Chart entered : 12 May 1990
Chart peak : 56
The cull of eighties lesser lights re-commences here.
In the first half of 1981 Linx seemed like the smartest cookies in the Britfunk jar. With a Top 10 album "Intuition" spawning three hits and bringing good tunes and intelligent lyrics to the party, they looked set for a strong career. However their second album "Go Ahead" was poorly received, the core relationship between singer David and bass player Peter "Sketch " Martin broke down and the band split in 1982. David went for a major image overhaul, re-emerging as a sort of Pound Shop Michael Jackson, and produced some of the most vapid dance pop of the decade. He had a good year in 1983 with four hit singles but since then he'd only returned to the Top 20 as a duet partner with Jaki Graham on a couple of cover versions and this was his first hit in three years.
"Keep It Together" was released on Fourth & Broadway, his third label. It sounds like David is acting as the warm-up act for the return of George Michael later in the year. It's that same tastefully adult funk-pop with a vaguely house feel to the rhythm and cool strings ( or string synths ) that come in on the second verse. The lyrics are fluff but David sings them with conviction. It's alright of its type but doesn't leave a lasting impression.
David followed it up with a re-mix of his previous single "Life" by Norman Cook. It's a slightly grittier track, owing a lot to Soul II Soul , which David sings partly in falsetto and would be better off without the embarrassing Christian rap inserts. Despite Cook's expertise, it fared no better second time around. He stayed with Cook for another single "Hurt" in 1992
which I haven't heard.
It was last single for some time as he dropped into session singing, notably with The Lighthouse Family. However he made his best career move when he re-married, this time to Caroline Gray, formerly with 1983's Eurovision hopefuls Sweet Dreams. As well as starting a family, he got involved with her work as a vocal coach.
In 1997 the pair put out the album "Watching and Waiting" an under-produced Christian R & B album. It's more her album than his with David playing a secondary role and in small doses it's quite listenable as she does have an impressive voice. It didn't make a commercial impression.
In 1999 David's name appeared on a single for the last time when he and Carrie sang on "Shake" by Foreal People ,one of the many aliases of DJ/producer Dave Lee. It's a Groovejet-preceding self-consciously retro dance single and isn't bad but it wasn't a hit.
David's public profile began to rise again in 2002 when Carrie was chosen to be one of the judges on Fame Academy. David joined the panel for the second series in 2003 and thus began a new career on reality TV. Since then he's been on MasterChef, The Sound of Musicals, The One and Only,The Wright Stuff and Songs of Praise. The Grants also presented Carrie and David's Popshop on CBBC ,originally broadcast in 2008 and often repeated.
I guess Sketch's post-Linx career couldn't be in sharper contrast, joining experimental funk/world music outfit 23 Skidoo, where he was as likely as you or I to have another hit single. I particularly enjoy his excellent bass work on their "Coup".
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