Souled. Towards the end of their stint in the musical June started missing performances and she was gradually eased out of the group with Ruth's daughter finally taking her place in 2002. Originally the plan was to alternate her with Anita's daughter Jada but the latter died of pancreatic cancer in 2003.
In 2005 they enjoyed a last hit in Belgium when they recorded a cover of Eurhythmics ' "Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves" with Belgian singer Natalia but their Christmas single "Christmas in New York " failed to register. Those are the only two recordings to feature Issa Pointer.
In 2006 June died of cancer . Her funeral was the occasion of more spats with estranged sister Bonnie with her accusing the other two of not respecting June's burial wishes and they accusing her of trying to use the occasion to muscle her way back into the group.
In 2008 just Anita and Ruth recorded The Pointer Sisters Favorites which featured re-workings of their biggest hits. They no longer do tours as such just corporate events and private parties, not always with Anita in the line up as her health has become a bit precarious.
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