Muzik For Hair Gel

Day 2 of the Eighties 12" Weekender with a new selection, based on an old idea.

Digging out archive Dubhed selections to include with yesterday's post, I'd planned to include Muzik For Hairspray, a mixtape I'd compiled circa 2000 and posted here in May 2021.

I was barely six months into the blog, Muzik For Hairspray was my 29th post and I had no expectation at the time that five years and over 1,500 posts later, I may want to re-post the selection...so I deleted it.

In recreating the original mixtape (again), I was inspired to create a companion set, inspiringly titled Muzik For Hair Gel.

The idea was simple enough: use exactly the same artists and sequence of the Muzik For Hairspray mixtape*, just different songs, and ideally ones that I hadn't used on a previous 12"/80s compilation. And it was that last bit that took the most time!

That said, I'm pretty happy with the end result. After the controversy of 1979's Pop Musik on the previous comp, today's song by M (aka Robin Scott) was genuinely released in the 1980s...just. 

Official Secrets was only released on 7" in the UK and many other countries, though the Spanish put the full length album version on theirs, and Mexico went one step further by putting it on a promo 12". Tick!

I've used the dub remix of Love Calling by Sir William of Idol in a previous Best of Billy selection, so I stuck with the album version. As with Mexico, it was Australia to the rescue this time, releasing this version on a promo 12" single. Double tick!

This is the fourth appearance on this blog of Boom! There She Was (Sonic Property Mix) by Scritti Politti. However, whilst the previous three selections all featured an edit included on the UK 12", this time it's the unexpurgated 9-minute version direct from the U.S.A. 

Divine makes a welcome reappearance, again teaming up with Bobby Orlando for Love Reaction. But what 1983 12" single could possibly have inspired their own dancefloor smash?

* With one exception.

Having recorded this selection first, I then revisited Muzik For Hairspray, only to discover too late that I've accidentally missed off the last song on Side 1 when I originally posted the tracklist. So, apologies to Belouis Some for missing out on Muzik For Hair Gel. Them's the showbiz breaks, I guess!

This weekend's selections are dedicated to Mike, his mates and anyone else making their way to the Milton Keynes Bowl for today's Forever Now festival, featuring several of today's artists and some unbelievably great headliners to boot. Have a fab day!

And a very happy birthday to Green Gartside, who is 70 today!

Side One

1) Official Secrets (Album Version By Robin Scott): M ft. Brigit Vinchon (1980)

2) Love Calling (Album Version By Keith Forsey): Billy Idol (1982)

3) Cccan't You See... (8:15 To Nowhere Mix By Tony Mansfield): Vicious Pink (1984)

4) Love Reaction (12" Version By Bobby Orlando): Divine (1983)

5) Junk (Remixed By Harvey Goldberg): Bronski Beat (1984)

6) Dissidents (The Search For Truth Part II) (Remix By François Kevorkian & Dominick Maita): Thomas Dolby (1984)

7) Where The Heart Is (12" Version By Mike Thorne & Harvey Goldberg): Soft Cell (1982)

Side Two

1) Boom! There She Was (Sonic Property Mix By Steve Thompson & Michael Barbiero) (Full Length): Scritti Politti ft. Roger Troutman (1988)

2) Channel Z (Rock Mix By Don Was & Michael Hutchinson): The B-52's (1989)

3) On Your Own (New York Mix By Steve Thompson & Michael Barbiero): Pete Shelley (1986)

4) Let's All Make A Bomb (New Version By B.E.F. & Greg Walsh): Heaven 17 (1983)

5) Shock (The Shep Pettibone Mix): The Psychedelic Furs (1987)

6) It's Called A Heart (Extended) (Remix By Depeche Mode & Daniel Miller): Depeche Mode (1985)

7) Without You (12" Mix By Tim Friese-Greene): Talk Talk (1984)

Side One (45:52) (KF) (Mega)

Side Two (46:19) (KF) (Mega)

You can find Muzik For Hairspray here

And, for your further 12/80s listening pleasure:

Flying In The Face Of Fashion (2022)

Just Walk Don't Talk (2022)

Fun To Think (2023)

No Games (2024)

Party Down, Rock The House (2024)

Idol Threat

An hour of Billy Idol aka William Michael Albert Broad or, as Smash Hits would have it in the 1980s, Sir William of Idol.

 

Bad post title pun (Bone Idol was already taken) and trademark snarl aside, there was nothing threatening about Billy Idol and anyone who's endured The Wedding Singer will at least have been rewarded by a star turn from the man, clearly game for a laugh.

 

Billy's also been partial to the remix, and my very first (of admittedly few) Billy Idol records was the Vital Idol compilation in the summer of 1985, compiling seven 12" mixes from previous singles. Vital Idol eventually got to #7 in the UK album charts, propelled by his two biggest singles, both peaking at #6. 

 

At school, the Venn diagram of people's varied musical tastes bizarrely placed Billy Idol firmly in the central overlap. My friend Dave was into 2-Tone and wore a Harrington; we also connected with Billy. All the girls seemed to love Billy and his lovely spiky but soft bleached locks. The boys were fascinated by Billy's tattoo. Note the singular. Remember the time when it was rare for a musician to have a tattoo, let alone covering 90% of your body?

 

White Wedding was Billy's breakthrough hit here, although Eyes Without A Face had just nudged into the Top 20 the previous year. Rebel Yell had only got to #62 first time around in 1984; the success of White Wedding having a considerable impact on the single's fortunes the second time around.

 

Today's picks draw from Billy's 1980s pomp, cutting off just as 1990 marked a downturn in his chart fortunes, in the UK at least. Only 3 from Vital Idol, several from 12" singles. 

 

Eyes Without A Face was a bit of a cop out, as the 'extended version' was the same as the album version. The 9-minute remix of Don't Need A Gun appeared on a limited edition extra 12" single. Likewise, the Rock N' Roll Mix of To Be A Lover featured on a limited edition 12", albeit in Australia and New Zealand. 

Despite the (re)title, Cradle Of Dub is the standard 12" mix of the Cradle Of Love single. The slightly more dubby dub version was called Rock The Cradle Of Dub. 

The selection includes a couple of 21st century edits. The original 12" of Rebel Yell stuck with the album version; Brazilian bootlegger McDoC has fun with Roxio Sound Editor 9 and Audacity software to stretch and tease the multi-tracks into a nine-and-a-minute monster. A tad too long perhaps, but a good effort.

Conversely, the original Shotgun Mix of White Wedding was in two parts over 8 minutes. To keep the selection around the hour mark, I've plumped for the Retro Shock Remix from 2004 instead, at a smidge under 6 minutes. Apart from moving a bit of Part II to the intro and bolting some alternative beats to the undercarriage, it's not tinkered with too much.

My favourite remixes here are probably Flesh For Fantasy and Love Calling, mainly because they are vastly superior to the original versions, sonically speaking. The lyrics though are another matter. 

 

Billy's songs have been questionable, at best: Rebel Yell's crude orgasm reference; Billy's dancing angel "came pumping on the floor", apparently. Billy was 32 when he released 1987 single Sweet Sixteen. 

 

Flesh For Fantasy is the worst of the lot, though: "Face to face and back to back / You see and feel my sex attack". Really? When was that ever going to sound anything other than wrong?

The selection closes with Billy's take on Tommy James & The Shondells' 1968 hit Mony Mony. History didn't immediately repeat for Idol: it was a flop when tucked away on UK solo debut EP Don't Stop. Mony Mony was released again in 1987 as a live version (and remix on the 12") and surprisingly got to #7, his third and final Top 10 hit on this here island.

 

It was only after I had created today's selection and was some way through writing this post that I discovered that it's Billy's 69th birthday next Saturday (30th). I could have saved this post for a week, but I have other plans for next weekend...if I get my arse in gear, that is. So, here it is, starting the celebration seven days early as indeed I hope Billy is also doing.

 

Have a great one, Sir William! 

Anyway, enough preamble, here's the music...

 

1) Rebel Yell (McDoC Evo-XR Twilight Mix) (2009)

2) White Wedding (Retro Shock Remix By Aaron Scofield & CL McSpadden) (2004)

3) Eyes Without A Face (Album Version By Keith Forsey) (1983)

4) Flesh For Fantasy (Below The Belt Mix By Gary Langan) (1984)

5) Love Calling (Rub A Dub Dub Mix By Keith Forsey) (1983)

6) To Be A Lover (Rock N' Roll Mix By Tom Lord-Alge) (Cover of 'I Forgot To Be Your Lover' by William Bell) (1986)

7) Cradle Of Dub (Extended Mix By Keith Forsey & Tommy Vicari) (1990)

8) Don't Need A Gun (The Beyond Melt Down Mix By Steve Thompson & Michael Barbiero) (1987)

9) Mony Mony (Downtown Mix By Keith Forsey) (Cover of Tommy James & The Shondells) (1981) 

 

1981: Don't Stop EP: 9

1983: Dancing With Myself EP: 5

1983: Rebel Yell: 3

1984: Flesh For Fantasy EP: 4 

1986: To Be A Lover EP: 6

1987: Don't Need A Gun EP: 8

1990: Cradle Of Love EP: 7

2004: Retro Shock Volume 3: 2

2009: Rebel Yell EP (bootleg): 1

Idol Threat (1:00:45) (KF) (Mega)

#SpookyTunesSeason, Volume Two

Clinging onto the Hallowe'en bandwagon, here's the second half of a month-long Twitter challenge, covering the past fortnight and up to today's final tweet.

 

As with Volume One, this has been done on the fly, so you will find zig zags from lo-fi indie to lush alt. country to German disco to reggae to revisionist pop history.

Once more, the 'sleevenotes' are a direct lift from my tweets, which provide little insight other than I clearly need more caffeine in the morning!

 

Spider To The Fly: Isobel Campbell

From Isobel's current album Bow To Love, which is so good that she also recorded and released the entire album in French as Place à l'Amour. Fantasmagorique!

 

Frankenstein Conquers The World: Jad Fair & Daniel Johnston

...or Frankenstein vs. The World, if you got the expanded UK/Europe reissue in 1993, renaming the original self-titled album as - what else? - It's Spooky.

 

Pretty Little Graves: Baby Bird

Tucked away on the B-side of the Cornershop single, uptempo rhythms belying Stephen Jones' downbeat lyrics.

 

Where The Creepyboyz Sing: John Cale

This turned up as a Japan-only bonus track on the Hobo Sapiens album, less than 1k views on You Tube. Deserves to be heard!

 

The New Cobweb Summer (Album Version): Lambchop

Hard to believe that this song is over 20 years old. Here's a more recent, but equally lovely, live version from Pickathon 2019.

 

(Do Not) Stand In The Shadows (Moby Remix): Billy Idol

Moby takes Billy's 1983 album track, chews it up, spits it out 35 years later for a remix album project. Vital Idol Revitalised? Regurgitated, more like! I love it.

 

Spooky Rhodes: Laika

From the Sounds Of The Satellites album, which I was lucky enough to catch them touring in the UK. Here's a fan-made video, which seems to have no relation to the song...Not spooky, but odd.

 

Soul Dracula: Hot Blood

Ready for some German disco on Dutch TV? There was a follow up LP in 1977 called Dracula And Co, including Baby Frankie Stein, Dracula Goes Dreamy and, er, Sex Me.

 

Because You're Frightened (Album Version): Magazine

Magazine's reformation in 2009 for an album and tour was something I'd previously thought impossible. I was lucky enough to see them in Birmingham. An astonishing show.

 

My Boy Builds Coffins (Album Version): Florence + The Machine

A lovely interview & performance from 2008, when Flo' was 'one to watch'. She's done alright since, hasn't she?

 

As I Washed The Blood Off: The Fatima Mansions

From the much missed Cathal Coughlan. I'm endlessly fascinated by the songs that people choose to make DIY videos for and post on You Tube...

 

Nightmare: Bim Sherman

Nightmares? Here's the remedy.

 

Killer Inside Me (Killer Long Version): MC 900 Ft. Jesus

Mark Griffin deftly mixed rap, jazz and unsettling narratives in the early 90s before retiring from the biz. And his full name is supposed to be '900 foot' not 'featuring'...!

 

Trick Or Treat: Otis Redding

A co-write with Isaac Hayes, it's hard to believe that this remained unreleased until 1992. A monster tune!

 

Thriller (The Reflex 'Halloween Disco' Edit): Michael Jackson

An obvious pick, but possibly a version that some may not have heard before. Nicolas Laugier works his magic yet again.  

 

Whether you're celebrating or battening down the hatches this evening, you could do worse than give this a spin. Though possibly not much worse ;-)

1) Spider To The Fly: Isobel Campbell (2024)

2) Frankenstein vs. The World (Video Version): Jad Fair & Daniel Johnston (1989)

3) Pretty Little Graves: Baby Bird (1997)

4) Where The Creepyboyz Sing: John Cale (2003)

5) The New Cobweb Summer (Album Version): Lambchop (2002)

6) (Do Not) Stand In The Shadows (Moby Remix): Billy Idol (2018)

7) Spooky Rhodes: Laika (1997)

8) Soul Dracula: Hot Blood (1975)

9) Because You're Frightened (Album Version): Magazine (1980)

10) My Boy Builds Coffins (Album Version): Florence + The Machine (2009)

11) As I Washed The Blood Off: The Fatima Mansions (1994)

12) Nightmare: Bim Sherman (1990)

13) Killer Inside Me (Killer Long Version): MC 900 Ft. Jesus (1991)

14) Trick Or Treat: Otis Redding (1966)

15) Thriller (The Reflex 'Halloween Disco' Edit): Michael Jackson (2013)

Volume Two (1:06:16) (KF) (Mega)

Decade III: 1984

Side 1 of a cassette compilation, recorded sometime in March 1990, discarded or misplaced somewhere along the way, reimagined and recreated 18th August 2024.

 

The halfway point, and the second of the two cassettes from the Decade series that I lost, broke or smashed with a lump hammer at some point in the last twenty years. One of these scenarios is highly unlikely.

 

I had a vague recollection of some of the songs on the previous mixtape, but I have no memory of the original 1984 tracklisting whatsoever. It probably would have featured Bronski Beat, almost certainly Depeche Mode and would I have left off Tears For Fears with Shout or at a push Mothers Talk? I don't know, but none of them have made the cut this time around.

 

The selection starts off with two of the defining songs of the year for me, by Prince and Frankie Goes To Hollywood. My appreciation of the Purple One really kicked off a few years later, but I was in with the Liverpool lads as soon as they appeared on The Tube and Top Of The Pops. Neither song has lost its edge or impact, forty years later.

Eighties by Killing Joke, as well as being an apt choice for this series, was the one that hooked me in to the band. Most likely I would have heard them on the radio previously, but it was probably Love Like Blood and the Night Time album the following year that sealed the deal. Kurt Cobain was similarly inspired.

1984 was also the year that the ZTT aka Zang Tumb Tuum label exploded, on the back of Frankie Goes To Hollywood's success with Relax and Trevor Horn's huge production. It was also the home to The Art Of Noise and the bonkers Close (To The Edit), in the days when this kind of craziness could also be a #1 single in the UK. I've got multiple versions of this song, reflecting ZTT's saturation of the market with vinyl, cassette, VHS and Beta, endless 12" remixes and probably a kitchen sink format for one of their releases. On the downside, every single length version of Close (To The Edit) in my collection is prone to vinyl crackles or tape hiss and dropout, so please excuse the slight dip in sound quality.

At the other end of the spectrum, Eurythmics were becoming increasingly more slick with each album. Previous album Touch seems to have been the jumping off point for many, though I liked it and was positively disposed towards follow up single Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four). Released to promote the film adaptation of George Orwell's 1984 (one film that couldn't afford to have a delayed release), Eurythmics also provided the largely instrumental soundtrack album. Not much to recommend it, to be honest. I skipped this album and was disappointed with the 1985 follow up, Be Yourself Tonight. 

I've inadvertently created a mini Six Degrees Of Separation here. Elvis Costello got Green Gartside in to provide backing vocals on I Wanna Be Loved. Green had also appeared on Eurythmics' Sweet Dreams album; Elvis would do the same on Be Yourself Tonight. And the thankfully prophetic Nelson Mandela by The Special AKA was produced by... Elvis Costello.

 

The thread ends there as I couldn't find any link to Strawberry Switchblade, though suggestions on a postcard are welcome. Since Yesterday is a low-fi pop classic that made me briefly want to buy a polka dot shirt. I didn't, though my fashion crimes in this decade were many and there are photos to prove it. Fiction Factory were another one-hit wonder from this year, and whilst I have no recollection of their wardrobe choices, what a song, eh?

Billy Idol came as close as he ever did to a ballad with Eyes Without A Face (UK #18 in August 1984, pop fans), though Steve Stevens succumbs about two thirds of the way in, releasing an almighty riff. None of that guitar nonsense for Heaven 17 though, who (Fair)light the way with Sunset Now, backed by female vocal trio Afrodiziak. Member Caron Wheeler would find her moment in the spotlight a few years later, first with Soul II Soul, then as a solo artist.

I'm pretty sure that I didn't include Come Back by The Mighty Wah! on the original compilation in 1990, which may have been one of the triggers for losing/destroying it years later. In 2024, Pete Wylie and Josie Jones get to close the show as only they can. A fantastic song that manages to soar even higher than The Story Of The Blues.

I'm hoping that you'll all, ahem, ‘Come Back' tomorrow for 1985, though if you're expecting Madonna, Tina Turner, Nik Kershaw and Dire Straits, you're going to be bitterly disappointed...

 

1) When Doves Cry (Edit): Prince

2) Two Tribes (For The Victims Of Ravishment) (Album Version): Frankie Goes To Hollywood

3) Eighties (Album Version): Killing Joke

4) Close (To The Edit) (Video Version 2): The Art Of Noise

5) Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four) (Single Mix): Eurythmics

6) I Wanna Be Loved (Radio Version): Elvis Costello & The Attractions ft. Green Gartside

7) Nelson Mandela (Extended Version): The Special AKA ft. Stan Campbell

8) Since Yesterday (Album Version): Strawberry Switchblade

9) (Feels Like) Heaven (Album Version): Fiction Factory

10) Eyes Without A Face (Single Version): Billy Idol

11) Sunset Now (Album Version): Heaven 17 ft. Afrodiziak

12) Come Back (The Story Of The Reds) (Album Version): The Mighty Wah! ft. Josie Jones

Side One (46:25) (KF) (Mega)

Altered Perceptions

Side 1 of a mixtape recorded 26th November 1999.

Given the big hitters included on both sides, I'm surprised it's taken me this long to get around to posting this 1980s selection. This side perfectly captures the excess of glossy and expensive videos, stylised leather outfits, biiiig production (and hair) and film soundtrack numbers. Oh, and Talk Talk going in their own unique direction, against the flow.

First off though, it's The Psychedelic Furs and what for many long-term fans was the death knell of the band, re-recording and re-releasing Pretty In Pink to tie in with John Hughes' film of the same name. Personally, I have a lot of affection for this version of the song,  especially the 12" mix. I knew about the band before, but this was my proper entry point. I saw The Furs for the first time on the Midnight To Midnight tour and whilst I will always lean towards the first three albums, this period has a special place in my heart.

I don't think Rebel Yell was that much of a hit when first released in 1983 but more than made up for it when re-released on the back of White Wedding's success. The 12" mix mini-album Vital Idol (which didn't include Rebel Yell) was an essential purchase amongst a select few of us at secondary school. Sir William of Idol at the height of his powers.

 

It was a couple of years after it's release as a single that Siamese Twist by Flesh For Lulu wormed it's way into my head, from being played out at the indie/alternative clubs I was going to in the late 1980s. The 12" single survived my strapped-for-cash cull in the late 90s/early 00s and still gets an occasional airing at Casa K. I love the rather cack-handed false ending, too.

 

The long version of She Sells Sanctuary by The Cult has appeared here before but it's the definitive version for me, so why not? Another one (in this version) that got the dancefloor heaving back in the day. One of those examples of a band's most popular song also being their best song. 

Simple Minds, like The Psychedelic Furs, are here with the song that represented a turning point in their fortunes but also fans who had stuck with them through several albums of singular, angular music. Yep, it's Don't You (Forget About Me) from the soundtrack to another seminal John Hughes (him again) film, The Breakfast Club. Written by Keith Forsey and intended for Billy Idol, whose Rebel Yell album he'd produced a year or so previously, the song eventually went to Jim Kerr and crew. Although I've increasingly less fondness for the path Simple Minds took for the next decade or so, it was absolutely the right decision in the end. Even more so, having heard Billy Idol's subsequent go at the song years later. Don't You (Forget About Me) is another one where it's the 12" version over the 7" version, although the excessive sing-a-long live version that popped up on a later single gives it a run for it's money.

Life's What You Make It was a real jolt when it was released in 1986, a further stylistic shift for Talk Talk but also one that confirmed their intention to go against the general move into big music with ludicrously big production. Talk Talk were creating a sense of scale and grandeur but on a much more organic level, though the subsequent insights into how the sounds of this and The Colour Of Spring album were painstakingly created contradict that last statement somewhat. I owned the initial 12" with the more straightforward Dennis Weinrich extended version on it. It was another ten years or more before I finally got to hear Tim Friese-Greene's 'dance' mix on a compilation. I agree with the general view that this is the superior version. 

Give Me Back My Man by The B-52's first appeared on second album Wild Planet and it's a reminder that the band were capable of really heart-wrenching songs, even when it was underpinned by a compelling beat and lovely musical touches (the xylophone motif gets me every time). Give Me Back My Man didn't have a 12" extended version when released as a single. However, The B-52's were an early champion of the remix album with Party Mix! in 1981 taking six of their songs and reworking them, sometimes longer, sometimes shorter than the original versions. Give Me Back My Man closes the album and is truly spectacular.

 

1) Pretty In Pink (Berlin Mix): The Psychedelic Furs (1986)

2) Rebel Yell (Extended Version): Billy Idol (1983)

3) Siamese Twist (12" Version): Flesh For Lulu (1987)

4) She Sells Sanctuary (Long Version): The Cult (1985)

5) Don't You (Forget About Me) (Extended Version): Simple Minds (1985)

6) Life's What You Make It (Special 12" Dance Mix): Talk Talk (1986)

7) Give Me Back My Man (Party Mix): The B-52's (1981)

 

Side One (46:01) (KF) (Mega)

 

As an extra treat - well, it was the MTV-era for goodness sake! - here are the official videos for each of the featured songs. I particularly enjoyed Flesh For Lulu, which I haven't seen before and was at times unintentionally hilarious. The B-52's didn't have a video for Give Me Back My Man so I've plucked a performance from Netherlands TV show TopPop, broadcast 1st June 1980. it's brilliant, of course.

 

'87 Heaven

A return trip to the 1980s, specifically singles troubling the UK Top 50 on 28th October 1987.

I was 16 and had just started sixth form college...for the first time, anyway, this one didn't last. I was sadly single, at the same college as my ex and was very attracted to a girl called Maria who shared a couple of classes with me. Of course, I was far too shy to ask her out for a date and besides, she'd expressed a preference for tall, muscular Italian men. I was a skinny weirdo from Bristol who had been to a gym and decided it wasn't for me.

Music never let me down, though. There was always something there for whatever mood or situation I found myself in. In October 1987, I was still pretty rooted in guitar music, leaning towards indie/goth, my mate Paul was introducing me to hip hop and rap and, much as I may outwardly protest to the contrary, I still loved cheesy pop, though Stock, Aitken & Waterman were a step too far most of the time.

The UK singles chart was a bit of a mixed bag in the week of 25th-31st October 1987. Bee Gees were at #1 with You Win Again, for the third of what would be a four-week run at the top. Amazingly, the song kept Faith by George Michael at #2 for this and the following week; I would have sworn the latter was also a #1.

This selection cherry picks seven songs that were heading up, down or just staying put in the Top 50, presented here in various 12" versions, my format of choice at the time. Spookily, pretty much all of the songs featured here had achieved their highest chart position in this week (excluding previous or subsequent (re)releases). I've put chart positions in brackets after each song.

 

For the price of admission, you will be entertained by Scarlet Fantastic and Fleetwood Mac respectively remixed by PWL stalwarts Pete Hammond and Pete Waterman, and John 'Jellybean' Benitez.

 

Bryan Ferry ropes in Johnny Marr on what is essentially a cover of Money Changes Everything by The Smiths, Ferry adding his own lyrics to Marr's original composition.  

 

Walk The Dinosaur by Was (Not Was) is a party song and 80s compilation staple. This is a much different, sample-heavy take on the song, which occasionally nods to the original.

Billy Idol originally released a cover of Mony Mony on his debut solo EP, Don't Stop, in 1981. Six years later, a live version was released as a single and cracked the UK Top 10. Tom Lord-Alge provided a couple of new remixes for the 12" single.

Blue Mercedes were a dance pop duo from the PWL stable, remixed here by Phil Harding & Ian Curnow. Whilst they didn't match the success of many of their label mates, debut single I Want To Be Your Property did manage the admirable feat of dropping for a couple of weeks after this week's peak of #47 then staging a recovery at getting to #23 the following month. Rumours that PWL A&R was giving children wads of cash to purchase multiple copies of the single from HMV and Our Price are unfounded.

Ending as it only can with the Queen of Pop, with a nearly 10-minute remix of Causing A Commotion by Madonna. The song was taken from the film, Who's That Girl, effectively a showcase for Madge's sidestep into acting. I'm sure I've seen it at least once but I frankly can't remember a thing about it. I love the song though I was surprised to find that the single peaked at #4 on 26th September and was on a slow and steady exit from the Top 40 by 28th October. Such was Madonna's impact at the time that I would have assumed that every single was a #1.

 

Today's image is from Doctor Who, specifically the story Paradise Towers, the 4th and final episode of which aired on 26th October 1987. It was Sylvester McCoy's eighth on-screen appearance in the titular role, an appointment arguably only slightly less controversial than the casting the previous year of Bonnie Langford as companion Mel. 

 

Although the show was 'rested' a couple of years later for nearly two decades, McCoy was able to establish himself as a great Doctor during his tenure. Bonnie's character rehabilitation took a while longer and via the medium of Doctor Who audio productions. The announcement in June this year that Mel will be returning to the TV show after nearly four decades was greeted with more joy than Bonnie could possibly have imagined in 1987.

 

1) No Memory (Extra Sensory Mix By Pete Hammond & Pete Waterman) (Edit): Scarlet Fantastic (#30)

2) Little Lies (Extended Version By John 'Jellybean' Benitez): Fleetwood Mac (#5)

3) The Right Stuff (Dance Mix By Alan Meyerson / Edited By The Latin Rascals): Bryan Ferry ft. Johnny Marr (#37)

4) Walk The Dinosaur (The Debunking Of Uri Geller Mix By Don Was & Jamie Muhoberac): Was (Not Was) (#10)

5) Mony Mony (Hung Like A Pony Remix By Tom Lord-Alge) (Cover of Tommy James & The Shondells): Billy Idol (#7)

6) I Want To Be Your Property (Daktari Mix By Phil Harding & Ian Curnow): Blue Mercedes (#47)

7) Causing A Commotion (Movie House Mix By Shep Pettibone & Junior Vasquez): Madonna (#35)

 

'87 Heaven (46:04) (KF) (Mega)

For your further entertainment, here are the official videos for each of the seven songs. They don't make 'em like this anymore.

 

Teenage Remix

Side 2 of a C90 cassette, "mixed & mashed with abandon" 24th April 2000.

 

Back to the old school (disco) today and a bunch of 12" singles that I can guarantee didn't trouble the turntables at Pucklechurch Community Centre or Chasers Nightclub in Kingswood back in the day.  

 

The selection starts off with Sir William of Idol, an example where the 12" mix was much more exciting than the original version. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that Billy's best album was the Vital Idol 12" remix compilation. Vital Idol was an essential purchase and frequently on loan to various school friends at the time.

I loved Communards and this was a prized purchase from Plastic Wax Records, when it was on West Street, Old Market in Bristol. The best remix of an already brilliant song. I wonder what happened to Jimmy Somerville and Richard Coles?

Kissing The Pink first came to my attention with the weird pop of The Last Film. By the mid-'80s, they'd gone none-more-pop with this 12" by 'Mixmaster' Phil Harding being one of their highlights. This was originally titled the 'Garage' mix but on my later copy of the Stand Up 12" single, it had been re-titled the 'Engagedmix'.

 

In the late '80s, I guess Thomas Dolby was still trying to lose the 'science geek' label that had stuck since the days of She Blinded Me With Science and Windpower. Aliens Ate My Buick was a great pop album and Airhead was a wonderfully subversive and scathing song about superficiality. François Kevorkian delivered a mighty 10-minute mix on the US 12" single. This edited version also appeared on 1999's 12x12 remix collection; I haven't checked, but I'm pretty sure that the version on my UK 12" single is slightly shorter again. But hey, never mind the length, feel the quality.

I was one of the poor unfortunates who heard Dollar's execrable version of Oh L'Amour before I heard the original by Erasure. What kind of mad world (™ Tears For Fears) do we live in where the asinine David Van Day & Thereze Bazar got to #7 in the UK singles chart in 1987, whilst the original by Andy Bell & Vince Bell managed a measly #85 the previous year? At least the latter enjoyed a second run in 2003, achieving the more respectable #13. David Van Day was running a burger van at the start of the 21st century, so I guess there was some justice, at least.

Another purchase from Plastic Wax (or Replay, I'm not sure), I retrospectively amassed China Crisis' singles on 12" in the mid- to late-'80s, which were by then bargain secondhand purchases. I loved the first album but was less familiar with the second or the title track and lead single. I can see why, as it only made it to #48 in 1983; follow up Wishful Thinking became their biggest hit, reaching #9 the following year. In a startling display of economy, the song neither retains it's full title or has a decent remix label on the 12" single, perfunctorily listed as Fire And Steel (Mix). The song's lots more fun.

 

And to close, Tom Lord-Alge pulverises O.M.D.'s delicate La Femme Accident with some typically huge '80s synthetic drums and stretched out vocals... and yet, I loved it. I purchased this as a lavish gatefold double pack 12" single, which included Enola Gay and a rather crap live version of Locomotion. I bought the accompanying album Crush on the back of So In Love. I wasn't a fan of follow-up Secret and I didn't think La Femme Accident was an obvious choice of single. Apparently, looking at the diminishing chart peaks, the UK-singles buying public agreed. Still, this version is about as 1980s as it gets.

Having just read that Chasers is due to reopen in 2022, any chance any of these will make a belated appearance? What do you think?

 

1) Catch My Fall (Remix Fix By Billy Idol & Steve Stevens): Billy Idol (1985)

2) Disenchanted (Total Dance Remix By Mike Thorne): The Communards (1986)

3) Certain Things Are Likely (Engagedmix By Phil Harding): Kissing The Pink (1986)

4) Airhead (Extended Version: Francois' Mix By François Kevorkian & Goh Hotoda): Thomas Dolby (1988)

5) Oh L'Amour (PWL Funky Sisters Say 'Ooh La La' Mix By Pete Waterman & Phil Harding): Erasure (1986)

6) Working With Fire And Steel (Fire And Steel (Mix) By Mike Howlett): China Crisis (1983)

7) La Femme Accident (12" Mix By Tom Lord-Alge): O.M.D. (1985)

 

Side Two (46:35) (KF) (Mega)