Sydney Greenstreet
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The Friends of Mr Cairo is the second album by Jon and Vangelis, released in 1981. There are two editions of the album, with different sleeves. Both were released in 1981 within a few weeks of each other. The title track, "The Friends of Mr Cairo", peaked at No. 1 on the Canadian singles chart in late 1981, though the track was not a hit elsewhere. The second edition of the album includes the single "I'll Find My Way Home", which per Anderson was added in response to poor initial sales of the album, and which stayed in the Swiss charts for 14 weeks and peaked at No. 1 on 7 March 1982. It also peaked at No. 6 in the UK.
"State of Independence" was later a hit single for Donna Summer, and a decade later for Moodswings with Chrissie Hynde on vocal. Anderson also later re-recorded that song on his solo album Change We Must, released in 1994.
The title track and its accompanying music video serve as an ode to classic Hollywood films of the 1930s and 1940s, including references to the classic film noir The Maltese Falcon. The track incorporates sound effects and voice impressions of the stars of the era, most notably Humphrey Bogart, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and Jimmy Stewart.
