Remembering the 80's

Yes, well first two albums anyway, went a bit downhill after that I'll grant you. But at least they wrote their own stuff and are after a fashion still going after all these years (even got a former Zappa guitarist with them !)

 

henry,
the who just scrape into the 80's
with:
you better, you bet 1980
don't let go the coat 1980
athena 1982
eminence front 1982

what about pop will eat itself? anyone remember defcon 1, not now james we're busy, inject me, can u dig it, beaver patrol, etc?


cheers


julian

 

They did a decent tune called Sweet Sweet Pie if I remember right... and a cover of Love Missile F1-11!

 

According to the (Smiths?) record catalogue, NOWs 1-9 on CD are all available as doubles with the NOW CDx catalogue coding...

However, the first official issue is NOW 4 (with a CDP7xxxxx) catalogue number, and it's VERY rare - the only copy I've seen was in Reading Library. I have a CDR of this. My guess is it's about one of 300 or maybe even less, since the "yoof" CD market was so small back in 1984 - rumour has it CD player sales were lower than 10000 in the UK by the end of 1984... A copy was on Ebay last week - I don't know what it fetched but odds are >£300 - that's about 20 quid a track!

I have the following NOWs

• 1-10 (and all the specials such as "The summer album" and the 2 dance ones) on vinyl
• 8-13, 15-24 (and some later ones - not many 'cos they're CACK) on CD
• 1-18 on tape (had 19-20 but they went "missing" didn't they, Lucy V***n)
• 2, 10 and 11 on VHS - he he he - bought 11 for a quid last year just for the Jack'n'chill video!
• I'd like the MD releases, just for the hell of it...

Henry - if you're on about ME as the third man with Aha - yep, I'll freely admit it - I have "Headlines and deadlines".

ABC, Franky, basically everything brash, I love that 80s cheesy synth over production. I actually own a Kajagoogoo album - when I saw those digital drumpads and "guitar" synths - man - that was it!

And what's wrong with "Duran Duran" and "Rio" - some of the Duranees output was wink, but a lot of it was very good in its own way - and at least their bassist had some moves unlike a lot of 80s crap. Of course, Mark King was better - when I get back into bass, if I can learn to play the riffs for "Lessons in love" I'll be in clover!

Early 80s acts like OMD, Depeche, Human League, Heaven 17, Kajagoogoo etc really float my boat too, and I didn't realise until last night just how much some of the psy-trance I listen to seems to owe to Crockett's Theme - that phat beat is in evidence all the way back there.

And yeah, GTA vice city rules - any game that puts Night Ranger's "sister christian" and guns and cars and being able to hit and run all together is cool by me!

 

STOP PRESS - it made £205 on Ebay - still BLATANT. NOW CDs are way over priced - I got my NOW 8 and 9 for 11 quid together - they'd fetch about a tonne each!

Forgot to say Henry - Bev in Sound Machine claims to have seen NOW 3 on promo CD as well...

Finally - Smiths' "This charming man" is one of the best 80s songs - "How soon is now" is another.

And if you wandered why I admitted the Aha, I have "The best of Sam Fox" so Aha is like Beethoven in comparison!

 

ah the 80's a decade that introduced a young hippy to pink floyd (the wall) soon led zep,deep purple hawkwind ect were being discover with a bit of help from a mates older brother and mr illot (my history teacher who lent me loads of lps).the modern romantic scene didnt apeal,nor the pappy crappy stuff that shit ageing walkmen were churning out later in the decade.mustn't forget the early days of the acid house partys,great fun and easy money for a young "roadie"as were the early days of the manchester scene.saying that its suprising the number of 80's compalation ive in the collection must belong to the girlfriend:shame:

 

Arh the 80's, such joy and sorrow all rolled into 10 long (or was that short years) lots of girlies in white stilletto's and short skirts, smart guys in Ska 2 Tone suits, looking like extra's from Jake and Elwoods lastest Jaut , I have a couple of memeories from way back in them days my first Concert Iron Maiden 'Killers tour' 1979 with Paul Dianno on lead screech, playing 'Eves' nightclub, yes I still got lauched out in those days too , and our first gig at Down Hatherley Village hall, total crowd 38 but we rock the joint, as for the rest, bands came and went, as did the girls, but the times were fun, money was spent like water (cheers Maggie T) and well who gave a Fek, some top tunes though, always rememebr 'Tears for fears' 1985 everbody wants to rule the world. fun times. Tone

 

I think my problem with Duran Duran is Simon's voice which really grates me, each to their own.
I would just like to point out that I'm not slagging off the 80s in general, there was plenty of great music about. I'm not even slagging off 'cheesy' synth-pop as there are tracks out there that I like... say Fiction Factory's Feels Like Heaven or OMD's Electricity. I just think that just because you're not into the pop-music of today doesn't necessarily make it any worse. Bros better than Steps? They were both shit!
Oh, as a Norwegian I do of course own an a-ha album - Hunting High and Low on tape!

 

Say what you like about the 80s pop – and there is so much that can be said – but I don't think you can deny the diversity involved. There was so much genre-swapping going on, and took its impetus from punk's adventures in sound. A quick look at SCIDB's list reveals the variety, and that just scratches the surface. It was the decade when record buyers began moving out of their self-imposed ghettoes. Sadly, it seems to me, the walls are back up and the genres themselves have become so utterly formulaic, there's little worth plundering.

And I have to agree with Space Cadet about Simon Le Bon – a candidate for the most laughably inept pop star yet.

 

Surely Andrew Ridgely must be pretty high on that list too

Michael.

 

I remember when the NOW albums had pigs on the covers.

I'll just get my coat and leave the building

Andy.

 

This is very true, and seeing as I have all the early NOW albums on vinyl or CD, I never feel the urge to buy such compilations (Schooldisc.com was the last such compilation I bought in this genre).

There are 2 reasons I guess though, for the existance of these copy-cat compilations. 1) For people who weren't around the first time i.e. they're too young and it's all the rage/fashion at the time. 2) Those (non-audiophiles or those who don't appreciate vinyl ) who want to replace their ageing or previously sold off vinyl copies of the tracks in question with CDs.

Sometimes, but very rarely, these compilations do come up with stuff which hasn't been relased before or is hard to get hold of on the second hand market (for sensible money). There's a couple of tracks off the top of my head which I'd like to get hold of which I've never seen on any 80's compilations, including:

F. R. David - Words (enough cheese to make a four cheese sauce to put over the top any pasta dish but there you go :shame).

Dougie Fresh And The Get Fresh Crew - The Show (an excellent rap track with a synth rift that sounded like the theme from Inspector Gadget ).

The Band (Latitia Dean + Paul Medford from EastEnders) - Somethin' Outta Nothing (a manufactured band if every there was one, but the song was really catchy ).

I'm sure there's plenty more forgotten 80's tracks floating around in my subconcious which will surface and I'll post up another time...

 

Ah...Dougie Fresh, now your talkin my cuppa tea. Get the 12" and play the B-side. Far far better track.

Slick Ricks "ladi dadi' (sp?)

IIRC Robbie pinched a melodic line from this song in one of his abhorrant creations he loosly calls music.

 

Hi

I agree with the comments about the compilations, There are loads but there does need to be more variation.

Henry

I have FR David "words" somewhere. I think it's on a compilation. I may even have it on a 7" single.

Doug E Fresh " The Show". I have this on 12", may have a spare somewhere. Top tune. Lamboy is right abourt the bside.


La di da di,
We like to party,
We don't cause trouble,
We don't hurt nobody,
We just some men thats on the mic,
And when we rock up the mic we rock the mic right.

The Band. I don't think I have this one. I remember it well.

SCIDB

 

Where is "The 80's music bar" Dean? Sounds like place. Think I'd like to come up to one of those gig. :MILD:

Don't we all mate?!

Check this link out then if you want to see more pigs :

http://www.ukcollectibles.co.uk/nowthatswhaticallmusic.htm

 

Its all because of you

Im feeling sad and blue

You went away, and now my life is filled with rainy days

And I love you soo, how much you'll never know. 'cause you took your love away from me.

 

Hi Henry,

The 80s music bar is in Sheffield. The place plays a selection of 80's music for a mixed crowd. Young & old. It does quite well. It does need a bit of a revamp. (a coat of paint & a new sound system.)

&

Now what was I to do, she's cryin' over me,
And she was feelin' blue,
I said, um, don't cry, dry your eye,
Here comes your mother with those two little guys,
Her mean mother stepped up, said to me hi,
Looked Sally in the face and decked her in the eye,
Punched her in the belly and stepped on her feet,
Slammed the child on the hard concrete.


Also how about this for true 80s iconic products.



The Stretsound Electro series of records.

SCIDB

 

SCIDB,

Truly a night of the turntable - taken from electro 10?

I was always an electro6 or 9 man myself.

"We are the nights of the turntables

Lend us an ear check out this fable" Or summink like that.

 

speaking of comilations, i bought a new one this morning from tesco's - dark side of the 80's. if you hear any of these band's name and instantly snap back to the days of eye liner and shoulder pads then i'd recommend buying it...
the cure
the cult
the mission
bow wow wow
all about eve
killing joke
new order
talk talk
zodiac mindwarp and the love reaction
talk talk
new model army
pixies
fields of the nephilim
the la's
and quite a few more...

sound quality is pretty bad but the songs are all winners.
cheers


julian

Listen Here Wolfchild
I Speak Of Maverick Deviation
The Psychotronic Love Commandos
We Shall Be Drunk On Stars
We Shall Fear Nothing
Demand The Impossible
Dream Your Destiny
Defy The Logic Of Alphabets
I Slayed The King Of The Wolves
Nothing Is Impossible

 

This is exactly the sort of thing I'm talking about. Have record companies nothing better to do? I would have more sympathy with them on the file-swapping issue but for the fact they are themselves so lazy, cynical and miserable in their pursuit of every cheap buck.

Really, who needs to be reminded of Zodiac Mindwarp, New Model Army, The Mission and (gawd help us) All About Eve? The fact that this is available in a supermarket says it all – let's commodify everything into convenient little packages so that we spare people the bother of having to switch on their brains and make informed choices.

(Sorry, Julian, I'm not digging at you, but this sort of thing just gets my goat, as you can tell. It's all right, I'm going to lie down now. The Las? Dark? Oh please…)