The Cure documentary - That Was Then... This Is Now

Being the massive Cure fan I am, some of my most prized possessions are old VHSs of random Cure appearances on TV - such as classic Top of the Pops performances, TV adverts for old albums and things such as this, rare Cure documentaries.

This particular documentary - That Was Then... This Is Now - is up there with the rarest and was recorded in 1988 (that's 22 years ago, feel old?) by my older bro. I've finally got round to digitising the VHS (thanks gZa) so i can watch it on DVD and also uploaded it to YouTube this morning. See below:

I don't have a huge amount of information about this other than that it was part of a series of six 30 minute rock documentaries made in 1988, directed by David G. Croft. The others included the Pet Shop Boys, Spandau Ballet, Gary Glitter, Depeche Mode and John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) .

There's also an executive producer credit for the infamous Janet Street Porter.

You can't buy this documentary anywhere as far as i can tell (if you could I'd point you to that rather than posting on YouTube). I can't imagine it'll be appearing on DVD anytime soon either, I'll leave you to figure out The Reasons Why.

Enjoy.

Related posts
The Cure - 4:13 Dream album review

Icehouse - Hey Little Girl single review

Hey Little girl is a slice of 'could not be anything but' 80s electro pop. Practically bursting at the lycra'd seams (watch the ballet music video) with synthesisers this Aussie band stormed to number 17 in the UK charts in February 1983.

Think Talk Talk, Tears for Fears and the more electronic Bryan Ferry stuff and you'll know what you're in for. Led from formation in 1977 to the present by the now blond headed Iva Davies (previously known to try out every hair crime of the 80s) Icehouse has had no less than 22 band members come and go over their 32 year history. World famous in Australia, Hey Little Girl was their best assault on the UK top 40, although they did reappear, just, 5 years later with their single Crazy. I don't recommend listening to this one though, there are far better things to do with 4 minutes.

The many hairs of Iva Davies
Fuzzy hair	Greasy hair	Astley hair	Hoddle hair
Wet wet hair	Pantene hair	Raver hair	Dyed hair

Like so many half decent tracks of the 1980s with a riff or chorus that propel the tunes from dodgy Soho 2am fodder to worth playing at an 80s spandex night, Hey Little Girl has an annoyingly catchy little chorus,

Hey little girl,
Where will you hide?
Who can you run to now?
Hey little girl,
Where will you go?
Who can you turn to now?

The verses? The rest of the song? Meh. Let's stick to the chorus. Remember Waiting for a Star to Fall by Boy Meets Girl? Of course you do, but which bit? Go on, sing me the verse, I bet you can't... Perhaps the reason why the Cabin Crew remix of that particular tune in 2005 discarded the verses completely and just repeated the chorus over and over again.

I mention this because Hey Little Girl by Icehouse is certainly due a remix (the remixes I’ve heard are all rubbish, and I’m sure that's because they all maintain the verses), I reckon a Cabin Crew-esque reimagining and chorus looping could body-pop it back onto the dance floor.

Facts
Single released October 1982
UK chart position: 17
Original album: Primitive Man \ Buy on Amazon
Listen on Last FM
More info: Wikipedia \ Discogs \ Lyrics \ Fan site

Where I have it:
Track 2, Disc 8, Greatest Hits of the 80s - Album review \ Buy on Amazon

Wang Chung - To Live And Die In L.A. OST album review

Wang Chung To Live And Die In L.A. Buy on Amazon

If I was to say to you that Wang Chung, the 80s new wave group, best known for #21 hit Dance Hall Days and the disco classic Everybody Have Fun Tonight, had produced a soundtrack album I’d expect, like me, you'd consider the film itself to be the biggest load of crap since the day after King Kong had a night on the Guinness and a kebab.

Wang Chung's music takes advantage of the electronic sounds that burst into the 80s, such as drum machines, keyboards and no doubt keytars given the chance. As such the two aforementioned hits wouldn't be out of place in a set that also included Duran Duran, Simple Minds and The Human League.

Luckily I watched the film before I’d been introduced to Wang Chung so had no preconceived ideas about gorilla excrement. Directed by William Friedkin (of Exorcist and French Connection fame) it's a wonderful clash of 80's exuberant greed mixed with a down to earth cynical honesty provided through the dusty realism of an L.A. backdrop and seat gripping action that probably wakes Bruce Willis at night in a jealous cold sweat. This post isn't a film review (I’ll link to a decent one once my friend gZa writes it) so I’ll now leave the over-adjectised sentences to the professionals and get on to the music.

Friedkin states he commissioned Wang Chung to compose an original soundtrack because they stand "out from the rest of contemporary music." If I was standing next to him when he made this outlandish statement in 1985 I may well have given him a slap and told him to listen to a different radio station. However what becomes clear from listening to the soundtrack is that beneath the 80 cheese of the Wang Chung sound Friedkin has deftly identified a quality to Wang Chung's music that reflects everything that the film portrays, in fact it adds to it.

The members of Wang Chung

Yes it's cheesy, to an extent, and that plays perfectly with Willem Dafoe's black Ferrari but it also has that grimy edge that made New Wave such a popular genre. The side of New Wave that rockier bands such as Siouxsie & the Banshees, The Cure and The Psychedelic Furs wallowed in so magnificently. The grime that, in this film, leads us through an often violent narrative on the edge of the law summed up by William L. Petersen's line:

"Let me tell you something, amigo. I'm gonna bag Masters, and I don't give a shit how I do it."

1. To Live and Die in L.A.
The title track is a light ode to this exciting thriller and gives you a taste of what might be coming. Every time I hear this I think of the album cover, the red sun setting on a palm tree littered L.A. wasteland.

2. Lullaby
This starts with a verse that despite its title makes me think of waking up and the sun coming up on this dangerous and glamorous world. A jumpy, fresh verse contrasts with a straight out of the 80s ballady chorus that takes you from the waking world to blasting along desert roads in a convertible, presumably while $50 notes and loose cocaine blows out from the back seat.

3. Wake Up, Stop Dreaming
And after my waking dream in Lullaby I’m told exactly what to do by a grittier foot tapping track. "I'm talkin' 'bout dream and reality, I'm talkin' 'bout love and brutality" - lyrics that could be used on the film poster.

4. Wait
The only non-original track on the album. This was originally on their second album, Points on the Curve. This plays over the closing credits of the film and is an appropriate place for it. I say that as I’m reminded of something I heard while listening to the extras DVD for 1994 film The Crow - they had a completely original soundtrack so that the first time people heard a track was when watching the film. They didn't want the viewer to get distracted thinking of the first time they'd heard that tune (at a disco or on the radio). The songs were also more relevant as they were written for the film. All the other album tracks for To Live and Die In L.A. were written after Wang Chung had seen a rough cut of the film so it makes sense that the one song that wasn't isn't placed directly over the action.

A scene from the car chase

5. City of the Angels
This is the first tune on side two of the original LP release. These last four tracks are all instrumental. After an atmospheric intro this tune takes off at 1:07 and brings back the memories to me of the car chase and excitement that follows the relentless pursuit for Defoe's character Masters. Like with many an instrumental soundtrack the tunes are designed to run with the action so on their own you can be left thinking, what happened in this bit again? I could just watch the film again but this is an album review and as such I’m looking at this as an independent entity.

6. The Red Stare
It's amazing music's ability to inspire emotion and this song is depressing, and as it goes on slightly scary. The screaming synth, slow piano and 'whooshy' noises will freak you out if you play this loud.

7. Black-Blue-White
OK, we're back on it with Black-Blue-White. The city's flashing past, sirens burst and that drum machine is threatening to take over again as I nurse my bruises. I've got that mix of 80s cheese that I love so much with a certain urgency in the drum beat that's making me type faster. If I had a gun, an open shirt and a hairy chest I’d jump behind a wall now, dripping sweat and lean out to try to spot a moving dot on the horizon that was slowly making his way toward me.

8. Every Big City
I'd be very surprised if Friedkin hadn't had Bladerunner in his head, even to just a tiny extent when he was making this film. This track reminds me of the dark satanic rain soaked towers of that Harrison Ford classic. Its suggestive and repetitive audio sample 'jump, jump' builds through the track. It suggests not only the physical action likely in any chase scene but also the metaphor that if it's all too much why not leave it all behind. After all, who really cares in the end, we all die, let's get on with life.

Facts
Album released September 1985
More info: Wikipedia \ Film on IMDB

Which Christmas compilation album has the best songs?

It's been months since my last update so I figured I’d go festive. I've set out to find the ultimate Christmas pop and cheese compilation album. There are some songs that must be on the ultimate compilation album and so I’ve merged the worlds of Christmas, cheese and my inherent geekness to create a table of where you'll find them. The album that gets the most ticks in the right places wins the Maverick Christmas compilation award.

Now the list of songs I’m choosing are completely subjective but to attempt to give it a vague basis I’ll start with the first Christmas album I ever listened to, 1985's original "Now - The Christmas Album". To this I’ll add a number of more recent classics and a couple of forgotten pop treasures (helped by this list of 100 top Christmas songs).

I have deliberately left off most of the early 'classics' such as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Andy Williams etc as they tend to be on classic Christmas albums rather than pop ones anyway (with the notable exception of the great Bing). Try "Christmas With The Rat Pack" for that sort of thing. Anything else left off there's probably a damn good reason, feel free to argue with me...

The albums I’ll be comparing are as follows. They're mostly 2008 (they all get re-released every year) but i've also chucked in a few almost identical ones from other years just to see how they compare. Most of the images link through to their listing on Amazon.

1. Now - That's What I Call Music - The Christmas Album Released: 1985 Label: Virgin/EMI Format: Double LP As mentioned above, my original Christmas album that I own on a slightly battered double LP. It also has the dubious honour of being the only album containing Garry Glitter's Another Rock N' Roll Christmas or Queen's Thank God It's Christmas - very different reasons why. You'll find all the Now albums also don't contain any traditional Christmas carols sung by a choir (although they do if sung by a pop star or crooner).

2. Now That's What I Call Xmas Released: 2008 Label: Virgin TV Format: 3CD The latest version of the classic Now series, will it stack up to 1985's cheesefest? As you'll find with most of the multi CD albums, they do have a selection of classics but also are full of lots and lots of rubbish Christmas pop stocking fillers that really should be burnt.

3. Now XMAS: Massive Christmas Hits Released: 2005 Label: Virgin TV Format: 1CD The 2005 Now compilation. The only other compilation i own after the 1985 double LP. I do think the original Now logo was a lot funkier.

4. Christmas Hits Released: 2008 Label: SonyBMG Format: 4CD The second biggest compilation of them all with a bumper 84 tracks. However the last CD of this is carols sung by a variety of cathedral choirs.

5. Christmas Hits Released 2006 Label BMG TV Format 3CD The 2006 version of the Christmas Hits, doesn't have the 4th CD of carols. The 3 CDs it does have aren't identical to the 2008 one either (although it does have much of the same stuff).

6. 101 Christmas Songs Released 2008 Label EMI Format 4CD The biggest compilation of them all with, you guessed it, 101 tunes (I counted). This also has a selection of carols sung by a choir, clearly there are only enough Christmas pop songs to ever fill 3 CDs

7. The Best Christmas Album in the World Ever Released 2007 Label EMI/Virgin Format 2CD As far as i can tell they haven't re-released this album this year so i'm using the most recent - last year's. Also has a few carols

	Now '85	Now '08	Now '05	Hits '08	Hits '06	101	Best Ever
Band Aid - Do They Know It's Christmas? (1984)	X	X			X		X
Wizzard - I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday	X	X	X			X	X
Slade - Merry Xmas Everybody	X	X	X				X
Wham! - Last Christmas	X			X	X		X
Elton John - Step Into Christmas	X	X	X		X
Mike Oldfield - In Dulce Jubilo	X	X	X				X
Gary Glitter - Another Rock N' Roll Christmas	X
Paul McCartney - Wonderful Christmastime	X	X	X			X	X
Shakin' Stevens - Blue Christmas	X			X	X
John Lennon - Happy Xmas (War Is Over)	X	X	X			X	X
Greg Lake - I Believe in Father Christmas	X	X	X		X		X
Chris de Burgh - A Spaceman Came Travelling	X	X	X				X
Jona Lewie - Stop The Cavalry	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
The Beach Boys - Little Saint Nick	X	X	X				X
Queen - Thank God It's Christmas	X
Mud - Lonely This Christmas	X	X				X	X
Johnny Mathis - When a Child is Born (Soleado)	X				X
Bing Crosby - White Christmas	X	X	X				X
Pogues & Kirsty MacColl - Fairytale of New York		X		X	X
Waitresses - Christmas Wrapping		X	X				X
Michael Ball - Driving Home For Christmas		X	X
Chris Rea - Driving Home For Christmas				X	X
Cliff Richard - Mistletoe and Wine		X	X			X	X
Aled Jones - Walking In The Air		X			X	X	X
Mariah Carey - All I Want For Christmas				X	X
Bing Crosby & David Bowie - Little Drummer Boy		X			X	X	X
Shakin' Stevens - Merry Christmas Everyone				X	X
	Now '85	Now '08	Now '05	Hits '08	Hits '06	101	Best Ever

So, to summarize this year's Now and last year's Best Christmas Album in the World Ever seem to be the most comprehensive. Both miss absolute classics though, the 2008 Now album not having Wham! and Best Christmas Album in the World Ever not having the Pogues (neither have Maria Carey). However if you accept that you'll have to download a couple of your faves on their own these are the best bet.

Christmas Hits fails to have most of the 70s or 80s classics while 101 Christmas Songs wins the prize for being the worst. Jona Lewie fans can at least rejoice that they could buy any of the 7 albums, dub a dub a dum dum .

So the Maverick Christmas Compilation award goes to 2008's Now That's What I Call Xmas. The fact that it doesn't have Wham! should never be a problem for cheesy music lovers as you all already own Wham! - The Final (their greatest hits), and if you don't, you should. Merry Christmas Everyone.

A-Ha - Take On Me literal song remake video

Somebody forwarded me on this YouTube video last week [update: video now removed from YouTube but available on funnyordie, embedded at end of post]. YouTuber DustoMcNeato has taken the original A-Ha video, changed all the lyrics to reflect what's happening in the song and resung it. Similar idea to the whole Sweding thing in Be Kind Rewind but with 80s cheese. Genius!

Here's the first couple of verses below, unfortunately they don't use the rhyming line 'Take On Me, Literally' that i've just made up, they've missed a trick there, so i'll use it myself. ;)

Take On Me, Literally Reading a book Lady brings a new cup of coffee Peek in the window She would rather keep on reading Look at the frame There's a handsome guy inside this comic Close up eyes Hand comes out Sketchy arm Grab the hand So now your inside Everything's drawn and super 80s Lots of squiggly lines When i stand her it makes me human I'm handsome either way You you like it that i'm flirting with you Come to me Magic frame Sing to you Band montage!

Take On Me, Original We're talking away I don't know what, I'm to say I'll say it anyway Today's another day to find you Shying away I'll be coming for your love, OK? Take on me Take me on I'll be gone In a day or two So needless to say I'm odds and ends, but that's me Stumbling away Slowly learning that life is OK Say after me It's no better to be safe than sorry Take on me Take me on I'll be gone In a day or two

Anyway enough of this, watch the video if you haven't already.

Top 10 drum intros of ALL TIME!

My top 10 songs with fantastic drum intros. This is a bit different to most of these top 10 drum intro songs on the web - I’ve gone specifically just for songs that feature the drums CRASHING in at the beginning of the song, however briefly.

1. The Cure - Why Can't I Be You
2. Van Halen - Hot For Teacher
3. Led Zeppelin - Moby Dick
4. The Cure - In Between Days
5. Led Zeppelin - Rock & Roll
6. Spin Doctors - Two Princes
7. Sweet - Ballroom Blitz
8. Lenny Kravitz - It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over
9. Toto - Rosanna
10. Blur - Song 2

This all started a few days ago when I was doing my review of Boyfriend by Alphabeat. A song that although not quite worthy of this top ten does feature a good strong drum intro. As a drummer (not a good one, I haven't played regularly in years!) I’ve got a particular love of good drumming and songs with good drum solos. I've also probably listened to many songs I don't really like purely for the drumming, Los Endos by Genesis springs to mind.

There are a few exceptions from the list because they didn't CRASH in as I would like, plus my list started as a top 19 so I needed to trim. Lost in the pruning was the excellent My Sharona (not quite ridiculous enough intro) and the mind blowing Money for Nothing (doesn't crash in and more of a genuine solo than just an intro).

I make no excuse for the Cure appearing twice, they don't appear in top tens enough!

While looking for these tunes I also came across some that didn't meet my strict criteria because they start with a vocal or spoken word, therefore I’ve made another table.

Top 3 tunes with drums crashing in immediately after a brief vocal / spoken lyric:

1. The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead (Take Me Back To Dear Old Blighty)
2. The Offspring - Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)
3. The Bloodhound Gang - The Bad Touch

The Avalanches (Wham! vs. Digitalism) - Ray of Zdarlight single review

The Avalanches have remixed this Wham! hidden classic, Ray of Sunshine, with some top quality German Electro house, Digitalism's Zdarlight, and the result is a glorious dance floor filler that still has George Michael on lead vocals, thank god for that.

This song is very elusive, the two pages on Last.fm don't seem to work and i can't find a physical release but it is on the Avalanches website apparently (you have to sign in). So for your enjoyment i've given it a video mash up with the original Zdarlight video and a Wham! video of them playing football in China (which had the original Ray of Sunshine over the top).

Me with my new Wham! LP

This song entered my life last week when a lovely lady found the original Wham! Fantastic LP in a charity shop and kindly bought it for me - it cost £2, who needs Ebay?! I do have this album kicking around on cassette somewhere but haven't listened to it in years. The only Wham i have these days is on CD - The Final and the Best Of.

So i gently placed the album on the record player and slowly brought down the needle on the cheese. I jumped straight to the album tracks that i'd forgotton about and I listened to the groovy and addictive Ray of Sunshine. The first line of the chorus has been going round in my head for days:

Sometimes,
You wake up in the morning with the bass line.

And it was when double checking these lyrics online that i stumbled across Ray of Zdarlight.

One of my cheese hobbies has always been trying to find good remixes of Wham! songs. This is because Wham! songs are so great to dance too but they are also intensly cheesy. Sometimes, well most of the time, playing any Wham! at a reasonably trendy party is just one step too far. I can maybe get away with Club Tropicana or some Duran Duran but unless it's a wedding or a pub full of Aussies and Kiwis it's difficult to get the crowd to love Wake Me Up Before You Go Go. Which is sad (in many ways) because George Michael knows how to write a good rhythm and kicking bass line.

This remix very simply puts the cheese that is Wham! over the top of the funky electro of Digitalism and produces a dance tune with an edge of 80s and a licence to be played in the trendiest of clubs, maybe. I love it.

Facts
Single released online only January 2007
Album: Maybe on the rumoured second Avalanches album?
More info: Digitalism MySpace \ Wham! lyrics

Where i have it:
MP3 found on internet. If it appears on a CD be sure to let me know.

Glass Tiger - Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone) single review

Glass Tiger, what a name! Makes you think of glam 80s rock bands with big hair, amps that go up to 11 and groupies in every city. Well mix this image with Wham! and you get the Glass Tiger we're talking about here. A quick Google image search brings up a number of fantastic images, including one with an unglazed tiger. Actually i've just watched the music video -maybe 80% Wham! : 10% Rod Stewart : 10% glam rock. Listen on Last.fm.

This tiger is not made of glass, it is real.

Not to be confused with the Simple Minds classic Don't You (Forget About Me), which is similar only by its obvious 80s-ness and use of brackets in the song title. A great dance floor tune it's the bass line that hooks me into this tune - simple repetitive notes that just go slowly up and down the scales. Maybe not quite in the same league as the kings of the bass line such as Another One Bites the Dust and Blue Monday but deserving of its place in my top 100 tunes with a good bass line (a post for another day).

This Canadian rock band were originally called Tokyo at a time when everyone wanted an oriental name, think Japan, China Crisis, Asia, Wang Chung and Turning Japanese, China Girl, China in Your Hand, One Night in Bangkok, Kashmir (I could continue, i won't) so clearly changed their name to avoid any confusion. Although big cats were popular in the 80s too - Def Leppard.

I had a quick look at the credits for this tune and for the second time this weekend i find i've been ambushed by Bryan Adams without realising it, the Canadian crooner sings backing vocals on this track. The first time he snuck up on me was yesterday as i listened to Mötley Crüe's Dr Feelgood album and found him also doing backing vocals on the track Sticky Sweet. But don't let Robin Hood's little helper take anything away from what is a classic 80s rock tune that needs to be getting more airplay (and air guitaring) on dance floors.

Facts:
Single released October 1986
UK chart position: 29
Original album: Thin Red Line \ Buy on Amazon
More info: Wikipedia \ Discogs \ Lyrics \ Official site

Where i have it:
Track 6, Disc 6, Greatest Hits of the 80s - Album review \ Buy on Amazon

Picture borrowed from this slightly bizarre animal photographing / training website.

Glenn Hoddle & Chris Waddle - Diamond Lights lyrics

Following are the lyrics to that 80s classic by Glenn & Chris (known to most of us as England and Spurs footballers Glenn Hoddle and Chris Waddle).

After scouring the internet for the lyrics for my Diamond Lights single review i was shocked that i couldn't find them. So i've rectified this travesty and here they are in all their glory.

Diamond Lights lyrics
Artist: Glenn & Chris (Hoddle & Waddle)

Eyes that freeze like ice
Cold electric blue those diamond lights
You were hard as stone
Solid stone, for me

The colours change rearrange my life
Can't explain so afraid tonight

Hoddle: Darling i love you / Waddle: My diamond lights
I'll always want you
Hoddle: Darling i love you / Waddle: My diamond lights
I'll always need you
Oh darling

Diamond, diamond lights

Standing in the rain
Cold electric sky no diamond lights
Now i'm on my own
So alone, oh darling

The colours change rearrange my life
Can't explain so afraid tonight

Hoddle: Darling i love you / Waddle: My diamond lights
I'll always want you
Hoddle: Darling i love you / Waddle: My diamond lights
I'll always need you
Oh darling

Instrumental: Rocking guitar solo!

Diamond lights cold as ice to me (cold as ice to me)
Diamond lights cold as ice to me

Hoddle: Darling i love you / Waddle: My diamond lights
I'll always want you
Hoddle: Darling i love you / Waddle: My diamond lights
I'll always need you

Hoddle: Darling i love you / Waddle: My diamond lights
I'll always want you
Hoddle: Darling i love you / Waddle: My diamond lights
I'll always need you

Glenn Hoddle & Chris Waddle - Diamond Lights single review

Diamond Lights was one of the cheesiest songs ever released partly due to the fact that it was sung on Top of the Pops by two professional footballers with 80s-tastic mullets and big power suits with rolled up sleeves.

Mars poll of top worst songs: 4th C4 100 worst pop records: 33rd Metro Top 10 worst sport songs: 1st Numerous other random polls: Well up there

The perpetrators of what many will call the worst tune of all time are none other than England 'legends' Glenn Hoddle and Chris Waddle of course. So bad in fact that it didn't even justify a Wikipedia article or a page of lyrics on ANY of the millions of lyric sites - the link below is to a Wikipedia article I hastily made yesterday and i've written out the lyrics myself (loser).

Now why have i even bothered to review this? Surely i must want this blog to retain a smidgen of integrity?

Well the story began in March of this year, where, as a joke, i played Diamond Lights at a party in order to hopefully get a laugh and a couple of lunatics to pretend to dance like the aforemention sultans (or suntans?) of cool known for the purposes of this single as 'Glenn & Chris'.

What shocked me more than Glenn Hoddle's solo in the middle of the song ("Darling i love you! I will take care of you..."), was the fact that no-one noticed! Admittedly i was doing a set of 80s song but it moulded seamlessly into my set. In fact some people nonchalantly shuffled their feet in time.

Forgetting who sings this and trying to erase the image of the top of the pops performance from your mind, the tune itself sounds like any other classic 80s pop tune ticking all of the following boxes:

• Drum machine
• Ridiculous electric guitar solo
• Singalong chorus
• Drummer with a moustache
• Spinning coloured lights
• Smoke machine

Perhaps that was why nobody left the party? Anyway, this tune is now cemented firmly in my 80s DJ set. I challenge all of you out there to try and slip it into your sets without anyone noticing. Please note I won't take any responsibility for what may happen.

Excitingly Diamond Lights could well be making a comeback in the form of a cover by indie band and Spurs fans the Klaxons. There's been no new news on this for 6 months though so either it's a long recording process or they've realised the damage they might cause - originals are always the best.


Facts:
Single released April 1987
UK chart position: 12
Original album: Glenn & Chris do Pink Floyd and other rock legends
More info: Wikipedia \ Discogs \ Lyrics \ Chris Waddle interview

Where i have it:
Funnily enough i downloaded it from iTunes, it doesn't often appear on classic 80s compilation CDs

Update: I've just been informed by gZa that Glenn & Chris reformed for the follow up single, 'It's Goodbye'. Is it me or does that guitar intro sound a bit like the Top Gun theme tune?

Kim Carnes - Bette Davis Eyes single review

Really funky electronic pop tune released by Kim Carnes in 1981. It was a cover of a 1974 song by Jackie DeShannon. Listen on Last.fm.

Now I'd had this tune for the past 7 years without properly listening to it. It was only after I'd bought and been listening to the 2004 Mylo album, Destroy Rock & Roll which contains a sample of the song in the tune In My Arms that i finally pricked my ears up when the original was randomly selected on my iPod.

The reworking Mylo gave this tune is actually reminiscent of the reworking he gave Miami Sound Machine's Dr. Beat in the single Doctor Pressure. If you listen to both the original and Mylo version side by side the original just sounds less polished or crisp (less produced even), and also it's slower - that's NOT a bad thing by the way.

To repeat an old cliche the originals often have more character - a bit like the fable that songs always have more character when played on vinyl (I'm not too convinced about that after growing up with CDs).

Anyway back to the Carnes song this floats beautifully into a chilled DJ set and although it's distinctly 80s sounding it certainly isn't cheesy.

The lyrics talk about a beautiful, feisty woman. Particularly eyebrow raising lyrics include, "She'll let you take her home, It whets her appetite, She'll lay you on her throne". ;)

"Deshannon once said that she had been moved to write this evocative portrait of a teasing woman after seeing smitten actor Paul Henreid lighting cigarettes for Bette Davis near the end of the classic film Now, Voyager" (from Audio Insider).

Don't let the fact that this scene is probably one of the cheesiest and well known of 1940s romantic cinema take anything away from the lyrics which are certainly not as contrived as this scene is!

Another interesting fact i discovered about this song is that Kim Carnes actually developed a friendship with Bette Davis after releasing this song. I wonder if the same is true for Bananarama and Robert De Niro or is he still waiting? (sorry)

Hilariously, while researching for this post i also discovered the following post about the great Robert Smith also having Bette Davis Eyes.

Facts:
Single released May 1981
UK chart position: 10
Original album: Mistaken Identity
More info: Wikipedia \ Discogs \ Lyrics

Where i have it:
Track 6, Disc 1, Greatest Hits of the 80s - Album review \ Buy on Amazon

Greatest Hits Of The 80's (8 CD Box) album review

No less than 144 lesser known tracks from throughout the 1980s. OK, there are a few big hits on here such as Spandau Ballet's True, Ultravox's Vienna, Blondie's Atomic, Duran Duran's Girls On Film to name a few, but my love of this mega 80s multi CD box set are all the tunes that you won't find on every other 80s compilation album around.

If you see a name you know on this album the tune listed will likely NOT be the one you first thought of.

I.e.
Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill (not Wuthering Heights)
Dexy's Midnight Runners - Geno (not Come On Eileen)

The tracks are a mix of popular bands, who have contributed far more than their fair share of tracks: Culture Club (5 songs), Ultravox (4 songs), Duran Duran (4 songs); novelty songs such as Geil, Holiday Rap and Star Trekkin'; more one hit wonders than you can shake a rubiks cube at, Papa Chico, Tarzan Boy, Save Your Love and a selection of other tracks that peppered the top 40 (and further out) in the decade of my birth.

If you have a large collection of popular 80s tunes, this will likely fill many of the holes without having to resort to buying Eddy Grant's or Kajagoogoo's albums.

Facts:
Released November 1998, 8 CD Box set
Buy on Amazon

Track Listing
Disc: 1
1. No Doubt About It - Hot Chocolate
2. More Than I Can Say - Leo Sayer
3. Stop the Cavalry - Jona Lewie
4. Stars on 45: Stars on 45/Venus/Sugar Sugar/No Reply/I'll Be Back/Drive - Stars on 45
5. Kids in America - Kim Wilde
6. Bette Davis Eyes - Kim Carnes - Single review
7. Rain in May - Max Werner
8. Morning Train (Nine to Five) - Sheena Easton
9. Papa Chico - Tony Esposito
10. We Just - Moses
11. Do You Really Want to Hurt Me - Culture Club
12. Hymn - Ultravox
13. Too Shy - Kajagoogoo
14. Whole of the Moon - The Waterboys
15. Breakaway - Tracey Ullman
16. Imagination - Belouis Some
17. Centerfold - J. Geils Band
18. Walking on Sunshine - Katrina & the Waves

Disc: 2
1. True - Spandau Ballet
2. Tide Is High - Blondie
3. Save Your Love - Renee & Renato
4. Sunshine Reggae - Laid Back
5. I Like Chopin - Gazebo
6. Karma Chameleon - Culture Club
7. This Is Not a Love Song - Public Image Ltd.
8. Only You - Flying Pickets
9. Star Trekkin' - Firm
10. Love Is a Battlefield
11. Reflex - Duran Duran
12. Dancing With Tears in My Eyes - Ultravox
13. Letter from America - The Proclaimers
14. Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now - Samantha Fox
15. Dictator - Centerfold
16. Walking in the Air - Aled Jones
17. Hot in the City - Billy Idol
18. Electric Avenue - Eddy Grant

Disc: 3
1. Such a Shame - Talk Talk
2. Eyes Without a Face - Billy Idol
3. Never Ending Story - Limahl
4. Wild Boys - Duran Duran
5. We Belong - Pat Benatar
6. Walk in the Park - Nick Straker Band
7. Solid - Ashford & Simpson
8. Road to Nowhere - Talking Heads
9. Let's All Chant - Michael Zager Band
10. Nineteen - Paul Hardcastle
11. Carribean Queen (No More Love on the Run) - Billy Ocean
12. Kayleigh - Marillion
13. Maria Magdalena - Sandra
14. Running up That Hill - Kate Bush
15. If I Was - Midge Ure
16. Sexy Eyes - Dr. Hook
17. Girl Crazy - Hot Chocolate
18. Big Apple - Kajagoogoo

Disc: 4
1. Good Heart - Feargal Sharkey
2. Touch Me (I Want Your Body) - Samantha Fox
3. In the Heat of the Night - Sandra
4. When the Going Gets Tough - Billy Ocean
5. Human - The Human League
6. (I Just) Died in Your Arms - Cutting Crew
7. Gold - Spandau Ballet
8. Everything I Own - Boy George
9. Living in a Box - Living in a Box
10. Sweet Sixteen - Billy Idol
11. Shattered Dreams - Johnny Hates Jazz
12. China in Your Hand - T'Pau
13. Love Changes (Everything) - Climie Fisher
14. Don't Worry, Be Happy - Bobby McFerrin
15. Round and Round - Jaki Graham
16. Cambodia - Kim Wilde
17. Don't Waste My Time - Paul Hardcastle
18. I Scare Myself - Thomas Dolby

Disc: 5
1. Showing Out (Get Fresh at the Weekend) - Mel & Kim
2. I Need You - BVSMP
3. Tarzan Boy - Baltimora
4. Geil - Bruce & Bongo - Single review
5. Holiday Rap - DJ Sven, MC Miker G
6. Sata Lucia by Night - George Baker Selection
7. If Only I Could - Sydney Youngblood
8. Real Thing - Jellybean
9. Respect - Adeva
10. Rich in Paradise - F.P.I. Project
11. Disco Band - Scotch
12. What Have I Done for You Lately - King Mc
13. I Can't Wait - Nu Shooz
14. Time (Clock of the Heart) - Culture Club
15. Geno - Dexys Midnight Runners
16. Mated - Jaki Graham, David Grant
17. We Close Our Eyes - Go West
18. Hit Mix: Happy Station/Color My Love/Baila Bolero/Give Me Your Love - Fun Fun

Disc: 6
1. Atomic - Blondie
2. Reckless - Afrika Bambaataa, UB40
3. Heart and Soul - T'Pau
4. Missing You - John Waite
5. Comin' on Strong - Broken English
6. Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone) - Glass Tiger - single review
7. Mony Mony - Amazulu
8. Let's Go All the Way - Sly Fox
9. Together We Are Beautiful - Fern Kinney
10. I Am the Beat - Look, The Look
11. Gimme Hope Jo'anna - Eddy Grant
12. Harder I Try - Brother Beyond
13. Hyperactive! - Thomas Dolby
14. Victims - Culture Club
15. Temptation - Heaven 17
16. Chequered Love - Kim Wilde
17. Respectable - Mel & Kim
18. Turn to Gold - David Austin

Disc: 7
1. Sunglasses - Tracey Ullman
2. All Stood Still - Ultravox
3. Save a Prayer - Duran Duran
4. Wishful Thinking - China Crisis
5. Classic - Adrian Gurvitz
6. Power of Love - Huey Lewis & the News
7. It Started With a Kiss - Hot Chocolate
8. On the Beat - The B.B. & Q. Band
9. Call Me - Blondie
10. I Don't Wanna Dance - Eddy Grant
11. Set Me Free - Jaki Graham
12. I Want to Wake Up With You
13. Freeze-Frame - J. Geils Band
14. We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off - Jermaine Stewart
15. French Kissin' in the USA - Debbie Harry
16. Johnny B. Goode - Peter Tosh
17. Free Nelson Mandela - The Special A.K.A.
18. Golden Brown - The Stranglers

Disc: 8
1. Slippery People [Live] - Talking Heads
2. Hey Little Girl - Icehouse - single review
3. Lucky Number - Lene Lovich - single review
4. Some Like It Hot - The Power Station
5. C'est la Vie - Robbie Nevil
6. Chant No. 1 (I Don't Need This Pressure On) - Spandau Ballet
7. Girls on Film - Duran Duran
8. Senses Working Overtime - XTC
9. Ooh to Be Ah - Kajagoogoo
10. Hip to Be Square - Huey Lewis & the News
11. Vienna - Ultravox
12. Tonight I Celebrate My Love - Peabo Bryson, Roberta Flack
13. Lavender - Marillion
14. Lunatic - Gazebo
15. Room in Your Heart - Living in a Box
16. Love Don't Live Here Anymore - Jimmy Nail
17. Could It Be I'm Falling in Love - Jaki Graham, David Grant
18. Rock Me Tonight (For Old Times Sake) - Freddie Jackson

Bruce & Bongo - Geil single review

An out and out novely record about a German word meaning 'cool' or 'horny'. It flew to somewhere lower than 40 in the UK charts (although topped the charts in Austria and Germany apparently) in April 1986 and featured a stuttering vocal including a fantastic verse based on a tennis match about Boris Becker.

Now you'd think that this was the work of two crazy central Europeans but no, it was the work of two mad haired Englishmen called Bruce Hammond and Douglas Wilgrove (Bongo). You can see them in all their glory in the video below.

A great tune for all the wrong reasons, maybe good at any post-Wimbledon parties.

Facts:
Single released April 1986
Original album: The Geil Album
More info: Wikipedia \ Discogs \ Lyrics \ The Geil Album

Where i have it:
Track 4, Disc 5, Greatest Hits of the 80s - Album review \ Buy on Amazon