Archive for 1980s Groups and Bands
The Police
Gordon Sumner (aka Sting)
Stewart Copeland
Andy Summers
Three names, one group. The Police. They weren't around for long as a group. In terms of singles they were active late 70's and early 80's with such gigantic monster hits such as Can't Stand Losing You, So Lonely, Roxanne, Message In A Bottle, Walking On The Moon, Don't Stand So Close To Me etc etc ETC! THEY WERE IMMENSE. Sting is not everyone's cup of tea, I personally think the guy's a complete nob, but to have so much money that your accountant can steal the odd million and you not even notice?! R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Enough said, these were my childhood, or a very large and important part of it!
I never even bought a single until they re-released Don't Stand So Close To Me in 1986 with that awful reworking of their towering number 1 from 1980 (why?!). I was at sixth form and I got it ripped out of me something chronic for buying it, and on 12". I sort of meekly defended it at the time, but people who knew better than me had got it spot on. And yes I know now that it was all part of a Greatest Hits campaign, but still, why mess with such a great song. You can't improve on perfection...
Eurythmics
Annie and Dave represent one of the seminal acts of the 80s. Neatly enough (for my purposes) they kicked off in 1981 and were pretty much done as a group by 1990.
They were formed out of The Tourists - you remember them, those fantastic covers they did of I Only Wanna Be With You and So Good To Be Back Home Again in very late 1979 and early 1980?
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 7 Single THE TOURISTS I ONLY WANT TO BE WITH YOU  £.39
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 The Tourists The Tourists LOGO1018 £.99
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That experience ended and the duo, who had been romantically linked struck off on their own. They ended their romantic association and got down to the business of making some noise. And what a noise. Between their first single Never Gonna Cry Again which reached the not so giddy heights of number 63 in the UK singles charts until their last 80's hit Don't Ask Me Why the Eurythmics produced a total of 26 UK singles of which they had just the one UK number 1 and a further seven UK top ten singles.
Initial forays into the UK singles charts weren't all that successful. As I said, Never Gonna Cry Again struggled to number 63 and the next three Belinda, This Is The House and The Walk didn't trouble the statisticians. Even Love Is A Stranger on its initial release managed only a paltry 54.
But if you've got something, then well... you've got something. Enter Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This). Released in February 1983, Sweet Dreams was a colossal hit both here (UK number 2 kept off by Kajagoogoo's Too Shy, I mean come on!) and in the US (number 1). It remains a speaker busting sound and has got to be their signature tune. Annie recently performed it during her session on the Ken Bruce show on Radio 2 on Friday 13 March 2009. Definitely not an unlucky day for those of us who heard it!
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 DAVE SAMPSON SWEET DREAMS 1960 BRITISH ROCKNROLL COLUMBIA 7 VINYL EX £7.99
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 EURYTHMICS ANNIE LENNOX SWEET DREAMS GERMAN LP MINT UNPLAYED W SHRINKWRAP £4.00
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Love Is A Stranger was next up re-released, one supposes, in order to pick up on the vibe created by Sweet Dreams. But if Kaja-bloody-googoo can make it to number one, then why shouldn't an awesome piece of work such as this be given another chance? Anyway, rant over, Love Is A Stranger made it to number 6 in the UK singles chart. For my money, it's a twin to Robert Palmer's Addicted To Love - using the idea of love as some kind of drug, 'You have to receive it / and you still can't get enough of the stuff...'
There followed a run of top ten singles, with Who's That Girl? (number 3 - hauntingly beautiful, yet acid in its accusation), Right By Your Side (number 10 - uplifting, glorious - an immediate antidote to Who's That Girl?) Next up was Here Comes The Rain Again (UK singles chart number 8), a return to the sound which so characterises Sweet Dreams and Love Is A Stranger.
And then we had the almost quirky Sexcrime (nineteen eighty-four), a bit of a grower to be honest (peaked at number 4 in the UK singles chart), but my entry point into being a Eurythmics-record-buyer. It was released towards the end of 1984 as the first single from the official-unofficial soundtrack to the film adaptation of George Orwell's novel 1984.
The duo followed up Sexcrime with another song from the film, Julia. This was slightly disappointing, making it only to number 44 in the UK singles charts. Would I Lie To You? was a bit of a rocker and having helped it along by my purchase of it (on red vinyl) on 11 May 1985, it reached number 17. But this was to be the calm before the storm.
Released at the end of June 1985, There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart) was the Eurythmics' only UK number one hit. It is memorable for many reasons, not least Stevie Wonder's harmonica playing, but its primary claim to fame is that it just epitomises what good pop music should be about. Songs like this only come along once in a while and you always know when such a song is here - it just grabs you by the Sean Kerlys the very first time you hear it.
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 EURYTHMICS “There Must Be An Angel playing with my heart” 12” vinyl disc £2.99
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 EURYTHMICS There Must Be An Angel 7 Single PS £3.59
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As is the case with other groups, such a massive hit single as There Must Be An Angel represents an high water of sorts for the Eurythmics, certainly in terms of chart positions. It was followed by Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves and I reckon it was more of a vehicle for Aretha Franklin than Annie and Dave. It doesn't move me in quite the same way as other singles. It's Alright (Baby's Coming Back) is another single that I bought and it managed to get to number 12 in the UK singles charts. Then two more minor hits with When Tomorrow Comes and Missionary Man were followed by another one of those Sean Kerly moments.
I was stood in John Menzies when a song came on - it was the Eurythmics next single, Thorn In My Side. Looking back it's probably just another one of those run of the mill rock and pop records, but in its time (29 August 1986) there wasn't much better. It proved this by reaching number 5 and therefore becoming the Eurythmics' last top ten UK chart single.
Several good singles followed, notably the gorgeous Winter of 86 love song The Miracle Of Love, which made number 23, but deserved much much better (I did my bit, I bought it). Of the seven remaining 80s singles, You Have Placed A Chill In My Heart, which made number 16 in 1988, is my favourite.
So there you have it, that's the Eurythmics as I saw them in the 80s. They're as iconic of the time as most of the other UK chart acts, in fact with her short cropped hair, Annie Lennox is perhaps the female pop icon of the decade.
Adam Ant, Adam and the Ants
Stuart Leslie Goddard. There's a name to conjure with. A A Diddler Ulster Togs or Radiated Lodger Lusts to name but two possible anagrams. Adam Ant, however is not an anagram, but it is the name by which posterity will remember our hero.
Now, that word, hero. On the face of it, four letters (not much scope for anagrams), and probably an overused word. However, in Adam Ant's case, definitely applicable and supremely appropriate. Sporting stars aside, Ian Botham and Kenny Dalglish, Adam Ant was my first pop music hero.
My brother was given a model casting set for Christmas one year. I think it was Paddington Bear. So far, so relevant. However, at the same time, Adam was wearing a white line across the bridge of his nose, and if you scratched the base of a Paddington Bear you could use the resultant white powder to draw your own white line across the bridge of your nose. Wow! How cool was that?
Anyway, enough of this nonsense and back to the nitty-gritty. Conveniently enough, Adam and the Ants scored their first UK chart hit in 1980 with Kings of the Wild Frontier, which made it to the heady heights of number 48 in the UK singles chart. It kicks off with the immortal line, 'A new royal family / A wild nobility / We are the family' and just goes on from there. If it had perhaps been a later single it would have risen higher in the charts.
Next up was Dog Eat Dog which truly saw Adam and the Ants' arrival. Making number 4 in the UK singles chart, this time Adam boasted that, 'We're gonna move real good', and boy could he move. The 'B' side was Physical (You're So) - perhaps one of the better 'B' sides put out in the 80's. Antmusic was next, getting agonisingly close to number 1, in early 1981. In fact, it was only John Lennon's Imagine that prevented this. On the face of, nonsense lyrics, but it had me spellbound, and still does...
'Don't tread on an ant / he's done nothing to you
There might come a day / when he's treading on you
... You cut off his head / legs come looking for you'
Next up were three not so hot singles (well they're not my favourites, Lol!) - Young Parisiens (number 9), Zerox (a reissue - 45) and Cartrouble (33), before the proof of my earlier statement as the reissued Kings of the Wild Frontier made it to number 2. Another John Lennon song, Jealous Guy, performed by Roxy Music stood in the way of an Ant's single making number 1.
Now, as we moved into the glorious Summer of 1981, Adam and the Ants scored their first UK singles chart number 1 with the magnificent, Ivor Novello winning, Stand and Deliver. What a song. There is perhaps no more iconic 1980's song than Stand and Deliver. From the start, 'I'm the dandy highway man / who you're too scared to mention...' to the final 'Da diddley qa qa da diddley qa qa' refrain, it just epitomises the classic 3 minute pop song. I detect some hint of a jibe at Malcolm McLaren - he and Adam weren't exactly the best of mates after the formation of Bow Bow Bow - but that's another story.
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 Adam and the Ants Stand and Deliver Beat My Guest £.49
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 Adam and the Ants Stand and Deliver Pic Cover £2.50
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As we moved towards the end of the summer, Adam and the Ants proved that they could do no wrong, as they scored their second UK singles chart number 1 with Prince Charming. In my opinion lacking that certain je ne sais quoi with which Stand and Deliver is blessed with (it seems like more of a chant), but still head and shoulders above much other pop output during that time. And of course, Diana Dors in the video.
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 ADAM THE ANTS PRINCE CHARMING Vinyl LP £6.99
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 ADAM AND THE ANTS PRINCE CHARMING UK 7 SINGLE 4 £.99
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Released towards the end of 1981, Ant Rap made its highest UK chart position of number 3 in early 1982. It is another slab of pop perfection. Show me a person of a certain age who doesn't know the chorus, 'I've got Marco, Merrick, Terry Lee / Gary Tibbs and yours truly', and I'll find you a four leafed clover. It does however, represent the high water mark for Adam and the Ants, as their last single Deutscher Girls, although charting at a respectable number 13 isn't quite on a par with their three massive UK singles hits of 1981.
After going solo, Adam Ant had a similarly short lived period of pop ascendancy. His first single Goody Two Shoes, written with former Ant and long time collaborator, Marco Pirroni, was a massive UK number 1 hit, even making it to number 12 in the Billboard Hot 100. This one is a cry of angst against the press (in the UK) and of course represents the eternal paradox of the reclusive pop star. He wants to be left alone to live his life, but he has a number 1 single on his hands - go figure.
His subsequent singles, which include Friend Or Foe (UK number 9), Desperate But Not Serious (33), Puss 'n Boots (5) and Apollo 9 (13), although decent enough pop songs just don't have the gravitas or the impact of those monster smashes of 1981.
For me, Adam Ant is one of, if not The Pop Icon of the 1980's music scene. In '81, there was nothing to touch Adam and the Ants. But for John Lennon's death they'd surely have had two more UK number 1 hits. My biggest regret is that I wasn't old enough to have gone to a gig. You know, I've seen Oasis and Blur, the biggest pop / rock phenomena of the 90's live, and they were very good gigs (Blur had The Shirehorses as their support and Oasis gave a helping hand to the returning Manic Street Preachers). But, and there is no doubt in my mind, Adam and the Ants would have surpassed both!
Depeche Mode
What's not to be said about The Mode? For me, they are one of those groups that I had an awareness of in the 80's, but I've only really discovered them since. Formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex the original line up was Dave Gahan (vocals); Martin Gore (guitar, keyboards); Andrew Fletcher (keyboards) and Vince Clarke (keyboards).
Clarke left in 1981 citing disagreement with the band's direction. He did offer the remaining members he song Only You, but they turned it down - Clarke recorded the song with Alison Moyet as Yazoo and took it to number 2 in 1982, and The Flying Pickets had the Christmas number 1 hit with it in 1983. Clarke was replaced with Alan Wilder in 1982 - he joined from an advert placed anonymously in Melody Maker.
Before he left, Clarke penned the first three singles, Dreaming of Me (UK singles chart position, 57), New Life (11) and Just Can't Get Enough (8). Now if you only ever wrote two songs in your life then New Life and Just Can't Get Enough would be fine testamants, never mind all the other stuff that Clarke has written. However, for the rest of the band, life had to go on, so it was left to Martin Gore to take up the song writing cudgel.
There is no doubting that Martin Gore has a fine pedigree with which to justify the band's decision. The Mode had a further 21 UK chart hits in the 80's. Gore's first single was See You which was a number 6 effort in 1982. The biggest hit was 1984's People Are People which made number 4. My favourite Depeche Mode song was actually a 90's hit - Enjoy The Silence (6), but since it was released on 16 January 1990, it was most likely written and recorded in the 1980's.
And... if all that's not enough, just think, I've heard Steve Wright say he don't like 'em. If that's the case, then they're alright by me!
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 The Mission Shine Like The Stars RARE CD SINGLE Depeche Mode Cover £7.00
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 Depeche Mode Best of Depeche Mode Vol 1 CD DVD SET £8.00
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 Depeche Mode Music For The Masses CD DVD SET £10.00
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 Depeche Mode Some Great Reward CD DVD SET £10.00
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 Depeche Mode Black Celebration CD DVD SET £10.00
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 DEPECHE MODE SONGS OF FAITH AND DEVOTION RARE LP SIZE PROMO PVC CARRIER BAG £2.49
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![REMIXES 81 04 DEPECHE MODE 2005 CD NEW]](http://thumbs.ebaystatic.com/pict/130606596320_0.jpg) REMIXES 81 04 DEPECHE MODE 2005 CD NEW] £8.80
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 Depeche Mode Live Devotional 2 Disc Edition £7.50
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 Depeche Mode – Remixes Part 4 pic picture disc rare collectable item £19.99
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 DEPECHE MODE DEPECHE MODE TOUR OF THE UNIVERSE BAR £24.99
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Three Talking Heads singles
Three Talking Heads singles from the 80's
If there ever was a missing link between the 60's and the 80's then Talking Heads could just be it. Born out of the late 70's post punk movement they moved on from the naked simplicity of the original punk movement to come up with some fantastical imagining. Starting in 1980 with:
Once in a Lifetime
Letting the days go by... perhaps I didn't get this when it was first released? This seminal 80's single was written by David Byrne and Brian Eno and is taken from Talking Heads 1980' album, Remain in Light it is reported that Byrne and Eno came up with the Lyrics after hearing a preacher heard on the car radio whilst driving through New York.
Road To Nowhere
Road To Nowhere was a single from Talking Heads 1985 album Little Creatures. It reached number 6 in the UK singles chart.
And She Was
Talking Heads - And She Was
And She Was is Talking Heads second single from 1985, again taken from Little Creatures. Writer David Byrne wrote the song about a girl taking LSD in a field close by a drinks factory in Baltimore Maryland where he spent part of his childhood. It reached number 17 in the UK singles chart.
I bought this as a 7" single on 7 March 1986 near the end of its run in the UK singles charts (via my usual supplier!)
Talking Heads are:
David Byrne, Chris Franz, Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth.
