The Flirts are a project concept group formed by Bobby "O" Orlando to front his performances as an artist, musician and songwriter. The group consisted of Orlando and featured a revolving roster of female session singers and models. Under The Flirts name, Orlando churned out hits "Passion", "Danger", "Helpless" and "Jukebox (Don't Put Another Dime)". While many of the girls were just models for the group, Andrea Del Conte, Rebecca Sullivan, Debra Gaynor, Tricia Wygal, and Christina Criscione used their real vocals. Today, the group features a relatively stable trio that performs at 80s music festivals and other venues mainly in the U.S. with some international appearances.
Orlando conceived the idea for the Flirts, wrote the songs, played the instruments, and produced the tracks. He then auditioned girls to be the faces of the group. Orlando often called in the services of professional session singers to sing the female vocals for the tracks because most of the performers were trained as dancers, models or actresses. The Flirts went through numerous lineup changes, and with every album release and tour, some girls left while others stayed. Orlando released six studio albums under The Flirts name from 1982 to 1992 and numerous singles.
"Jukebox" received significant airplay on MTV in 1982. The song rose to number 28 on the Billboard US Dance Chart. The follow-up single "Passion" peaked the same year at number 21 and became a huge success in Europe, reaching number 22 in the Netherlands[1] and number 4 in Germany.[2]
"Helpless (You Took My Love)" peaked at number 12 on the Billboard US Dance Chart, and reached number 13 on the German Top 75. Members of The Flirts performed in the German feature film Feel the Motion.[3]
In 1985, "You and Me", which Orlando co-wrote with influential hip hop producer Clifton "Jiggs" Chase, topped the US dance chart.[4][5]