Somerset Sider

History reinvented with Friday's slightly shaken selection, courtesy of Johnson Somerset.

I first discovered his work in 2016 via Paper Romance by Groove Armada (included here) and an entire album's worth of Duran Duran overhauls called Eiffel Tower.

Here's six crowd pleasers from a back catalogue that now runs into the hundreds, and continues to be added to YouTube on a regular basis.

1) Dance Hall Days (Johnson Somerset Remix): Wang Chung (2023)

2) Notorious (Johnson Somerset Remix): Duran Duran (2025)

3) Paper Romance (Johnson Somerset Remix): Groove Armada ft. Fenech-Soler & SaintSaviour (2013)

4) Summertime Sadness (Johnson Somerset Remix): Lana Del Rey (2020)

5) Self Control (Johnson Somerset Remix): Laura Branigan (2023)

6) The In Crowd (West End Wolf Remix): Bryan Ferry (2013)

 

 

 

 

 

Summer Fun, Big Fun, Funtime, Wang Chung, Well Hung

Why should fun wait until the weekend?!

Four videos that are bursting with fun, tight jeans, glow in the dark dresses, the spirit of Iggy, choppy 80s editing, one new/old classic Cope song and, if you stay to the end, a cool Breeze. Emily Breeze, that is. 

1) Summer Fun: Barracudas (1980)

2) Big Fun: Inner City (1988)

3) Funtime (Cover of Iggy Pop): Boy George (1995)

4) Everybody Have Fun Tonight: Wang Chung (1986)

5) Well Hung At Dawn: Julian Cope (recorded 2005, released 2025)

6) Fun: Emily Breeze (2025)

 

 

 

 

 

Decade III: 1985

Side 2 of a misplaced mixtape, compiled circa March 1990, wrecked or abandoned some years later, resurrected and repurposed 18th August 2024.

 

In stark contrast, the hits don't keep coming in this selection, the number of singles that failed to chart in the UK (4) outnumbering those reaching the Top 20 (2). 

 

I could have easily filled the 45 minutes with bonafide hits from a-ha, China Crisis, Fine Young Cannibals, Kate Bush, Level 42, Pet Shop Boys, Simple Minds, Thompson Twins and The Waterboys without finding myself in the dire straits of having to include, er, Dire Straits. However, I think this recreation is a pretty fair representation of where this nascent goth was in 1985.

To acknowledge the elephant in the room, I've fallen foul of the record label info again and included Godstar, Psychic TV's tribute to Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones, as a release in 1985. The Official Chart Company insists that the single didn't begin to trouble the charts until the end of March 1986, peaking at a dizzying #67 in its fifth week. 

 

In my defence, I can't confirm the single's official release date but promos were circulating in late 1985 and the record sleeve states that Godstar "is the theme song from the forthcoming feature film of the same name about the Life and Times of Brian Jones which begins shooting on February 28th 1986". So, it's staying put in 1985 as far as I'm concerned!

Continuing the ropey Six Degrees Of Separation theme that I failed to extend beyond three songs yesterday, there is a further connection between sides 1 and 2 of this cassette. Godstar is co-credited to The Angels Of Light, including Rose McDowall, who featured yesterday with Strawberry Switchblade. 

There's a further connection between Since Yesterday by Strawberry Switchblade and track 2, You've Got The Power by Win, in that both were David Motion. You can't make this stuff up, you know.

Fire In The Twilight by Wang Chung didn't trouble the Top 100 here, but is forever etched in my mind for its inclusion in John Hughes' film The Breakfast Club, sound tracking the scene where the tearaway teens are racing to get back to their desks ahead of scumbag teacher Vernon. It's an unfeasibly enormous school, based on this scene.

Bring On The Dancing Horses was the first 12" single that I bought by Echo & The Bunnymen, along with their Songs To Learn & Sing greatest hits compilation. Late to the party I may have been, but both have been enduring favourites. 

How Soon Is Now? was the first 12" single I owned by The Smiths, but I've gone for my second purchase, The Boy With The Thorn In His Side, rescued from the ex-chart bargain bin at my local WH Smiths (in the days when there were enough WH Smiths to have a local one). 

The Dream Academy couldn't even quite match Psychic TV's peak, The Love Parade entering the charts at #96 on this day in 1985 and reaching a disappointing #68 a couple of weeks later. A far cry from their previous high of #15 with Life in A Northern Town. They tried again later in the year with a cover of The Smiths' Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want. The record buying public clearly misinterpreted this request as "another flop single", as it limped to #83. Still, at least the inclusion of the instrumental version in another John Hughes movie, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, guaranteed immortality.

By 1985, Frank Tovey had shed his Fad Gadget persona and was arguably aiming for a slightly more commercial sound, ably demonstrated by the single Luxury. Personally, I liked the new direction. It wasn't a hit, of course, and Tovey ploughed a different, darker, folkier furrow with subsequent albums.

No G.D.M. (Dedicated To Quentin Crisp) by Gina X was first released in 1979, again in 1982 and then re-mixed and re-released by original producer and collaborator Zeus B. Held in 1985. It didn't trouble the UK charts on any of these occasions, which understates its impact and brilliance. I guess Radio 1 playlists - and our sensitive ears - remained unprepared for a song about lesbians, transvestites and "red haired queers". Philistines!

What I Wouldn't Give by Pink Industry is one of the greatest singles of the 1980s. Seriously. I read a review of it in Smash Hits, of all places, where Chris Heath described it as "A very strange record, but a good one" which says it all really, though he had a word count to deliver so does go on a bit more. What I Wouldn't Give contains the brilliant verse,

 

There's my Smiths tapes you never wanted to hear

Throw them away, Morrissey in the bin

If that would bring you back again

A similar fate befell Mozzer's collection in households across the UK years later, when he devolved into a complete prick.

Some loud guitars from either end of the spectrum, first off with The Jesus & Mary Chain, followed by The Cult. I bought the latter, along with The Smiths, O.M.D. and, er, Animal Nightlife with a bunch of other 12" singles whilst holidaying with the family in a caravan in (I think) Bournemouth in the summer of 1985. 

It was a while longer before I owned a record by The Jesus & Mary Chain (not counting their appearance on The Hit Red Hot EP), though my love for their continuing recordings has outlasted that of The Cult by some distance. 

ZTT scored a coup by signing Grace Jones. Slave To The Rhythm was originally written and intended as a follow up to Frankie Goes To Hollywood's Relax and their demo finally saw the light of day a few years ago. It's good though I don't think anyone will argue that gifting it to Grace was the right move. For this selection, I've re-edited sections from the 7" and 12" 'Blooded' remix, including Ian McShane's introduction, to create a - for me, at least - more satisfying composite version. Heeeeere's Grace!

Normal service resumes next weekend, as I revisit the Decade cassette that I recorded in 1990, covering 1986 and 1987. Expect the unexpected. Well, a little.

 

1) Godstar (7" Version): Psychic TV ft. The Angels Of Light

2) You've Got The Power (7" Version): Win

3) Fire In The Twilight (Specially Remixed Version): Wang Chung

4) Bring On The Dancing Horses (Single Version): Echo & The Bunnymen

5) The Boy With The Thorn In His Side (Album Version): The Smiths

6) The Love Parade (7"): The Dream Academy

7) Luxury (Album Version): Frank Tovey

8) No G.D.M. (7 Inch): Gina X

9) What I Wouldn't Give (Album Version): Pink Industry

10) Never Understand (Album Version): The Jesus & Mary Chain

11) She Sells Sanctuary (Album Version): The Cult

12) Slave To The Rhythm (Cold Blooded Edit By Khayem): Grace Jones

3rd March 1985: Psychocandy (#47): 10

20th April 1985: Fire In The Twilight EP (# n/a): 3

?? May 1985: No G.D.M. EP (# n/a): 8

?? June 1985: You've Got The Power EP (#95): 2 *

?? July 1985: New Beginnings (# n/a): 9

28th July 1985: Love (#15): 11

?? August 1985: Snakes & Ladders (# n/a): 7

8th September 1985: The Love Parade EP (#68): 6

6th October 1985: The Queen Is Dead (#23): 5

20th October 1985: Slave To The Rhythm EP (#20): 12

27th October 1985: Bring On The Dancing Horses EP (#21): 4

20th April 1986: Godstar EP (#67): 1 **

 

Side Two (45:35) (GD) (M)

* You've Got The Power was originally released in June 1985 then twice more, the third time proving lucky - kind of - when it got to #95 the week of 16th March 1986.

** According to Discogs, and my personal copy of the 12" single, Godstar was released in 1985. The sleeve info also notes that Godstar is the theme to a Brian Jones biopic "which begins shooting on February 28th 1986". I've no recollection why the single didn't enter the charts until late March 1986 and the film never saw the light of day, if indeed filming ever began...

No Games

It feels like an age since I've posted an 80s 12" mixtape inspired selection on a Friday. I haven't checked, it's probably been a couple of weeks but what the heck, repetition celebrates and devalues!

I've kept my sights firmly on 1982 and 1983 for today's deadly eight, so expect some of the emerging 'big' sounds, stuttering edits and extended breaks that the 12" format was playing with at the time. 

The only two I owned at the time were the cassette version of the Talking Heads album Speaking In Tongues, which featured exclusive extended versions of several tracks including Slippery People, and the 12" of Our Lips Are Sealed by Fun Boy Three, the 'Special Remix Version' incorporating a spoken word second half that at the time was quite a surprise but which I quickly grew to love.

I also owned Seven Singles Deep, the mini-LP collection of extended A-sides by The Icicle Works, although the version of Birds Fly is a remix that featured on the 12" single in the USA. The version of Paper House by Associates featured on the re-release of The Affectionate Punch, which was remixed and repackaged in the wake of Party Fears Two and the album Sulk. Elvis Costello & The Attractions and The Beat were very belated acquisitions in the 21st century and worth the price of admission alone, in my opinion.

 

China was a B-side on the very first 12" single release of Dance Hall Days in 1982 back when Wang Chung were called Huang Chung. Sadly, Wang Chuang were cruelly denied a place in SWC's current Rock's Greatest W series over at the frankly essential No Badger Required. Should I have the privilege of participating in a future Rock's Greatest H, I am poised to nominate...

Rounding off today's selection is The Last Film by the wonderful Kissing The Pink, whose hugely enjoyable Anthology 5CD box set was propelled through the letter box at Casa K a couple of weeks ago. They were bonkers to say the least and the three 1980s albums included are markedly different in style and sound but all the better for it. To many, The Last Film is their 'one hit wonder', a reminder of a time when quite out there pop could also be a hit.

 

1) Let Them All Talk (Extended 12" Remix By Clive Langer & Alan Winstanley): Elvis Costello & The Attractions ft. The TKO Horns (1983)

2) China (American Extended Remix By Roger Bechirian): Huang Chung (1982)

3) Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly) (Extended Club Remix By Steve Thompson): The Icicle Works (1983)

4) Paper House (Remix By Associates & Mark Arthurworrey): Associates (1982)

5) Slippery People (Cassette Mix By Talking Heads & Alex Sadkin): Talking Heads (1983)

6) Save It For Later (Extended Remix By Bob Sargent): The Beat (1982)

7) Our Lips Are Sealed (Special Remix Version By Fun Boy Three & Jeremy Green): Fun Boy Three (1983) 

8) The Last Film (Hymn Version - Extended By Kissing The Pink, David King & Neil Richmond): Kissing The Pink (1983) 

 

No Games (44:10) (KF) (Mega)

The Sights, The Sounds...The Smells

First of all, Rob Reiner is not dead yet. 

 

A few days ago, #RIPRob was trending on Twitter and there was a hubbub indicating that the American actor and filmaker had karked it. Turns out it was all a hoax, although I guess there are some who will have wished it was true, either because of his anti-Trump comments or his intention to helm a sequel to his directorial debut, the truly brilliant This Is Spinal Tap.

I was sufficiently suckered/tired/brainwashed (delete as applicable) to assume news of Reiner's demise was true and start on a Dubhed selection as a tribute. I'd nearly completed it when I went back online and realised that #RIPRob was all a load of bollocks and, worse, This Is Spinal Tap 2 is still in pre-production.

Rather than park the selection until Rob's eventual and inevitable passing, I've finished it off and present here for your listening pleasure. I've picked out music used in Reiner's films from his 1984 debut through to 1992's A Few Good Men, after which I'll admit I've only had a sporadic interest. Apart from The Sure Thing (1985), which I don't recall ever seeing and despite starring John Cusack, not one I'll rush to find, the rest are bonafide classics. Yes, even the one with Tom Cruise in it.

This Is Spinal Tap inevitably features heavily throughout this selection, a few songs and lots of dialogue ripped from the movie itself. There's some proper soundtrack stuff, with full-on orchestras, a small helping of Mark Knopfler, a couple of contemporary (1984) rock and pop songs and tons of classics from Messrs. Sinatra, Holly, Ellington, King and, er, not-so-classic from Rod The Mod. 

 

The soundtrack for When Harry Met Sally... features Harry Connick Jr.'s covers of American standards, including It Had To Be You. Thankfully, ol' Blue Eyes' version also pops up in the film and therefore appears here. Frank Sinatra had been performing the song since the early 1940s but interestingly, he didn't actually get around to releasing a studio version of the song until 1980.

 

I think the selection generally turned out a lot better than I expected but as ever, you will be the judge of that.

Turn this one up to 11, of course.

 

1) Marti Di Bergi Introduction: Spinal Tap (1984)

2) Morning Ride: Mark Knopfler (1987)

3) Dance Hall Days (Remix By Chris Hughes & Ross Cullum): Wang Chung (1983)

4) "Squatney Memories": Spinal Tap (1984)

5) The Fireswamp: Mark Knopfler (1987)

6) "Saucy Jack": Spinal Tap (1984)

7) Guantanamo Bay: Marc Shaiman (1992)

8) "Lick My Love Pump": Spinal Tap (1984)

9) It Had To Be You (Cover of The Ambassadors): Frank Sinatra (1980)

10) "Yes I Can!": Spinal Tap (1984)

11) Let The Good Times Roll: Shirley & Lee (1956)

12) Heavy Duty: Spinal Tap (1984)

13) You Might Think: The Cars (1984)

14) Shotgun: Junior Walker & The All Stars (1965)

15) Stonehenge: Spinal Tap (1984)

16) Go To Your Room: Marc Shaiman (1990)

17) Stand By Me: Ben E. King (1961)

18) Everyday: Buddy Holly (1957)

19) Gimme Some Money (Soundcheck Version) / "None More Black": Spinal Tap (1984) 

20) Don’t Get Around Much Anymore: Duke Ellington (1940)

21) Infatuation (Full Length Version By  Michael Omartian): Rod Stewart (1984)

22) Stars And Stripes Forever: Marc Shaiman (1992)

23) End Interviews: Spinal Tap (1984)

 

1984: This Is Spinal Tap: 1, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 19, 23

1985: The Sure Thing: 3, 13, 21

1986: Stand By Me: 11, 17, 18

1987: The Princess Bride: 2, 5

1989: When Harry Met Sally...: 9, 20

1990: Misery: 14, 16

1992: A Few Good Men: 7, 22

 

The Sights, The Sounds...The Smells (59:35) (KF) (Mega) 

Return To The Valley Of Kissing The Mix

Side 1 of a mixtape, compiled 21st April 2000. It's back to the 80s indie-not-indie disco time with another eight twelve inch hits and misses. 

Starting off with Prefab Sprout and Paddy McAloon's love song to the Big Apple. A wonderful song, Hey Manhattan! had the thankless task of being the follow up single to The King Of Rock 'n' Roll, their first (and only) Top 10 hit in the UK, reaching #7. Hey Manhattan! also had a '7' in it's highest chart placing. Unfortunately, that '7' was #72. It deserved better.

 

Lloyd Cole & The Commotions fared better, reaching #17 with Lost Weekend, two places higher than previous single Brand New Friend and, it turns out, Lloyd's biggest UK single success, with or without The Commotions.

Howard Devoto followed up Magazine and a solo album with Luxuria, a partnership with Norman Fisher-Jones aka Noko. After two albums and a handful of singles, the pair worked again, Devoto writing lyrics for songs on Apollo 440's debut album and Noko later joining the reformed Magazine in 2009. The 12" of Redneck was a beautiful thing, the vinyl single housed in an embossed brown cardboard sleeve. 

I really liked China Crisis' first album but didn't get any of the follow ups until well into the 21st century. I did go back and buy the 12" singles in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Hanna Hanna wasn't a particular favourite as a single, but the extended mix won me over. It's only when I looked up the lyrics and listened more closely to the song that Gary Daly snuck in the F-bomb with the verse,

 

"We're living on a catwalk, catwalk
And swimming with the sharks
Biting into poison, poison
In a city all full of fucking sharks"

 

Naughty Gary, wash your mouth out with soap. If you're quick, you can catch up with the rather wonderful Imaginary Compilation Album of ten China Crisis gems over at The Vinyl Villain. So good that Martin, who collated the collection, didn't even need to include this song. 

 

By 1984, Wang Chung (formerly Huang Chung) were a core duo of Jack Hues and Nick Feldman and were enjoying greater success on the other side of the pond. Wait was taken from the soundtrack to the film To Live And Die In L.A., starring William Peterson and Willem Dafoe. Depending on which 12" single you bought, the 12" version featured here was variously known as Wait (Special U.K. Remix), Wait (Extended Dance Remix) or just plain Wait (Remix).  

 

If, like me, you knew Kissing The Pink for their 1983 UK Top 20 pop noir single The Last Film, their return as SAW-affiliated pure popsters was a bit of a surprise. Thankfully, no sign of Stock, Aitken or Waterman on the mix here and Phil Harding did have form remixing the likes of Nitzer Ebb and Depeche Mode. Personally, I enjoyed the run of singles from this period, but neither this musical volte face or a rebranding as KTP changed their chart fortunes in the UK. We're an unforgiving lot who dislike change, I guess...!

 

I'll put it straight out there: if you want to hear the definitive version of Bedbugs And Ballyhoo by Echo & The Bunnymen, then head straight to the B-side of Bring On The Dancing Horses. They re-recorded the song with The Doors' Ray Manzarek at the controls and keyboard. It's good but it's a bit like gilding the lily in my opinion. Being a sucker for an extended remix however, when I was on a family holiday in Florida in 1988 and snuck off to find a record shop, my haul included this 5-track 12" single. Ivan Ivan's a fairly safe pair of hands and he does a fairly decent job on this.

In the week that Depeche Mode announce their return with a new single, Ghosts Again, See You is a nice reminder of their melancholic pop days. The video, directed by Julien Temple, is a pretty cute narrative and a reminder of how much of a social focal point the humble photo booth was. My own photo booth collection, though with several losses and gaps over the years, tracks an intriguing narrative of friends, girlfriends and a variety of frankly ill-advised hairstyles. The video is also interesting in that Alan Wilder had clearly come on board slightly too late to be included in the full video. So, it's mostly Gahan, Gore and Fletcher, with a few blink-and-you'll-miss-them cuts to Wilder in a completely different room!

Happy Friday, everyone. 

1) Hey Manhattan! (JFK Version By Tony Phillips): Prefab Sprout (1988)

2) Lost Weekend (Extended Version By Clive Langer & Alan Winstanley): Lloyd Cole & The Commotions (1985)

3) Redneck (Album Version By Gavin MacKillop, Howard Devoto & Noko): Luxuria (1988)

4) Hanna Hanna (Extended Mix By Mike Howlett): China Crisis (1984)

5) Wait (Special U.K. Remix By Stephen Lipson): Wang Chung (1984)

6) Never Too Late To Love You (Kissing The Mix By Mixmaster Phil Harding): Kissing The Pink (1986)

7) Bedbugs And Ballyhoo (Club Remix By Ivan Ivan): Echo & The Bunnymen ft. Ray Manzarek (1988)

8) See You (Extended Version By Daniel Miller & Depeche Mode): Depeche Mode (1982)

 

Side One (46:19) (GD) (M) 

Side Two here