- published: 26 May 2011
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Jimmy McShane (born James Harry McShane; 23 May 1957 – 29 March 1995), was a Northern Irish singer, known as the front-man of Italian band Baltimora.
McShane was born in Derry, Northern Ireland. He learned at a young age to play bass and guitar. As a child, he was allegedly shunned by his family after they learned of his homosexuality. Later as a young man in the late 1970s, McShane left Northern Ireland to study at a stage school in London, where he learned to dance, sing and recite.
Hired as a stage dancer and backing singer, McShane soon went around Europe with Dee D. Jackson and her band. During a visit to Italy with the band, McShane was attracted to the country's underground dance scene, which led to him settling in Milan in 1984. He told Dick Clark on American Bandstand in 1986 that he fell in love with Italy from that moment. He also learned the Italian language.
He made his debut playing in small clubs in his hometown and was presented to various audiences, without success. In view of his low artistic success, McShane decided to work as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) for the Red Cross until he met Italian record producer & keyboardist Maurizio Bassi, with whom he created Baltimora. The act found success with its most popular single, "Tarzan Boy", released in 1985.