Joined by his City Beat Bandand playing a unique wind synthesizer called the Lyricon, Charles "Prince Charles" Alexander released a handful of wild synth-funk albums -- 1981's Gang War, 1982's Stone Killers, and 1984's Combat Zone -- that achieved more recognition in the U.K. than in the U.S., even though their best singles were contemporaneous with that of the Gap Band, Rick James, Grandmaster Flash, and the Egyptian Lover. Alexander used his experience as a multi-instrumentalist and all-around studio hound to become active as a mixer and engineer.