vya
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Post by vya on Feb 9, 2020 15:45:29 GMT 1
Segue of the year: "I'd Rather Jack Profumo"
(and a perfect illustration of the difference in calibre as songwriters, of the work being put out by SAW and the PSBs at this time, too)
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Post by o on Mar 9, 2020 22:37:49 GMT 1
Not much chat in here recently. I really enjoyed a recent April episode. TRansvision Vamp always good for the money and I'd forgotten it had got as high as #3! Metallica - One, awesomeness! And of course one of my fave bands, Midnight Oil and Beds are burning, just love it, and remember being so chuffed when it made the charts and started climbing!!! Also Cure - Lullaby and even De La Soul - Me myself and I, tunes!
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TheThorne
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Post by TheThorne on Mar 10, 2020 7:43:19 GMT 1
Yes that was a stonking show best in sometime. My 9 year old particularly liked De La Soul was singing it all day
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vya
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Post by vya on Mar 10, 2020 19:00:36 GMT 1
There's been some cracking dance tunes in some of the recent shows: Chanelle's "One Man" and Paul Simpson/Adeva's "Musical Freedom", in particular standing out. And also a couple that were real, deep, pirate station classics where I was living in East London at the time (even if both acts had better tracks overall) - Alyson William's "Sleep Talk" and Ten City's "Devotion" - intensely atmospheric stuff.
Alongside that, the brilliance of Fuzzbox's "International Rescue" and Transvision Vamp's "Baby I Don't Care" show up what a magnificient time this was for chart pop music.
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Post by o on Mar 28, 2020 22:39:10 GMT 1
Found another good ep. started with a Transvision Vamp single I'd forgotten about, The only one, I do hope Wendy James spent some of the money on a good support bra. In the countdown at #39 was REM and Orange Crush! Guns n Roses were climbing with Sweet Child O Mine at #8, Beautiful South made their debut? at #23 with Song to whoever. New Model Army and Green and the Grey got some coverage in the breakers. Soul II Soul and Back to life was there as well, and then we had Jason Donovan new at #2, which had kept off the earlier played new at #2 Cliff Richard, which was the lesser of two evils! And the Bananas with a remix of Cruel Summer to see us out.
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Mar 29, 2020 8:31:36 GMT 1
Found another good ep. started with a Transvision Vamp single I'd forgotten about, The only one, I do hope Wendy James spent some of the money on a good support bra. In the countdown at #39 was REM and Orange Crush! Guns n Roses were climbing with Sweet Child O Mine at #8, Beautiful South made their debut? at #23 with Song to whoever. New Model Army and Green and the Grey got some coverage in the breakers. Soul II Soul and Back to life was there as well, and then we had Jason Donovan new at #2, which had kept off the earlier played new at #2 Cliff Richard, which was the lesser of two evils! And the Bananas with a remix of Cruel Summer to see us out. Jason Donovan at #1 has to be the worst top 2 of the year so far. Sweet Child o mine is great, enjoyed the Beautiful South song, first time I've heard that Cruel Summer remix surprisingly, was OK but prefer the original.
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vya
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Post by vya on Mar 29, 2020 20:42:00 GMT 1
Such great - and sometimes groundbreaking - records in the chart in the summer of 89.
(Not at number 1, mostly, though. I suppose J**e B***y were groundbreaking in their way, but, well, hmm, they should have stuck to the wedding parties in Rotherham really.).
While New Model Army were on really good form then, and Transvision Vamp utterly superlatively on fire, I feel that the immensely high quality of the dancier acts breaking through at this time has almost been written out of history, overshadowed by the mania of Madchester which in some ways has arguably not aged that well and is, if nothing else, emotionally mostly rather narrower. (And I *still* love a fair bit of the Stone Roses stuff from 88/89). Although maybe Soul II Soul's failure to keep up this standard for their future non-Club Classics is part of the story too. And also by the rise of more formulaic Italo-House, which, while not without its merits, often tended to repeat itself rather.
Strikes me we have an astounding Neneh Cherry single, not even a big hit, coming up soon too.
Loads of great guitar-based acts hovering around outside the top 40 too: the River Detectives, the River City People, the Kevin McDermott Orchestra. And Don Henley's "The End of The Innocence" is a contender for the single of the summer. Maybe it's just that I was 14 then, but I think of it as an absolutely blinding summer for pop music.
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Mar 30, 2020 9:22:16 GMT 1
Catching up. 13 April.
Cookie Crew and Edwin Starr. They have their own Spinderella. Gaining respect with a cool British dialect. Not quite, "keep awwwwn" is very noo yoik. Best bit is really Edwin Starr. Think he lives in Shropshire.
Ten City. Sounds like someone had to come up with a follow-up very quickly but had no real idea with what. So they just made up some random stuff and gave it to a remixer. There's not much depth there.
Top 40. New graphics, with a touch of electronica and now the titles included. T'Pau at 28, Carol looking hawt. Builds up but it does not live in the memory.
INXS. This must have been a late decision to release it as a single as the video is just live and studio shots. There's a bit of ska in this but it's another load of nothing.
Blimey. This is basically a show of second choices. Even FYC is the follow-up single to "You Drive Me Crazy" and not as good, more rockabilly sounding. At least it's different.
Charts. Yello at 23 with a masterpiece that gets forgotten nowadays. Fuzzbox deserved a MUCH bigger hit with "International Rescue". Mick & Pat are now Pat & Mick. BB King could be on for a no. 1. And we cut into his video with U2. His voice is the best thing on the show today. There's 50 years of heartache in there. Wow.
Paul Simpson with Adeva. This is basically the Ten City backing with "You Got The Love" over the top. Adeva is GOING for it. Charismatic performance, and sounds like a belter of a voice in there. Almost blues shouter.
Top 10. Transvision Vamp up 9 to 7. On course for top three. Kon Kan with another underrated classic going up to 5. Madonna off the top. Simply sh*te up 17 to 2. Dear God. Shoutout to Deacon Blue for going in at no. 1 in the album chart. And The Bangles get an overdue no. 1. No mention that this is the first time an all-female band has topped the charts. It's not their best and does not showcase their pop-punk but beggars can't be choosers. Most of the chat at school about this is what we would like to do to Susanna Hoffs.
Playout is Yello. This really is magnificent. Languid and seductive and understated and enveloping and the video is mental. Deserved a full play.
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Mar 30, 2020 10:27:37 GMT 1
20/4. (5.)
Sybil Ruscoe, plus Campbell, Transvision Vamp to strat. Hang on. I might need some me time.
Hm. They cut bits out in the editing. Wendy is SEARING. And this is a STORMER of a track. Great primal scream to start. Bridge is brilliant. Wendy has the, er, capability of being a megastar. With the Vamp or with different material?
Simple Minds new in at 13. God, this is a feckin sermon to a Moroccan Tourist Board soundtrack. It is so smug it could be a Tory MP. Gah.
Top 40. I see Ten City's performance did them the power of good, a big faller. Then Jerico going up bit by bit.
Inner City flying in. Landfill Chicago. You could almost interchange this with Adeva. Wow, "Vogue" ripped a HUGE amount from this.
Breakers. De La Soul. Now this is taking hip-hop in a new direction. Rather interesting. London Boys with a euphoric song called "Requiem", which suggests that they have no idea what the word means. Judging by the video it's aimed at an audience.
Oh, that's it. Holly Johnson. Who's the guitarist? She's gorgeous. Nowhere near as good a song as "Love Train".
Video for Metallica. We join it at a curious place, over half-way through as they go into the guitar solos. Midnight Oil on video with a terrific single, again though there's only half of it. Why did they cut the show to 30 minutes?
The Cure. It doesn't sound very Cure. Think this is selling just on the name. Sybil thinks it's the best thing they've done in ages. Not sure Sybil really means it.
Top 10. US and King only going up to 6. Not as big a rise as I thought. Simply sh*te still at two, ha ha. Bangles keep them off. Incidentally they show just how important the top 40 is. This song was bumbling in the dark edges of the chart for two months, snuck in at 33, and then voom. In one go it made more places than it had in a month.
Beatmasters on the playout. Merlin is in the nick, I think, so this is video. "Suck him off like a piece of spaghetti"? Did I hear that right?
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Mar 30, 2020 12:01:53 GMT 1
27/4. Davies and, er, nobody. Starting off with London Boys and a song called, apparently, "Wreck You 'Em", per Davies. Mozart gets a songwriting credit. I quite like this. Shame about the lyric.
Natalie Cole. Guessing she owes her entire career to her surname. This is godawful dull f***ing sub-Disney sh*te.
Charts and De La Soul, this is pretty decent. I like that they are trying something different.
FYC, see above. Morrissey new in at 9. Going out on a limb and predicting this will drop. Ooh, really cute girl in the video. Somewhat brassy and flirtatious. Kirsty MacColl on backing vocals. Oh, and most of The Smiths backing. "Hawtrey High", lol.
Beatmasters. Oh, Merlin is obviously out. He's no Betty Boo and this is no "Hey DJ". Disappointing.
Yazz. Hm, dreds. Not sure they suit her. Again, Chicago house, there's a lot of it around. This shows off her voice better and she knows how to make it fit a song. It's not a great song but her performance is winning it over to me.
Top 10. TV stall at 3, sad times. Indeed no change in the top 3. Playout is Poison. Doubtless this will go in the rock charts even though it couldn't scratch talcum powder. It's an Elvis throwback, only not as groundbreaking. Blatant cash-in.
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Mar 30, 2020 14:52:53 GMT 1
Jedi day. How come they updated the graphics yet still have the same crappy music? Andy Crane and Jenny "phwoar" Powell. And she's still hot. Starting with Edelweiss, who read Drummond & Cauty's Manual and put it into operation. This is actually great fun. Riffing on "SOS" with yodelling and a grown-up Heidi along with the dirndled Maria Mathis. They are not taking the performance seriously which adds to the fun. It does at least shout out to the legend about a young man needing to scale a precipitous peak to get the eponymous flower for his girlfriend. Ruck. Sack. Rucksack. Damn, they swoop out before Heidi gets to do her bit.
How did Andy Crane get a job? He's a bit of a charisma vacuum. Down under now for Midnight Oil. Their only Oz singles no. 1 was an EP with the title of Species Deceases. Gives an idea of where they're coming from. Peter Garrett will become an MP and his daughter a hot kids' TV presenter. Goda lmighty, it cuts off VERY quickly.
Charts. Stefan Dennis? Doubleyou tee eff? Simple Minds have had a plummet and a half. Debbie Gibson in the studio. Meh, this is nowhere near her earlier stuff, this is basically music for toddlers.
Bon Jovi. They've basically gone full country. Dull.
Charts. Swing Out Sister never got a play and they're dropping. Surely they deserved it more than Natalie Cole. Anyway, we go to Roxette in the studio, in a monochrome stylie with spiky hair. This is more rock than Bon Jovi. Quite a decent track but Marie has the better voice. Deacon Blue syndrome.
Aaaaaaand...highest new entry is f***ing Minogue. Why? Why the f*** are people still buying these abortions of tracks? It can't be her horrible tinny whiny characterless computerized twatstain of a voice.
Poison. Again? They butcher tracks left right and centre, and ignore others, yet Poison get on in consecutive weeks? Who in the name of arse is choosing these tracks? And how much are they being paid?
Eurovision. Andy Crane makes a total b****cks of the title. Ironically. "Why does everything I do go wrong?" Singer appears to be Les McQueen. Why is he wearing a jewelled Iron Cross? Going for the Nazi vote? Live Report will eventually lose by 6 points to Yugoslavia, thanks entirely to Belgium, who gave the Yugoslavs 10 and the UK 0. f*** the EU. (Although is it wrong to be suspicious that the Yugoslavs were last to vote and knew how many to give Live Report without costing them the victory?)
Top 10. Bangles still no.1. Playout is Bunga Vehicle, because we need to see re-issues rather than new British acts.
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Mar 31, 2020 13:45:26 GMT 1
11/5. Brookes looking yuppieish. Starting with Swing Out Sister, who have gone up (barely) after going down. Someone must have had a word. Corinne is looking stunning. This is their best single to date, merging that Mary Quant style with a modern pop sensibility.
Bunga Vehicle. Someone's taken a bribe to show this AGAIN. There is no need for it whatsoever.
Charts. Is that what Cappella looks like? Shaky is still around? lol. Yazz, see above. Highest new entry is Queen, with some Queen by numbers. No. 3? They're still waiting for that second Queen-only chart-topper, maybe this is it.
It's cut well short so we can enjoy Hue & Cry, another one of those acts that always seems to be on. For such a left-wing band they've got an intensely yuppie look and sound.
Charts are fairly dull, Natalie Cole is VERY dull. We cut back to Stevie Nicks at no. 21. Yeah, this is good, something bewitching about it, way better than the latest Mac attack.
London Boys, see above. Charts, top 10, Edelweiss have the highest climbers. Oh God, Minogue is no.1. WHY!!?!?!?!?! I mean, I'm not denying I'd happily excavate her all night, but, Christ alive, the music she fronts is dire and her voice could strip wallpaper.
Playout is Stefan Dennis. "Don't It Make You Feel Good?" No.
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Mar 31, 2020 14:26:19 GMT 1
18/5. Mark Goodier and Anthea "Big Hair" Turner, introducing Shakin Stevens, who must be setting a record for most appearances ever because every time he is at about no. 28 he gets on. Don't see the point in this at all, it's again a bog-standard rockabilly by numbers and it adds nothing to the store of human achievement.
New in at 20, Bobby Brown, looking utterly ridiculous, with some utter sh*te. What has HAPPENED to soul? No real instruments, no powerful voices. Nothing. Gah.
Charts, PiL back in them, good-oh. Roxette up to 10. Breakers. Alyson Williams, see comments about Bobby Brown. At least she has a voice. But this is the sort of song you forget how it goes while you are listening to it. Sam Browne, looking gorge, with a feisty take and a smoky voice. THIS is how to sing. Diana Ross, trying to surf the zeitgeist with something that sounds basically like "Straight Up".
Sir McMacca of the Two Thumbs new in at 22, video starts in the middle again. It's OK. Nothing more.
Neneh Cherry. Turner says she is looking beautiful. She is. And this is very different to the gallus of "Buffalo Stance". Almost languid. She's certainly an exciting talent.
Chartlicious. Stefan Dennis. It's ridiculous how they cut songs to ribbons yet let others on in consecutive weeks. The SAWmill is basically payola-ing its way onto TOTP surely.
Deacon Blue. Hm, sounds not dislike SoS. Lorraine would be so much better on lead. Ricky looks a bit like Barney Sumner. TOTP is not the cradle of rebellion, is it? Nearly everyone seems to be formally dressed. Should have had PiL on.
Top 10. Augh, Hillsborough.
Playout is Cappella. Best bit is the sample of "Work It To The Bone". Interesting and catchy.
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Post by ManicKangaroo on Mar 31, 2020 14:59:10 GMT 1
Stefan Dennis. It's ridiculous how they cut songs to ribbons yet let others on in consecutive weeks. The SAWmill is basically payola-ing its way onto TOTP surely. Stefan Dennis had nothing to do with SAW
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SheriffFatman
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Post by SheriffFatman on Apr 2, 2020 11:12:32 GMT 1
Edelweiss were certainly good value for money, weren't they? If you're going to be on telly you might as well put on a show I suppose. Hilarious.
Had completely forgotten how brilliant Fuzzbox sounded, and being 12 at the time never really noticed how brilliant they looked. Another act who were fantastic to watch, but for entirely different reasons to Edelweiss.
Your Mama Don't Dance by Poison was attrocious, like Bon Jovi meets Shakin' Stevens but worse than both, goodness knows who that appealed to. Well, my sister actually, she had the album.
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Apr 2, 2020 18:09:30 GMT 1
Edelweiss were certainly good value for money, weren't they? If you're going to be on telly you might as well put on a show I suppose. Hilarious. Had completely forgotten how brilliant Fuzzbox sounded, and being 12 at the time never really noticed how brilliant they looked. Another act who were fantastic to watch, but for entirely different reasons to Edelweiss. Had never heard that Edelweiss song before (which is surprising given that it was top 5) but quite enjoyed it. The performance was certainly different! The lead singer was someone called Maria Mathis who was 21 at the time. Might be just me but she's not the first person I've thought looked older than her age. Love that Fuzzbox song, even though it looked as though the lead singer didn't really bother miming it!
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vya
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Post by vya on Apr 2, 2020 21:45:02 GMT 1
I'd quite forgotten how exceedingly crap "Forever Your Girl" by Paula Abdul was.
The Stefan Dennis track, however, is quite another level of atrocious. Hilariously so. (Probably would have been a much bigger hit three or four years earlier).
The 1989 remix of "Cruel Summer", while not the very worst example of a pointless late 80s remix, adds nothing of value to the song whatsoever.
Donna Allen's version of "Joy and Pain" (one of three versions of the track on release at the time, alongside a rerelease of the Maze original, and a pretty naff Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock update) is in its understated way, quite beautiful.
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Post by o on Apr 2, 2020 22:52:37 GMT 1
Down under now for Midnight Oil. Their only Oz singles no. 1 was an EP with the title of Species Deceases. Gives an idea of where they're coming from. Peter Garrett will become an MP and his daughter a hot kids' TV presenter. Goda lmighty, it cuts off VERY quickly.
I looked up about his daughters, he has three, but it is in fact his niece that was the tv presenter, if you're talking about Maude?
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Apr 3, 2020 9:23:23 GMT 1
Yeah, Maude. Thought she was daughter. Stefan Dennis. It's ridiculous how they cut songs to ribbons yet let others on in consecutive weeks. The SAWmill is basically payola-ing its way onto TOTP surely. Stefan Dennis had nothing to do with SAW Like the man in orthopaedic shoes, I stand corrected. It just had all the hallmarks. Non-existent tune, computer backing, soap star, talent you could fit in a matchbox without taking the matches out first. Anyhoo. 52/5. Mayo introducing Edelweiss. They've not got their codpiece-dancing dwarf on stage, but they do have a giant plushtoy. They are really going large on the performance. There's more fun in this than in the entire SAWmill output. It's a bit like Alison Hammond. Shouldn't really work, but somehow does. Tone Loc at 26 on video. God almighty, he knows how to choose women in his videos. Except for Sheena, obviously. Laid-back delivery. It's not doing much for me though, perhaps because it may as well be "Wild Thing" with different lyrics. Charts. ABC, retro. Video is Sam Brown. Shame she's not in the studio, because she would get a full play. Also she should give those lungs something of an airing. Great cover, great voice. Robert Palmer at 31 with, er, reggae. Stochastic. Mayo suggests he is going to yodel. Did he do this as a bet? Oh God, he IS yodelling. The audience is joining in. This is...weird. Jason Donovan is no. 1 in the album charts. Why? Beth is a competition winner. She's gorgeous. It's all a set-up for Lynne Hamilton singing the theme from Prisoner Cell Block H. Which is more dire than a dire beast in a dire mire in the middle of direland. WHAT THE f*** IS GOING ON IN THIS f***ing COUNTRY? WHY THIS f***ing OBSESSION WITH f***ing CONVICTS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS?@??!? Ten seconds of this is all I can stand. Charts. WASP, heh, unexpected. Bet they don't get a play. Video of Cappella at 12. Cheapass video, they couldn't even get hotties for it.
Donna Summer, well, it's nice to see her getting an Indian summer, shame it's with such rubbish.
Top ten, top four do not change. Not sure cheering from the audience is the appropriate reaction to the no. 1. Heh, WASP DO get a play. This is the harder edge of hair metal. Towards Spinal Tap territory though.
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Post by o on Apr 3, 2020 20:47:27 GMT 1
Was that REM's debut on the pops with Orange crush, or had they already been in the studio, whatever, it was ace! I preferred Fuzzbox before the airbrush when they were punk, was it even them singing on the tracks? And Tom Petty to finish, excellent!
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