Get the Ali Love

Well this new Ali Love track is so low on the downlow it's practically invisible, which is a shame, because it's his strongest yet - a brooding groove with a KILLER chorus. There are shades of early 90s dance with the synth sequence from Candi Staton's classic You Got the Love popping up. Thanks to catblack9 for the heads up on this one. The single is out now. Clicky here for iTunes.

Ali needs to get the radio love back again or his last single Diminishing Returns will be a prophecy rather than a track that was criminally ignored. Without radio airplay, the crowded world of solo artists means he could be buried under a thousand Erik Hassles. He needs to do something inventive visually. The Chicane video below is a case in point. As classy as his videos are, they're a bit murky and forgettable. But what do I know. Judge for yourself with the video below...

Woop! Woop! Great new band alert! Voyagers!

Well, actually, in many ways, Voyagers are a new/old band. New in as much as the duo was formed in 2009 but there is a mammoth musical pedigree in tow. Susanna Klayman and Jon Pleased are on "a mission to create the perfect pop song" and judging from the tracks so far, they're well on their way. Try this stomper, Guiltless. The chorus is KILLER.

Voyagers - 'Guiltless' by Jon Pleased

Jon Pleased is a fixture on the UK club scene, in fact, I remember him popping up as a pioneering DJ, dragged up, power wig 'n' all as Jon of the Pleased Wimmin in the early 90s. He was such a refreshing change to all the Super DJs with his own brand of uplifting house and techno. Eventually, of course, Jon Pleased Wimmin became a big draw himself playing alongside the likes of Sasha all over the world and earning two top 30 hits with Passion and Give Me Strength. His night in Edinburgh, Dare!, an homage to The Human League of course began this year and was graced with the presence of the legendary Jo Callis from the band itself. And in some ways, the Voyager tracks have a similar feel to ver League. Listen to Here Again.

Voyagers - 'Here Again' by Jon Pleased

But Oh Yeah is my favourite Voyagers track and in their words it's "a straight up 'old-school' style house track". It progresses like a dance track, chunks added layer upon layer until it drops and comes back with one last flourish. Loves it.

Voyagers - Oh Yeah by Jon Pleased

Check out Voyagers facebook page here. And MySpace here.

"Did you write the Book of Love?"

I KNOW! I KNOW! I haven't been around here much. Been vare busy cooking up another project, more on which vare soon. Anyhoo. I overlooked Paul Young's No Parlez album when it first came out but the Come Back and Stay single was always a favourite.

Chicane have produced a meh dance version, Well, it's a bit lazy to be honest, but, THE VIDEO! Watch it. It's the most inventive, creative and engaging vid I've seen in YEARS.

Can't wait for the Boy

How perfectly queer and AMAZING. The TV production company behind the seminal Queer As Folk, Red, are to begin shooting a 90 minute drama about Boy George! Called Worried About the Boy, it will begin with his leaving suburbia through to global pop stardom. And what's in between will be Malcom McLaren, Marilyn, Steve Strange, Philip Sallon, The Blitz and of course Culture Club. I think I've just fainted.

What's even more interesting is the casting. Burberry's poster boy, newcomer Douglas Booth, will portray George (which will please the Boy himself, no end), Gavin & Stacey's Mathew Horne will play drummer Jon Moss, Hustle's Marc Warren will play Steve Strange and - this is VARE interesting casting - League of Gentlemen's Mark Gatiss will be Malcolm McLaren. Like I said. Can't wait!

Read here at the Guardian for the full lowdown. The BBC press release can be found here.

"Geordie Neil is top of the pops!"

Don't they look YOUNG! Well, it was 24 years ago. Here's a clipping from the Newcastle Evening Chronicle from January 1986 heralding the Pet Shop Boys first number one, West End Girls. Clicky piccy to make it biggy. The band thought the record had finished its climb up the charts: "We all thought it had peaked when it got to No.4 at Christmas, so this is wonderful news". The Geordie connection meant Neil would always feature in the Chronicle thereafter and because he went to the same school as Sting (and me!) his name would forever be connected with The Police front man.

"Lorraine! There's somebody at the door!"

Picture the scene: you're in the kitchen, horsing down a packet of Pringles, crumbs on your stained dressing gown, hair all over the shop and scratching your bum when, "Ding, dong". You go to the door of your Twickenham home and there outside, with cameras and entourage are the Pet Shop Boys. Fluff me!

Lucky Lorraine Sands got the boys in her sitting room reproducing a condensed version of the Pandemonium tour; a miniscule of sound, so to speak. She said: "I've been a massive Pet Shop Boys fan for over 20 years and to have them play a gig right in my front room, for just me and my closest friends, was too good to be true. It was the best day ever."

They played Suburbia, All Over the World, It's a Sin and West End Girls.

Big in Japan

Now here's a turn up: something different. There's rapping in Japanese, the return of New Jack (sorta), the return of 90s rave (sorta) but more importantly, I loves it. The Dexpistols duo have broken through from the Japanese underground to the worldwide underground, performing DJ sets and supporting dance giants Daft Punk around the world. Watch the perfectly styled vid below and keep your ears peeled. Oh. And the 90s are officially back. Selfridges have deemed it so.

DEXPISTOLS / NEW JACK HOUSE feat. JON-E（RADIO EDIT) from TOTOTOKYO23 on Vimeo.

PSB: construction time again

Alongside a load of burly Welsh miners, Neil and Chris performed their massive hit Go West at The Brits in 1994. And they could be winners again. Just clicky here to vote for their show-stopping appearance. Seriously, though, who would vote for The Who?

Personally, I always loved this Banarama performance of Love in the First Degree. Can't think why.

You're only one beat away...

Now, Cicada... Have you not heard/bought their 2009 album Roulette yet? Oh, just do it now and be cheered by the fact a band can still produce a collection of beef and no filler. I was flipped like an Angus steak quarter-pounder hearing Roulette for the first time. And today, they release One Beat Away with the obligatory stack of remixes. The luxurious original is below...

ONE BEAT AWAY (Original Mix) by Cicada

Happy Christmas from Worrapolava and the O'Dowds, with a special snog under the mistletoe from Kiss & Make Up

A family get-together + a few sherries + a karaoke machine for Christmas + Boy George = this lovely video.

For a VARE SPECIAL collection of Christmas tracks head over to Kiss & Make Up . My fave has to be MAN 2 MAN's Cryin' On Christmas. And. Girls Aloud... Christmas Round At Ours! Amaze! We thought Pet Shop Boys were the sniffy ones at Christmas, but with a lyrics like: "Grandma's had the best of all the sweets. Picking toffee out her teeth. She says she should've been a beauty queen, And mother sighs as everybody shouts, We don't want no soggy sprouts, Another lazy boring Christmas morning round at ours", the girls win hands down. And just like PSB, they get their Xmas mojo back with: "But when the bells start ringing, I start grinning and lose my Christmas blues, I'll get my kiss under the mistletoe with you".

Happy Christmas everyone. x