Michael Bayor was born in Poland. He grew up in an artistic family, with his father an actor, his brother an actor and a paiter, and his grandmother an oper singer and a painter as well. From early childhood Michael was exposed to the stage. He attended a ballet school for seven years, then received ten years piano lessons. As a sixteen years old, he had already taken top prize in several Polish and international singing competitions. At the age of seventeen, he debuted in one of the leading roles in an Agnieszka Holland film (known for such film as "Europe, Europe"). When Michael was nineteen, he entered a prestigious Warsaw acting school. While still in school, Michael begun received films and theater roles, historically reserved for seasoned actor. Co-starring with the well known German actor Maria Brandauer ("out of Africa", "Russian House") in an Oscar nominated Ystvan Sabo film "Hanussen", he clearly emerged es the big star of a new generation. To date, he's had over 60 roles in theater, TV and film.
But Michael's heart was in music. In 1986 at the International Singing Festival in Sopot, Poland, he received the prestigious Press Award as the most talented singer. From then on, Michael begun touring Poland and Europe. His unique style and very expressive delivery, as well as the nature of the lyrics, brought thousands of fans to his concerts. He recorded eight albums, which sold a huge number of copies in Poland. What Michael really wanted though, was to perform for the American audience.
In 1990 Michael came to the U.S., where he met a polish-born entrepreneur, Peter Turo. Together they formed Sonia Company and began collaborating on producing the first album that Michael would record specifically for the U.S. market, entitled "Kings and Queens". It took seven months and many talented musicians from Poland, England and U.S. to complete the project.
Here it is. We hope you enjoy this album much as we enjoyed recording it.
Warsaw, 1992
- Did you ever cry? (muz. Rafał Paczkowski, sł. Marek Śledziewski) 5:25
- Crimes of passion (muz. Wojciech Gogolewski, sł. Marek Śledziewski) 6:04
- We both know (muz. Wojciech Gogolewski/ Rafał Paczkowski, sł. Marek Śledziewski) 5:11
- One in a million (muz. Rafał Paczkowski/ Piotr Rubik, sł. Marek Śledziewski) 3:57
- Crazy little bars (muz. Rafał Paczkowski/ Piotr Rubik, sł. Marek Śledziewski) 4:41
- Hello solitude (muz. Piotr Rubik, sł. Marek Śledziewski) 4:37
- Kings and Queens (muz. Piotr Rubik, sł. Marek Śledziewski) 5:08
- Love is a game today (muz. Piotr Rubik, sł. Marek Śledziewski) 4:43
- Waiting for the past (muz. Piotr Rubik, sł. Marek Śledziewski) 4:21
- I'll be there (muz. Antoni Kopf, sł. Marek Śledziewski) 5:40
- Heaven in your eyes (muz. Piotr Rubik, sł. Marek Śledziewski) 6:26
- The dark street of yesterday (muz. Piotr Rubik, sł. Marek Śledziewski) 4:03
Special thanks to Marek Śledziewski, Rafał Paczkowski and Lynell Bentley for their time and dedication in the production of ths album.