Friday Night Music Club Vol 27

Evening all.

I mentioned last week that I had prepared and stockpiled several mixes whilst I was away, and it turns out this was quite fortuitous, as I’ve had a few technical issues with iTunes and the DJ mixing app I use, which I haven’t been able to fully resolve yet (and which I won’t bore you with here). I mention it now merely as apology for the absence of any posts this week.

I also mentioned last week that some of the mixes needed “…need a bit of tweaking…” and when I managed to listen back to them all, it transpires that there was something about a lot of them that I wasn’t entirely happy with, be that the running order or the song choices.

Also, having (finally) returned to work last week, albeit on a phased return/reduced hours, and working from home, I haven’t quite got the work/home ratio quite right yet. When logging off my work laptop, the last thing I then felt like doing was cranking up my own one and starting all over again.

But enough about my own woes; what I’m trying to say is this: this week we have a playlist which wasn’t planned to be posted for several weeks, but hey ho, here we are.

Anyway, it’s the usual mix of indie tunes and pop songs either fondly remembered or pretty much forgotten (with good reason, some might say) that you’ve come to know and, in some instances, if not love then quite like.

Chocks away!

Friday Night Music Club Vol 27

And here’s your tracklisting, but no sleeve notes this week, I’m afraid:

1. Teenage Fanclub – Dumb Dumb Dumb
2. Gnarls Barkley – Crazy
3. The Monochrome Set – Jacob’s Ladder
4. The Farmer’s Boys – In The Country
5. The Housemartins – Me and The Farmer
6. The Byrds – I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better
7. The Weather Prophets – Hollow Heart
8. Inspiral Carpets – Commercial Rain
9. The Fall – Hit The North Pt 1
10. Chumbawamba & Credit to the Nation – Hear No Bullshit (On Fire Mix)
11. Major Lazer feat. Mr Evil & Mapei – Mary Jane
12. Groove Armada – Purple Haze (Edit)
13. The Go-Go’s – We Got the Beat
14. Bruce Springsteen – Cover Me
15. Patti Smith Group – Because the Night
16. Natalie Cole – Pink Cadillac
17. Paula Abdul – Opposites Attract
18. The Carpenters – We’ve Only Just Begun

Yes we have. But we’ve also finished for another week.

More soon.

Friday Night Music Club Vol 24

Whilst I was off, towards the end of 2022, there was a sudden rush of celebrity/musician deaths. It almost seemed like they knew what 2023 held in store and just preferred to shuffle off this mortal coil rather than face it.

Although I easily could, it seems to me a little odd to write a eulogy to them this late after the event of their sad passing; so instead I’ve done a mix which includes the three I was most upset by, and some other tunes by (at the time of writing) musicians who are very much alive. God, I hope I haven’t jinxed them now..

So, here you go, this week’s mix. I do often have to rein myself in when I have a theme to provide a mix for/about, and I think I’ve managed it this time: a homage (but not exclusively limited) to Terry Hall, Maxi Jazz and Martin Duffy, at least one of whom some may need guidance as to their importance and why they should, and will, be missed:

Friday Night Music Club Vol 24

And here’s your track-listing with explanatory sleeve notes:

1. Terry, Blair & Anouchka – Missing

I’m probably not alone in being most shocked and saddened by the sudden passing of Terry Hall. I first remember encountering his dulcet tones on The Specials’ Too Much Too Young, a record which, when it came out in 1980, I was too young to understand. Similarly, the subject matter of Ghost Town was, at the time, way above my head – but I remember associating Terry with the lively, upbeat sounding bit in the middle (“Do you remember the good old days before the ghost town?/We danced and sang, and the music played in a de boomtown.“), so I was always slightly bemused by the popular opinion of him as a bit of miserablist.

Whilst I saw many tributes to Terry online after his very sad passing, very few of them featured anything from his brief Terry, Blair & Anouchka incarnation, so I thought I should redress that.  He teamed up with American actress Blair Booth and jeweller (!?) Anouchka Grose and began recording under the aforementioned moniker in 1989. Two singles were criminally ignored, both only scraping into the top 80 of the UK Singles Chart.  This, the first single, made it to #75. It deserved better.

2. The Lightning Seeds – Sense

Collaborations with Ian Broudie were plentiful, but for my money Terry’s vocals absolutely make this version (more so than his own version).

3. The Go-Go’s – Our Lips Are Sealed

Also recorded by Fun Boy Three (sorry, this version is just superior, if only because it allows me to imagine I’m in a sordid, secret relationship with Belinda Carlisle) this was co-written by Terry and Go-Go’s guitarist Jane Wiedlin. Possibly the greatest pop record ever made. If Terry Hall had done nothing else, his involvement in this alone should earn him our undying respect and love.

4. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – I Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down

Although Mr McManus had a C-word (not that one) health scare a couple of years ago, he’s still with us at the time of writing. Originally recorded by legendary soul act Sam & Dave, this appeared on Elvis’ 1980 Get Happy! album, which is worth 35 minutes or so of your time if you’ve not had the pleasure.

5. Dave Edmunds – Girls Talk

Also not dead (although I did have to check). From hereon in, assume the artiste in question is alive and kicking unless I say otherwise, otherwise it will get pretty tedious if I just keep saying they’re not dead. I’ve been wanting to post this tune, which I love, for a while now, and right here it just seemed to fit.

6. Moloko – Pure Pleasure Seeker

This is from the Things to Make and Do, the same album as The Time Is Now and Sing It Back (the latter admittedly tagged on with the smasheroo Boris Musical Mix version), which means this tune is often overlooked, unless you’re making adverts for beds (I think). Reclaiming this one back from the evil clutches of capitalism (right on, brothers and sisters).

7. The Steve Miller Band – Abracadabra

Shush. It’s a tune. And a mighty fine one, at that. Dislike it at your peril.

8. Cornershop – Brimful Of Asha (Norman Cook Remix)

Since watching the Fatboy Slim/Brighton beach documentary recently, I’ve been on a bit of a Norm-trip. A Cook-off, if you will. So this is included just as a reminder of how ace it is. (Around the time this came out, I remember seeing an interview with Norm, where he warned Jason Nevins, having success with a Run-DMC remix, not to spread himself too thinly with his remixes, which frankly seemed a bit rich…)

9. Wild Child – Renegade Master

…especially as Norm remixed this.

10. Faithless – Mass Destruction

Back to the death roll-call I’m afraid. Maxi Jazz and Faithless made mostly inspiring, upbeat, trance-based club records, and were an incredible live act that I had the pleasure of seeing a couple of times. I’m sure you’re mostly familiar with their biggest hits: Insomnia, We Come 1 and God is a DJ; they all featured highly in the post-passing articles and tributes I read, but less so this brilliant articulation of, amongst other things, dismay at disinformation that was, released in 2004, way ahead of its time, the term fake news not entering the zeitgeist until several years later. It’s still, sadly, just as relevant today.

11. Belinda Carlisle – (We Want) The Same Thing

I don’t really need to justify the inclusion of this, do I? Good. Thought not. It’s ace, and that will suffice.

12. Violent Femmes – Prove My Love

“Third verse, same as the first!”

13. Pixies – Head On

Ironically, or perhaps appropriately, given it’s title, a double-header with…

14. The Jesus & Mary Chain – Far Gone and Out

…this, who originally wrote and performed Head On, so it didn’t seem right to omit them from this mix.

15. Felt – I Will Die With My Head In Flames

Martin Duffy’s sudden death in December, as a result of a brain injury following a fall at his home, was both saddening and shocking. He had first come to prominence as keyboard player in the always under-rated indie band Felt. This, short but sweet, little beauty never appeared on an actual Felt album (compilations aside) and was the B-side (or possibly the 2nd track on an AA side, I’m not entirely sure) to 1986’s Rain of Crystal Spires, which, needless to say of all Felt records, and pretty much every record that Felt mainman Lawrence has been involved in, was unjustly ignored by Joe Public, the idiot.

16. The Colourfield – Thinking of You

As I believe I mentioned recently, it’s always nice to have your musical taste supported, and such was the case when I tweeted about how sad I was about Terry’s passing: my old mucker Heledd replied: “Thinking of You always reminds me of you – you were the first person I met who loved it as much as me.”

I can think of worse records to be associated with.

17. Primal Scream – Shoot Speed/Kill Light

After Felt disbanded/fell apart, Martin Duffy became a full-time member of Primal Scream. His passing inspired the band to release this statement: “We’re all so sad…Martin was the most musically talented of all of us. (He) could play piano to the level where he was feted not just by his peers in British music, but old school master American musicians such as James Luther Dickinson, Roger Hawkins, David Hood (and) producer Tom Dowd”.

18. The Charlatans – Just When You’re Thinkin’ Things Over

It wasn’t just the Primals who mourned him; following the death of founding member Rob Collins, Martin learned all of The Charlatan’s songs in three weeks so that he could appear with them supporting Oasis at their legendary and record-breaking gigs at Knebworth in 1996. He also contributed keyboard parts to the band’s fifth album Tellin’ Stories. Here’s Charlatans front man and National Treasure in waiting, Tim Burgess: “(Martin) stepped in to save the Charlatans when we lost Rob – he played with us at Knebworth and was a true friend. He toured with me in my solo band too – he was a pleasure to spend time with”.

This isn’t on Tellin’ Stories, but was the single The Charlatans had out at around the time of those Knebworth gigs, so undoubtedly Martin would have learned it.

19. The Specials – Enjoy Yourself

“Hello. My name’s Terry and I’m going to enjoy myself first.”

Enough said.

More soon.

Friday Night Music Club

Here we are again, and this week, as ‘promised’ a completely new mix for your Friday Night enjoyment.

Not much to say about this one (man alive, I know how to pitch!), except to say that after the first track, it goes a little bit Radio 2 for a few songs (which is no bad thing in my book), before diving head-long into a right old Indie disco, starting off over in the USA (and mostly New York) before switching to some tunes which are unmistakeably British, along with a rip-roaring final track to bring matters to a close.

Here comes the disclaimer: any skips or jumps are down to the mixing software (there’s one biggie in the first tune, but other than that it seems to have behaved itself this time); any mis-timed mixes are down to me; all record selections are mine.

Friday Night Music Club Vol 9

And here’s your track-listing:

1. The Jesus & Mary Chain – Darklands
2. Eagle-Eye Cherry – Save Tonight
3. The Pretenders – Back on the Chain Gang
4. Electric Light Orchestra – Sweet Talkin’ Woman
5. Eagles – Take It Easy
6. The Lemonheads – You Can Take It With You
7. The Wedding Present – Go-Go Dancer
8. Redd Kross – How Much More
9. The Go-Go’s – Beatnik Beach
10. Ramones – Rockaway Beach
11. Kings of Leon – The Bucket
12. Weezer – Hash Pipe
13. Interpol – Slow Hands
14. The Strokes – Reptilia
15. Fountains of Wayne – Radiation Vibe
16. David Devant & His Spirit Wife – Ginger
17. Cud – One Giant Love
18. Status Quo – Mystery Song (album version)

Long-term readers should not read anything into the inclusion of the third tune. It’s not coming back.

More soon.

Friday Night Music Club

Having finally polished off the six parts of Volume 6 last week to less than rapturous applause, we move swiftly on to Volume 7, and a return to the Indie disco and *gulps* a ‘theme’.

I would imagine that most of you will spot the theme when the first track drops. If you don’t, then I would suggest you’re probably the sort of person who should be out handing out Covid conspiracy and anti-mask leaflets with Piers Corbyn.

I really enjoyed putting this mix together, and had a good old sing-a-long to it when listening back to it to check for ‘quality’ purposes (feedback and training, y’know the sort of thing).

Not that you should take that as me likening it to telephone hold music, far from it: here you’ve got 22 songs crammed into 70 minutes, only two of which dare to outstay their welcome by venturing past the four-minute mark. There’s the usual mix of songs you may have forgotten about, scattered amongst the ones you’ve never heard before, and maybe some you never want to hear again, there’s pop, there’s balls-out rockers (or whatever the female equivalent is….realises that L7 feature, and they literally showed us when they appeared on The Word), there’s a couple of tremendous cover versions. Something for everyone, in other words.

So without further ado – and look: not even a disclaimer this week! (although their are a couple of skips, but you know why that is by now) – here we go:

Friday Night Music Club Vol 7

And here’s the track listing. Look away if you want to avoid spoilers:

• Maxïmo Park – Girls Who Play Guitars
• The Breeders – Cannonball
• Veruca Salt – Seether
• The Runaways – Cherry Bomb
• L7 – Pretend We’re Dead
• PJ Harvey – Dress
• Girls at Our Best! – Getting Nowhere Fast
• Lush – Ladykillers
• The Long Blondes – Separated By Motorways
• The Flatmates – Happy All The Time
• The Pretenders – Middle of the Road
• The Go-Go’s – Can’t Stop the World
• Vanessa Paradis – Be My Baby
• `Voice Of The Beehive – Don’t Call Me Baby
• Dua Lipa – Levitating
• Stereolab – Wow And Flutter
• Belly – Feed The Tree
• Suzanne Vega – Left Of Centre
• The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – Young Adult Friction
• Asobi Seksu – Never Understand
• Toquiwa – Kennedy
• Pixies – Gigantic

Hope you like!

More soon.

They Got The Beat

Long ago, I mentioned how my brother, on returning from a long-stint working overseas, had returned to England, retrieved all of his belongings from storage, and promptly decided that he no longer needed his CD, DVD and vinyl collection, and donated them to me.

For the past couple of years, delayed and interupted by my having to evacuate my flat whilst structural work was done last year, I’ve been sorting through it all, integrating it into my own collection, seeking out the duplicates which at some point will make their way to a charidee shop.

At the time I said I would write about some of the records I’d inherited, but to date I think I’ve only managed one. About time I redressed that, I think.

This has been prompted by watching a documentary about today’s featured band which is available on NOWTV, should you be so inclined. But more of that later.

First, back to the mid-1980s, when my brother went to stay with family we have over in the good ol’ US of A. I’ve mentioned my aunt, uncle and three cousins before, as the source of the Looney Tunes album I’ve dipped into many times on here, and it was them with whom my brother went to stay,

They live and work on a blueberry farm, and my big bro spent a few months over there, helping out on the farm and then socialising and absorbing the culture in his down time.

Consequently, when we collected him from Heathrow on his return, his appearance had changed. On the way out, he was dressed like any other rock kid from the 80s;on his return he was resplendant in denim jacket, off-red skin-tight jeans, a tan to match his brown tan cowboy boots.

And of course, amongst his luggage a plethora of records he had picked up on his travels. One – Def Leppard’s Hysteria album – was a present for me (I was also a proud rocker at the the time, so gratefully accepted this gift of a record by a group I’d never heard of, from…um…Sheffield), the rest were all his.

Amongst them, the first two albums – Beauty and the Beat and Vacation – by The Go-Go’s, an all-girl group who (as the documentary I mentioned earlier goes to great lengths to stress) wrote their own songs and played their own instruments. Actually, although it sounds like one of those tiresome world records people try to claim, The Go-Go’s were the first all-girl band, who wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to have a #1 album in the US. And when you think about it, that’s pretty massive. And a searing indictment of the music scene that it didn’t happen until 1981.

We had nothing like them in the UK at the time, so it’s surprising that they never really had that much of an impact over here. The closest we had was Banarama, or The Belle Stars. I love Banarama, but they are not renowned for writing their own songs, playing any instruments, or even attempting to sing in anything approaching harmony. Similarly, The Belle Stars did play their own instruments, wrote some of their own songs, but only had one really great one. I recently picked up a vinyl copy of the album its on, and can report that it’s no suprise a follow-up hit never happened:

The Belle Stars – Sign of the Times

Nothing else to see here. Move along please.

So there was a gap in the market for a band like The Go-Go’s, but for reasons which I’ll never really understand, they just never happened over here.

Many years later, with the advent of the internet, I located both of these albums, downloaded them and burnt copies off which I gave to my brother. He seemed distinctly non-plussed, like I’d reminded him of a particularly embarassing time in his life, before he went Goth and those tan cowboy boots got blacked-up an integrated into his Goth uniform.

Scroll forward another couple of years. Very aware of The Go-Go’s reputation for being hell-raising party girls, I purchase lead singer Belinda Carlisle’s autobiography, which promises to tell the whole story. It is disappointingly bland. I mention this to my brother, who gives me one of those “What are you, stupid?” looks, and says “What did you buy that for? What did you expect? What are you stupid?”

I was genuinely perplexed by these responses. After all, it was he who had brought The Go-Go’s into my life, for which I was eternally grateful, and yet he seemed so dismissive.

This weekend, we were due to meet up and visit our parents, but alas my train got cancelled so I won’t be attending. But I received a WhatsApp message from my brother, asking if I’d watched the documentary, imploring me to do so if I hadn’t, because he had realised that whilst he had considered them a guilty pleasure until now (I know, I know, I’ll have a word…) he now thought they were “…the first cool thing I knew about”. Yes, bro. Been trying to tell you that for years.

Anyway, if you’re able to watch the documentary, I’d thoroughly recommend you do so. It really does tell the warts-and-all story – the partying, the habitual cocaine use, the cracks appearing when the non-songwriters realise how much more than them the actual song-writers are earning, the heroin addiction (of one member), the splits, the re-grouping – everything which is missing from Carlisle’s auto-biography is there.

Here’s the trailer:

And it’s really quite uplifting, the way these five women are able to bury the hatchet and work together again. They had a mini-comeback in 1994 with compilation album Return to the Valley of the Go-Go’s, another in 2001 with God Bless The Go-Go’s and another in process right now. New material, one song of which is featured at the end of the documentary. I’d love to tell you it’s any good, but….*sighs*…it really isn’t.

Those first two albums though, the ones my brother brought back from America, are great examples of post-punk power-pop. While neither album is perfect, they both have enough on each to regularly bother my turntable. Here’s my pick from each:

For a starters, that’s one strong iconic sleeve, right there.

Secondly, the first track is this, one which i have posted so many times before, and genuinely believe it to be one of the greatest pop records ever made. The documentary tells you more than I ever knew about how it came about: the UK tour supporting The Specials; guitarist Jane Weidlin’s dalliance with Specials main man Terry Hall:

The Go-Go’s – Our Lips Are Sealed

If you can start your debut album off with that as a first track, you deserve to be noticed.

I’d love to tell you the rest of the album is as good as that opener, but it’s not. It can’t be.

That said, the rest of the tunes really aren’t that far behind, all power pop riffs, cooing backing vocals, songs about love, betrayal and youthful infatuation, such as this, which has a teensy bit of the riff nicked from Elvis’ (Marie’s The Name Of) His Latest Flame:

The Go-Go’s – How Much More

Much is made in the documentary of this next song being a turning point in the band’s history, and rightly so. It’s a call to arms, a clarion call, a statement of intent:

The Go-Go’s – We Got the Beat

That song always reminds me of the first time I came to London and saw Hel DJ’ing. At the time she was part of a three-girl DJ collective (I hate to use the word “girl” there, they were women, all in there 30s, but somehow “girl” sounds better. Sorry.) and We Got The Beat was the first record I heard her play “out”. I’ve never worked out whether she played it because she knew what a boss record it was, or because she knew I was there and loved it (bit vain, that last hope, I admit). I’d like to think it was a combination of the two, but expectations have been dashed on lesser things, so it matters not.

Finally, album closer, and this is a really great, much-overlooked tune, which sets the tone for the band seemingly trying to get the word “World” into at least one song title per album:

The Go-Go’s – Can’t Stop the World

On to the second album, Vacation. Second album’s are tricky: do you give people more of the same, or try to develop your sound?

More of the same please! Save progress for the difficult third album!

And to kick it off, a perfect juxtaposition of happy, holiday music against the sorry tale of a woman needing to get away:

The Go-Go’s – Vacation

Next-up a song which I can only assume was written to show these girls were just normal like any other girls (and that’s not a bad thing):

The Go-Go’s – Girl Of 100 Lists

Then comes this, which if it isn’t trying to recreate We Got The Beat…

The Go-Go’s – Get Up And Go

…then the cover following it almost definitely is:

The Go-Go’s – Cool Jerk

Before it’s off back to the beach, for a much happier time than we were having at the start of the album:

The Go-Go’s – Beatnik Beach

…and then it’s into wistful, final song territory, with the obligatory “world” thrown into the title:

The Go-Go’s – Worlds Away

And that’s yer lot.

Both albums are worth checking out in full, as is the documentary if you’re able to watch it.

Next time: Rick Springfield. I’m not even going to wait for a documentary. I sense it might be a long wait.

Or, to put it another way: More soon.

The Greatest Pop Record Ever Made..?

There are many records which I consider to be the greatest pop record ever made.

No, I know that doesn’t make sense.

See, my opinion on the greatest record ever made is an ever-shifting sand.

But this is top of the pile more often than any other, I think:

The Go-Go’s – Our Lips Are Sealed

More soon.

Claps, Clicks & Whistles #16

Blimey, has it been over a month since I wrote one of these? Blame The Chain (which I think we can safely say is now a fortnightly occurrence, by the way).

So I’ll keep this brief.

I love The Go-Go’s. I’ve listened to this track several times, trying to work out if that noise – you’ll know it when you hear it – is a foot-stomp or a hand clap, or a combination of the two. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s probably several hand claps layered on to each other.

Have a listen for yourselves:

The Go-Go’s – Head Over Heels

That came out in 1984, shortly before the band split (for the first time), and comes from the Martin Rushent produced ‘Talk Show’ album. It’s by far the best thing on there.

But back in 1981, they released this, which definitely features some hand claps, and which is, without doubt, one of my favourite singles of all time (which you can tell, because I think this is probably the third time I’ve found an excuse to post it):

The Go-Go’s – Our Lips Are Sealed

Still sounds as great today as it did way back when.

More soon.

Lost for Words #4

The Go-Go’s – The Whole World Lost Its Head

Yes, I do have loads of these, thanks for asking.

More soon.

Friday Night Music Club (That Summer Feeling #4 – #14)

Evening all.

Remarkably, the shockwaves of me posting summery records for three consecutive days doesn’t seem to have had any detrimental effect on the weather – in fact if we’re to believe the weather forecasts it’s set to continue for the rest of the weekend.

So, I thought I’d give you a few more tunes to soundtrack your barbecues and beach parties over the next couple of days. Nothing terribly surprising in here, I don’t think, bar maybe one or two. But every one is an absolute pearler,

The first couple of songs pretty much sum up how my week working in That London has been. Here’s Sir William Broad, under his alter ego, the King of the Curled Lip:

326. Billy Idol – Hot In The City

and this, one of the greatest summer records ever, in my not so humble opinion:

327. The Lovin’ Spoonful – Summer In The City

I first came into ownership of both of these records at roughly the same time, when I was at 6th Form, where I took on the responsibility of providing tunes for the common room. There was a cheap and knackered old stereo in there, a turntable with a worn down belt that prohibited anything being played at the correct speed, and a radio that the aerial had long since perished on, and two tape decks, only one of which worked.

As you’ll find out soon – this is my definition of soon, mind – in the eponymous auto-biographical thread of this blog, it was at 6th Form that I forged my musical identity, if that doesn’t sound too pretentious, and I took great pleasure in preparing a new mixtape pretty much every night to grace the airs of the musty common room. My parents will doubtless recall me spending every night hunched over my Dad’s recently acquired Midi system, headphones on, studiously selecting a new set of tracks to dazzle my peers with instead of, say, doing my homework. It was these tapes, finely honed to ensure every taste was catered for, that I think laid the foundations for me starting to DJ a few years later – not the technical skills, mind, I’ve never got the hang of “proper” mixing – but the ability to tailor a set to an expectant, diverse crowd.

By the time the first summer arrived, at the end of my stint in the Lower 6th, I was, I felt, a fully fledged Indie kid, but didn’t want to be one of those people who forces their music down everyone’s throats, so I elected to temper the cool stuff with some more mainstream records. I would ask that you bear this in mind for coming posts, as this will be my defence for having purchased some pretty poor pop in the same period. It wasn’t for me, it was for those other kids who, y’know, wouldn’t know a cool record if it bit them on the arse.

As part of this campaign, I bought a Now! album – the only one I have ever purchased – Now! That’s What I Call Summer. It’s a mixed bag, as you’d expect, with Cliff Richard a little more prominent than is frankly necessary.

But there were an above average strike rate of good stuff on there too, and “Summer in the City” was chief among them, head and shoulders above many of the tracks featured.

In June 2000, fresh from picking up the Best New Act Award a year earlier at the Brits, through some pretty canny exploitation of voting via that there new-fangled internet thing, Belle & Sebastian released this absolute corker, which, if you’re unfamiliar with, may have you scratching your head as to why I’m including it in a summer mix. Well hold your horses, and give it until the lyrical refrain at the end:

328. Belle & Sebastian – Legal Man

Now, I may find myself saying this a lot tonight and over the summer posts that will follow over the weekend, but this is one my favourite summer songs ever:

329. The Undertones – Here Comes the Summer

The song has recently been used in a TV ad campaign by Aldi, and I can’t make up my mind whether that’s a good thing or not. Sure, it means that every now and then I get to hear it blasting from my TV for 40 seconds, but on the other hand – Aldi????? Is nothing sacred?? Whatever next – The Velvet Underground’s “Venus in Furs” being used to advertise Pirelli tyres? “Tame” by Pixies advertising Smirnoff vodka? Oh wait….both those things have happened…..

So, anyway, if you’re lucky, you’ll be spending some time soon on a beach somewhere, so here’s a few beachy heads which sound just as ace today as they did when they first came out, none of which require any introduction or comment from me:

330. Ramones – Rockaway Beach

(I’m gobsmacked. Unless I forgot to tag them previously, this is the first time I’ve posted a Ramones tune. I deserve to have my blogging credentials revoked.)

331. The Go-Go’s – Beatnik Beach

332. Martha And The Muffins – Echo Beach

Another one that featured on that Now! album, there. See, £4.99 well spent already (which dates me, obviously. A newly released double album on vinyl for £4.99 – them’s were the days…)

I was about to say “Now,onto something more contemporary”, which would be true, since the most recent tune I’ve posted so far came out sixteen years ago, but I was saddened to find this came out ten years ago. Saddened only in the sense that it means it’s ten years since I witnessed bass player Thomas “The House of Lords” Dartnall fall off the stage in Cardiff’s Barfly. *Sighs* “I grow old…I grow old…I shall wear the bottom of my trousers rolled.” (Bit of Prufrock for you there, poetry fans).

Still, it carries on thematically from Legal Man and Echo Beach in depicting a protagonist desperate to escape the drudge of an office job to enjoy some time soaking up the rays (NB: My boss should read nothing into this):

333. The Young Knives – Weekends And Bleak Days (Hot Summer)

“Hot summer, what a bummer”, indeed.

The next two songs were released ten years apart, but in my mind the latter is the spiritual offspring of the former.

First, here’s Damon and the Blurboys with their observations on the beery shag-culture of holidays in Greece:

334. Blur – Girls & Boys

…and here’s Mike Skinner, living the dream:

335. The Streets – Fit But You Know It (Radio Edit)

And so to the last tune for the night, and to one my favourite summer songs ever, by one of the coolest and most influential artists ever to walk this earth:

336. Sly & The Family Stone – Hot Fun in the Summertime

That’ll do you for tonight.

More soon.

Rue Britannia

Ok. So. Here we go. 1984. The year I have to try and wax lyrical about. And as you will have guessed from my intro to the last post, a year I’ve been struggling with.

Let me add some context.

1984. The year that Thatcher won her second General Election, I think it’s fair to say (though it sticks in my throat) trouncing Labour’s Michael Foot. Foot did not look like your common-or-garden politician, and was a true left-winger (and I don’t mean in the Ryan Giggs kind of way. And when. I make a reference to Ryan Giggs, I don’t mean in that kind of way, either. Well not on this occasion, anyway). Foot is as relevant today as he ever was, for he is the current yard-stick for those who want to keep the Labour Party in the centre ground – which they so shamefully currently occupy – rather than on the left, where they should be, by making comparisons between his annihalation in this General Election and that which, they say, awaits the Labour Party if Jeremy Corbyn wins (they’re wrong). And whilst I’m at it: Tony Blair, keep your fecking nose out. You led us into an illegal war and now milk the after-dinner speech circuit for all its worth. You are a Tory in everything but name. Your opinion means nothing.

Ahem. Off my chest now. Where were we? Oh yes..:

1984. The year the Miners Strike started. I’m going to assume you know at least something about this. If you don’t, well a) you’re annoyingly young, and b) may I suggest a bloody tidy jumping on point is to watch the excellent “Pride” (It has Paddy Considine, Bill Nighy and Dominic West in it, the latter with a fabulous 80s haircut. What more can you want from a film??) Just watching those two clips makes me want to watch it again. Hope it does you too.

1984. The year of Frankie Goes To Hollywood. I wish I could put my hand on my heart and say I bought any of their records at the time – particularly “Relax” and “Two Tribes“, but I didn’t. However, I did stand back, watch and admire the way they capitalised on the whole Mike Read situation (he was playing “Relax” one morning, and took it off, mid-record, branding it “obscene”). And if there’s one thing we now know, it’s that Mike Read is the very epitome of rational thought. (I give you two words: UKIP Calypso) (For Gawd’s sake, sense my tone…)

1984. The year of Band Aid, when a group of “current” (has Jody Watley ever been current???) pop stars (has Jody Watley ever been a pop star?????) were pulled together by ex-Boomtown Rat Bob Geldof and current-if-knackered (see, this is where I start to doubt my own sanity. In the video for “Love’s Great Adventure”, there was definitely a bit where Midge asks the film crew to stop while he has a breather. Right? Right????) Ultravox frontman Midge Ure to record “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” in an effort to help starving millions in Ethiopia, after seeing Michael Buerk‘s report on the news, a record which everybody in the UK seemed to buy, and which you know, so I won’t bother posting a link to it here.

Which seems a convenient jumping off point for not the first record I bought in 1984, but the record which somehow got attached to the whole Band Aid campaign, seemingly solely because of the lines “You can’t go on, thinking nothing’s wrong”.

 The Cars – “Drive”

I’m sure they were delighted, or at least pretended to be, when “Drive” got re-released with “all proceeds” going to the Band Aid charity. And was a bigger hit than it was the first time around (I think…)

Me? I cannot hear this song without thinking of one thing, and sadly that one thing I can find no reference to anywhere on t’internet, other than one other person insisting it happened: Kevin Webster, drunk, singing an a capella version of it on Coronation Street. Seriously, you have no idea how much I wish I could post a link to it right here. Feel free to tell me you remember it too.

Ok, here’s a confessional Guilty Pleasure (No, there is no such thing as a Guilty Pleasure!!) record. Please bear in mind that in 1984 I was just 15 and didn’t know any better, and if I did, I thought it involved Status Quo, so you can choose which is worse:

 Philip Bailey & Phil Collins – “Easy Lover”

In my defence, in 1984 we knew very little about Phil Collins. All we had to go on was that he used to be/still was in Genesis, popped up with alarming regularity on Swap Shop or Saturday Superstore or whatever incarnation of Saturday morning TV on the BBC was on (regularly enough to make you think he was the new BA Robertson) and had a fairly succesful solo career doing Diana Ross covers. We did not know that “Sussudio” – the song with the most 80s bassline in the world. Ever…! – would earn extra brownie points for being mentioned (ironically, I think/hope) in American Psycho. We had no idea he was such a douchebag he would fax his wife to thrash out details of their divorce. But props for the use of a very 80s mode of communication. Nor did we know that that gorilla would boff the heck out of some drums on that Cadbury’s advert. It was just Phil Collins. He seemed harmless enough.

I cannot hear this song without thinking of the (slightly amended) “He’s a greasy lover…” introduction Mark Lamarr used to get on Shooting Stars, and which again, I can find no evidence of. So to make up for that, here’s him – at the end of the clip, and sadly cut short – doing “Mr Boombastic” on said kind-of-game show.

The other thing I remember most about owning this single is that shortly after purchase, a blob of what appeared to be raspberry jam appeared on the front cover, which I have never been able to explain (I’m more of a blackcurrant man, myself), and which frankly made storing my 7″ singles a bit of a nightmare from hereon in. Unable to remove the saccahrine splodge, I had to proceed to select which single I liked least and place that next to this in my ever growing singles box.

This is what you come here for, right? Anecdotes about singles I’ve absent-mindedly spilled preservatives on….? No….?

OK, well how about I give you the top two candidates to be the bread around the Phil Collins jam sandwich? Yeh, see? Now you’re interested, right? (Although the idea of a “Phil Collins sandwich” is kind of ewwwwwwwwwwww-y….)

Well, it must have been in 1984 that I abandoned any pretence of just buying records that I liked, and, in a fairly obvious attempt to ingratiate myself to members of the opposite sex, I started buying records that they liked, and which I hoped they would like me for also buying. What a dasterdly master-plan. That is the only explanation I have for the inclusion of the next two records:

 Nik Kershaw – The Riddle

I Know, I know. There’s no excuse is there? It’s not as if this is a single from his famous, but still not actually very good, “Human Racing” album. I have always found this to be an utterly ludicrous record, with clunky 6th form, Tolkien-esque nerdo lyrics like this (trust me, I’m doing this so you don’t have to click that last link) :

“Near a tree by a river
There’s a hole in the ground
Where an old man of Aran
Goes around and around
And his mind is a beacon
In the veil of the night
For a strange kind of fashion
There’s a wrong and a right
But he’ll never, never fight over you”

What a load of old horseshit.

And speaking of old horseshit, there was this:

 Duran Duran – The Wild Boys

Yes. I bought this. Actually, I think I stole it from a reputable vendor of 7″ singles no longer with us. but either way, I possessed a copy, and the only justification I can think of, other than trying to impress girls (it didn’t work, by the way; they all just assumed I was gay, I was later told) was that I hoped that with enough plays on Top of the Pops, Simon Le Bon might actually fucking drown whilst tied to a windmill in that video.

Which leads me on to the other two significant episodes in my pop history which just so happened to occur in 1984.

Firstly, Britannia Music.

Anyone of a certain age will remember Britannia Music: firstly, because The Brits are named after them (like that’s a recommendation….) and secondly because in the 1980s you could not open a magazine without a “3 for £10” introductory offer falling out into your lap. And I fell for it.

Here was the deal: you could pick 3 albums and have them for £10; then you stayed as a member for as long as you liked, but had to purchase at least one album a month. And to help you keep your end of the contractual bargain, they would send you a little brochure each month, telling of their wares, and featuring an “Album of the Month”. If you didn’t want the “Album of the Month”, you had to tick a box on a form and send it back to them, pronto. Otherwise you got lumbered with whatever their Album of the Month was and had to pay for the privilege. I was often a little tardy, and consequently ended up with a lot of records I really didn’t want, more of which later. That’s my excuse, and I’m sticking to it.

Anyway, what this did do was allow me to indulge in my love of Greatest Hits albums, which led me to buy the next three:

 Dusty Springfield – “I Close My Eyes And Count To Ten”

I can’t pretend this song is the reason why I bought this album – that distinction has to go to either “I Only Want To Be With You” or “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me” But if I absolutely had to name my favourite 10 songs ever, “I Close My Eyes…” would be right in there, an absolute gem, all slow building breathiness followed by more glorious camp strings than a cub scout jamboree.

Speaking of camp…..

 Little Richard – “Tutti Frutti”

(Suddenly realises why the girls may have thought I was gay at school………)

 Buddy Holly – “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore”

A song I was aware of through my father’s record collection, for he owned the Linda Rondstadt version. (That Don Kirschner chap is just the dictionary definition of charisma, isn’t he?)

Anyway, that’s the records I intentionally bought via Britannia, and here’s another, an actual record from your actual 1984:

 Alison Moyet – “Invisible”

See, “electronic” music had at least crossed my radar, not that I would describe this as falling in that genre. But, as I’m sure you know, chicken-rearing Alison (a remembered Smash Hits fact, that) had been one half of Yazoo with Vince Clarke, ex-of Depeche Mode, soon-to-be of Erasure, and in-between jointly responsible for this. So, y’know, it wasn’t all about the guitars with me, even back then. Just mostly.

Invisible was the third single from the album, and I could have just as easily posted “All Cried Out”, but Invisible deftly sums up my appeal to the opposite sex at this point in my life. And for much of it afterwards, if I’m being honest. Which I am, of course.

As I write this now, I’m suddenly struck with how I much I love songs about either failed or unrequited love. It’s an empathy thing, I think. It would also explain why, two years earlier, in an example of what can only be described as the most optimistic thinking ever, I had told my best friend that when the situation arose that I had to finish with a girlfriend, I would simply quote the lyrics to this song to her: Chas. Dave.

Anyway, the second significant episode was my brother going to stay with relatives in America, and coming back tooled up with loads of records popular in The States but which had no impact on this side of the pond. Records which I listened to with growing interest:

 Cheap Trick – “If You Want My Love”

 Rick Springfield – “Jessie’s Girl”

 The Call – The Walls Came Down

 The Fixx – One Thing Needs to Another

He also bought me this, a band I assumed were American, but turned out to be from Sheffield. A band who had a drummer with one arm. (Actually, he still had two arms when this album was recorded; it was when their next album, “Hysteria”, post arm-loss, came out in 1987 that they went truly stratospheric). But I was there first, UK rock fans. Although I’m not so sure this is something to be proud of..

 Def Leppard – Photograph

But of all the records my brother brought back from the U S of A with him, there was one band that I totally fell for: The Go-Go’s. Featuring Belinda Carlisle and Jan Wiedlin, they became my pop star crushes to supercede Debbie Harry, five girls who so Google tells me, were the recipents of the 2,444th star on the LA Walk of Fame. Should have got there earlier, ladies. If only you didn’t take so long getting ready, eh lads?

 The Go-Go’s – Vacation

And then there’s this, another contender for my Top Ten of Greatest Records Ever……!

 The Go-Go’s – Our Lips Are Sealed

And if I’m going to post that link, then, since it was co-written by Terry Hall, ex-Special and (at the time) current one of the Fun Boy Three, I have to post this too:

 Fun Boy Three – Our Lips Are Sealed

And finally on a Go-Go’s theme, allow me to nudge you in the direction of “Freedom of Choice”, an album of punk and new wave covers including Yo La Tengo, Sonic Youth and this, by Redd Kross, a band whose own output I’m not a fan of, but by God they know how to knock out a cover version:

 Redd Kross – How Much More

Considering I could think of nothing to say, I don’t half go on, don’t I…..?

Like anything I’ve posted today? Then go buy it here: the internet.