One To One

Biography by Michael Sutton Ottawa, Canada's One to One like to change their name -- and sound -- whenever there's a shift in popular music styles. They're commercial chameleons trying to capitalize on every new trend. From the mid-'70s to the early '80s, Louise Reny (vocals) and Leslie Howe (guitar, bass, keyboards) were members of the cover band Mainstream. After leaving Mainstream, Reny and Howe became a new wave duo, One to One. In 1984, One to One were signed by the British label Bonaire and sent to West Germany to record their debut album Forward Your Emotions. The coy single "Angel in My Pocket" became a hit in Canada and the Philippines in 1985; in addition, other tracks like "There Was a Time" and "Black on White" landed on the Canadian charts as well. One to One's second full-length, 1-2-1, yielded more Canadian Top 40 songs, such as "Do You Believe" and "Hold Me Now." By 1992, new wave was no longer attractive to radio stations; the group altered their appellation to One 2 One and jettisoned new wave for easy listening and country. The band departed from Bonaire and ended up on A&M Records, releasing the album Peace of Mind. One 2 One then took a break from recording. During the hiatus, Howe helped mold a teenage Alanis Morissette into a Tiffany-esque pop singer. Reny and Howe returned as the grunge band Sal's Birdland after Nirvana wooed the masses, recording So Very Happy and Nude Photos Inside, neither of which performed well. Nude Photos Inside was released on Discovery in the U.S., but even with major-label support, Sal's Birdland didn't take flight. As grunge burned out in the late '90s, Reny and Howe took another approach. Looking to the female-led alternative rock group Garbage for inspiration, they became Artificial Joy Club, recording their debut full-length Melt in 1997.