It's December 1982 and Neil Tennant has another brainy idea for the glam and glossy pop mag Smash Hits. "Hey, why don't we gather every pop star in the land and get them to record a Christmas greeting for Britain's kidz? It's cool, it's happening, it's flexi-disc, it's NOW!". And so, at a pretendy Christmas party, Mark Ellen pretends to be in the same room as a myriad of 80s pop stars. Stitched together with party sound effects, the popsters try to be funny, try to be a bit Scrooge, try to be pretendy pissed, actually ARE pissed or are just rubbish.
The full listing reads like a Top of the Pops who's who, or in the case of The Piranhas, 'who?'. In alphabetical order: ABBA, ABC, Adam Ant, Bananrama, Boy George, Bucks Fizz, Captain Sensible, Duran Duran, Fun Boy Three, Haircut 100, Imagination, Madness, Mari Wilson, Musical Youth, Paul Weller, Police, Steve Strange, Toyah and Midge Ure. The flexidisc was given away free ('sniiiiiippppp'!) with Smash Hits, and in a venture ahead of its time, the whole jape was sponsored by Black Levis (then a trendy new type of Levis at the time!) who have three (quite funny) ads about a Santa finishing school. My copy is a bit scratched, (a bit!) but I gave it a spit and wiped it on the curtains, so hopefully it's a little better. There are both sides of the 7-inch flexi together as one mp3 which comes in at about 12 mins...
So sit back, flip off your wig and enjoy:
HAPPY CHRISTMAS FROM THE STARS from Smash Hits, December 1982 (zShare mp3 download)
Hey thanks for the nice trip down memory lane musicwise and 'gizmowise':)
ReplyDeleteHere in Swiss-Land we also got this flexi-discs distributed with our music mags, and now I regret to have them binned,my kids would surely be impressed by them :) now, well anthing before CD's is stoneage to them anyway:)
i met mari wilson in dublin in 1983...i said 'hey lady!...your hair's got a hard on!'
ReplyDeleteand who would have thought that musical youth would come to such a dark end....poor poor boys.....heroin.....really....poor kids.
durann durans new record with timbaland producing,i hear is very good.
that was me mary cigarettes writing that last entry.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant and clearly created on massive 80's drugs!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for posting this - I've been after a copy for years - Happy Christmas!!!
ReplyDeleteI forgot to tell you earlier, but OMGOOGLETAB. That is insanely brilliant, thank you Mister!
ReplyDeleteIt's fab innit! Love that Mari Wilson story... bloody big cock if that's the case! hahahaha
ReplyDeletebengobaz said... h my god you are a GENIUS for hanging onto that. i am off sick today coughing and spluttering and yet SQUEALING WITH PLEASURE at the flexi.
ReplyDeleteyou rule
xxxx