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Regina Richards & Red Hot was an American band fronted by Regina Richards, the dance music singer whose single, “Baby Love”, reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1986.
Regina Richards & Red Hot were part of the New York punk/new-wave scene of the 1970s and 80s. The band got its start at Max's Kansas City and CBGB, notable venues that were the breeding grounds for bands such as "The Ramones" and “Blondie”. A notable event in the course of the band's career was being the opening act for U2 during their very first American tour in support of their first album, "Boy." Plagued by producer, managers, and record companies’ constant demand for personnel change, Regina Richards & Red Hot fell into a career of rotating band members. For the duration, Regina Richards and Nez Perce continued collaborating throughout the changes until the break-up of the band in 1985, just before Regina's “Baby Love” hit. The original lineup consisted of: Regina Richards - lead and backup vocals, rhythm guitarist and main songwriter / Nez Perce (Nestor Zarragoitía) - lead & rhythm guitar, songwriter and sometimes backup singer / Robert Mullins - drums / and Albert Sce on bass. The backup singers were Emily West, Susan Johnson, and Susan Stern-Knapp. The first personnel change was Angelo Olivieri, who replaced Albert on bass. Replacing the original backup singers line up was Michelle and Susan Johnson. After Susan Johnson left the band, Robin Levenson joined the band. Eventually, Michele became the only backup singer, creating the final band's signature backup sound. Michele, who eventually added 'bass player' to her band contribution, was a member of the band until its disbanding.
A breakdown of names from the different phases of personnel changes after original members left follows: Glen Hamilton – drums, who had just come off playing drums on Pat Benatar’s first hit “Heartbreaker”/ Michael Osborne – drums, who went on to be a member of the rockabilly group “The Rockats” - both played separately on the self-title album made for A&M records / Charles Roth (bass/synthesizers on the A&M album) joined the Red Hot’s and became the signature bass and synthesizer sound of the band. Stephen Bray was the Red Hot’s last drummer, who went on to collaborate writing the music and lyrics with Madonna on some of her greatest, and most memorable, hits. The final member was Max Camfield on bass and, along with Stephen Bray, recorded "Rock & Roll Xmas", made for the Johnny Apollo label. "Deep Dreaming" EP, along with additional songs recorded, was also recorded for the Johnny Apollo label. Rob Freeman co-producer the sessions along with the Red Hots. He also was the studio engineer. By this point, the Eps were done under the name "Regina", dropping the "and Red Hot" part of the band’s name. After Regina did several home demos with Nez in the mid 1980s, the two disbanded and Regina pursued the career that made her a star. Stardom eluded Regina Richards and Red Hot as a group. Though not a musical member of the band, Joel Millman was an integral member of the band and its success.