1983: Wham Rap - Wham!

And so the decade of beige goes on - forget all that crap about it being all neon and gaudy. But at least in the summmer, sunshine made the brown a more palatable yellow. Ten London DJs are choosing tracks which holler summer to them. Here we are at 1983, which is surprisingly colourful in my memory. This is probably because it was Best Ever Year in Music. Says me and someone else...

Here's Talia, who DJs at the legendary Popstarz.

In 1983, I was one. Given I am writing about songs from the 80s, this may disgust as many people as it does when I now think that people who are heading to university this summer were born in 1991. In any case it means whatever song I chose from 1983 probably wasn't one I spent that literal summer bopping my head to. Growing up in Blackpool with my non-music listening grandparents meant it took the advent of the Spice Girls before I started my quest of shouting about amazing pop music.

The sensible choice 'du jour' would be to choose Billie Jean but probably everything that's every going to be said about that song has (apart from perhaps - isn't it better when you listen to the S Club Don't Stop Movin' mash up? No??). Can I ignore Indeep's Last Night A DJ Saved My Life whose words cheesily adore my bedroom wall, and which criminally only reached #13 in the charts? What about Bowie's Let's Dance - another artist I didn't really know or understand until moving to London and beginning my Friday night DJ rituals at Popstarz. In fact will I even be allowed to continue playing there if I ignore the 1983 power autumn of indie featuring This Charming Man, Love Cats and Blue Monday?

My choice therefore represents not my 1983 but my 1999 when at sixth form, my best friend Joanne and I 'discovered' the mighty Wham Rap. Much like when we fell in love with Evita and proceeded to buy everything Madonna had ever touched, George Michael's Ladies & Gentlemen album in our Christmas stockings set us off on a George & Wham discovery path that has lasted throughout our friendship. The seafront clubs might have been filled with the likes of Club Tropicana and Freedom, which we might have adored, but it was Wham Rap that soundtracked us learning to drive, sitting in our common room annoying the rest of the girls' who would rather be listening to Puff Daddy.

Forgive my ignorance, but I have to admit that I didn't and probably still don't really understand the bleak landscape of 1983 in terms of jobs and politics was like, but thinking about it I'm fascinated by the idea of George Michael shouting 'DO YOU WANT TO WORK? NO!' and dancing about to such a unequivocally happy sounding funky bassline. A strange and brave choice of debut single in any case.

It might have been 16 years too late for the message the song actually wanted to give but "Do you enjoy what you do if not just stop" was a brilliant motto for us about to head off into the big wide world to have dancing about in our heads."

Wham Rap (Enjoy What You Do) - Wham! (zShare)

Here's the, quite frankly, brilliant video. How Georgeous Michael ever got away with being STRAIGHT for so long is anyone's guess seeing as this first vid camps it up from the off.



Talia not only DJs at Popstarz and likes BOTH of Holly Valance's albums. She edits the music section of Lonodonist.com and also produces her own fabulosa blog, Karinski.net.

Previous 80s summer posts
1980: Jump to the Beat - Stacy Lattisaw
1981: Japanese Boy - Aneka
1982: Dancing in Heaven (Orbital Be-Bop) - Q-Feel

7 One Hit Wonders...

...of my 80s world.

And these are genuine one hitters where follow-ups either flopped or didn't even materialise. Even though the chart botherings of Naked Eyes and Matt Fretton aren't of stellar proportions, they qualify because I played the song as if it were a top ten smash. So, in no particular order:

Strawberry Switchblade - Since Yesterday (mp3 Download)
Reached No.5 in 1984
You can smell the hair lacquer from here... this gorgeous tune from the Scottish girl goths has trumpets and synths and a heart-stopping middle eight. And this amazingly comprehensive website devoted to Rose and Jill makes me feel a bit guilty for including them in a 'one hit wonder' post!

Carmel - Bad Day (mp3 Download)
Reached No.15 in 1983
The Amy Winehouse of her day (without the crack cocaine habit), Manchester lass Carmel has a voice which sends shivers down all the right places. Although there were critically acclaimed albums produced by the likes of Brian Eno, Carmel (the name of the band and the lead singer, confusingly) never really bothered the singles charts. They were massive in France though!

Naked Eyes - Always Something There to Remind Me (mp3 Download)
Reached No.59 in 1983
These two look like second-hand car dealers but did in fact have three big hits in the US of A while being virtually ignored here, hence the dismal number 59 placing. But it was a hit in my eyes anyway. Sadly, Rob Fisher died in 1999, but he did have quite a bit of homegrown success with Climie Fisher.

Krush - House Arrest (mp3 Download)
Reached No.3 in 1987
Yet another Sheffield creation (that city has a disproportionate amount of musical talent!), Krush was an amalgamation of dance writers and producers including Mark Brydon of Moloko. The track came from FON studios which also produced other one-hitters The Funky Worm. Ruth Joy, the singer, later went on to marry house supremo, Inner City's Kevin Saunders.
*UPDATE* - NOW ON A zSHARE LINK (WHICH SHOULD LAST LONGER)

Blue Mercedes - I Want To Be Your Property (mp3 Download)
Reached No.23 in 1987
This duo bounced around in shorts all over Saturday morning TV in 1987. Sounding like ABC and fed through The Hit Factory they should have been a lot bigger but the songs which followed just weren't very good. David Titlow, the vocalist, went on to better things though as a bona fide photographer.
*UPDATE* - NOW ON A zSHARE LINK (WHICH SHOULD LAST LONGER)

Matt Fretton - It's So High (mp3 Download)
Reached No.50 in 1983
This Dave Gahan look and sound alike was touted as the next big thing, even getting his own cover of Smash Hits before the single was even released. He had support slots with Depeche Mode and the Eurythmics and then the record came out. And no one bought it. Except for me, and I still love it.
*UPDATE* - NOW ON A zSHARE LINK (WHICH SHOULD LAST LONGER)

Jimmy the Hoover - Tantalise (mp3 Download)
Reached No.18 in 1983
A similar story to the above, Jimmy the Hoover was a band with credentials coming out of their ears: managed by Malcolm McLaren and a Smash Hits cover touting their future greatness (they were that good at picking 'em). And then the record came out. And no one bought it. Except for me, and I still love it.

Bah Bumhug!

It's only the middle of November and already Mariah Scarey's perennial favourite All I Want For Christmas is at number 59 in the UK singles chart. Who's buying it? Stop it! It's bad enough that the biggest retailers think Christmas is already here. Let's all just pipe down and wait until the 25th of November when the festive frolics officially begin here chez Monsieur FizzyPop. Oh, hang on. My mistake. Christmas IS already here. The Coke ads have begun.

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Burt Bacharach & Adele - Baby It's You


This was one of the highlights of Burt Bacharach's recent concert in London at The Roundhouse. Adele's voice seems to wrap around Burt's song and arrangement like it was the original and the best. Baby It's You is such a sweet song and deserving of the orchestral treatment whereas other fab Burt standards were reduced to medley status. Don't you just hate getting a burst of your favourite only to have it cruelly snatched away just as you're getting into it. I know the back catalogue is HUGE, but it is better to have the full wax rather than just the crack!

Adele's in no hurry to work with Burt again though. Quite rightly she surmises that it would be a predictable get-together. Looky here at the ITN interview where she talks about cracking the USA. She suggested a more left of centre collaboration; someone no one would expect. Adele and Same Difference? Oui? Non?

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25 years ago (that's 1983 for those of you what can't add up), the likes of Kajagoogoo, Howard Jones, Heaven 17, Nik Kershaw, Paul Young, Nick Heyward, Tony Hadley were all young hairdos around town in their twenties. Now bewigged and tucked in blokes in their late forties, they're all getting together for a retro fest on ITV 1 this Friday. Now That's What I Call 1983 - great title - will be typical ITV fare: slight whiff of gorgonzola, an audience on poppers and Denise Van Outen being all laddish. Clicky here for all the programme info. The ever-entertaining John (on the right) of Phagz on 45 quite rightly pronounced 1983 as THE most important year in pop. Or at least in his world. But I agree wholeheartedly. Just look at this list of tracks Chelsea Kelsey put together for his own CD compilation of that year. Now that's what I call 1983...

Das return of Yello

Well, that's not strictly true. Much like Pet Shop Boys, Dieter Meier and Boris Blank as Yello never really go away. The last (brilliant) studio album was The Eye in 2003 and news via Electronic Beats is that the Swiss duo are doing that oh-so-noughties thing of combining visuals with their new music and having it linked to a suave website. It's some kind of film from what I can gather called Touch Yello performing on a "wertual stage". It doesn't look that far removed from all their videos in the past where the pair mimed in front of a projected backdrop. Whatevs. The portentious intro on the trailer above is pure Yello. And the music is classic Yello. This all heralds a new album for the beginning of October. Bona!

Their single I Love You hooked me as a teenager in 1983 and since then it's been an on/off threesome with Dieter, Boris and me. That song and Lost Again, below, have been constants throughout the years, while bigger hits like Oh Yeah and The Race, less so. Sniff. Mind you... I loved Ferris Bueller's Day Off!


Yello - Lost Again 1983



And with the news that Dame Shirley of the Bassey has recorded a PSB song, here's the duo who got in first - way before even The Propellerheads.


Yello with Shirley Bassey - The Rhythm Divine 1987

What got me into... Soft Cell

Soul Inside (UK Number 16 September 1983)



In 1983 Marc Almond, being Marc Almond, had announced he was retiring, aged 27. 27 years later he's still going strong and better than ever, but just after the letter to every mag and newspaper had sealed Soft Cell's doom they released the first single from their last (brilliant) album This Last Night in Sodom called Soul Inside.
They were already massive in the UK at the time, one top ten hit after another. And aged 14, I got it. "The wind in my hair and the black in my eyes, I was holding back tears as I reeled with surprise. There was no one to phone. I just chewed at the time. I was waving goodbye to control of my mind". While my brother and someone else were getting their teenage years explained to them by Morrissey, my education came via Marc Almond. Obviously, the paranoid drug references were lost on me, but it fitted my teenage angst very nicely. What a bloody release. For a 'fuck you' teenage song jumping around your MFI bedroom, there's no better. The cymbal at the end is very symbolic of an, erm, teenage explosion.

Check out this great remix from The Readers Wifes on the Heat: The Remixes album...

What got me into... previously
DEPECHE MODE

Now that's what I call the birth of a monster

Back in November, I reported on the ITV show resurrecting a load of 80s acts to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the first ever Now That's What I Call Music compilation albums. It was a fine old cheese-fest, shocking for two reasons 1) how much Nik Kershaw looked like Gary Glitter and 2) how Paul Young had the sheer nerve to mime to his recorded voice from 25 years ago. Well, finally, the first in the series has been reissued as a double CD, a format it never even had a sniff of - Now 10 was the first CD version. We're up to Now 71 in the UK and I haven't a clue who's on it. They kind of come and go, really. But there's a whole world of Nows out there... now.

Even then, I knew it was a bit naff because my parents bought a copy for themselves: "Oooh, that's the music sorted for New Year's Eve, then." But there was still a sense of something different about it. There were no fillers. No tracks disguising themselves as hits. There were 30 of the buggers on Now. And 11 of them number 1s if you please. A 'zany' Tracey Ullman told you so in this TV ad. And it must have been a long time ago; she's getting all moist over Paul McCartney for fuck's sake.



1983 was a vintage year for pop. Let's look at what you got for your £3.99... worra bargain, sniiiiiiiiip!

1. Phil Collins - You Can't Hurry Love
2. Duran Duran - Is There Something I Should Know
3. UB40 - Red Red Wine
4. Limahl - Only For Love
- me, neither. But it was a number 16 hit for the miniature frightwig
5. Heaven 17 - Temptation
6. KC & the Sunshine band - Give It Up
- this was MY summer tune of 1983. Picture the scene: a hot car, windows down, sat in the back getting everyone to shoulder dance, "Nananananananana Now!
7. Malcolm McLaren - Double Dutch
- who would have thought that the middle-aged ex-Sex Pistols manager could score two big fat hits off an album born from the kids of NYC. It was on odyssey from start to finish... "too much of that Snow White!"
8. Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse of the Heart
9. Culture Club - Karma Chameleon
10. Men Without Hats - Safety Dance
11. Kajagoogoo - Too Shy
12. Mike Oldfield - Moonlight Shadow
- I used to say this was crap, but secretly, I liked it. Smell the patchoulli oil!
13. Men at Work - Down Under
14. Rock Steady Crew - (Hey You) The Rock Steady Crew
- there was a boy with a mullet, or was that a girl? Still can't remember what they looked like. But everyone danced to it.
15. Rod Stewart - Baby Jane
16. Paul Young - Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)
17. New Edition - Candy Girl
18. Kajagoogoo - Big Apple
- didn't Nick Beggs have a very feminine voice? A bit Hazell Dean-ish. And it's still a rubbish song after all these years.
19. Tina Turner - Let's Stay Together
20. Human League - (Keep Feeling) Fascination
21. Howard Jones - New Song
22. UB40 - Please Don't Make Me Cry
23. Peabo Bryson & Roberta Flack - Tonight I Celebrate My Love
24. Tracey Ullman - They Don't Know
- the video with Paul McCartney. Actually he does look a bit, sniiiiiiip!
25. Will Powers - Kissing With Confidence
26. Genesis - That's All
27. The Cure - Lovecats
- still my favourite ever Cure track.
28. Simple Minds - Waterfront
29. Madness - The Sun & The Rain
- the beginning of the end. Bless.
30. Culture Club - Victims

Buy your copy here!

Don't scratch my vinyl 2

Earlier this year I uploaded some of my vinyl after a mammoth listening sesh. And here's another. The only common thread is how eclectic the collection is. Needless to say the ones below are the creme de la creme.


Blancmange - The Day Before You Came (zShare) 1984

This was ABBA's most non-song - a poem to a backing track. It sounded the death knell for their career but Blancmange took it and made their own reaching a respectable number 22. Here's the video for Blancmange's version, which I don't remember but which is quite timeless despite the Neru jackets; a nice Parisian scene a la blanc. And a wee mention for the brilliantly detailed illustration on the sleeve cover: note JR on the telly with a bullet hole in his head, a reference to a line in the song - try doing THAT with a postage stamp sized iTunes jpg... just saying!


The Funky Worm - Hustle to the Music (zShare) 1988

The Funky Worm were a Sheffield trio - it is amazing how this northern city produces LOADS of great music - who, together with Moloko's Mark Brydon, had a top twenty hit in 1988. Have a look at their Top of the Pops appearence here - the crowd think they're in a warehouse party, they're loving it.


The Kane Gang - Gun Law (Full Version) (zShare) 1984

This was the north east band's follow-up to their two hits Respect Yourself and Closest Thing to Heaven. The Kane Gang were one of those talents that should have been massive, but if pop music is about sex then the incongruous image of the three of them together - lanky, baldy and shorty - is probably the reason why they didn't hit it off with the British public. But it's a crying shame because they have since gone on to write and produce hits for other artists (who DO have a sex thing going on like James Morrison and Beverley Knight). Their old label Kitchenware had the good sense to package their two albums together as The Miracle of The Kane Gang available here.


Bassomatic - Funky Love Vibrations (zShare) 1991

Sir William of Orbit's band already had a top ten hit under their belt with the BRILLIANT Fascinating Rhythm and this follow-up flopped. But it's still funking excellent. The chorus is a killer.


Eurythmics - Take Me to Your Heart (zShare) 1981

This is a track from one of my favourite Eurythmics albums, their debut In the Garden which I discovered after Sweet Dreams. It's a cracking record with two great singles Belinda and Never Gonna Cry Again and was re-released in as a deluxe version in 2005.


Fad Gadget - One Man's Meat (zShare)

Fad Gadget aka Frank Tovey has a very loyal following. He unfortunately died in 2002 but still attracts glowing words. Rob at Electronically Yours has always had a soft spot and every now and again, there'll be some reminiscing. This song always featured on my mix tapes and has strangely never dated.


Vince Clarke and Paul Quinn - One Day (zShare) 1985

After Yazoo, Vince Clarke formed The Assembley with Yazoo producer Eric Radcliffe, as a vessel band for singers like Feargal Sharkey. With ex Bourgie Bourgie singer Paul Quinn and minus Eric, he released One Day to total disinterest (in his terms anyway). Not long after, Erasure was born and the success equalibrium was restored (after a couple of false starts). His volte face from the sparseness and bleakness to the fullsome sounds with Andy Bell is typical Vince Clarke: if he gets stuck in a rut or bored he will just flip his life around.


The Woodentops - Move Me (zShare) 1985

Not to be too disparaging, but The Woodentops were early examples of the indie firework band: successful debut album and then pftttt. But they were also pioneers. Their dance-influenced guitar sound was a forerunner to Stone Roses and Happy Mondays. Good Thing, the fourth single from the album, was one of the first big Ibiza records. I LOVED the first two singles from Giant. Well Well Well was monolithic and very different to everything else around and Move Me (above) was impossibly catchy.


Paul Haig - Never Give Up (Party, Party) (zShare) 1983

Alex Sadkin, the Thompson Twins' producer, was drafted in by Paul Haig to give him a hit. He was hungry for it after years of critical success of his (now seminal) band Josef K but with no real commercial succes to match. Never Give Up bounced and fizzed on the radio but he was at odds with his label, Island, as to how the record should be promoted. Paul said: "Island wanted a pop image to sell... and they didn't get one". Mind you, he had said earlier he wanted his pop career to be manipulated. Well hey ho, this single still stands up as a master stroke; a perfect example of 80s pomp pop.


The Cure - The Dream (zShare) 1983

I had a brief but glowing love affair with The Cure. It went from the single Let's Go To Bed in 1982 to the album Head on the Door in 1985. The Dream was on their interim compilation album Japanese Whispers which came between studio albums Pornography and The Top . I played this record to death as it contained the singles Let's Go to Bed, The Walk and The Lovecats . Their b-sides made up the rest and were just as strong.

Three forgotten synth gems

Love Cascade - Leisure Process (zShare) (1983)

Leisure Process were singer Ross Middleton and Gary Barnacle, a saxophonist who can be heard on Soft Cell, China Crisis and Pet Shop Boys' tracks. The Human League's Producer, Martin Rushent, took these two boys under his wing during their three-year career and on this bouncy little number you can hear his League drum breaks, especially at 2.00 just before Barnacle's sax goes mental.



The Great Divide - Portion Control (zShare) (1985)

This lot have been around for AGES. Formed in 1980, and still together today as the duo you see above, John Whybrew and Dean Piavani. I played this track almost into oblivion and remember buying it because I thought it sounded a bit like Depeche Mode at the time. In fact, DM have often said how much they like Portion Control. And it was DJ Annie Nightingale (bless) who championed them on the radio; she does love her obscurities.



The Promise - When In Rome (zShare) (1988)

When In Rome, singers Clive Farrington and Andrew Mann and keyboard player Michael Floreale, were a much bigger deal in the States than here back home. This track was a US Top 20 hit but never got a look in on the UK charts. It was covered by the lovely Marsheaux on their recent Peek-a-boo album. I had actually forgotten about the track, but when I heard the cover, it was familiar enough to dig it up and get reaccquainted. The band is currently touring in Asia with a Flock of Seagulls. Squawk.

Missing. Presumed dead in the water: Torment & Toreros

Where IS this seminal album? According to Marc Almond's former label, Some Bizarre, it was meant to be reissued on CD over a month ago. If you follow this circuitous route from their website here, to the newly created MySpace, specifically for the Torment & Toreros album here and the info therein here, you'd think the CD re-issues of both the Mambas albums were already out. Wrong. The first, Untitled, is the 1992 version and the Torment and Toreros album is from 1997, now priced everywhere at the ridiculous sum of £130!

Marc's work, especially this album, which was originally released in 1983, deserves better. Current reissues of his solo work have been patchy and ill thought out. His website said this, way back in June: "It is important that past albums are re-issued, to have them available in the shops. Too much of Marc's vast back catalogue has only been sporadically available. Marc would like them to be available at all times in good pressings with decently printed covers and the correct, relevant B sides and extra's included. This hasn't happened in the past. Marc apologises for what must be frustrating to some fans but despite Marc's good intentions, it really is out of his hands." It's obvious there are wranglings with Marc and Stevo (the Some Bizarre supremo). Out of all of Marc's work, this has to be one of the best, therefore it's a shame the reissue is turning out to be quite messy.

Once the album is eventually available to everyone again, there'll be a post devoted to it. Until then...

What got me into... Depeche Mode

Get the Balance Right (UK Number 13 Feb 1983)

Get the Balance Right


I always get into bands via a side door. A bit skew whiff, so to speak. They may have enough songs to fill the Albert Hall, but I pick up on the underdog track. And it's always a single that touches something (don't ask me what) which then sends me into a fact-finding, catalogue-buying frenzy. Get the Balance Right is the perfect example: an album bridger, unloved by band and fans alike but still my one of my all-time favourites by Depeche Mode. Between the Martin Gore album A Broken Frame and the album that defined their sound, Construction Time Again, the band had to come up with a single lest anyone forgot who they were.

The aptly named Get the Balance Right is as light as its predecessors but as heavy as its successors with the political overtones. The video's very stilted, of course, but the synth pop is still as crisp and the dubby groove still ahead of its time. The band themselves aren't particularly fond of the song because of the pressure of producing it to order. The follow-up was the mammoth hit Everything Counts which introduced Construction Time Again and in turn dwarfed GTBR. After that, Dave Gahan started tinting his hair - still didn't shave until 1993 though - Martin Gore got kinky, Andy Fletcher began sounding more and more like Sid James and Alan Wilder just got livid. The single made me re-visit and fall in love with their debut album, Speak and Spell, go see them live for my first ever gig with Construction Time Again and love Some Great Reward most of all. Go here for a neat upsum of their big singles...

Does anyone still listen to this sh*t?

(Posted By Steve on January 10, 2008 6:13 PM)


Lists. I'm bloody sick of 'em. Which is why, stumbling across this one, I was suddenly overcome with empathy, love and, yes, a little sex wee. All those lists of 'the best of 2007': Feist this, Robyn that (please forgive me). Mark Monohan's 'Perfect Playlist' of the top 10 songs of the 80s with Blondie's Call Me at number one! The Human League's Open Your Heart at number two! Fuck the all that nostalgia shit and give me someone with TASTE.

And to Steve who posted the actual comment underneath the Telegraph feature (read them all! They're hilarious. Don't Smiths/Jam fans take it SO seriously), erm, yes, you div.

I shall now do a Top of the Pops-style run down. The one where you sat and cheered or booed.

1 Blondie Call Me (1980) - Yay!
2 The Human League Open Your Heart (1981) - Yay!
3 Madness It Must Be Love (1981) - Yay!
4 Duran Duran Hungry Like the Wolf (1982) - Yay!
5 Heaven 17 Temptation (1983) - Yay!
6 The Pointer Sisters Jump (For My Love) (1984) - Boo!
7 Prince Let's Go Crazy (1985) - Yay!
8 Peter Gabriel Sledgehammer (1986) - Boo!
9 Pet Shop Boys Rent (1987) - Yay!
10 Neneh Cherry Manchild (1989) - Yay!

The choice of tracks has a deeper significance than just pivotal tracks of the 80s. Out of the entire canon of these bands, Rent, for instance is telling. It's an obsessive's favourite, as is Open Your Heart and Manchild. It's uncanny, I have eight "Yays" and two "Boos" and at various points in my life, these tracks have been MY favourites.

What do you think? Perfect playlist: Were these the 10 best songs of the '80s?

PS it's all gone italics! Ha!

Guilty pleasures: is it a crazy notion?

There was something about a sweaty Mark King and his frenetic bass that spoke volumes. He always looked like he was having a fucking great time. And so did the
rest of Level 42. What drugs were they on? Have a look at this video for Hot Water.



In 1983, New Order's Blue Monday could rub up against the Human League's (Keep Feeling) Fascination and The Cure could sit easily with Bananarama. It was easy to be loved by everyone... so where were Level 42? Nowhere trendy, that's for sure. But their tracks were amazing! The Sun Goes Down and The Chinese Way helped define that year as a monumental year in pop. And three years later they exploded as the masses around the world took them to their hearts.

Mark King went up in my estimation for agreeing to plug my friend's band, Cartoon on TV. We were at The Tube and we gave him their button badge. Without any question he hooked it onto his bass guitar strap. Worra lovely bloke.

The Sun Goes Down (Living It Up) - Level 42 (zShare)

The Chinese Way - Level 42 (zShare)

Lessons In Love - Level 42 (zShare)

Something About You - Level 42 (zShare)

Pet Shop Boys in Pop on pop

I don't know. Not a peep for over a week and then a post consisting of someone else's witterings, copied wholesale? But seeing as it's the Pet Shop Boys in the new edition of fashion mag Pop, I care not a jot.

Pop reinvents itself every issue, and this time around it's become The Face 1987 in an homage extraordinaire. The PSB and Grace Jones shoots are acutely observed. Turning the pages of this brand new September issue felt deluxe, like reading a magazine should be.

Neil and Chris were supposed to talk to Pop about new bands which emulate 80s bands, but neither were interested enough. Very PSB. Instead they talked about themselves. Even more PSB. On having a stylist work their image in the beginning, Chris was aghast: "I don't see why they should have all the fun! Pay someone to do our shopping?"

On their favourite labels in the 80s: (Neil) "It's funny, in 1983 there was nothing I wanted more than a Nike kagoul and basball cap 'cos that looked really hip hop."
(Chris) "My favourite look was 'casual', Diadora trainers, Fiorucci jeans, Pringle".

On Top of the Pops: (Neil) "I miss TOTP! If you're Duffy, you've still not had that moment where they say 'It's Number One! It's Top of the Pops!' It was a weekly coronation"
(Chris) "You'll never get that pivotal moment when Boy George first appeared on TOTP"

Here's legs eleven herself, Grace Jones. Can you believe this woman is 60?

In keeping with the late 80s vibe, here's a band, Eighth Wonder, who the boys would go on to produce, annointing singer/model/actress Patsy Kensit with her biggest pop success, I'm Not Scared. This was the flop beforehand, but a hit in my teenage ears...

Will You Remember? - Eighth Wonder (zShare)

Pull my puppet strings

The word is out. Kylie's coming back with... a cover, maybe. Apparently, for a laugh, she recorded Roxy Music's Love Is a Drug and Culture Club's 1983 hit Victims; the latter being full of comedic value we presume.

There's something up in Camp Kylie. This interview with shouty singer, Luciana, on popjustice revealed the possible rabbit-in-headlights panic over decent material for the lead-off single. The world and his wife have been contributing songs including, thankfully, Xenomania and Cathy Dennis - let's just hope Timbaland was too busy when they called. Actually, it's a blessed relief that the Scissors' White Diamond hasn't been slated for single release... I don't know about anyone else, but I struggled to find the tune. And the middling ho-hum leaks a few weeks back only add to the sense of foreboding. I'm not sure a cover is the answer, especially one as serious and dramatic as Victims. But I wouldn't mind being proved wrong.

Anyhoo, here, in case you forgot how good Boy George's Christmas singalong was (and it is, honest! It's one of my favourites), here it is:



Victims - Culture Club (mp3 Download)

A page in your diary, babe...

It had to happen. Called Yazoo Reconnected, Vince and Alf are back together for a tour (and some re-packaged product)! It's totally coincidental that another all-time favourite band (known as Yaz in the US of A, pop fans, blah, blah, yadda, yadda), follows directly on the posts about Human League and ABC.

In May there's a box-set (obv.!) called In Your Room (a sly reference to the geeky nature of box-sets?) with every Yazoo recording, ever. Well, two albums' worth plus b-sides. And there's the rub about this band. Their huge influence belies the fact that they were only together for 18 months.

Alison Moyet and Vince Clarke were an odd pairing but perfect for each other too. They had that pop mystery: are they shagging each other? Are they gay? Are they a brother/sister combo? WTF? Together their sound was unique; Vince added the pop to Alf's Joni Mitchell poetry. Who cares that they didn't have much in common, the longevity of the music they created has surprised even themselves. With their very different individual work over the past 25 years, won't it be strange to see them back together?

Can't wait.

Goodbye Seventies - Yazoo (zShare) - From Upstairs at Eric's

Anyone - Yazoo (zShare) - From You and Me Both

The Other Side of Love (12" Mix) - Yazoo (zShare) - A one-off single release.

The tour dates are as follows: (exclusive pre-sale tickets are available on the 25th January from alisonmoyet.com)

• Wed 4th June, Glasgow Clyde Auditorium

• Sat 7th June, Manchester Apollo

• Thu 12th June, Wolverhampton Civic Hall

• Sun 15th June, Brighton Centre

• Wed 18th June, London Hammersmith Apollo

For more info and the full press release clicky here.

Nobody's Diary, video, 1983. Imagine Vince and Alf walking onto to the set (1:30) and realising the interpretation was quite literal. How 80s.

Adam Ant, the pop star, no doubt

Stand and deliver, your money or this quite natty cover version of the Adam and the Ants hit by No Doubt. Although it will NEVER BETTER the original, it is a neat update (and almost note for note) on a great song which has been crying out for a cover version - I presume, though, that the helium vocals are a fault of the rip! News of the leak was reported by Rolling Stone, and in a typically lazy journo report, it applauds the band for "going a more obscure route with their comeback single, picking this track over more popular new wave hits and even more famous Adam Ant songs like “Goody Two Shoes” or “Don’t Be Square (Be There.)” Now that kind of parochial writing needs wrist slapping in this global age. In the rest of the world outside of the USA, Stand and Deliver was one of Adam Ant's BIGGEST hits (number 1 in the UK for 5 weeks) and Don’t Be Square, was that even an Ants' song? I think they must mean Desperate But Not Serious. Small gripe I know, but we have to correct shoddy writing. Humph.

Adam Ant was such a bona fide pop star, wasn't he? His image was that clever mix of absolute seriousness and knowing piss-taking that Boy George picked up on a year later. The costumes were the serious bit. With a strong concept in mind and always with an artful reference to the period from which they were gleaned, Adam and his designers created looks which nearly 30 years later remain some of the most iconic. So much so, that the Victoria and Albert Museum in London are now showing his Prince Charming outfit (left). They own all of the band's costumes after Adam donated them himself in 1983. He says of the care and attention lavished on them: "When I went in there, there were two girls who spent the whole time that I was there drilling me like, “Who’s scarf is this?”, “Who did this belong to?”. "Oh, I think Marco wore that" and they were like OK, great! “What about these trousers?” and they were slowly putting this puzzle together and they were really protective about it and I’m sure whichever way they present it, it will be very well presented. They do a very good job whenever it comes to anything rock n’roll and I think that it’s nice to see that stuff in the flesh."

Lord Gwendalina of Stefani was old enough to buy this as a seven inch vinyl when it was first released in May 1981 (she's the same age as me and would have been 11, nearly 12 - yes. THAT old). Here's the brilliant video from the original Adam and the Ants.



And here are three of my favourite tracks from the Prince Charming album which included Stand and Deliver.

Ant Rap - Adam and the Ants (zShare)
A much overlooked hit which went to number 3 in the UK and was their last official single before Adam went solo.

Picasso Visita El Planeta De Los Simios - Adam and the Ants (zShare)
Typically nonsensical lyrics which somehow make sense in an Ant song and full of the trademark sound of Burundi drums and native American whoops and hollering.

Scorpios - Adam and the Ants (zShare)
Again, typical Antmusic with dissonant melodies and an anthemic chorus. And a name check for the British Marilyn Monroe, Diana Dors (wonder why she changed it from Diana Fluck?)

For all things Adam, go here.