Holly & the Italians

Holly & the Italians

Holly Beth Vincent (born Holly Beth Cernuto in 1956) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. In her youth Vincent sang and played drums and guitar in several bands and took part in the Los Angeles punk scene. In 1978, she formed Holly and the Italians and moved to London, England, where the band was welcomed by the British press and gained a recording contract with Virgin Records on the strength of the single "Tell That Girl to Shut Up". Holly and the Italians' debut album The Right to Be Italian had a troubled and long production and was a commercial failure, which led to the band's dissolution at the end of 1980, after a US tour supporting The Clash and the Ramones. Vincent recorded under her name the album Holly and the Italians in the UK and was then deported to the US by the British authorities. She went to live in New York City, where she was a member of The Waitresses for a short time and played in other local groups. In 1990, she moved to Los Angeles and two years later recorded the album America with a new band that she had formed called The Oblivious. The album Vowel Movement followed in 1994, as a collaboration with Concrete Blonde singer Johnette Napolitano. Vincent continues to write and record and recently has released albums mainly in digital format, including two collections of tech house music.

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