Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Sept 9, 2011 17:30:46 GMT 1
19TH MAY- BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW- Kylie Minogue (2 weeks)I read a little time ago a description of this track as "A Classic only to gay men", and I thought why is it that the gays love this song? Thematically it's nothing new in the pantheon of 80s Kylie tracks, the idea of girl sticking by a guy who's no good for her was seen in "Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi", "Wouldn't Change A Thing" or "Hand On Your Heart" but what has changed are two fundamental points. Firstly this is the point at which S/A/W turn the direction of Minogue's career away from the pre teen audience and towards the dancefloor, this is important as of course it alters the demographic for the record and the ability of her "old" audience to hear the record in the environment it was designed for. Of course it still sounded good on the radio and was enriched with same pop sensibility that her other hits did, but this is the first "evolution" of Kylie if you like, this was both timely and in another way necessary. Kylie had obviously had her detractors since she released her first record in 1988, but by and large there had been wholesale support and indulgence for her star and career by the British public up until 1990, but this was the year that the voices of the detractors started to triumph over the supporters and this was the second change. It happens to all pop stars, the first couple of years you can do little wrong and then you can do nothing right (Lady Gaga fans take note) the "honeymoon" period wears off, and this is where Minogue was in 1990. Her new found position as no longer flavour of month and as the underdog made her perfect fodder for the gay community, always one to clutch tragedy to their hearts, and the fall from grace gave truth to what was the initial lie of those early hits and images which S/A/W had cleverly tried to make of Minogue as wronged innocence. At this point when the mainstream audience was on the turn Minogue (at least seemed) to turn to the gay audience and to the HI-NRG disco's and say "This is for you" and it worked a dream, though Top 10 hits would follow Kylie would miss the top 5 with her next 4 singles- unthinkable previously- and actually that's a shame as those singles include the almost perfect pop nugget of "What Do I Have To Do", but Disco Kylie had arrived and she wanted credibility- the price paid was sales. "Better The Devil You Know" is one of the most sophisticated and distinct things S/A/W penned, the start of the record is instantly recognisable, the lyrics more adult than had previously been thought possible from them, and more importantly it actually had SEX in it- for the first time you can believe that Minogue knows, I mean first hand, the situation she is singing about- it's almost like a revelation, and a bit of a let down- THESE are the kind of records she could have been making since 1988. This newfound grittyness also contributes to the darker tone of 1990, a year wanting change and frustrated at not getting it, but in short I think this is why it is considered as a "gay" classic- if you accept the term. It marks the moment that she first makes a record aimed at them, she embraces them, acknowledges, and says "I'm making records primarily for you- but that's our secret" and one thing gay culture loves is when it can have a secret laugh at the hetties! For all of this though BTDYK is also a kind of goodbye- a goodbye to the period when gay culture ruled the pop charts and dominated mainstream culture in what I consider a delightfully subverse and sublime way- sublime because in the light of the AIDS epidemic it had to be, in this way the record emulates the bittersweet nature of what it represents, like Byron said "All farewell's should be sudden"....
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Sept 9, 2011 17:32:18 GMT 1
16TH JUNE- STEP BY STEP- New Kids On The Block (1 week)Previously I had understood boybands and teen screams- I could see the appeal, stricking video's for example, or good looks, or the pushing of boundaries, Wham!, Duran Duran, A-ha!, Bros, Kylie & Jason, Adam & The Ants, I had watched them come and go. I confess the appeal of NKTOB always passed me by- but I remember the girls liking them- boy did they like them! I remember a female friend of mine coming to school one day saying she had left instructions with her mother to call and get tickets that day for them in concert which she never got and actually came into school the next day crying! . I never understood why- even compared to Bros they looked pedestrian and prone to the kind of syrupy pop that Cliff would be jealous of- yet in 1990 they acquired no less than 8 top 10 hits and sold more singles than any other act, during that year I recall liking "Cover Girl" and that's about it from them. They seemed to be a pardoy of the genre almost, they had the cute one (Joey apparently) the cool sophisticated one that could actually sing (Jordan Knight) and the joker/ bad boy (Donny Wahlberg) perhaps the downfall was that previous "phenomenon" in my life had been british or at least European- this was new, a US import, the appeal may have been lost mid-atlantic. "Step By Step" is on the list as it was the first single from as yet to be released second album so when it debuted at No 2 in June it was widely tipped to top the charts the following week, the only explanation I can think of as to why it didn't is that it really isn't good. The kind of daytime pop that wouldn't have looked out of place in 1987 or 1988 but it seemed VERY dated over here, even at the time. The group were conceived by Maurice Starr as a white version of New Edition (who hit No 1 in 1983 with "Candy Girl") and had formed back in 1984 emerging in the late 80s in the US before being pushed over here in 1989, depressingly generic is the way I'd sum them up and "Step By Step" represents that appropriately. Haven't heard this in years and there is a reason for that!...
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Sept 9, 2011 18:53:33 GMT 1
NKOTB were abysmal to start with, Step By Step couldn't even rise to those standards. Truly one of the worst singles ever released.
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Post by raliverpool on Sept 9, 2011 19:50:45 GMT 1
Mmm, I liked Love Shack in 1989 when it was a US hit & initial UK flop and from distant memory made my Personal Chart Top 3, but by the time it became a UK Top 3 hit on re-release I had got sick of it. To this day I much prefer Roam (probably at it never suffered from death by over exposure), and obviously Rock Lobster is by far their best song. Alannah Myles - I always thought of that track at the time as a really good 1990s Bonnie Tyler-esque track, it was only a year or so later and my expanding musical knowledge I realized it was a homage to Bonnie Raitt. Am I the only one who remember her second album cover (looks up on internet titled: Rockinghood) where she was naked next to a horse, and the orchestral/acoustic Led Zeppelin-esque lead single A Song Instead Of A Kiss www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCFdYi9C_94 which according to Wikipedia was her only Canadian #1 hit single? Paula Abdul - I always thought of her as the proto-Jennifer Lopez, great dancer with an awfully weak voice, and awfully catchy generic singles that have dated badly. I think the UK got it right with her two big hits though. To think she had 6 US #1 hits by the end of 1991, oh America what were you thinking. The Adventures of Stevie V - Dirty Cash - I always thought that song was a gritty straightforward song about prostitution. If it had come out a few year later after Madonna had really pushed the envelope (Justify My Love, Sex Book, Erotica album, etc), and as ever fellow lesser female artists followed the leader (remember Debbie Gibson's career suicidal Losing Myself video which now seems tame?) then I could agree with Gezza's interpretation. Kylie - Better The Devil You Know - Stock Aitken & Waterman's finest few minutes in pop. NKOTB - horrific the US version of Dross (sorry I meant Bros, nope I was right first time), my goodness Take That first time around back catalogue is of The Beatles standard compared to their efforts. Talking of The Beatles remember NKOTB hilarious follow up which was meant to be a Beatles homage (it sure was no Sowing The Seeds Of Love) Tonight, which sounding like the 1960s Bee Gees on a bad day?
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vya
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Post by vya on Sept 9, 2011 20:24:35 GMT 1
Technotronic - still not my thing. Yes, better than Pump Up The Jam, to damn with faint praise. I suppose it's a skilful record of its genre, though.
Brits 90 - remember this entering the chart at no 7 when the Stone Roses' really really utterly sublime "Elephant Stone" belatedly entered at no 8. Obviously Elephant Stone is the better track - and if anything one of the Roses' very overlooked gems. The mix was a good idea though - strange to see that it more or less marked the end of the Cookie Crew's brief career (more or less - I mean "Secrets of Success", the following year, wasn't bad at all, but although Kiss FM played it a lot, it sold very little)
Love Shack. Hmm, I had a copy of the album it was on for several months prior to that being a hit - some fine tracks on the album ("Roam", "Deadbeat Club"). Love Shack...was OK...but even by B52s standards, a bit too wacky and gimmicky.
Alannah Myles - Good stuff, as you say.
Paula Abdul. Oh dear. Atrocious. I'd quite liked "Straight Up" when that came out, and "Forever Your Girl" the single, even more. But this was horrendous- especially the gimmicky cartoon version put out as a single.
Adventures of Stevie V - never seen any prostitution references, just thought it was a straightforward "greed is good" number. A re-release from the previous year, too, and to my mind a well deserved hit.
Kylie- damn good pop music
NKOTB - generally they are really terrible, but I thought "Step By Step" and its follow up "Tonight" were immeasurably superior, both song- and performance-wise, than their earlier material. And come on that "Step 1 - we can have lot's of fun...." bit - - - it's a laugh, no? Entirely out of time and place in 1990 Britain - variety club, end of the pier stuff from decades past...
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Sept 10, 2011 10:17:51 GMT 1
30TH JUNE- NESSUN DORMA- Luciano Pavarotti (3 weeks)
Oh dear- I'm no Opera buff so I'm hardly qualified to say whether this is technically a great performance or not. "Nessun Dorma" (or "None shall sleep" in English) is an aria from Puccini's "Turandot" but its appearance on this list is thanks to that great sporting event the World Cup, which was staged that year in, surprise surprise, Italy. The sight of Gazza's tears would become one of the images of 1990 and a new found place in the heart of the nation would be demonstrated in this thread again by the end of the year, suffice it to say that Pavarotti never again made the top 3 in the UK singles chart again, but it's a snapshot of the football crazy summer of 1990.
There can be no doubt about the lungs on Pavarotti, don't really have a clue what he's singing about, but its use as the music used by the BBC for its Italia 90 coverage allowed the singer greater exposure beyond the classical world than he could have dreamt of......
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Sept 10, 2011 10:18:41 GMT 1
21ST JULY- MONA- Craig Mclachlan & Check 1-2 (1 week)
Covering a 1957 Bo Diddley B-Side doesn't sound like a recipe for success but back in 1990 Craig McLachlan dumped Ramsey Street and Neighbours and took to the charts with "Mona". It's a catchy little number that's hard to dislike but then it's equally hard to love. From Neighbours to popstar was by this time a cliche that seemed lost of McLachlan, the mercy is that this was his sole top 10 hit over here, it's not that "Mona" is a bad song or a bad version, just that it gives no kind of direction or clue as to what Mclachlan as popstar is all about- that's the problem. There is no stamp of personality on this, almost like this is a punt to see if he has any chance at being a star, in a way he enforces the stereotype of aussies, happy go lucky, optimistic, and affable.
The decision to withdraw the single whilst it was in the top 10 to promote his next hit "Amanda" must irk now as that song made No 19 whilst "Mona sank quickly 7-13-33-71 thus shortening the lifespan of what would become his biggest hit, "Mona"'s biggest crime is therefore benality, it's not a lot of record really to get your teeth into so perhaps it's asking for too much but really this is quite forgettable.....
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Post by Earl Purple on Sept 10, 2011 23:06:00 GMT 1
The year is going downhill fast, like I knew it would.
Better The Devil You Know: Yeah, it had to be a lot better than what went before and it was. One day maybe we'll do a Stock Aitken Waterman rate on here and this song would probably be fairly highly placed. If you took the best 12 singles of Stock Aitken Waterman it might not sound so bad but the fact they also wrote so much dross that did really well in the chart (like Everyday I Love You More) is why I always think of them in a really bad light.
Step By StepIt's like we had a sequence: Bros followed by Jason Donovan followed by New Kids followed by Take That and each one became the top boy-band or solo boy pin-up. We should be quite thankful when Take That took over. "Cover Girl" was potentially their least bad song.
Nessun Dorma With regard to operatic arias, I always think they sound best within their correct context, i.e. in an opera theatre as part of the opera for which they were first written. This does bring back memories of the World Cup in which England reached the semi-final, albeit without ever really exciting us, and nearly coming unstuck against Cameroon in the quarter final. Gazza did play well though during this world cup.
Mona Neighbours actor covers an old Bo-Diddley song. Nothing really exciting about this.
The chart was a lot more exciting than what we had there in the top 2. This list is awaiting the arrival of Dee-Lite to end the monotony.
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Sept 11, 2011 11:47:28 GMT 1
4TH AUGUST- HANKY PANKY- Madonna (1 week)There are two ways to look at Hanky Panky which would result in two opposing reviews. View the song in its context, as a track from (or inspired by) the film "Dick Tracy"- Madonna's most recent cinematic attempt- and it's a rather enjoyable, faux 30's romp filled with camp innuendo, knowingly playing, perhaps ironically with the public image that Madonna had long been at work on. She's on her breathy best here in character as Breathless Mahoney, the tart with a heart, and it's a hard record to dislike. However view this as a Madonna single proper outside of that context, and to some extend we have to as this was released a stand alone single, and we're in trouble. Propelled to this position primarily due to the "Blond Ambition" tour sweeping into the country and the associated press/ controversy, it's a weak single, purile to some extent and hyper sexual, the charge she was certainly guilty of from 1990- 1993 and a fact that would see her career blown of course (no pun intended) for much of the 90s. Her pre-occupation with sexuality and pushing that particular button with increasing extremity which would peak with 1992's "Sex" book, so "Hanky Panky" is the phase in it's infancy, yet Madonna was so powerful and all conquering come 1990 that everything she touched musically rose immediately into the top 10 without much effort. It's a song without subtledy or depth, or indeed any real meaning (greatly ironic given its use of innuendo) and certainly not one of Madonna's greater moments, coming immediately after "Vogue" it throws this song into even sharper relief.....
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Sept 11, 2011 11:48:10 GMT 1
11TH AUGUST- TOM'S DINER- DNA Featuring Suzanne Vega (3 weeks)Originally penned by Vega back in 1981 as an acapella track, "Tom's Diner" finally saw the light of day on her 1987 album "Solitude Standing" and made No 58 when released as a single. Fast forward three years and UK dance producers DNA remixed the song put a Soul II Soul- esque backing track to it and releasing it to clubs under the title "Oh Suzanne", the record came to the attention of Vega's record company who instead of attempting to block the record due to copyright decided to buy the single and make it into a hit once Vega approved the track. Et Voila!, a No 2 hit in August 1990, this was one of the records of the summer of 90, I remember it fondly from my school holiday that year and it's a song that I actually love. It manages to somehow be both endearing and somewhat sinister simultaneously. The tale is a simple one, someone who stops at a diner for a cup of coffee and the observations made whilst made there, yet it's that synth line that kicks in under the chorus that has a slightly unsettling effect, and the hook of the record (the "do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do" bit) is interesting rather for what it isn't than what it is, almost like it's glazing over something and that's the appeal of the record, you want to understand more and get to the bottom of what happened at the picnic that the cathedral bells remind her of. It's a song that teases, and it's all the better for it, there's not enough mystery in lyrics these days and it's a great "story-telling" lyric as well. A little creepy but bloody brilliant!....
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borneoman
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Post by borneoman on Sept 11, 2011 12:49:55 GMT 1
Mona - horrible Hanky Panky - horrible Tom's Diner - all kinds of amazing!!!! Love the track. Loved it already back in the day when the Solitude Standing album came out, loved it even more with the DNA remix sooooooo should have been #1!!!!
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Post by Earl Purple on Sept 11, 2011 14:38:01 GMT 1
In my chart Madonna had a very good run from "Like A Prayer" to the re-issue of "Crazy For You" other than "Express Yourself" which for me totally flopped. "Hanky Panky" was part of that run. It was like Madonna was returning to her "pop star" stage, whilst at the same time being even more "grown-up" than "Like A Virgin" which was still a bit too "cute". Actually Frisky & Mannish did a piece on the progression of Madonna's musical career through many phases.
Dick Tracy was considered the first acting role Madonna had played where she had done quite well - all her previous acting roles like Desperately Seeking Susan were rather laughed at, in spite of her being a top pop star at the time.
Tom's Diner was one of those interesting remixes - I didn't think they ruined it like would often happen with a remix like this because it was originally an a-cappela track. At least they didn't mess with Luka, Left Of Center or Marlene On The Wall. Good that Suzanne Vega did finally get a bit hit but it's not as good as any of those other 3, especially "Luka". And of course I'd rather it had been #1 than either of the two that kept it out, but they were just the worst two #1 of the year.
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TheThorne
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Post by TheThorne on Sept 11, 2011 20:59:43 GMT 1
'Luka' is probably one of my top 10 favourite songs ever but I liked 'Tom's Diner' remix as well for what it was.
and yeh I agree that 'Dirty Cash' was about greed and yuppies.
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borneoman
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Post by borneoman on Sept 11, 2011 21:11:41 GMT 1
glad to see there's more Suzanne Vega fans out there!!!! Luka was criminally ignored in the UK, how come it only peaked at #23!!!!! If I remember well it was #3 in the US...
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Sept 12, 2011 17:28:13 GMT 1
1ST SEPTEMBER- FOUR BACHARACH & DAVID SONGS E.P- Deacon Blue (2 weeks)
I LOVE Deacon Blue- I should state that now- criminally underrated in my opinion. Tracks like "Dignity" "Cover From The Sky" and "Wages Day" are clear evidence of thoughtful, insightful writing and tune-smithery (?) that deserves greater recognition all these years down the line. They received critical acclaim for debut album "Raintown" in 1987, and 1989's follow up "When The World Knows Your Name" knocked Madonna off the No 1 spot, and, with a career very much in an upward spiral, they did this E.P (now there's an old term) which resulted in the biggest single of their career. Covering four songs by the great 60s song writers Bacharach & David ("I'll Never Fall In Love/ The Look Of Love/ Are You There/ Message to Michael") was an inspired move even if it bought criticism that the band sold out for commercial success. Lorraine McIntosh's vocals are crystal clear, and Ross is on raspy form vocally, it's a beautiful contrast, best exemplified at 1.22. In many ways it's a similar thing that The Beautiful South did with "A Little Time" later in 90 but this isn't bitter despite the title, rather sad and melancholy but with an air of optimism that rings true through it. The song is treated with great care and sensitivity, as if fragile, that's exactly right- whilst it's turning into a ballad a voice like Whitney or Mariah would destroy all its charms.
Gentle, classy, endearing, and simple- all words which spring to mind when I listen to this, and I supect that the original songwriters would be pleased with the Deacon Blue treatment some 21 years after the track Hit No 1 for Bobbie Gentry- a feat that was denied a repeat thanks to the awful Bombalarina who were at No 1- move over "Vienna" there's a greater tragedy just here!.......
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Sept 12, 2011 17:29:24 GMT 1
15TH SEPTEMBER- GROOVE IS IN THE HEART/ WHAT IS LOVE?- Deee-Lite (2 weeks)Just like "Love Shack" this song probably remains one of the most played No 2 hits today, that actually makes it harder to review as through time it comes somewhat out of context. At the time I though this way OK but nothing exceptional, and time hasn't altered my opinion so I'm afraid I'm going to have to be unpopular again in saying that it's a song that just scrapes by on my radar. With it's retro 70's leanings it wasn't what a 14 yr old wanted to hear really, back in 1990 there was a curiously 70's feel about things, Madchester had bought back flairs, and tie dye and flower prints were worn at our school with pride, almost like an attempt to wipe the 80s from memory. It is now a song equally famous for missing out on the No 1 spot by some 8 copies, the closest run thing in at least 9 years (that is public knowledge that is) and resulted in a change in the way the charts were compiled. I'm no great fan of "The Joker" so I have no strong feelings whichever of those two songs would have made the top. It is possible for a record to become too much public property and I think that is probably what happened to "Groove Is In The Heart"- I tried to love it, it wasn't the record's fault- it's mine It also seems like a record that's extremely pleased with itself in it's "trendiness" now that's a hard thing to qualilfy, I think the video might also give this impression, stepping over the line from cocky and self assured, to arrogant and pushy. I can't deny it is catchy, and I know it's nearly loved by all, but the latter fact just makes me dislike it that little bit more....... EDIT: I never heard the official Double A-side "What Is Love?" and just played it- it's rather good in a 1990 way- OK i dislike it a little less now!....
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Sept 12, 2011 19:14:06 GMT 1
Don't care how it was justified, Deee Lite should have been a joint number one. Idiotic and illogical that it wasn't.
I never properly understood Deacon Blue's line-up. Thought Ross' voice was watery and anodyne, and they'd've been better with Lorraine as lead singer rather than a glorified Bez.
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borneoman
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Post by borneoman on Sept 12, 2011 20:03:02 GMT 1
Agree on Deelite, should have been #1!!!! ALways loved it, especially at parties and so And I loved Deacon Blue too, even in their dance-y Your Town days bit sad though that their highest charting song is a cover when their originals were so good...
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Sept 13, 2011 18:46:36 GMT 1
6TH OCTOBER- I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT YOU- Londonbeat (1 week)I remember being surprised when I first heard this song. Their only previous top 40 hit was "9 am (Comfort Zone)" an acapella track that turned up as a surprise hit at Xmas 1988 but then not much really, this was unexpected. That's not to say it's unwelcome, this is actually a rather chirpy pop number and a likeable dance record (not to forget a US chart topper to boot), which is one of the lesser remembered early 90s hits, the only bit of trivia I can drum up is that they entered the song for europe in 1995 but lost out to Love City Groove. There were no top 20 hits to follow so they certainly never oustayed their welcome, but 1991's "A Better Love" probably deserved to go top 20, all in all a pleasing reminder....
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Sept 13, 2011 18:47:28 GMT 1
13TH OCTOBER- BLUE VELVET- Bobby Vinton (1 week)
Firstly a 1951 Tony Bennett Hit, "Blue Velvet" was a song that was made famous by Vinton when he made the top of the US Chart in 1963 but failed to chart here in the UK. Until that is it was used in an ad for Nivea, in addition of course to its use in the David Lynch film of the same name and also released in 1990, the exposure created demand for the track, and somewhat unusually was released on a Tuesday and started off in the midweek charts at 55, before making a debut at No 16 eventually! Anyway 2 weeks later the song was No 2 and was only narrowly defeated by Maria McKee for the number one spot. It's actually an enormously endearing record merely because its selling vintage Americana, Vinton's vocals have a warmth to it, the orchestration is grand and the waltz pace takes you instantly back to the early 60s.
It's a good old fashioned nostalgia rtip and to be fair I don't really mind it- in a year when "Twin Peaks" took the nation by storm this song fits perfectly, and seeing as the song was never previously a hit on these shores it seems chirlish to protest against it having its time in the limelight...
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