He subsequently played with a number of similar bands on a short-term basis, and built up a reputation as a fine backing vocalist and talented songwriter. He worked with Cinderella, Y&T, Vixen and Lita Ford in this capacity and was offered a solo recording contract by PolyGram Records in 1986. He debuted with Race To Paradise the same year, a highly polished and melodic collection of AOR anthems, similar in style to Michael Bolton and Eric Martin. Wired Up saw Paris toughen up his approach. The album was typical North American rock and drew comparisons with Bruce Springsteen and Bryan Adams. However, both sets failed commercially and PolyGram terminated his contract in 1988.