Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Jul 26, 2011 22:33:38 GMT 1
4TH OCTOBER- RAIN OR SHINE- Five Star (2 weeks)It isn't as if I actively dislike this record, it's OK and simple enough, if rather cliched, ballad. I think this suffers from the fact that it is surrounded on this timeline by far better records, thankfully I was just a shade too young for the whole Five Star thing, and by the time 1988 came around they were deeply uncool, but this remains their biggest hit. It's a bit too sickly for my personal taste and time hasn't been kind to the track, but it's a hard song to loathe (I must admit that not hearing it for quite some time has probably helped in that respect) but the appeal of Five Star now looks largly unexplainable, perhaps the idea of the "family" was appealing, a UK Jackson 5, all ideas welcome! To round off though, nice but a bit meh......
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Jul 26, 2011 22:39:16 GMT 1
1ST NOVEMBER- IN THE ARMY NOW- Status Quo (1 week)Dear readers, I tried my hardest to dislike this record, but I can't- it's bloody great! Partly of course because it isn't actually written by the band (whom I have never rated) and it's a cover of 1981 of a Bolland & Bolland hit (never a hit in this country but they were a writing and producation due who also wrote "Rock Me Amadeus"). As a result it is actually a proper song, not a series of repeated guitar riffs, and is somewhat unintenionally humourous- I suspect the band are in on the joke- faux macho-ism is just the anicdote 1986 needs IMO. That guitar line is actually to maximum effect in this track, it builds tension, and actually creates an ominous undertone which is new to a Quo record as far as I can tell, but i'm no expert on their back catelogue I confess, and the whole thing has an air of convinction which is quite unexpected but exntirely welcome. Incidentally the "Stand Up and Fight" line is actually shouted by Noddy Holder (I had no idea), lyrically it's the tale of the differing experiences of being in the army and what the draught man tells you, it's all quite camp in a low key kind of way, undoubtedly the best thing they EVER did in post 70s!.....
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borneoman
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love is tough, when enough is not enough
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Post by borneoman on Jul 27, 2011 7:09:48 GMT 1
loved In The Army Now to the point of buying the album
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TheThorne
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*Hillside, slip and slide, feel the pain, it's no surprise!*
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Post by TheThorne on Jul 27, 2011 7:47:18 GMT 1
I loved Five Star but I was their target age and they were popular for the same reason many boy/girl bands are, you had a favourite, yes the clothes were awful and the hair mostly and you realised that even in 1986 but they had very good voices and were pretty 'Silk and Steel' was the first cassette I bought with my own pocket money
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Post by Earl Purple on Jul 27, 2011 8:13:56 GMT 1
Five Star were ok. I didn't hate them and some of their songs were ok. I think Rain Or Shine was a hit in my chart but System Addict was their biggest. Did their dad write the songs? In any case they were "self-manufactured" as a unit including the father rather than just puppets of some big producer.
"In The Army Now" wasn't totally new ground for Status Quo as in some ways their first hit Pictures Of Matchstick Men had a similar kind of rhythm. Whilst there was a common "sound" in many of their songs, there were also various diversions, e.g. the slowest paced Living On An Island and Rock N Roll. I did like their more regular stuff too though, my favourites being Burning Bridges (much better than the Man Utd adaptation) and Marguerita Time.
At the time when Nick Berry and Status Quo had the top 2 places in the UK chart, much better songs that were leading in my chart were
You Can Call Me Al - Paul Simon True Colors - Cyndi Lauper Thorn In My Side - Eurythmics Don't Give Up - Peter Gabriel & Kate Bush
for me showing the quality of the music out at the time. Spandau Ballet got their 2nd NM #1 with "Through The Barricades" just after this (during the time Berlin and Europe were #1 in the UK chart). Those weeks will be shown up in the next two #2s which comprise of a female singer we last met in 1981 doing a Motown (Supremes) cover and an instrumentalist we met in 1982 partnered with a new vocalist, one with whom he would remain working for a long long time.
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Post by evansabove on Jul 27, 2011 8:30:05 GMT 1
I bought Silk and Steel as well. I loved Five Star and they seemed to have a never ending string of hits in quick succession. Sadly their father was very domineering i think and pushed them in the wrong direction musically and it all fell apart very quickly after that
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Jul 27, 2011 18:44:29 GMT 1
15TH NOVEMBER- YOU KEEP ME HANGIN ON- Kim Wilde (2 weeks)Famously composed by Holland-Dozier-Holland and recorded by the Supremes who topped the US charts with this, "You Keep Me Hangin On" is the hallmark of great songwriting, and Wilde's version, in my opinion, just as good as the Supremes Version (It certainly apped its US success anyway). Wilde brings to the song, not only a new modern 80s sound to the track, but the same sense of urgency as the original, and even dare I say it, an added vulnerability that is perhaps only subliminal in the Supremes version. Actually the sound of 1986 works very well on the song and Wilde has obviously sought to honour the original and treats it with respect, but similarly isn't afraid to branch out and re-interpret. Her vocal is suitably sultry, and it's a much more self assured vocal at that, Wilde no longer the girl of 1981 but a fully grown pop star now, the bridge seems to erupt from nowhere, it's a vital record, full of passion and conviction, it's kind of like "Holding Out For A Hero" but much more "Real". The pathos is the track is what grounds this and allows it to avoid falling into the Tyler territory, and there is also real vitriol in her voice, the line "Why don't you be a man about it" is sung with gusto, the guitars appear to scream a chorus of agony, it's all rather good (I may have gone to far there!) In short I can't find a fault in this song and lordy I tried....
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Jul 27, 2011 18:45:02 GMT 1
13TH DECEMBER- SOMETIMES- Erasure (1 week)Here's where 1986 and the mid 80s, ends for us with Andy Bell and Vince Clark. It's also where Erasure start, after a series of relative failures this was their breakthrough and they would remain a chart force until 1994 when they fell from chart favour. Back in 86 though they were new and fresh, indeed "Sometimes" is a cracker of a single, nothing revolutionary theme wise, but it's a full on pop song that intends to win you over by sheer power of force. It's cleverly written as well, the opening lines "It's not the way you lead me by the hand into the bedroom/ It's not the way you throw your clothes upon the bathroom floor" grab you- so just what IS it? Well that's not easy to tell- you get to the end and i'm certainly no wiser. That saxophone by the way seems to add a sense of melancholy to the track- it's a love tinged with heartbreak (or previous heartbreak i'm unsure) and to me that makes the track slightly above the boy meets girl, they fall in love etc genre, yes we're ending 1986 on a high, and again I've plesantly surprised by the year, it was far better than I recalled it (after a dodgy start)....how was it for you?
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borneoman
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love is tough, when enough is not enough
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Post by borneoman on Jul 27, 2011 19:42:16 GMT 1
loved both Kim Wilde and Erasure songs... that Kim Wilde single was one of the first singles I bought as a kid. And I agree in that she made the original more modern and imho definitely better Sometimes is also a classic!! probably my fav Erasure single!!
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Post by evansabove on Jul 27, 2011 21:21:11 GMT 1
Erasure are one of my all time favourite acts, much underrated and respected. They are still going strong now as well
Love Kim Wilde and a rare example of a cover version which adds and is better than the orginal
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Post by Earl Purple on Jul 28, 2011 11:56:49 GMT 1
I liked the Erasure song. It was I recall their 4th single.
"Who Needs Love Like That" peaked at #55. It was reissued in 1992 though and peaked at #10. "Oh L'Amour" surprisingly flopped but was a hit for Dollar in 1988 and was also re-issued/remixed in 2003 and peaked at #13.
I don't remember "Heavenly Action" but apparently it was released between those two peaking at #100 and doesn't appear to have ever been re-released.
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Post by Earl Purple on Jul 28, 2011 13:24:49 GMT 1
1987 will have a handful of brilliant songs peaking at #2, but the overall standard for that year is very poor, in my opinion. There seems to be a big 60s theme running through these, either artists from the 60s or songs from it or both.
Look forward to:
- A duo peaking at #2 behind a song featuring the vocalist they were once together in a band with - An re-issue of a song from the 1960s peaking behind another song from the same decade (albeit a few years earlier) - An extremely dull ballad that spent 4 weeks at #2 - A crooner from the 1960s with a comeback. He has been generally good with his comeback and this song isn't that bad but also nowhere near his best from his later era. - An actor singing a classic from the 1960s - One of those songs you would have heard on holiday, albeit this one is far better than many such song. - One of the top duos at the time pairing up with a female singer from the 60s. The 60s seems to be a big theme through this year. This is a great song though and should have been #1! - A rap group together with the top surf band from the 60s doing a surf song from the 60s (but not one originally by this band) in a new style. - Male vocalist gone solo doing potentially his best known song which also did not quite make #1 but should have done. - A soloist from the most successful 60s band, actually the most successful group of all time. - A modern singer doing a very old song but I think this is actually from the 50s! - The greatest Christmas song of all time, no 60s connection here I can think of.
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Jul 28, 2011 17:58:02 GMT 1
7TH FEBRUARY 1987- HEARTACHE- Pepsi & Shirlie (2 weeks)
Former Wham! backing singers (yes those girls in the "Everything she Wants" Clip) returned three years later for some hit action of their own. The two items of real interest post this song involved Shirlie Holliman marrying Martin Kemp and the girls reuniting to do the backing vocals on Geri Halliwell's "Bag It Up" in 2000, but for a brief spell in 87 they were bonafide pop stars- this by far their biggest hit.
"Heartache" is somewhat of an underwhelming song to start the year off, it's far from the worse we've encountered by it's also far from the best, kinda pop by numbers and daytime radio fodder, somewhat ironically, the track was denied the No 1 spot by former "bandmate" George Michael and his duet with Aretha Franklin "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)". Even hooking up with S/A/W for follow up "Goodbye Stranger" which did deliver them a further top 10 but after that the top 40 was a stranger to them!
All in all I suppose this was a thank you to the girls for their Wham! work....acceptable is the most I can award this song i'm afraid.....
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Jul 28, 2011 18:00:27 GMT 1
28TH FEBRUARY- WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN- Percy Sledge (2 weeks)This, on the other hand is an absolute gem. Originally a 1966 hit it was the power of Levi Jeans again that plucked this from posterity and slap bang into 1987, well this along with "Stand By Me" which was actually at No 1 denying this track making it a clean sweep of the top 2 for the brand at the time "Americana" was being lapped up by the UK. Thematically it's very simple, deceptively so, the power of love, but its plainness is exactly where its strength lies, no frills, just raw emtion sung from the gut, I've come to the conclusion doing this that writing a love song is actually the genre that is the hardest, the easiest to end up a smouldering pile of cheese, this is anything but. Of course part of that is wrapped up in nostalgia, the sixties are commonly perceived as a more innocent time and so the song brings connotations with it, but that makes it no poorer a song. Sledge's voice is a dream naturally, silky smooth and warm and the switch from impersonal to personal in the third verse is perfectly timed, the feeling that Sledge is not an observer but the subject of the song leaves you under no doubt the guy has been there. Pure class.....
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Post by evansabove on Jul 28, 2011 18:08:52 GMT 1
Heartache is a great song. I saw them perform it last month at a Here And Now concert and they showed they could still cut it with great vocals. Plus they don't seem to have aged much at all!
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Post by Earl Purple on Jul 28, 2011 23:41:21 GMT 1
As I mentioned in my previous post the 60s theme will run throughout the year and is prominent in many of the #1s as well, with Aretha Franklin and Ben E King both already having appeared on the #1s list and with Starship later who were Jefferson Airplane back in the old days. Of course "Let It Be" was only just inside 1970 and The Bee Gees, who hadn't had a hit of their own yet this decade, albeit they'd written quite a few for others, would return with a #1 later too. They also had two #1s in the 1960s. Two other early 70s songs became #1 in 1967 (in addition to Let It Be) being Everything I Own and Always On My Mind, and one 50s song reach #1 with "La Bamba". Of course "Reet Petite" was still #1 as the year entered.
One of my own favourite revival songs of the year was "My Baby Just Cares For Me" by Nina Simone which topped my chart but in the UK could only achieve a #5 peak. Another 50s song that was a big hit towards the end of the year was "What Do You Want To Make Those Eyes At Me For?" which became Shakin' Stevens's last top 10 hit but had been a #1 for Emile Ford & The Checkmates in 1959 (I think), which I think also peaked at #5. Other old songs include "Love Letters" by Alison Moyet, Freddie Mercury's "The Great Pretender" (which we later found out was when he first found out he was HIV+?) and possibly the oldest song to be a hit "Every Time We Say Goodbye" by Simply Red, a Cole Porter song from the 1940s.
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Jul 29, 2011 17:26:32 GMT 1
25TH APRIL- CAN'T BE WITH YOU TONIGHT- Judy Boucher (4 weeks)Now I consider myself to be pretty clued up on late 80s chart music and up until I started doing this thread a list only a few records would have genuinely stumped me to recall them, Kate Robbins, Laurie Anderson, Hooked on Classics can all be forgiven for being early 80s hits so I was only a kid but by the age of 11 and 1987 this is the only song on that list that I still not heard. The fact that this spent 4 weeks at No 2 just astounds me, not that it's an awful record, it's just instantly forgettable, and it seems to have to have been erased for the 80s collective memory, probably just for that exact reason. Boucher was a St Vincent crooner who had relocated to the UK in the 70s, and this was, one of only 2 hits for her in this country. It's hard to review really, a reggae tinged track which floats nicely enough, but it's hard to pin down the attraction, and the track is the first No 2 since probably 1984 that I don't recall from the time at all (I do remember the fabulous "La Isla Bonita" being at No 1 and denying this record however). In short this record is a mystery to me, and thusly a not altogether welcome surprise....
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Jul 29, 2011 17:29:54 GMT 1
23RD MAY- A BOY FROM NOWHERE- Tom Jones (1 week)
Actually he was the boy from Pontypridd, but it was certainly the hit from nowhere. Tom Jones was, of course, one of the biggest names in chart history back in the 60s and early 70s when a string of hits made him one of the heart throbs of the decade, but the hits had dried up by the mid 1970s and Jones had taken to recording country music between 1980-86 with some success in the US.
Tom's return to the UK charts was thanks to Mike Leander (famous producer/ arranger and responsible for major artists from the 50s-70s) who was interested in making a musical "Matador" (hence the record number OLE 1) which didn;t actually see the light of day until 1991, but back in 87 Jones was eager to take the lead role having given up his Vegas residency to come back to the UK and "Boy From Nowhere" was a track taken from that musical. It proved to be his biggest hit in 16 years! Jones is on fine vocal form belting out the tale of a poor matador who is in search of fame and fortune, it's a track which attempts to bludgeon you into submission with the force of that voice, as with so much of Jones's back catalogue the music sometimes strains to contain his voice (which is the star here as always). It's all a load of old tosh obviously, but engaging for 3 minutes.........
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Post by evansabove on Jul 29, 2011 17:36:17 GMT 1
It's a similar thing for me. I remember the name Judy Boucher but couldnt have sung any of the song from memory. Having played the youtube clip i do vaguely recall it but 4 weeks at #2 is a surprise. It wasn't just Madonna who denied her a number one, Starship are to blame too!
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Post by Whitneyfan on Jul 29, 2011 18:16:14 GMT 1
I can remember the Judy Boucher song, and her follow up, You caught my eye. I love them both.
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