The B.B. & Q. Band, which stands for the Brooklyn, Bronx, and Queens Band, came together accidentally when guitarist Doc Powell turned bassist Paris 'Pee Wee' Ford on to producer Jacques 'Fred' Petrus, who had already started Change and High Fashion from session musicians and vocalists. Petrus asked Ford to get some musicians together to record some tracks he'd written. After the tracks were finished, he shopped for a deal, got one with Capitol and brought the impromptu musicians, who came from Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens together as the B.B. & Q. Band.
The original lineup consisted of Ford (bass), Maura Malavasi (piano and synthesizers), Paolo Gianolio (guitar), Terri Silverlight (drums), Kevin Nance (keyboards) and Ike Floyd (lead singer). They debuted with the self-titled album 'B.B. & Q. Band', which was produced by Petrus and Malavasi. It spawned the hypnotic, wallflower remover 'On the Beat', which reached number three on the billboard club charts in the fall of 1981.
Critically acclaimed by disco freaks - Luther Vandross sang background - their first slab of vinyl never exploded in the States. The second album was called 'All Night Long'. It was released in 1982. By then, Floyd was replaced by Kevin Robinson and Luther Vandross was gone too. Tawatha Agee and Timmy Allen of Change, handled backup. It was a good follow-up with some excellent tracks, including 'Electrofunkish', 'Imagination' and a smooth rendition of Thom Bell and Linda Creed's 'Children of the Night'. Rick Brenna served as guest vocalist. Yet they were still far from a runaway hit. Their following was strictly club and their sound wasn't spreading West, but primarily East. They were quite popular in the U.K. and Italy.
Their third album was released in 1983 and it was their worse one. 'Six Million Times' lacked good songs, which Petrus seems to have relegated to Change and High Fashion. Robinson sang lead and co-produced the album that boasted only two decent tracks: 'Keep It Hot' and 'Stay'.
Capital soured on the group but they persevered and signed with Elektra in 1985. They released several singles written and produced by Kae Williams Jr. of Breakwater. They included the fantastic 'Genie' and 'I'm a Dreamer', which featured Hairston on vocals. Although the cuts were some of the best songs they ever released, they failed to shake and bake and their next single 'Ricochet', fell on Chrysalis Records in 1987. It eked into the U.K.'s Top 75. But that was all she wrote. Shortly thereafter, Petrus, their mentor, met a gruesome end: he was found shot to death and submerged in water in Mexico City, held down by a heavy object around his legs. That was also the end of the B.B.& Q. Band.

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D i s c o g r a p h y

Starlette	1981	Capitol
On the beat	1981	Streetheat
B.B. and Q. Band	1981	Capitol
Imagination	1982	Capitol
All night long	1982	Capitol
Six million times	1983	Capitol
Genie	1985	Elektra
On the shelf	1985	Break records
I'm a dreamer	1986	Elektra
Genie	1987	Cooltempo
Dreamer	1987	Cooltempo
Riccochet	1987	Cooltempo