Beginnings The five Phillips Brothers (George, Ernesto, Lloyd, Orlando, and Gregory) started a band that played in the basement and living room doing small parties held by their father, Dr. George McKenzie Phillips. The first band was JR and the Royals, featuring George Phillips, Jr. The brothers later added Kayode "Ky" Adeyemo. Ernesto took over as leader of the band when George and Lloyd were sent to college. When George returned, he rejoined his brothers and introduced Renee Diggs to the band. The brothers welcomed Renee to join and a new group began as
Licyndiana. Initially playing at parties and small venues, the group began writing music during this time, with Ernesto becoming the primary songwriter. The group decided to change their name to Starpoint and began making demo recordings to get signed to a major record company. The demo recordings found their way to Lionel Job, who became the group's manager-producer. He took the same recordings to Ruben Rodriguez at Casablanca records, getting the group its first recording contract.
Success At this point, Ernesto Phillips played lead guitar, as well as singing lead and backing vocals; Orlando Phillips played bass guitar, keyboards, and saxophone and sang background vocals; Gregory Phillips played drums, percussion background vocals; George Phillips, Jr. played keyboards and sang lead and background vocals. Renee Diggs shared principal lead and background vocal duties. In addition to being another vocalist, Kayode Adeyemo acted as a second bassist and keyboardist, primarily during live performances, though he did contribute instrumentally to the group's early studio albums, and more occasionally on future recordings. This lineup stayed intact for the next 12 years, honing a sound that was also shaped by various producers, including
Lionel Job,
Keith Diamond,
Bernard Edwards and
Teddy Riley (in addition to the bandmembers' own contributions to production). In 1979, the band secured a national recording deal and released their self-titled debut album,
Starpoint! in 1980. A single from the album, "I Just Wanna Dance with You," became their first top 20 hit on the R&B chart. They released at least one album every year throughout the first half of the 80s.
Elektra Records reissued their sole Boardwalk album, 1983's ''It's So Delicious''. The album
Restless brought them crossover success onto the
Billboard Hot 100 with the single "
Object of My Desire." The title track "Restless" was also released as a single, peaking at No. 11 in the R&B charts.
Oasis was released in the U.S. after her death. In 2000, Ernesto Phillips began working with singer-songwriter Terry Cole (Sly Boots) and signed him to his label, Longevity Records. The pair would collaborate on many tracks from 2000–2001. He died on March 25, 2004, as the result of a stroke. George Phillips died on February 3, 2021, from sepsis. His family established the George McKenzie Phillips, Jr. Fund for Mental Health and Drug Abuse Rehabilitation in his memory, reflecting his dedication and contributions to these fields as a counselor in his post-Starpoint career. ==Band members==