This Los Angeles-based synth pop group, founded by bassist
John Crawford, singer
Terri Nunn, and keyboard player
David Diamond, made its first national impression with the provocative single "Sex (I'm A...)" from the gold-selling debut EP
Pleasure Victim in 1982. The group was filled out by guitarist
Rick Olsen, keyboard player
Matt Reid, and drummer
Rob Brill.
Berlin's first full-length LP was the gold
Love Life in 1984. In 1985, the group was pared down to a trio of
Crawford,
Nunn, and
Brill.
Berlin topped the charts in 1986 with the single "Take My Breath Away," the love theme from the Tom Cruise movie Top Gun.
Nunn left for a solo career in 1987, and
Crawford and
Brill teamed up in
the Big F. In 1999, the band reunited to record some new studio material and also performed a concert, which, along with the new songs, was released as 2000's
Berlin Live: Sacred and Profane. This was followed a year later by a flurry of recording sessions that included co-writing tracks with
Billy Corgan, among others. The end result,
Voyeur, was their first full-length studio release in over 15 years. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide