Artist:La Flavour
Song:Mandolay
Album:Kiss Me Guido: Selections from the Motion Picture
Mandolay was a top ten dance hit in 1980. It was the only significant hit for La Flavour. With a name like that and a Latin tinged sound, one might think they were from Puerto Rico. La Flavour are from Cleveland. The members of La Flavour went to high school together in Massillon, OH. We have brothers Pete (guitar) and Steve (drums) Nervo, Craig DeBock on guitar and Gino Milchak on bass. They played local Cleveland clubs and by the mid 70s were known as Ragweed. Their agent changed the band name to Flavour and then La Flavour. I assume the idea was to make them seem exotic. Mandolay was released in 1980. It reached #7 on the dance chart. It was written and produced by Mark Avsec who also produced Wild Cherry (also from Cleveland). The song did well enough that MCA Records signed La Flavour. With the disco era coming to a close, MCA decided to change the band name to Fair Warning and have them record pop songs. They recorded She Don't Know Me. But a lead single was needed for Bon Jovi's debut album. So the song was taken away from Fair Warning. Then Van Halen released an album called Fair Warning. MCA cancelled the whole thing. The album was never released. La Flavour continued to tour. They even performed with puppets at one point. In the 90s they became a disco nostalgia act. That's how Mandolay appeared on the soundtrack of the 1997 film Kiss Me Guido. This is available as a budget CD and it is the full version of Mandolay. It looks like La Flavour retired in 2006. Here's the video for Mandolay by La Flavour.
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