Artist · chart history · #195 in alternative artist polls
Voice Farm
Band United States
Voice Farm formed in the United States. Voice Farm has 7 chart appearances on 7 radio countdowns from 1 station on RockLists, spanning 1988–1994. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Johnny Belinda”, which appears on 2 lists with a best position of #84. The station that charted Voice Farm most often is Live 105 (San Francisco, CA), with 7 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 1991.
Voice Farm came up out of the San Francisco club scene at the end of the '70s, playing rooms like the Mabuhay Gardens and the Savoy Tivoli alongside the Units, Tuxedo Moon, Los Microwaves and Pink Section. At the center are vocalist Charly Brown and sound designer Myke Reilly, and from the start they were as much a video collective as a band, hooked on pop culture and the media machine.
Singles in 1981 and an album on Optional Music in 1982 got them signed to A&M, and then nothing: 2 years under contract, no records, and out the door. They landed on Ralph Records, which put out their second album in 1987, and it was a sharp turn from the first. Voice Farm the album is chilly, clever new wave with a sense of humor, and it gave the countdowns "Johnny Belinda", "Seeing is Believing" and "Super E.Q. Team". Opening dates for Depeche Mode followed.
By 1991 the lineup had grown to include guitarist Ken Weller and backing singer Marilynn Fowler, with the dance troupe Oblong Rhonda helping out live, and "Free Love" made the dance charts. Their song "Sleep" also turns up on the Let Them Eat Jellybeans! compilation.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by Voice Farm on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johnny Belinda | 2 | #84 | – | 1988 | |
| 2 | Free Love | 1 | #47 | – | 1991 | |
| 3 | Seeing is Believing | 1 | #286 | – | – | |
| 4 | Super E.Q. Team | 1 | #466 | – | – |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
Year-end chart timeline
Combined year-end countdown points per year. Taller bars mean more songs placing higher across more stations.
Every countdown appearance
| Year | # | Song | Countdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 466 | Super E.Q. Team | Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (July 1994) |
| 1991 | 47 | Free Love | Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1991 |
| 1991 | 84 | Artist ranking | Live 105 Top 105 Artists of All-Time (1991) |
| 1990 | 177 | Johnny Belinda | Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1990) |
| 1989 | 69 | Artist ranking | Live 105 Top 105 Artists of All-Time (1989) |
| 1988 | 84 | Johnny Belinda | Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1988 |
| 1988 | 286 | Seeing is Believing | Live 105 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1988) |
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