Released in the Spring of 1986, Why Can't This Be Love features vocals from Sammy Hagar who had recently joined the band replacing founding member David Lee Roth who left in 1985.  It was the first single taken from the band's 1986 album 5150 (fifty-one fifty) - the band's first work without Roth.

The track is only the second from the band to trouble the top ten of the UK singles chart.  I bought it on 17 May 1986 as it climbed toward its peak position of number 8.  Their only previous track to reach the top ten hit was 1984's excellent (even Mark Radcliffe likes it!) Jump which made number 7.

So, on the face of it, only having two entries in the top ten would indicate that Van Halen were not tremendously successful in the UK singles chart.  However, in my humble opinion these two tracks are as good as anything from the eighties.

I'm not sure what it's about and perhaps that doesn't matter.  Some say it's about Ray Charles, whilst others are of the opinion that it's about Man Ray, the American artist famous for collaborations with Salvador Dali, amongst others.

To be honest though, I just loved the tune.  As a fifteen year old, the lyrics didn't really mean that much to me - I'm not 100% sure that I 'got' them properly to be brutal.  This was not so uncommon, mind - I certainly struggled with Bob Dylan when I was first introduced to his music at University.  Der!  I treated the voice as an instrument, the actual meaning of the lyrics was always secondary to how they sounded in conjunction with the instrumental accompaniment.

Any road up, this was the first of China Crisis's singles that I noticed.  1983's Christian reached the dizzy heights of number 12 in the UK singles chart, but it certainly passed me by.  Early in 1984, Wishful Thinking scratched the top ten, and the band was apparently set for a big career.  However the follow up, Hanna Hanna, didn't have anything like the same impact and the band remained dormant, certainly in terms of single releases for twelve months.

Black Man Ray entered the UK chart on 30 March 1985 and less than a fortnight later I had secured my copy of it.  It reached the lofty position of number 14 halfway through its nine week run on the chart.  Subsequently, King In A Catholic Style (Wake Up) also performed respectably, making number 19, but by now it seemed like the band's time had passed, in terms of singles at least.  Three further releases, You Did Cut Me, Arizona Sky and Best Kept Secret failed to trouble the top 30 and that was pretty much that.

Any Which Way You Can Sale Price: £0.41   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days 14 new from £0.41  13 used from £0.40

In Any Which Way You Can (AWWYC) we find our hero, Philo Beddoe (Eastwood) on the road with orang-utan companion Clyde in tow, making his way as a bare-knuckle fighter.  The action begins with Philo punching out a new victim as Clyde relieves himself on the seat of a police car.  Thus the tone is set.

Philo and Clyde return home, where Philo, still living with his Ma (Ruth Gordon), is offered a contest with Jack Wilson (William Smith), the Mafia-sponsored East Coast bare-knuckle champ.  Philo inadvertently saves Wilson's life, but then the Mafia kidnaps his girlfriend (Sondra Locke) to force him to go ahead with a fight.  Philo and Wilson then team up to battle the Mob, but somehow, someway they end up fighting anyway in a gruelling climactic sequence.

Never mind the orang-utan.  The film has country music, bikers, the Mafia, an orang-utan, pick-up trucks, defecation jokes, fighting and of course drinking and swearing.  It was one of the top grossing films of 1980 in the UK, but this must surely have been based upon the box office pull of Clint Eastwood plus the success of Every Which Way But Loose rather than any good reviews it received. It’s the sort of film that you’d put on to fall asleep to after a night on the ale perhaps, good but not indispensable.

“Right turn Clyde!”

Over the next few weeks he finds himself continually ogling young girls on the street and, what is more, begins to envy (and spy on) his high-living neighbour whose life appears to be one endless orgy.

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George's behaviour causes great concern to his lover, singing star Samantha Taylor (Julie Andrews), and also to his writing partner Hugh (Robert Webber) who has, it seems, avoided George's dilemma by being gay. On his way home one afternoon, George spots Jenny (Bo Derek), a stunning young beauty en route to her wedding.  He regards her as "the most beautiful girl [he's] ever seen" and follows her to the church.  He later learns her name and discovers that she and her husband will honeymoon in Mexico.

Uncontrollably driven by the impulse to see her again, George follows the happy couple to Mexico and checks into their hotel...

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The story centres on  traumatised ex-fighter pilot Ted Striker (Robert Hays) and his a fear of flying.  As part of his therapy / in order to regain the love of his life* he buys a ticket on a flight from LA to Chicago.  However, this is not some random plane journey.  Elaine (Julie Hagerty) is a stewardess and will be working on the flight.  The path of true love never did run smooth though, and she rebuffs his attempts at reconcilliation.

After dinner, many of the passengers become ill.  Dr. Rumack (Leslie Nielsen) is quick to conclude that one of the meal options must have given them food poisoning.  Then the stewards discover that the flying crew, including Captain Oveur (Peter Graves) and Roger Murdock (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), also had the offending menu item.  Consequently there is no one on board to fly the plane.

Elaine is instructed by the Chicago control tower supervisor Steve McCroskey (Lloyd Bridges) to activate the plane's autopilot a large blow-up doll, "Otto" which will pilot them to Chicago but will not be able to land the plane. Step forward our reluctant hero, Striker.  Riding in a plane is one thing though, actually having to fly it is a totally different matter.

Will our hero land the plane or will he bottle it completely...

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In this update of the 1930s comic strip, Flash Gordon (Jones) is a football hero hijacked and then skyjacked by bonkers scientist Dr. Hans Zarkov (perfectly played by Topol) on his rocketship along with beautiful Dale Arden (Melody Anderson).

The threesome is drawn into the influence of the planet Mongo, controlled by Ming the Merciless (von Sydow).  Ming has already been testing the Earth with unnatural disasters – only Zarkov has spotted this, and inadvertently ensured that Ming would deem it a threat to his rule and therefore want to destroy it.  Never mind all that, he also intends to take Dale as his concubine.

Flash on the other hand must avoid the amorous attentions of Ming's daughter Princess Aura (Ornella Muti) and unite the warring kingdoms of Mongo in order to rescue Dale and save our world.  After all, they really do ‘only have fourteen hours to save the Earth.’

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Looking for release from the Romans, Spiritual and political decay, the Jews are constantly seeking signs and one group decides Brian is the Messiah.  Despite his and his Mother’s (“He’s not the Messiah, he’s a very naughty boy.”) very best efforts, he cannot convince them he is not.  He joins the Peoples' Front of Judea, one of several dozen separatist groups who don’t actually do anything, but really, really hate each other, never mind the Romans.  Whilst the film is not about Jesus, it is about those who didn't have the time, or more pertinently, the interest to listen to his message.

There are many political and social comments made in the film, but as usual opinions became divided and polarised to the extent that it was seen by many, and criticised on that basis, as a satire on the life of Christ.

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Ted now has to come to terms with his new role as housekeeper and carer for himself and their young son Billy (Justin Henry).  In addition to all of the practical issues, Ted and Billy have to learn to get along with each other.  There is resentment from Ted that he has been forced effectively to give up work; resentment from Billy that Ted is not Joanna.  However, this passes as the two develop a mutual bond of trust and love.

Fifteen months after she departed, Joanna resurfaces and she wants Billy back. Ted has no intention of giving him up though so a court battle ensues, obviously listed as Kramer vs Kramer...

It opens with our heroes regrouping on an icy planet in the Hoth system. Truth be told they have been on the receiving end of a bit of a kicking from the Empire in the years since the destruction of the Death Star at the end of (1977's) Episode IV: A New Hope.

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Of course they can't hang around there for ever, so eventually, Luke takes R2-D2 and heads off to the planet Dagobah to train to become a Jedi  under the Jedi Master, Yoda.

Meanwhile, Han, Leia, Chewbacca and C-3P0 are eventually captured by the duplicitous Lando Calrissian and handed over to Darth Vader who promptly has Han encased in carbonite before handing them all over to Jabba the Hut, via Boba Fett, with the intention that this will lure Luke out of hiding to rescue his friends... and so it goes on.