The LinnDrum was a drum machine manufactured by Linn Electronics and the successor to the Linn LM-1. It was introduced in 1982 at a list price of US$2,995. The LinnDrum had 15 drum sounds sampled from real drums and, as with the LM-1, provided a sequencer for programming rhythm patterns, a built-in mixer and individual output jacks for each sound.

Improvements on the LM-1 included the addition of crash and ride cymbal samples, five external trigger inputs and the ability to replace the built-in sounds with new sounds on EPROM chips.

A notable difference compared to the LM-1 was that only the snare, tom and conga samples could be tuned, whereas the LM-1 allowed every sound to be individually tuned.

Nevertheless its high-quality samples, flexibility and affordability, made the LinnDrum hugely popular. Approximately 5,000 units were sold between 1982 and 1985 and it was used on countless recordings throughout the 1980s, including a-ha's international hit Take On Me.

Pat Mastelotto (born Lee Patrick Mastelotto; September 10, 1955) is a rock drummer who has worked with Mr. Mister and King Crimson, amongst others. For King Crimson he initially formed part of the "double trio" lineup, joining Bill Bruford on drums.

Mastelotto started playing the drums at the age of 10. By the time he was 16 he was playing in popular local bands, and while still in high school commuted several hours to Lake Tahoe for gigs. Moving to Los Angeles in the mid 1970s, Mastelotto worked for many bands and as a studio session drummer. In this capacity he worked for Martin Briley, Holly Knight, Scandal, Al Jarreau, The Pointer Sisters, Patti LaBelle, Kenny Loggins, Martika, Danny Wilde as well as playing drums on the double platinum album Rockland by Canadian rock musician Kim Mitchell.

In 1983, Mastelotto was a founding member of Mr. Mister. The band had a number one album, Welcome to the Real World, and two number one singles, "Broken Wings" and "Kyrie". They recorded four albums, with the fourth, "Pull", recorded in 1989-1990 but remaining unreleased until late 2010.

Monica Stucchi (born May 28, 1963), best known by her recording name, Valerie Dore is an Italian musician from Milan, Italy, born in Monaco. She came to fame during the mid-1980s as part of the Italo disco movement.

Prior to her career in music, Stucchi worked as graphic designer and was a singer in a bluegrass band that played at Milano pubs called the "Watermelon String Band" (led by Bruno Guaitamacchi) when she was discovered at age 20 by the Italo producer Roberto Gasparini.

After being discovered, Monica Stucchi choose the stage name "Valerie Dore" and began work on her first song, "The Night," an Italo disco track that would be released in 1984 in conjunction with the album of the same name. That year, Italian music news publication Sorrisi e Canzoni ("Smiles and Songs") awarded her the prize of best new artist of year. Dore's next two songs, "Get Closer" and "It's So Easy" were released in 1985 and had similar arrangements to "The Night." She won second place at the Festibar singing contest in Italy and performed on the TV show "Azzurro."