Baltimora

Baltimora was an Italian-based musical project formed in 1984 by producer Maurizio Bassi. The act is best known for its 1985 single Tarzan Boy, a synth-pop/Italo-disco track that helped popularize the Baltimora sound in Europe and beyond. The project presented a public face in the singer and dancer James “Jimmy” McShane, whose performance and image accompanied the release and promotion of Tarzan Boy.

The debut album, Living in the Background (1985), showcased a bright, keyboard-driven style characteristic of mid-1980s European dance-pop. While McShane provided the vocal presence for Tarzan Boy, Baltimora used a rotating lineup of session musicians and backing vocalists for other tracks, with Bassi remaining the primary songwriter and producer behind the project. The single’s international success brought Baltimora into the mainstream briefly and established the group as part of the era’s Italo-disco and synth-pop movement.

Following Tarzan Boy, Baltimora released additional singles and material, but none achieved the same level of global impact. The project did not sustain long-term commercial momentum and gradually faded from the international music scene by the late 1980s.

Baltimora’s legacy centers on Tarzan Boy, which has remained emblematic of a particular mid-1980s European dance-pop style. The song has continued to appear in media and retrospective collections, contributing to the enduring association of Baltimora with that era’s Italo-disco sound.