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Post by raliverpool on Mar 13, 2014 21:25:23 GMT 1
58 The The - Uncertain Smile (1982)
The British post-punk/synthpop band fronted/belonging to Matt Johnson recorded this track in New York with Soft Cell producer Mike Thorne resulting in its late 1982 UK release peaking at UK #68. However, it was rerecorded for autumn 1983's Soul Mining debut album with Johnson co-producing with Paul Hardiman, this version featured Jools Holland on the "old Joanna" for the last half of the track, and this 1983 version made UK #100, but made the lower reaches of a number of European countries, as well as peaking at Australia #43 & New Zealand #37.
I've got you under my skin where the rain can't get in, But if the sweat pours out, just shout I'll try to swim and pull you out.
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Post by raliverpool on Mar 13, 2014 21:35:34 GMT 1
57 Deacon Blue - Dignity (1988)
This Ricky Ross penned track was first released in May 1987 as the lead single before the release of the Scottish band's first album Raintown. The single failed to chart in the UK, although it did reach the lower region of the charts in the Netherlands. "Dignity" was re-recorded in November 1987 by Bob Clearmountain and the new mix released in January 1988 as the fourth single where this blue collar anthem peaked at (incredibly only) UK #31. In 1994 when the band disbanded for half a decade it was remixed and issued for a third time peaking at UK #20.
They'll ask me how I got her I'll say "I saved my money" They'll say isn't she pretty that ship called dignity
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Post by raliverpool on Mar 13, 2014 21:53:57 GMT 1
56 Furniture - Brilliant Mind (1986)
At numerous times in music history, you can look back at certain bands and be forced to admit they were so unlucky, they were almost cursed. Furniture firmly fit into this category. But now is not the time for (another one of my rants) explaining why & how. But just to say at least after 7 years of trying, thanks to Stiff Records they managed their only hit (UK #21) .... very shortly before the label went bust, so causing their contract to be stuck in liquidation for 18 months so killing any momentum they could have gained. The longest-serving line-up of Furniture (from 1983–1990), comprised founder members Jim Irvin (vocals), singer/multi-instrumentalist Tim Whelan and drummer Hamilton Lee, plus bass player/occasional singer Sally Still and keyboard player Maya Gilder. After the band's break-up, Whelan and Lee went on to form Transglobal Underground. while Irvin and Still became high-profile British music journalists for Melody Maker, Mojo, The Word, Time Out, The Sunday Times and The Guardian (as well as in the 2000s returning to their work in music, predominantly as songwriters for the likes of Lissie, Lana Del Rey, Gay Dad, Chlöe Howl, Gabrielle Aplin, Jack McManus; and the pair wrote the 2004 hit "The Weekend" by Michael Gray; and Jim has written the 2014 Spain ESC entry by Ruth Lorenzo link). Still this is surely the best proto-Pulp single ever made.
They want to know your secret But you are not telling You're just gesturing saying open up your arms and hearts And let me in
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Post by raliverpool on Mar 15, 2014 16:14:05 GMT 1
55 Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls (1986)
Inspired in part by T.S. Eliot's poem The Waste Land, the first version of the song was produced by Bobby Orlando in April 1984, but failed to trouble the UK charts. After the duo signed with EMI, the song was re-recorded with producer Stephen Hague for their first studio album, Please. In October 1985, the song was re-released, became their debut hit single reaching #1 in the UK, the USA, Canada, New Zealand & Norway, and made the Top 10 of all the major national charts with the exception of France. It went on to win the BRIT Award for best single, the Ivor Novello songwriting award for Best International Hit, and was performed at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Too many shadows, whispering voices faces on posters, too many choices If? When? Why? What? How much have you got?
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Post by raliverpool on Mar 15, 2014 16:26:14 GMT 1
54 Blondie - Atomic (1980)
This New Wave classic was written by Debbie Harry and Jimmy Destri and produced by Mike Chapman. It was the 3rd single from the band's 1979 album Eat to the Beat. Destri started it off musically as a spaghetti western pastiche, before Harry got the idea to write the lyrics about being in a post Nuclear War nightclub, which the video suitably depicts. It topped the charts in the UK (the only national chart it made #1 in); USA #39, went top 10 across Europe, and Australia #12 & New Zealand #7.
Ah, oh your hair is beautiful Ah, tonight Atomic
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Post by raliverpool on Mar 15, 2014 16:37:48 GMT 1
53 Echo & The Bunnymen - The Killing Moon (1984)
Taken from the Liverpool post/punk band's forthcoming album Ocean Rain (which they wrote & produced). This epic song about death, and how you have no control over it, is suitably full of strings, and gothic atmosphere is surely their finest work. It reached UK #9, #7 in Ireland; and went Top 20 in Australia & New Zealand.
Fate Up against your will Through the thick and thin He will wait until You give yourself to him
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Post by raliverpool on Mar 15, 2014 16:59:45 GMT 1
52 Duran Duran - A View To A Kill (1985)
Produced by Chic bassist Bernard Edwards, and co-written with John Barry, this was the 13th & final single the "Famous Five" released until after their seminal 3* Taylor line up reformed in 2001. Internationally it became (& still is) the biggest selling Bond theme of all-time. It topped the charts in the USA, Canada, Italy, Sweden & Finland; and made the Top 10 of every European country including UK #2 (where it got stuck behind some novelty numerical record about the Vietnam War); as well as going Top 10 in Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, & Japan. The video incorporated scenes from (one of the worst ever) Bond movies was directed by Godley & Crème, and was also inspired on the suggestion of the band over the (correct) rumours they were not getting along with each other.
A chance to find a phoenix for the flame, A chance to die, but can we .... Dance into the fire, That fatal kiss is all we need. Dance into the fire To fatal sounds of broken dreams.
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Post by raliverpool on Mar 15, 2014 17:12:39 GMT 1
51 Japan - Nightporter (1982)
Released as a single 2 years after it appeared on the art-rockers 1980 album Gentlemen Take Polaroids (upon the announcement that the band were no more), this 7 minute David Sylvian penned Erik Satie meets a waltz tune, was lyrically inspired by the controversial 1974 art film by Italian director Liliana Cavani, starring Dirk Bogarde and Charlotte Rampling about a former Nazi SS officer (now working as a Hotel night porter), meeting a concentration camp survivor and so re consummating their ambiguous sadomasochistic relationship. Not exactly the average Pitbull or Flo Rida lyrics then...
We'll wander again Our clothes they are wet We shy from the rain Longing to touch all the places we know we can hide The width of a room that can hold so much pleasure inside
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vastar iner
Member
I am the poster on your wall
Posts: 17,431
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Post by vastar iner on Mar 15, 2014 18:55:07 GMT 1
Easy to forget how good REM were as a pop group before they had to get all serious post-"Shiny Happy People" to get the equilibrium back. "Stand" probably my favourite of theirs from the days when they were chart also-rans.
Think I called Furniture a must-see earlier. Ridiculous that no other label picked them up and pushed them. Don't think I've seen the video before. Looks like they spent a fortune on the cinematography and about eight quid on the storyline.
Remember The The cropping up on Scots sketch show Absolutely. Anorak character Calum Gilhooley wondering where to catalogue them. Bit over-worthy for my tastes.
Didn't remember "Dignity" the third time around.
The key reason why "West End Girls" became a hit was because it had a Sheena Easton job done on it. Huge promotion via Breakfast TV who did a sort of documentary on how to make, record and promote a single. With the free publicity it got the sort of audience grab most acts can only dream about. By huge coincidence, Neil Tennant, as a former editor of Smash Hits, had a lot of media contacts.
"Killing Moon" is a great single and one of the best syntheses of audio-video I can recall. Something of the Shackleton about the whole thing.
And I quite liked A View To A Kill. Possibly though because of Christopher Walken. I wouldn't class "19" as a novelty record though - it was a creative use of synth and samples, if it's a novelty about the carnage in Vietnam then is Japan's also a novelty about the death camps? It also came completely out of the blue - it entered the charts higher than Hardcastle ever came even close to with any other release. Startling.
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Post by raliverpool on Mar 15, 2014 20:31:07 GMT 1
I wouldn't class "19" as a novelty record though - it was a creative use of synth and samples, if it's a novelty about the carnage in Vietnam then is Japan's also a novelty about the death camps? It also came completely out of the blue - it entered the charts higher than Hardcastle ever came even close to with any other release. Startling. To me it's a novelty record because of the following:
It was recorded in 1984, and when first released in Feb 1985 it flopped failing to reach the UK Top 100.
His manager one Simon "Spice Girls, David Beckham, Annie Lennox, Lewis Hamilton, Andy Murray, Cathy Dennis, Jennifer Lopez, Will Young, ..." Fuller, who was then smart enough to use his showbiz contacts of his, and got Tony Blackburn, then breakfast DJ for Radio London to play this song (which by now, what remaining copies had been given back to Chrysalis, and what was left in stores was of insufficient amounts to make the UK Top 100), to generate media interest.
They then got a video shot using images from separate public domain stock Vietnam footage and not from the documentary that was sampled Vietnam Requiem; whilst he got Hardcastle to produce more remixes, for different formats of the single in time for it rerelease to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War.
Then during the week prior to its release, he was able to get an "and finally" prime time promotion seeing Hardcastle interviewed by Alastair Stewart of ITN on ITV1 News (at Ten/at One). So hey presto with all that hype, it turned into a massive hit second time around.
It was later parodied by British comedian Rory Bremner, using the band name The Commentators (with help from an unaccredited Hardcastle) about England's tragic performance in test cricket, with references to the England cricket team's disastrous 1984 home series against the West Indies in which the England captain David Gower had averaged 19. And more recently, (but thankfully not commercially, as they could not get clearance from numerous players of other sides) by Manchester United to celebrate their 19th Premier League title.
Oh, and of course the irony was the original Vietnam Requiem documentary, has long since been discredited, for its chief inaccurate anti-war propaganda (which is why it received minimal airplay in the USA, as that source documentary was pretty hostile about America's involvement, and several USA TV & Radio stations effectively banned the track as they (correctly IMHO) objected to the "bad taste" of using the serious clips in a "trivial" form), as the average age of US Vietnam servicemen was 23 (not 19); and the average age of US Vietnam servicemen fatalities was 26 (not 19)!
Upon reflection perhaps calling it a "novelty" record was wrong, I should have called it a "bad taste" record.
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vastar iner
Member
I am the poster on your wall
Posts: 17,431
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Post by vastar iner on Mar 15, 2014 20:36:53 GMT 1
Not as bad taste as US tactics in Vietnam though...
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Post by raliverpool on Mar 18, 2014 19:50:33 GMT 1
Talking of "War .... (huh) what is it good for, absolutely nothing (say it again)".... a cover of that Edwin Starr anti-Vietnam war 1970 anthem was the b-side of .....
50 Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Two Tribes (1984)
The second single by the Liverpool outfit had first been performed in a 1982 John Peel session. This Cold War anthem was produced by Trevor Horn and made use of narrated excerpts from the United Kingdom Public Information Film series Protect and Survive voiced by actor Patrick Allen; and numerous 12" versions featured voice parts by USA President Ronald Reagan, as played by actor Chris Barrie, who also voiced the character on Spitting Image. Hence I've included the Annihilation Mix. The Godley & Creme-directed video depicted a wrestling match between then-President Ronald Reagan and then-Soviet leader Konstantin Chernenko for the benefit of group members and an eagerly belligerent assembly of representatives from the world's nations, the event ultimately degenerating into complete global destruction. A massive worldwide hit, it spent 9 weeks at #1 in the UK; a peak it equalled throughout Europe. It also made #1 in New Zealand, #2 in South Africa, #3 in Japan, #4 in Australia, #6 in Canada, but only USA #43.
Cowboy number one, a born again poor man's son (Poor man's son) On the air America, I modelled shirts by Van Heusen (Workin' for the bad guys)
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Post by raliverpool on Mar 18, 2014 19:58:27 GMT 1
49 The Jam - That's Entertainment (1981)
Released from their 5th album, Sound Affects. It was never released as a domestic single in the UK during the band's lifetime, but it made the charts as an import, backed by a live version of "Down in the Tube Station at Midnight," peaking UK #21. Arguably Paul Weller's most acclaimed composition. This was a minimalist, slice-of-life lyrics list of various conditions of British working class life contrasting with the 1960s neo-classicist pop tune.
A police car and a screaming siren Pneumatic drill and ripped-up concrete A baby wailing, stray dog howling The screech of brakes and lamp light blinking
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Post by raliverpool on Mar 18, 2014 20:17:12 GMT 1
48 Robert Wyatt - Shipbuilding (1983)
Written by Elvis Costello (lyrics) and Clive Langer (music) about the Falklands War of 1982, Costello's lyrics discuss the contradiction of the war bringing back prosperity to the traditional shipbuilding areas of Clydeside (Yarrow Shipbuilders), Merseyside (Cammell Laird), North East England (Swan Hunter) and Belfast (Harland and Wolff) to build new ships to replace those being sunk in the war, whilst also sending off the sons of these areas to fight and, potentially, lose their lives in those same ships. Originally released as a single in August 1982, but did not become a hit until it was re-released in April 1983 when it reached UK #35, marking the first ever UK Top 40 entry for Rough Trade Records. On the recording the founding Soft Machine singer/drummer is backed by Clive Langer (organ), Steve Nieve (piano), Mark Bedford (double bass), Martin Hughes (drums) and Elvis Costello (backing vocals). It has been very frequently covered since.
Its just a rumour that was spread around town A telegram or a picture postcard Within weeks they'll be re-opening the shipyards And notifying the next of kin Once again
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Post by raliverpool on Mar 18, 2014 20:29:22 GMT 1
47 Spandau Ballet - Through The Barricades (1986)
The title track of Spandau Ballet's 1986 album, became the band's 10th and final top ten single peaking at UK #6. It made #2 in Italy, Spain; #3 in the Netherlands, Portugal; #4 in Ireland; and was a top 20 hit across Europe. A major influence on this song was the killing of Thomas Riley, who on August 9, 1983 was fatally shot in the back by a policeman in Belfast. Riley was a friend of the band and sold merchandise on their True tour. After the tour, he returned to his native Belfast and got caught in the violence in the area. When Riley, a Roman Catholic, was shot by the British soldier, it inflamed tensions and led to more riots in the area. According to its writer Gary Kemp on The One Show 2006: "In 1985, his brother Jim Riley offered to take me to Falls Road to visit the grave of Thomas. As I took that walk, I could see the barricades set up dividing the two main streets, the Protestant side and the Catholic side. It didn't occur to me to write a song at that point, but it was a huge influence. I was living in Ireland about a year later, and 'Through The Barricades' came to me in one evening. About two in the morning, lyrics started appearing in my head and I picked up a guitar - this has never happened to me before or since. I felt the song was leading me itself. It's a song not specifically about what happened to Riley, it's a love song, which is what I know best. It's a Romeo & Juliet song - two people trying to have a relationship that wasn't really allowed."
Now I know what they're are saying as hearts go to their graves we made our love on wasteland And through the barricades.
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Post by raliverpool on Mar 18, 2014 20:42:58 GMT 1
46 Kate Bush - Suspended In Gaffa (1982)
Kate's lyrics are about seeing something one really wants (God in this case), then not being able to see or experience it ever again. The "gaffa" of the title and chorus refers to gaffer tape, the strong matte black tape used by technicians in the film and concert industries. Released as the third and final single from her "she's gone mad" 4th album The Dreaming outside of UK & Ireland "There Goes A Tenner" this was a minor hit in Europe doing better than the previous title track single release (highest peak France #23), Whilst in Canada it peaked at #53. Perhaps its best to quote John Lydon whom on one of his occasional BBC Radio 6 Music guest host shows said after playing this track "Listen to a song like this and hear the template for Tori Amos's entire subsequent career."
"I caught a glimpse of a god, all shining and bright..." Suddenly my feet are feet of mud It all goes slo-mo I don't know why I'm crying
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Post by raliverpool on Mar 18, 2014 21:05:40 GMT 1
45 Nik Kershaw - The Riddle (1984)
The title track, and first single from his second album, saw the former jazz-funk guitarist score his biggest international hit, in part due to the discussions as to what the lyrics were all about, helped by the wonderfully odd Storm Thorgerson post-modern directed video. In hindsight Kershaw admits an interview he did for his follow up album Radio Musicola when he said about this songs lyrics: "In short, 'The Riddle' is nonsense, rubbish, b*ll*cks, the confused ramblings of an 80's popstar." was "a bit of a Ratner moment" as the subsequent backlash from this revelation helped kill his chart pop career. Chartwise, this peaked at #3 in UK & Ireland; went Top 10 in Germany, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, New Zealand, Austria; etc ... and after bubbling under the USA Top 100 early in 1985, it was reissued post Live Aid and became his "the one and only" Top 40 hit at USA #23.
it's not me you see pieces of valentine with just a song of mine to keep from burning history seasons of gasoline and gold
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Post by raliverpool on Mar 18, 2014 21:33:21 GMT 1
44 Scarlet Fantastic - No Memory (1987)
Out of the remnants of Swans Way, the Birmingham New Romantic duo of Maggie De Monde and Rick P. Jones (they were the dancers in Duran Duran's Planet Earth video) came up with this debut single about hedonism/escapism to sunnier parts on Arista Records, which only made UK #24, taken from their only album 24 Hours. Maggie later moved to Brighton, where she was a DJ and mover/shaker/plugger on the early/mid 2000s Brighton indie-pop scene, as well as doing regular voiceover work (presumably for whenever Magenta Devine was unavailable).
Wake up, wake up in the middle of the night Wake up, wake up to the sound of rain on the roof Just get me back, I wanna see... Another sunset, and another sunrise.
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Post by raliverpool on Mar 18, 2014 21:46:46 GMT 1
43 Tears For Fears - Mad World (1982)
Written by Roland Orzabal and sung by bassist Curt Smith, it was the band's 3rd single release and first chart hit, reaching UK #3 in November 1982 from their forthcoming debut album The Hurting. According to Orzabal "it was a deliberate attempt to write something in the vein of Duran Duran's "Girls on Film". After a few false starts with me on vocals, Curt took over and "suddenly it sounded fabulous". It subsequently became a major international hit in 1983 going Top 20 across Europe, and #2 in South Africa, #12 Australia, #25 in New Zealand. And of course was a hit all over again late in 2003 via Michael Andrews and Gary Jules version.
And I find it kind of funny I find it kind of sad The dreams in which I'm dying Are the best I've ever had
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Post by raliverpool on Mar 18, 2014 22:06:10 GMT 1
42 Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb (1980)
Released as a single in the USA in June 1980, some 8 months after the release of Another Brick In The Wall, this The Wall album track peaked at USA #56. It is one of only three songs on the album for which writing credits are shared between Roger Waters and David Gilmour. The chorus melody was written by Gilmour while Waters contributed the lyrics and the music for the verses. In 2011 it finished 5th (2nd highest placed non-classical piece) in a poll of Radio 4 listeners for their 8 Desert Island Discs link The song is about the character Pink, a creative amalgamation of Roger Waters and Syd Barrett at their point of utter meltdown, perhaps due to a drug overdose, as explained by the video taken from the 1982 movie starring Bob Geldof as Pink. (As Pink Floyd/Roger Waters had copyrighted that moniker, it later forced Alecia Beth Moore to become P!nk, but I expect you all know that).
When I was a child I caught a fleeting glimpse Out of the corner of my eye I turned to look but it was gone I cannot put my finger on it now The child is grown The dream is gone
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