[x] Would you allow this?

The Dutch artist Robby Valentine seems to have been invented purely to frustrate my attempts to get him into the dB!

He recorded originally as Robby Valentine but also latterly as Valentine. The more recent recordings are, to me, indubitably solo efforts but there was a time, just about the time of the name change when there was a band. His 1994 album 'The Magic Infinity' was released as Robby Valentine but the sleeve notes say:

"Valentine is : Robby Valentine, Rob Winter, Arthur Polini and John Ewbank"

A single taken from that album, 'No Turning Back' was released in Europe under the name Valentine. According to the single sleeve notes, this track is taken from the album and according to the album sleeve notes Robby Valentine, Winter and Polini (plus a different drummer) are on that track.

So the questions are:

Does this establish the existence of a band called Valentine; did they release something and were Robby Valentine, Polini and Winter all members of it? I think yes, but then I would.

To add to your frustration:

According to this biography: [www.popinstituut.nl] http://www.popinstituut.nl/biografie/robby_valentine.6367.html
The name change didn't occur until '96 and by that time Winter and Ewbank had been gone for two years.

Furtermore, this discography:
[www.popinstituut.nl] http://www.popinstituut.nl/discografie/robby_valentine.6367.html
says the album you're talking about first appeared in '93. The biography says the album was recorded with "his live-band" and a promo-picture to go along with it says "Robby Valentine", not "Valentine".

Of course, considering these facts, it's still possible that singles were released under the name "Valentine" before a new studio album was released under that name in '96.

So I guess my post is rather pointless but it was interensting to read about this guy :)

The promo photo that purports to be from 1993 is in fact from his debut solo album. This too was released as 'Robby Valentine' and is definitely a solo album.

I agree that as far as albums go it was only his next one (the eponymous 1995 effort) that saw the name 'Valentine' used. And, paradoxically, I think it became more solo and less band at exactly the same time! The discography [www.popinstituut.nl] http://www.popinstituut.nl/discografie/robby_valentine.6367.html
mentions the 'No Turning Back' single which was from 1994 and which was released as Valentine.

I can only make my pleadings and await the thoughts of those on high!

You can always try to add this Valentine instead:
[www.rockdetector.com] http://www.rockdetector.com/artist,9762.sm

That might be easier than the Dutch band :)

We'd be glad to include the "No Turning Back" single as a release by the band Valentine.

I agree with what Python said here:

> Of course, considering these facts, it's still
> possible that singles were released under the name
> "Valentine" before a new studio album was released
> under that name in '96.

There also appears to be a compilation of the first two Robby Valentine solo albums, released as "No Turning Back":
[home-4.tiscali.nl] http://home-4.tiscali.nl/~t021303/history.htm
[aordreamer.com] http://aordreamer.com/index.php?page_id=show_album&album_id=2574