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Biography
Infobox musical artist | name = 5000 Volts| image =| caption =| image_size = 250| landscape = Yes| background = group_or_band| origin = London, United Kingdom| years_active = 1974–77| genre = Disco | label = Philips Records | associated_acts =| website =| current_members = Linda Kelly Martin Jay Martin Cohen Kevin Wells Mike Nelson| past_members = 5000 Volts is the name of a United Kingdom|British disco recording act that achieved success throughout Europe during the 1970s. The band (music)|group consisted of singer|vocalists Tina Charles (singer)|Tina Charles and Martin Jay, with a changing group of session musician s.
Career
They released several single (music)|singles in the mid 1970s, but did not achieve success until radio station s began playing the A-side and B-side|B-side to their 1975 single (music)|single , "Bye Love". The song , "I'm on Fire", was released in its own right and became a major hit record|hit throughout Europe , peaking at number 4 on the UK Singles Chart ;cite book | first= David | last= Roberts | year= 2006 | title= British Hit Singles & Albums | edition= 19th | publisher= Guinness World Records Limited | location= London | pages= 204 | isbn= 1-904994-10-5 and at chart-topper|number 1 on the Germany|German Top100 Singles record chart|chart and the List of Swedish number-one hits|Swedish chart and also number 10 in South Africa. It also record chart|charted in the United States where it reached number 26.
Although Tina Charles provided the human voice|vocals , she was not publicly acknowledged as the group's singer and for the band's 1975 appearance on BBC Television 's Top of the Pops they were fronted by singer/actress Luan Peters (best remembered for her role as List_of_guest_characters_in_Fawlty_Towers#M|Raylene Miles , an Australian tourist in an episode of The Psychiatrist|Fawlty Towers ), first broadcast in 1979.
In 1975 the group was expanded by record producer Tony Eyers into a permanent five piece, with the inclusion of Martin Cohen (bass and vocals), Kevin Wells (drums) and Mike Nelson (keyboards). Subsequent singles failed to attract widespread interest in the UK, although the group became popular in South Africa and Germany. On the eve of a German tour, Charles left the group after a dispute with the record label and continued with her solo career, she was replaced by Linda Kelly.
The next single " Doctor Kiss Kiss " reached number 8 in the United Kingdom|UK , and number 6 in South Africa, but the band struggled to maintain public interest. A handful of further UK singles and a self-titled album followed, as the band tried to come back with "Light the Flame of Love", "Take Me Back" and "(Walkin' On) A Love Cloud" throughout 1976/77. ("(Walking On) A Love Cloud" did top the South African charts in June 1977), but no other songs registered with the UK commercial mainstream. The last single, "Can't Stop Myself from Loving You" (South Africa #12), appeared the following year before the band, who never fully recovered from Charles' departure, disbanded.
Martin Jay launched a solo career without success, before returning to his earlier role as a session musician, working for bands such as Enigma (musical project)|Enigma , Tight Fit in 1981 and the Nigel Wright|UK Mixmasters in 1990.Allmusic|class=artist|id=p186676|pure_url=yes Allmusic.com biography by Amy Hanson
