Lesson plan

Comateens

The Comateens were originally a new wave duo formed in 1978 in New York City by bassist/vocalist Nicholas Dembling (a.k.a. Nic North / Nick West) and guitarist Ramona Janquitto, who performs under the name Ramona Jan. Soon after, Lyn Byrd joined on vocals and synthesizer, and the duo became a trio. When Jan departed in 1980, North's brother Oliver joined on guitar, completing the final lineup. They contributed two tracks to the influential Marty Thau Presents 2x5 compilation, and their debut album, the self-titled Comateens (1980), featured the band's original compositions alongside covers of "Summer in the City" (The Lovin' Spoonful), "TVC 15" (David Bowie), and the theme song from TV's The Munsters. Pictures on a String, their first album for Virgin Records, followed in 1983, yielding the dance club hit "Get Off My Case". In 1984, the band released their final album, Deal with It, which featured live drums played by Chuck Sabo. The band split up in 1985. Oliver North died in 1987 of asthma-related heart failure due to a heroin overdose. In 1988 Nic North (now Nicholas West) and Lyn Byrd recorded an album, West & Byrd, together. In 1990 the duo, again under the name Comateens, recorded the song "A Place for Me", an English language adaptation of the Julien Clerc and Françoise Hardy song "Fais-moi une place", and it became a European hit.…

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Article summary

The Comateens were originally a new wave duo formed in 1978 in New York City by bassist/vocalist Nicholas Dembling (a.k.a. Nic North / Nick West) and guitarist Ramona Janquitto, who performs under the name Ramona Jan. Soon after, Lyn Byrd joined on vocals and synthesizer, and the duo became a trio. When Jan departed in 1980, North's brother Oliver joined on guitar, completing the final lineup. They contributed two tracks to the influential Marty Thau Presents 2x5 compilation, and their debut album, the self-titled Comateens (1980), featured the band's original compositions alongside covers of "Summer in the City" (The Lovin' Spoonful), "TVC 15" (David Bowie), and the theme song from TV's The Munsters. Pictures on a String, their first album for Virgin Records, followed in 1983, yielding the dance club hit "Get Off My Case". In 1984, the band released their final album, Deal with It, which featured live drums played by Chuck Sabo. The band split up in 1985. Oliver North died in 1987 of asthma-related heart failure due to a heroin overdose. In 1988 Nic North (now Nicholas West) and Lyn Byrd recorded an album, West & Byrd, together. In 1990 the duo, again under the name Comateens, recorded the song "A Place for Me", an English language adaptation of the Julien Clerc and Françoise Hardy song "Fais-moi une place", and it became a European hit.…

Key claims

  1. date of death: 1987 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  2. date of formation: 1978 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  3. release date: 1991 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. The record states that the date of death is "1987". What evidence would count against this claim?
  3. The record states that the date of formation is "1978". What evidence would count against this claim?
  4. The record states that the release date is "1991". What evidence would count against this claim?
  5. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  6. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

  1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1318554524

Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.