The songwriter behind such hits as Scandal's "The Warrior," Pat Benatar's "Love Is a Battlefield," and KISS' "Hide Your Heart," Holly Knight has had a remarkable, behind-the-scenes musical career. But, the New York City native was also a member of the bands Spider and Device in the early '80s, and in 1988, she released a self-titled album.
Device was a short-lived project that featured Knight on keyboards, Gene Black on guitars, and Paul Engemann handling lead vocal duties. They broke up after about a year together, leaving behind one album, 1986's 22B3. "Who Says," a song written by Knight, was the trio's second single, and its combo of hard rock-flavored guitars and keyboards makes the track a perfect example of a subgenre some refer to as "hi-tech AOR." The song's driving rhythm track and macho vocal delivery makes it ripe for one of those action film montages you would see in the '80s.
Before going on to a career as a session musician, Black went on to co-write the pop hits "Love Touch" (Rod Stewart) and "Never" (Heart) with Knight. Fans of Scarface will probably recognize Engemann's vocals from that film's soundtrack cut, "(Scarface) Push It to the Limit." These days, he's a distributor for a health chocolate called Xocai. Knight is still a successful songwriter, working with artists such as Otep, Less Than Jake, and The Donnas.
