As the composer of numerous world wide smashes whose roll call of success includes songs performed by a plethora of top international talent from Bon Jovi (‘Livin On A Prayer’), Kiss (‘I Was made For Lovin’ You’), Aerosmith (‘Dude (Looks Like A Lady’), Alice Cooper (‘Poison’), Joan Jett (‘I Hate Myself For Lovin’ You’) to Ricky Martin ‘(‘Livin’ La Vida Loca’) and many more in between, Desmond Child’s influence on contemporary music is all encompassing and hugely influential.

But it wasn’t always that way. Back in 1977 Desmond was just another struggling New York City based performer/songwriter trying to catch a break in a business whose bedside manners left a lot to be desired. As the architect of Desmond Child And Rouge his vision was, even for the time, wildly on the theatrical side. Featuring no less than three female lead vocalists – that’s Maria Vidal, Myriam Valle & Diana Grasselli – and a style that could best be described as both flamboyant and beguiling, the band recorded two critically lauded but commercially rather unsuccessful studio albums.

‘Runners In the Night’ is generally regarded as the troupe’s piece de résistance, a record full of delightful twists and turns with a forceful melodic rock quotient that has been recognised as one of the genre’s most ambitious and impressive creations. Make no mistake, this is one of the best, if unheralded, AOR releases of all time.

Track listing: ‘The Truth Comes Out’, ‘My Heart’s On Fire’, ‘The Night Was Not’, ‘Goodbye Baby’, ‘Runners In The Night’, ‘Tumble In The Night’, ‘Scared To Live’, ‘A Feelin’ Like This’, ‘Imitation Of Love’, ‘Rosa’.