510. Eddy Grant – I Don’t Wanna Dance (1982)

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The Intro

14 years after The Equals scored a UK number 1 with Baby, Come Back, its songwriter Eddy Grant scored another chart-topper with the sloping reggae hit I Don’t Wanna Dance.

Before

Edmond Montague Grant was born in Plaisance, British Guiana (now Guyana) on 5 March 1948. He later resided in Linden. Grant’s father was a trumpeter. Growing up, his parents lived and worked in London, and would send money back to him for his education.

In 1960, Grant and his brother Rudy (also a musician) were reunited with their parents in Kentish Town. He learned to read and write music while studying, and fell in love with rock’n’roll after attending a Chuck Berry concert at Finsbury Park Astoria.

Aged 16, Grant formed The Equals in 1964 when drummer John Hall suggested they start a band. Grant was lead guitarist and provided backing vocals, and they were joined by their schoolmate Pat Lloyd on rhythm guitar, plus Derv Gordon on vocal and his brother Lincoln, also on rhythm.

The Gordons were white while Grant and the others were black, which made The Equals the first notably mixed-race rock group in the country. But they had more going for them than this ‘novelty’. The Equals fused rock, pop, blues and ska like nobody else at the time, and they quickly gained a following in London, often suporting visiting US legends like Bo Diddley.

Grant wrote Baby, Come Back, which was originally a B-side to Hold Me Closer in 1967, but was promoted to become The Equals’ fifth single, and it climbed all the way to the top of the hit parade. He became their principle songwriter, and often their material would be political, such as Police on My Back, which was later covered by The Clash. Grant also wrote songs for the likes of Prince Buster and The Pyramids.

The Equals turned heads for a few years, presaging glam by experimenting with a flamboyant dress sense. Grant sometimes even wore a long blonde women’s wig. But in 1969 the whole band were injured in a car accident while touring Germany. Grant suffered the most, and decided to stop touring with the band.

Then in 1971, Grant suffered a heart attack and collapsed lung, and subsequently quit the band entirely. He decided to concentrate solely on production initially, opening Coach House Studios at his Stamford Hill home in 1972. Two years later, he began Ice Records (his second stint at running a label, after Torpedo a few years began previous). Production duties included working on albums by The Pioneers and his brother Rudy, working under the name The Mexicano.

In 1975, Grant released his self-titled solo debut album, but it failed to make any impact. Neither did the follow-up soca LP Message Man in 1977. That year is a fascinating one for Grant. Not only did he contribute to a new Equals LP – Mystic Syster – he also took up tapdancing and acting (at the behest of Norman Beaton, later the star of Channel 4 sitcom Desmond’s), and he also created some startlingly original music.

Under the name The Coach House Rhythm Section, he released the single Nobody’s Got Time. This remake of a 1975 track is house music, years before the term existed, featuring squelchy synths and a rhythm to light up dancefloors. And the B-side, a proto-instrumental called Time Warp, is even better. In 2010, Grant challenged Damon Albarn over the obvious influence of this track on Gorillaz’ Stylo. It was settled out of court.

In 1978, Grant melded his new electro and disco influences with pop, reggae and soca, and released his best album yet. However, Walking on Sunshine was only originally released in Africa and the Caribbean, because his UK audience had dwindled so much. The LP was doing particularly well in Nigeria, but at the height of its success, the government there banned exported records. This left Grant with more than 10,000 copies he couldn’t send over. He and his brother began selling them to UK retailers and disc jockeys, and when the banger Living on the Frontline began to get people dancing, Ensign Records agreed to release it as a single, and it charted at 11.

Shockingly, when the album was given a release by Virgin Records in 1979, it tanked, despite critical acclaim. The excellent title track failed to chart – although justice was served in part when Arthur Baker’s Rockers Revenge project released a brilliant version in 1982, which peaked at four.

In 1981, Grant finally scored a charting album in the UK with Can’t Get Enough. Its first single, Do You Feel My Love, climbed to eight. The second, Can’t Get Enough of You, reached 13, but I Love You, Yes I Love You, only scraped in at 37.

Ironically, just as UK success was finally coming, Grant left. He moved to Barbados and opened Blue Wave Studios, where he produced his most commercially successful album, Killer on the Rampage. The first single to be released was I Don’t Wanna Dance, which came together while Grant was waiting to go on stage while touring.

Perhaps Grant’s decision to leave the country makes more sense when you consider that he said in 2008 that it wasn’t neccessarily to be taken literally. He told The Daily Telegraph: ‘I Don’t Wanna Dance can mean that you don’t want to go out on the dancefloor or it could mean that you don’t want to go along with an idea. That’s how I try to write: you take it how you want, but I am basically a writer of protest’. And in light of the rioting that enveloped England in the early 80s, you don’t blame him for getting out.

Review

Grant’s sole number 1 being I Don’t Wanna Dance is somewhat baffling. Granted (pardon the pun), he was so ahead of his time in the late 70s that it was always unlikely that anything from Walking on Sunshine would become a hit single back then. But I Don’t Wanna Dance, while not without some awkward charm, is not number 1 material. It makes me think of Stevie Wonder’s only solo number 1, I Just Called to Say I Love You. An average tune, unrepresentative of an idiosyncratic artists’s typical material, some how capturing the UK’s imagination.

It would seem that record buyers in the latter half of 1982 just couldn’t get enough of commercial reggae (although to be fair, this single also made it to the top in other countries too). After all, this was the third number 1 of this type, coming hot off the heels of Musical Youth’s Pass the Dutchie and Culture Club’s Do You Really Want to Hurt Me. But this is an unremarkable and slight number 1, and it’s frustrating to know his next single would have been so much more deserving.

In the video, Grant tries to prove the ‘no man is an island’ theory wrong, by mostly miming from exactly that (which seems to have been made from a chunk of a house) while his romantic interest stares at him from a distance. There’s clearly been a row and Grant definitely doesn’t want to dance with her. But by the end, they’re sat facing each other on this strange island, and nothing is resolved. It’s marginally more interesting than the song.

After

So yes, I Don’t Wanna Dance outperformed the far superior follow-up Electric Avenue, released in 1983, as it peaked at two. Grant’s most successful melding of styles was catchy as hell and had a message. Some of my earliest memories involve strutting around my house to this 7-inch, aged three to four. In my head, Grant was singing about a futuristic street that was, erm, cool. Actually, the track refers to a real street, which was the first market street in Brixton to get electricity, and the race riots.

Electric Avenue was his last UK charting single for five years. In 1984, his would-be title track to blockbuster adventure film Romancing the Stone was cut, so it bombed. His lowest moment, I’d wager, was taking part in Prince Edward’s ill-fated TV special The Grand Knockout Tournament in 1987.

But you can’t keep a good man down, and a year later he was back in the charts with the anti-apartheid hit Gimme Hope Jo’anna. It reached seven in the charts and I recall a summer in which I totally missed the point of the song and sang it at my cousin Joanne incessantly.

Grant branched out from making hits once more. He became a music publisher and a nightclub owner, and his studio was used by huge acts including The Rolling Stones, Sting and Cliff Richard. He still released albums though, and will have dome well from the royalties for the 1994 number 1 cover of Baby, Come Back, recorded by Pato Banton featuring Ali and Robin Campbell of UB40.

In 2000 Grant invented a new genre – ringbang, which he said was an attempt to combine all rhythms that have originated in Africa. A year later, Grant returned for the last time to date with a remix of Electric Avenue, which reached five. Proving he wasn’t without a sense of humour (but possibly in need of money), he recorded a parody of Gimme Hope Jo’anna in 2004. Gimme Yop Me Mama was used in adverts for the yoghurt-based drink Yop. In 2008 he performed at Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday concert.

Grant made the news in 2020 when he sued US President Donald Trump for unauthorised use of Electric Avenue in a presidential campaign video. In 2024 the court ruled that the ruling shitbag had to pay Grant damages, and the case was settled out of court.

The Outro

Grant is an underrated artist, who has spent decades making music on his terms, and crossing boundaries confidently and with panache. He doesn’t really get the credit he deserves, although his more leftield electronic music is rightfully given its plaudits by DJs and fellow artists.

The Info

Written and produced by

Eddy Grant

Weeks at number 1

3 (13 November-3 December)

Trivia

Births

14 November: Scottish footballer Stephen Hughes
27 November: ‘Political activist’ and racist Tommy Robinson 
30 November: Boxer Tony Bellew

Deaths

16 November: Comedian Arthur Askey/Architect Peter Yates
19 November: Physician Leslie John Witts
20 November: Civil servant John Redcliffe-Maud, Baron Redcliffe-Maud
21 November: Spiritual healer John Hargrave
26 November: Actor Robert Coote
28 November: Ulster Unionist MP Hugh O’Neill, 1st Baron Rathcavan
2 December: Comedian Marty Feldman

Meanwhile…

28 November: Opinion polls show the Conservative government has an approval rating of up to 44% and is well on course for a second successive electoral victory, 13 points ahead of Labour. Support for the Alliance has halved in the space of a year.

2 December: The Queen’s Park by-election is held as a result of the death of the sitting Labour MP Frank McElhone. His widow, Helen McElhone, holds the seat for Labour.

3 December: The film Gandhi is released. It would win eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor.

509. Culture Club – Do You Really Want to Hurt Me (1982)

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The Intro

Do You Really Want to Hurt Me introduced the world to Culture Club, and their androgynous singer Boy George. Much like his idol, David Bowie, he was flamboyant and fearless when it came to breaking down sexual boundaries in pop.

Before

George O’Dowd had been one of the Blitz Kids – a group of people who frequented the Tuesday club-night at Blitz in Covent Garden, London during the early 80s. Along with Marilyn, Steve Strange (later the singer of Visage), Siobhan Fahey (one third of Bananarama) and others, they helped spearhead the New Romantic movement. Spandau Ballet were just one band who performed there in their nascent years.

In 1980, O’Dowd was spotted by former Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren – no stranger to rising pop movements. McLaren saw charisma in abundance and invited O’Dowd to sing with his new wave group Bow Wow Wow. He took the invite and performed as Lieutenant Lush. However, there were clashes between him and lead singer Annabella Lwin, so he decided to form his own band.

O’Dowd enlisted Mikey Craig on bass first, then drummer Jon Moss, who had played with The Damned and Adam and the Ants. Guitarist and keyboardist Roy Hay completed the line-up. They were initially known as The Sex Gang Children, but they wisely dropped the name (although the name was adopted by a goth-rock band a year later). Noting they had a gay frontman of Irish ethnicity, a black Briton on bass a blonde Englishman playing guitar and a Jewish drummer, they adopted the much more commercially friendly name Culture Club. O’Dowd became Boy George.

Boy George had been experimenting with cross-dressing and make-up since his schooldays, but as a would-be pop-star, he was able to go further. Wearing his hair in dreads under a large hat, and with make-up that softened his handsome face, it became difficult to tell whether their lead singer was male or female – especially as he was blessed with a beautifully tender singing voice.

Although EMI funded the initial Culture Club demos, they weren’t impressed and opted not to sign them, However, Virgin Records were keen and signed the band up. In April 1982 they released Culture Club’s debut single White Boy, which failed to chart. Three months later came I’m Afraid of Me, which sank too.

Culture Club songs were jointly written, although Boy George came up with most of the lyrics. One song, Do You Really Want to Hurt Me, had deep meaning for the singer. It was based upon his tumultuous relationship with Moss, which became a secret six-year affair. Musically, the song came together while they were rehearsing for Peter Powell’s BBC Radio 1 show. Unlike their typical upbeat material, it was a melancholy ballad with a soft reggae feel, courtesy of Craig’s bass.

Two singles down, Culture Club were worried they were in danger of being dropped. But when Virgin asked for Do You Really Want to Hurt Me to become their next single, Boy George was so worried he threatened to quit. Not only was he worried about the personal nature of this song, he also felt it wasn’t representative of the band.

Review

While I can understand Boy George’s reticence, and fear that they may lose some of their edginess, Do You Really Want to Hurt Me is a really lovely song. Yes, the singer’s appearance will have turned heads – but would have also put off a mainstream audience, too. The New Romantic era broadened sexual horizons, but many will have been horrified at Boy George and even confused as to whether they were looking at a man or woman – which is a step up from Bowie putting his arm around Mick Ronson.

Do You Really Want to Hurt Me was the perfect introduction to Culture Club. A lilting reggae-soul song eases the listener in gently. As personal as Boy George’s lyrics might have been, they also have massive appeal. Everyone has felt that pain. Read with the awareness of what was going on behind the scenes, it makes the lyrics all that more poignant. And the singer’s gentle, plaintive vocal performance hits hard. I’m unsure as to whether Moss was aware the song was specifically about him, but if he did know, it must have been weird for Culture Club to find themselves as bona fide pop stars, performing the song over and over as its success spread.

What’s also weird is the video. Julien Temple, who had directed the Sex Pistols’ The Great Rock and Roll Swindle, conceived an elaborate video, opening with Boy George on trial. This makes it the second number 1 in a row to have a video set in a courtroom, coming straight off the back of Musical Youth’s Pass the Dutchie. Which also makes it the second reggae chart-topper in a row.

However, this was a more complicated video, with messaging that may have been lost on many. Temple wanted to comment on the singer’s outsider status and show him on trial for his sexuality. There are flashbacks to him being thrown out of the Gargoyle Club in Soho in 1936 and Dolphin Square Health Club in Pimlico in 1957. Controversially, Temple had the jurors made up of people in blackface, to portray the hypocrisy of gay judges and MPs who had enacted anti-gay legislation. In the UK, this was bad enough – The Black and White Minstrel Show had ended in 1978. But in the US, it was too much, and the jurors were edited out.

After

Do You Really Want to Hurt Me was released in September, and was derided as ‘weak, watered-down fourth division reggae’ by Smash Hits. Culture Club could well have been dropped. However, Radio 2 DJ David Hamilton made the single his record of the week, and in October, Top of the Pops threw them the lifeline that changed everything. Shakin’ Stevens had been forced to pull out of an appearance, so Culture Club stepped in. Wearing the same ‘תַּרְבּוּת אֲגֻדָּה’ t-shirt he wore in the video (Hebrew for ‘culture association’), Boy George was an instant hit.

The Outro

Culture Club’s third single went to number 1 in 12 countries, including the US. Not bad for fourth division reggae.

The Info

Written by

Boy George, Mikey Craig, Roy Hay & Jon Moss

Producer

Steve Levine

Weeks at number 1

3 (23 October-12 November)

Trivia

Births

26 October: Olympic boxer Nicola Adams
28 October: Actor Matt Smith 
4 November: Footballer Neil Mellor

Deaths

26 October: Witch Sybil Leek
29 October: Army general Sir Sidney Kirkman/Composer William Lloyd Webber
1 November: Composer Leighton Lucas
3 November: Historian EH Carr/Surgeon Alan Parks
4 November: Royal Navy captain Stephen Roskill
6 November: Novelist Frank Baker/Novelist Frank Swinnerton
12 November: Tennis player Dorothy Round

Meanwhile…

27 October: The Homosexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 1982 comes into effect, decriminalising homosexuality in Northern Ireland for those aged 18 or older.
Also on this day, three RUC officers are killed by an IRA bomb near Lurgan, Northern Ireland.

28 October: By-elections are held in Birmingham Northfield and Peckham, due to the deaths of Conservative MP Jocelyn Cadbury and Labour MP Harry Lamborn, respectively. Labour win both – John Spellar and Harriet Harman are the respective new MPs.

1 November: Welsh language television station S4C launches in Wales.

2 November: The fourth terrestrial TV channel, Channel 4, begins broadcasting, with the game show Countdown.

508. Musical Youth – Pass the Dutchie (1982)

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The Intro

As a young boy in the early 80s, I considered Birmingham reggae group Musical Youth incredibly cool. A bunch of schoolchildren singing an incredibly catchy tune about… well, I didn’t know as I was very young. It didn’t matter though, because I loved Pass the Dutchie regardless of the subject matter.

Before

Musical Youth were formed in 1979 by the fathers of Kelvin and Michael Grant, and Frederick (known as Junior) and Patrick Waite, respectively. Frederick Waite Sr had been a member of Jamaican reggae group The Techniques and he was the original lead vocalist. Junior was their drummer and backing vocalist, while Patrick played bass. Michael Grant played keyboard while Kelvin was guitarist, with both also providing backing vocals. When they formed, the members ages ranged from seven to 15, with Kelvin the youngest.

Despite all attending Duddeston Manor School, Musical Youth gained live dates in West Indian working men’s clubs around Birmingham. Wearing their influences on their sleeves – which included Aswad, Sugar Minott and Gregory Isaacs – they released a double A-side single in 1981. Generals/Political was issued on local label 021 Records (021 being the Birmingham area code at the time.

In 1982, following an appearance on BBC Radio One’s The John Peel Show, Musical Youth were signed to MCA Records, who convinced Waite Sr to relinquish the lead singer role to the boys’ school friend Dennis Seaton. While supporting Culture Club at Heaven in London, the crowd went wild to their cover of The Mighty Diamonds’ Pass the Kouchie.

The Jamaican act had released their ode to smoking cannabis (based on 1968 instrumental Full Up by Leroy Sibbles) a year previous, and despite it being banned by their government, it raised their profile in the reggae scene.

There was no way MCA would let schoolboys release a song about a kouchie, which was a big marijuana bong. But there was also no doubt the song was infectious. So what could they do?

Co-producer Toney Owens hit upon an idea after getting home late one night on an empty stomach. What about changing ‘kouchie’ to ‘dutchie’ which was a patois term for a Dutch oven cooking pot? Once agreed, it was easy to change the other dodgy lyric – The ‘How does it feel when you got no herb’ refrain substituted the last word to ‘food’. The spoken word intro was inspired by the opening to U-Roy’s Rule the Nation.

It’s worth noting that Pass the Dutchie was also produced by the team of Peter Collins and Pete Waterman, who had been working together since 1980. Collins went on to produce many big acts in the 80s – and Waterman will of course become a fixture on this blog as the 80s progress.

Review

It’s not just nostalgia for my musical youth that makes me love Pass the Dutchie. It’s very refreshing to hear some reggae in this blog for the first time in a while. Yes, it’s lacking the deep bass of the original, and by transforming it from a cannabis anthem to a pop song about being a hungry school boy, it veers into novelty hit territory. But it’s better than that. The intro may also not be original, but it’s an inspired introduction and must have felt like a call to arms for black schoolboys – only a year on from the awful race riots that helped inspire Ghost Town.

Speeding the tempo up a notch from Pass the Kouchie was also a great choice, making it more palatable for the pop audience of 1982. In fact, Pass the Dutchie gets the balance just right – it’s pop-friendly, without feeling lightweight. It still feels like authentic reggae. It’s hard to believe Waterman is involved in the production duties, when you consider what he would later become known for.

Also adding to its reggae credentials was the enlisting of Don Letts as the director of the music video. Letts had ran the London clothing store Acme Attractions, which was frequented by Bob Marley, Debbie Harry, the Sex Pistols, Chrissie Hynde and The Clash. He went on to DJ at The Roxy in Covent Garden, and helped introduce punks to dub and reggae.

Letts’ video features Musical Youth performing on the south bank of the River Thames in London, by Lambeth Bridge. All too aware of racial tensions in the UK, he does a great job of keeping things light, portraying the band as fun-loving kids just wanting to have fun. A school official appears to arrest them, but he falls and hurts himself. The video is interspersed with Musical Youth standing trial, but they’re cleared and the video ends with everyone having a great time in the courtroom, like a scene from a bad musical.

This video not only helped Musical Youth appeal to the masses – it made them the first black artists to be played on the fledgling MTV. This was months before Billie Jean – despite what the new Michael Jackson biopic Michael (2026) would have you believe.

After

Within a month of its release, Musical Youth were a fledgling sensation. Pass the Dutchie rocketed to number 1 in the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands and Australia. Thanks to MTV airplay, it also soared to 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. They hung out with Jackson and met Bubbles.

Debut LP The Youth of Today swiftly followed and also performed well, as did two singles it spawned – Youth of Today peaked at 13 and Never Gonna Give You Up (not the Rick Astley song) climbed to six in 1983. Follow-up Heartbreaker couldn’t break the top 40.

However, it began to look like Musical Youth may be a flash in the pan when their second album Different Style! performed noticeably less well. A cover of John Holt’s Tell Me Why only went to 33, 007 climbed to 26 and She’s Trouble failed to chart. Although business had briefly picked up when they featured on Donna Summer’s Unconditional Love, which was a number 14 hit, the end was already in sight. Sixteen, featuring Jody Watley, was their last charting single, reaching 23 in 1984. Maybe the public saw them as a novelty, after all.

Tragically, this group of schoolchildren then found themselves old before their time due to financial troubles, legal issues and personal problems. Seaton left the band in 1985, releasing a solo album, Imagine That…, which sank without trace in 1989. A reunion was planned in 1993, but was cut short when Patrick, who was awaiting a court appearance after a robbery, died suddenly after collapsing due to a hereditary heart condition, aged only 24. Remixes of Pass the Dutchie were released in 1994, but failed to chart.

Michael and Seaton tried to stay in the music business, setting up a production company and a band respectively, but didn’t make much of a mark. In 2001 they announced they were reforming Musical Youth as a duo – Junior, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, would not be taking part. They toured the nostalgia circuit, and featured on Pato Banton’s 2004 single, Pretty Woman. The duo also released a new version of Pass the Dutchie in 2008. Michael’s brother Kelvin began a solo career but failed to get noticed. Junior died in a mental health unit in 2022, aged 55.

The Outro

That same year, Pass the Dutchie gained a new lease of life after appearing in the Netflix series Stranger Things.

The Info

Written by

Jackie Mittoo, Fitzroy “Bunny” Simpson & Lloyd ‘Judge’ Ferguson

Producers

Toney Owens, Pete Waterman & Peter Collins

Weeks at number 1

3 (2-22 October)

Trivia

Births

4 October: Jazz saxophonist YolanDa Brown
7 October: Footballer Jermain Defoe
10 October: Actor Dan Stevens

Deaths

3 October: Actress Vivien Merchant
6 October: Composer Philip Green
8 October: Labour MP Philip Noel-Baker/Musician Erik Routley
16 October: Artist Rory McEwen
18 October: Conductor Leslie Jones
20 October: Scottish footballer Jimmy McGrory

Meanwhile…

11 October: The Mary Rose, which sank in 1545, was raised from the Solent.

12 October: The London Victory Parade of 1982 was held to mark the end of the Falkands War.

15 October : The Ford Sierra was launched as the replacement for the Cortina.

21 October: Sinn Féin won their first seats on the Northern Ireland Assembly. Gerry Adams won the Belfast West seat.  

507. Survivor – Eye of the Tiger (1982)

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The Intro

Sylvester Stallone had wanted Queen’s Another One Bites the Dust for a scene in Rocky III, but couldn’t get the publishing rights. Rock band Survivor stepped in and saved the day with the suitably macho Eye of the Tiger.

Before

Survivor was founded by Jim Peterik and Frankie Sullivan. Peterik had previously been the singer and guitarist in The Ides of March, who had scored a number two hit in the US with Vehicle in 1970. Sullivan had played guitar in Mariah.

When The Ides of March split in 1973, Peterik joined the band Chase, which also featured Dennis Keith Johnson on bass and Gary Smith on drums. In 1976 he formed The Jim Peterik Band, but when they dissolved in 1978, Peterik considered turning to writing jingles, but roadie and soundman Rick Weigand persuaded him to meet with Sullivan, and they agreed to start a new band. They named it Survivor as a reference in part to Peterik having missed a flight that had crashed and killed several members of Chase back in 1974. He added Johnson and Smith as their rhythm section, and they then recruited former Jamestown Massacre singer Dave Bickler on vocals.

Their first, eponymous LP was released in 1979 to little fanfare and no impact. In 1981, Johnson and Smith were let go, as the others weren’t too keen on their more ‘jazzy’ tendencies. They were replaced by Stephan Ellis and Marc Doubray respectively, and work began on second album Premonition. They did at least make it to the top 40 when the single Poor Man’s Son reached 33 in the US. Sometime later, Peterik was shocked to discover an answering machine message from Sylvester Stallone.

The Hollywood star had been busy working on the third film in the Rocky franchise, and wanted a new theme song that was more contemporary. Bill Conti’s brilliant Gonna Fly Now had reached number 1 in the US back in 1977, but it wasn’t exactly hip, five years later. He understandably thought Queen’s 1980 hit Another One Bites the Dust would be the perfect new theme song, but despite Rocky and its sequel catapulting Stallone to critical and commercial success, for some reason he couldn’t get the publishing rights for its use. Toni Scotti, president of Columbia Records, played Stallone some tracks from Premonition. He thought their rock sound would be a great fit – and of course, Survivor were signed to Columbia. He gave Stallone Peterik’s phone number.

Survivor were shown a rough cut of the scene they needed to score (with Another One Bites the Dust over the top), and over the next three days, they tried to outdo Queen as they thought about a guitar riff that would sync with some of the punches they saw thrown. The memorable hook came Peterik as he drove his car one day, a boxing match playing over in his mind. Meanwhile, Sullivan thought up the original opening lines: ‘Back on the street, doin’ time, taking chances.’. When Peterik added ‘Rising up’ to the start, they knew they were on to something. With the music nearly complete, they snatched references such as ‘Went the distance’ from the original Rocky (1976) film. Originally called Survival (might have looked a little unimaginative considering the group’s name), they settled on Eye of the Tiger.

Stallone heard the demo and loved it, but asked for a third verse rather than the repeat of the first he heard, plus a louder drum sound. The boss got what he asked for and one of the most memorable film themes of the 80s was born.

Review

I loved the simple but oh-so effective theme to Rocky III as a child, strutting around and punching nothingness to the sledgehammer riff. Never a confident boy, I felt six-feet high as the record span on the family record player. Line after line of macho cliche conjured up an epic vision of masculinity, that actually worked better than Another One Bites the Dust. Rocky III was more of a cartoon than the gritty original and sequel, so Survivor’s music and lyrics were ideal.

In a way, Eye of the Tiger is so daft it doesn’t stand up to critical evaluation in the way many number 1s do. In the decades that followed, it was spoofed many times, offered up as a figure of fun and example of the macho silliness espoused by the Reagan administration of the 80s.

The video to Eye of the Tiger is a camp classic, in which Survivor strut down the street in leather jackets to the music at night. Where are they headed? To what appears to be a warehouse for a bath showroom, as they walk past a row of baths, pick up their instruments and mime along. Knockout.

After

Eye of the Tiger went to number 1 in the US, UK and many other countries. In addition to its obvious placing on the Rocky III soundtrack, it also became the name of their third album, which also featured the follow-up American Heartbeat, which climbed to 17 in the US.

However, before long Survivor would end up on the ropes. Their 1983 LP Caught in the Game contained no hits. To make matters worse, Bickler developed vocal issues and was forced to undergo an operation to remove vocal cord nodules in the middle of a tour with REO Speedwagon. At the end of the tour he was told by doctors to take a year off, but Peterik and Sullivan wouldn’t stand for it, and made the harsh decision to sack their singer. He was replaced by Jimi Jamison.

The first release with Jamison was The Moment of Truth, from the soundtrack to another 80s cult classic, The Karate Kid (1984). It didn’t chart, but their album Vital Signs, released later that year, performed well in the US, most notably with the single The Search Is Over, which reached number four.

History repeated itself in 1985 when Stallone asked Survivor to record a track for Rocky IV. Burning Heart may have been a retread of Eye of the Tiger, but it’s not bad and was their second UK hit, reaching number five.

The first track from next album, When Seconds Count, was Is This Love, and was their final US hit, peaking at number nine. Ellis and Doubray were replaced by Bill Syniar and Mickey Curry, but after the 1987 album Too Hot to Sleep, Survivor were out for the count and split.

The next few years were full of of failed solo albums and differing line-ups of the band, until 1993 when Peterik and Sullivan reunited with Bickler and became Survivor once more, with Bill Syniar and Kyle Woodring on bass and rums respectively, having briefly toured in the band before their breakup. They also tried to stop Jamison from touring under the same name, but failed.

In 1996 Peterik grew tired of Sullivan pushing the band in a more bluesy direction, and he quit. They soldiered on, and in 1999 Sullivan won the right for sole use of the band’s name. Laughably, Bickler was fired again and was replaced by Jamison. After several more line-up changes, Survivor released the album Reach in 2006, which featured six tracks recorded in the 90s featuring Bickler behind the mic.

It becomes almost impossible to keep up with the lineup changes by 2010. Jamison died of a hemorrhagic brain stroke in 2014. Former bassist Ellis died in 2019, having been suffering dementia. Survivor have been inactive since 2020.

The Outro

Whereas Rocky III developed a cult following in time, Eye of the Tiger has eventually grown to be bigger than the film it came from. It’s a karaoke classic, adored by people of all ages and it’s simple but pure fun,. You can’t argue with a riff that cool.

The Info

Written & produced by

Frankie Sullivan & Jim Peterik

Weeks at number 1

4 (4 September-3 October)

Trivia

Births

7 September: Actor David Dawson
12 September: Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran
22 September: Actress Billie Piper
26 September: Rugby league player Rob Burrow
30 September: Model Michelle Marsh

Deaths

5 September: Second World War fighter pilot Douglas Bader (see ‘Meanwhile…‘)
6 September: Television executive Norman Collins
10 September: Botanist Jane Ingham
23 September: Violist Lena Wood
24 September: Actress Sarah Churchill
29 September: Lucy Griffiths/Folk song collector AL Lloyd
3 October: Actress Vivien Merchant

Meanwhile…

5 September: Second World War hero Sir Douglas Bader dies suddenly of heart failure, aged 72.

7 September: Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher expresses concern at the growing number of children in single-parent families, but says she is not opposed to divorce.

16 September: The Gower by-election in Wales is held as a result of Labour Party MP Ifor Davies’ death in June. Gareth Wardell holds the seat for Labour.

22 September: An estimated 14% of the workforce is reported to be unemployed.

23 September: Secretary of State Nigel Lawson announces no industry should remain in state ownership, unless there is an ‘overwhelming’ case.

30 September: After more than 100 years, the UK Inland Telegram service closes.

Every UK Number 1: The Beatles and Their Solo Years – signed copies available in the Store

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Every UK Number 1: The Beatles and Their Solo Years is out now on paperback!

Click here to order the latest in my Every UK Number 1 series from Amazon for £9.99:

You can also buy a signed copy from here for a whole 99p cheaper than Amazon.

Every UK Number 1: The Beatles and Their Solo Years is the definitive deep dive into John, Paul, George and Ringo’s number ones – together and apart.

Drawing on the acclaimed reviews from Every UK Number 1: The 60s, this special edition brings together all 17 Beatles number ones alongside their solo chart-toppers and their remarkable return in 2023.

As featured in the Daily Mirror and everyuknumber1.com, music journalist Rob Barker revisits the journey from the optimism of From Me to You to the poignancy of Now and Then, alongside solo classics such as Imagine, Mull of Kintyre and My Sweet Lord.

There’s also an exclusive section dedicated to the charity chart-topping singles that The Beatles were part of after the band’s split.

Every UK Number 1: The Beatles and Their Solo Years offers a compelling, nostalgic and revealing journey through decades of number one history.

Because when it comes to UK chart success, nobody did it bigger – or better – than The Beatles.

506. Dexys Midnight Runners & The Emerald Express – Come On Eileen (1982)

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The Intro

Two years after their first number 1, Geno, Dexys Midnight Runners returned with a new look, a new sound, and a future wedding dancefloor classic in Come On Eileen.

Before

Hot on the heels of Geno, Dexys Midnight Runners’ debut album, Searching for the Young Soul Rebels was released in July 1980. Pete Saunders was replaced on keyboards by Mick Talbot – future co-founder of The Style Council with Paul Weller. Although their next single There, There, My Dear was a hit, peaking at number seven, there was trouble afoot.

Frontman Kevin Rowlands insisted on rewriting the lyrics to Keep It, which was scheduled to be their next single. EMI weren’t happy, but there was no stopping Rowlands. When Keep It Part Two (Inferiority Part One) failed to even chart, the group splintered. Only two remained – Rowland and trombonist ‘Big’ Jim Paterson

After working on new songs together, Rowland and Paterson recruited new members. Kevin ‘Billy’ Adams on guitar and banjo, Seb Shelton on drums, Mickey Billingham on keyboards, Brian Maurice on alto saxophone, Paul Spear on tenor sax and Steve Wynne on bass.

Many assume that Dexys Midnight Runners went from the leather jacketed look of their first album, straight into the gypsy outfits of their second. However there was a short-lived phase inbetween, where the new group were decked out in hooded tops and boxing boots, and some wore pony tails. Rowland also instilled a fitness regime, insisting on working out and running together.

In 1981, the new Dexys Midnight Runners recorded a single, Plan B, but due to contractual wrangling with EMI, there was no promotion and it failed to break into the top 40. Rowland issued an ad stating his previous band had tried to throw him out of the group, but had failed and the new band were working on a new live show called The Midnight Runners Projected Passion Revue.

EMI let Dexys Midnight Runners go and they signed with Mercury Records. The first single for the label, produced by Tony Visconti, was Show Me, which reached 16. Wynne was sacked and replaced by Mick Gallick, who was given the stage name ‘Giorgio Kilkenny’.

Inspired by former bandmate Kevin ‘Al’ Archer, Rowland added strings to the Dexys Midnight Runners sound from his horn players and session musicians, but Liars A to E didn’t chart. When it came to recording their next LP, Rowland wanted better string players. Classical violin student Helen Bevington was poached from Archer’s band and renamed ‘Helen O’Hara’. She then in turn recruited fellow students Steve Shaw and Roger Huckle – now dubbed ‘Steve Brennan’ and ‘Roger McDuff’. The violin section was dubbed The Emerald Express. However, the horn section, fearing their role was diminishing, decided to quit after the recording of Too-Rye-Ay was finished. The new album was produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, who were behind the mixing desk for many Madness hits, including their recent number 1, House of Fun.

Come On Eileen had originally been calledJames, Van and Me. It was a tribute to James Brown and Van Morrison, whose influences are all over Too-Rye-Ay. Most likely lyrically similar to Geno, you can sing this title instead of Come On Eileen – and then be glad Rowland changed his mind. However, it perhaps explains the reference to Johnnie Ray in the first verse – left in from the original version?

Musically, Come On Eileen was credited to Rowland, Paterson and Adams. However, Archer was upset to hear Rowland had copied the breakdown and buildup from Archer. Check out the last few minutes of The Blue Ox Babes’ What Does Anybody Ever Think About and you’ll see what I mean. In time, Rowland admitted to the influence Archer had on the sound of Too-Rye-Ay.

Instead, Rowland came up with lyrics based on the true story of a girl Rowland grew up with. Their friendship turned romantic at the age of 13 and according to Rowland it became sexual a year later. He had been raised as a Catholic and served as an altar boy, so the thin line between love and lust, combined with the taboo of sex, interested Rowland, and he wrapped all these topics into one of the most endearing number 1s of the early 80s.

Review

Come On Eileen is so lovable that I simply don’t believe anyone who claims they’re sick of hearing it. Mind you, it could be that they’ve been to more weddings than me. Rowland is a wayward genius but when he hits – this, Geno, the cover of Jackie Wilson Said (I’m in Heaven When You Smile) – it’s a hammer blow that feels so good.

The lyrics are just perfect. Whether the opening line is a hangover from a first draft or not, it’s a compelling intro to a description of young love between the singer and the mythical ‘Eileen’. Of course it’s a perfect wedding song – the timestamp may be for adolescent love, that feels eternal at the time, and unstoppable if you’re lucky to find someone who feels the same way.

I love the lines about escaping a dreary existence:

‘These people ’round here
Were beaten down, eyes sunk in smoke-dried face
They’re resigned to what their fate is
But not us (no, never)
No, not us (no, never)
We are far too young and clever’.

That mix of adolescent arrogance and wistfulness brings to mind Morrissey at his best.

And it makes perfect sense for Come On Eileen to become a wedding classic, because getting married brings that feeling back – that together, you’re unstoppable. Anything is possible.

And now, a confession. You can get lost in the emotion of Rowland’s songs so easily, you’re not always concentrating on the actual words – and he sometimes yelps in such a way, it’s even harder to follow. But it’s no excuse that only now, writing this, have I learned that the chorus is:

‘Come on Eileen,
Oh, I swear (Well, he means)
At this moment
You mean everything’

The bit in brackets is interesting. Is that the singer’s mates interjecting that his promise shouldn’t be taken literally, and that she’s only important right now, to the lusty protagonist who wants her dress off ASAP? Or, are they saying, he really means it? I’m not sure. It adds deeper meaning… I’m just not certain what the meaning is! I’d be interested to know if everyone else out there knew about the bracketed bit, or whether this is news to anyone else.

But yes, so strong is the music and the feel the band creates, I’m not going to get too hung up on it. And you know what, if Rowland stole the structure of the end section from a former bandmate, I’m not going to hold it against him, because he improves on it so well. The build-up from Geno-style chanting to the return of the chorus is fantastic and totally ageless. Take a bow, Rowland.

There are several versions of Come On Eileen. The single mix, which also features on some album versions, begins with a violin playing the first line of the folk song Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms. Some album versions skip this and start with the bass. Many of the re-releases add Rowland singing Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms at the end of the song.

The video is perfect. Opening with archive footage of Ray and bridged by pics of childhood sweethearts, we’re then taken to the ragtag misfits in wall-to-wall denim, performing on a street corner, while Rowland sings to Eileen, played by Maire Fahey, whose sister, Siobhan, was a member of future chart-topping acts Bananarama and Shakespears Sister. I remember thinking they looked like a cool bunch to hang around with – even if they looked like they hadn’t washed in weeks. In fact, as a young boy, it probably added to their appeal.

After

The Celtic Soul Brothers had been the first single from Too-Ry-Aye, but it failed to reach the top 40. Rowland knew the potential of Come On Eileen, and was worried it would also sink. Hedropped his imposed media blackout and gave a series of contentious interviews. The publicity helped rocket the single up the charts. Come On Eileen eclipsed the success of Geno and became a summer smash. It spent a month at number 1, becoming the best-selling single of 1982. And it also topped the Billboard chart, too.

Jackie Wilson Said (I’m in Heaven When You Smile) was a deserved follow-up, yet it peaked at number five. This was in despite of the famous Top of the Pops appearance in which they performed in front of a giant picture of darts player Jocky Wilson (this was a deliberate joke by the band).

Despite the success of Dexys Midnight Runners in 1982, the horn players did indeed leave afterwards. Saxophonist Nick Gatfield and session musicians were added to the ranks, with Rowland, O’Hara and Adams became the core trio, and brand new single Let’s Get This Straight (From the Start) was released, but it only made it to number 17.

The next two years saw Rowland, O’Hara, Adams and Gatfield work with numerous session musicians and a series of producers on sessions that would become their third album. Don’t Stand Me Down finally saw the light of day in 1985 and showcased a less commercial, more introspective sound. This was emphasised by their new appearance – they smartened up and wore sharp suits. Only one single was released – a heavily edited version of the epic This Is What She’s Like – and it didn’t chart. Critics panned the new LP. Rowland turned to drugs and the band was done – apart from one wonderful single, the tender Because of You, which was the theme to the BBC One sitcom Brush Strokes. It only reached 13.

Dexys Midnight Runners were disbanded, and in 1988 Rowland released his first solo album The Wanderer, which flopped. He went into freefall, suffering from depression, drug addiction and money problems. On the day he signed on for Jobseeker’s Allowance, someone on the dole sang Come On Eileen at him. He spent most of 1993 and 94 in rehab.

A few years later, he felt well enough to sign with Creation Records. He had been shunned by most other labels, and being on the same label as Oasis could have boded well, but it didn’t work out that way. Although a remastered and expanded version of Don’t Stand Me Down helped the album to be re-evaluated, the problems came with his new album.

In 1999 he released My Beauty, an album of cover versions that was panned and only garnered ridicule due to the cover, in which he crossdressed. It was the height of lad culture, and this was perceived as a terrible mistake. I saw him at Leeds Festival that year, and his short set was laughed at. At one point I remember watching him singing The Greatest Love of All into an almost naked dancer’s crotch. Plans to reform Dexys Midnight Runners were put on ice and he left the label.

Rowland was in a better place by 2003, and admitted publicly that his time on Creation was a mistake. With a new Dexys Midnight Runners compilation on the way, Rowland assembled a new version of the band to record a couple of new songs. Manhood and My Life in England were recorded with original bassist Pete Williams on vocals and Talbot back in the fold, plus Welsh classical violist Lucy J Morgan, trombonist Paul Taylor and Neil Hubbard on guitar. In 2004 a ‘Director’s Cut’ edition of Don’t Stand Me Down was released, and Rowland officially announced they were back in action and looking for a record deal.

It took some time, but in 2011, they were back, with their name shortened to simply Dexys. The new line-up, with Taylor gone and another new singer – Madeleine Hyland – plus the returning Paterson, worked on a new album. One Day I’m Going to Soar was released a year later and Talbot left soon after.

In 2016 they released Let the Record Show: Dexys Do Irish and Country Soul, a collection of covers and new material that had originally been planned in 1984. The core members now consisted of Rowland, Morgan and guitarist/saxophonist Sean Read. It also featured a returning O’Hara.

Rowland was a self-confessed perfectionist and had never been happy with the sound of Too-Rye-Ay, so in 2022 he, O’Hara and longtime Dexys engineer Pete Schwier released a reworked version – Too-Rye-Ay As It Should Have Sounded. It isn’t too different to my ears, to be honest, but it’s overall warmer and more organic sound, perhaps. In 2023 they released their latest album, The Feminine Divine, with keyboardist Michael Timothy joining their ranks.

The Outro

Difficult, troubled, eccentric, brilliant – Rowland has been all these things and more, but it’s good to see him come back from hard times and seemingly happy with Dexys once more. He can be more than proud of being the man behind some true 80s classics. Blessed with a voice as unmistakable as the heroes he sings about, maybe one day someone will do the same about him.

The Info

Written by

Kevin Rowland, Jim Paterson & Billy Adams

Producers

Clive Langer & Alan Winstanley

Weeks at number 1

4 (7 August-3 September) *BEST-SELLING SINGLE OF THE YEAR*

Trivia

Births

10 August: Snooker player Shaun Murphy
14 August: Journalist Benjamin Cohen

Deaths

14 August: Northern Irish actor Patrick Magee
15 August: Second World War spy Jacqueline Nearne/Motorcycle racer Jock Taylor
1 September: Pianist Sir Clifford Curzon
2 September: Labour Party MP George Chetwynd

Meanwhile…

30 August: St David’s Hall opens in Cardiff as the National Concert Hall and Conference Centre of Wales.

505. Irene Cara – Fame (1982)

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The Intro

Irene Cara’s infectious theme to the musical Fame failed to chart in the UK when released in the summer of 1980 as a preview to the forthcoming film. However, the movie became huge, and the title track won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Two years later, the spin-off TV series was so popular in the UK, a re-release saw the song become top of the pops.

Before

The film had been conceived by producer David De Silva in 1976, inspired by A Chorus Line. He hired Christopher Gore to write a film about the lives of ambitious students at the real-life High School of Performing Arts, based in Manhattan, New York City. It was directed by Alan Parker, an English director who had worked on some of the most memorable UK television advertisements of all time, before making his first movie, Bugsy Malone, in 1976. He named the film after David Bowie’s 1975 song. Taking the lead role of Coco Hernandez was a young singer and actress called Irene Cara, who Parker was initially sceptical of.

Irene Cara Escalera was born on 18 March 1959 in the Bronx. Her father was Puerto Rican and her mother was Cuban. She began dance lessons as a five-year-old and was only eight when she recorded her first album, Ésta es Irene. She also appeared on The Tonight Show.

As a teen in the 70s she attended the Professional Children’s School in Manhattan and went on to appear in Broadway shows, before making the move into TV. Critical acclaim came with her role in the mini-series Roots: The Next Generations in 1976. She was originally cast in Fame as a dancer, but when De Silva, co-producer Alan Marshall and Gore heard her voice, they made her character a singer.

The musical supervisor on Fame was Michael Gore, brother of Lesley Gore, who sang the original hit version of It’s My Party – a cover of which became a UK number 1 for Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin in 1981. Gore worked with Dean Pitchford on the songs for the movie, and when he played him the chorus melody for the theme, Pitchford instantly replied ‘Fame! I’m gonna live forever!’ However, the rest of the theme came less easily, and it took a month to write.

It made perfect sense to write the song from the stardom-hungry Hernandez’s perspective, so Cara sang the funky title track. Among the backing singers was Luther Vandross, who was yet to become a star, but had provided backing vocals on Bowie’s soul album Young Americans – which featured Bowie’s Fame. It was Vandross that came up with the winning idea to chant ‘Remember’ over and over, as well as contributing other ideas.

The title track was originally released in the UK in June 1980, the same month as the film hit US cinemas (it hit UK cinemas the following month). The single sank and initially the critical response to the film was mixed, but it became a box office hit, and then came the accolades. Out of six Oscar nominations in 1981, Fame won Best Original Score and Best Original Song. Another song from the film – Out Here on My Own – had also been nominated.

Two years on from the film, a TV series sharing its name began on NBC in the US and BBC One in the UK. Many of the cast returned – but Cara had declined, with her role taken by Erica Gimpel, who sang the theme tune too. Nonetheless, it was Cara’s version that was rereleased and subsequently became number 1.

Review

I was too young to want anything to do with Fame at the time, and to be honest, even from a young age I would recoil a bit at stage show children and teenagers showing off. And there was certainly a lot of it about back then. So it’s hard to judge the theme song on its own merits.

However, I’ve always appreciated it’s very good at what it does – e.g., it makes you want to fly – high – and, as John Shuttleworth would say, ‘punch the air’. And listening with a fresh pair of ears, it’s great really. Slickly produced, a passionate vocal from Cara, and well arranged too – props to Vandross, who was spot on in inventing the ‘remember’ hook. I still don’t think I’d ever choose to listen to it, but I wouldn’t complain if I heard it for the millionth time, either.

To promote the re-release, Cara starred in a new video, with scenes filmed mainly on and around Broadway. It’s interspersed with clips from the film. Considering it coincided with the TV series, which didn’t feature Cara, this may have been rather confusing to some. It did the job though, and Cara on top of a taxi is an iconic 80s pop moment.

After

Fame was the third bestselling song in the UK of 1982. Surprisingly, neither the original release nor the 1982 single did the same feat in the US, peaking at number four only.

Cara had continued to release music and star in TV and films after the success of Fame, with mixed results. Several series she hoped to star in failed to get picked up, and her album Anyone Can Dream, released in 1982, was a commercial failure.

In early 1983 she was working on a follow-up when she was contacted by Paramount Pictures to provide lyrics for the soundtrack of a new film called Flashdance. Ironically, Giorgio Moroder, the genius producer behind the project, had approached Cara after Fame, but she declined as she didn’t want to be compared to Donna Summer, who of course was best known for I Feel Love, her number 1 collaboration with Moroder.

Moroder had tasked his session drummer Keith Forsey, who played on I Feel Love, to write the lyrics to what would be the title track to the new film, which starred Jennifer Beals as a dancer who dreams of becoming a professional ballerina. Forsey had stalled, so he and Cara set to work. Having been shown the film’s final scene, in which Beals auditions in front of a panel of judges, they were inspired to write a euphoric song about achieving your dreams through dancing. Not too far removed from Fame, then, but with a more modern sound, thanks to Moroder. Cara sang Flashdance… What a Feeling, and it became number 1 in the US and around the world – although it was held off the top spot in the UK by Rod Stewart’s Baby Jane.

Cara sang Flashdance… What a Feeling, and it became number 1 in the US and around the world – although it was held off the top spot in the UK by Rod Stewart’s Baby Jane. Nonetheless, the single also won many accolades. She shared the Academy Award for Best Original Song with Moroder and Forsey, becoming the first black woman to win an Oscar in a non-acting category and the youngest to receive an Oscar for songwriting.

Cara never charted in the UK again, though she had a few more US hits. Her next album What a Feelin’ continued her collaboration with Moroder, and its single Why Me? reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. She starred as herself in the 1983 comedy movie DC Cab, and her song The Dream (Hold On To Your Dream), which played out over the end credits, reached 37. Her final US hit, Breakdance, peaked at number eight in 1984.

She continued to act, appearing in films including City Heat (1984), Certain Fury (1985) and Busted Up (1986). The following year she released the LP Carasmatic.

In the 90s, Cara starred in a touring production of Jesus Christ Superstar, released Eurodance singles and worked as a backing vocalist. 1993 saw her awarded $1.5 million from her 1985 lawsuit in which she claimed royalties from Flashdance and her first two solo LPs had been withheld from her. She later claimed this stopped record labels from working with her.

Cara appeared in the 2005 NBC TV series Hit Me Baby, One More Time, and in 2011 she released her last album, Irene Cara Presents Hot Caramel

The Outro

Cara died of arteriosclerosis and hypertensive heart disease on 25 November 2022, aged 63.

The Info

Written by

Michael Gore & Dean Mitford

Producer

Michael Gore

Weeks at number 1

3 (17 July-6 August)

Trivia

Births

18 July: Actor Andre Alexander
28 July: Footballer Michael Rose
30 July: Cricketer James Anderson
6 August: Actor Karl Davies

Deaths

19 July: Actor John Harvey
21 July: Bible translator John Bertram Phillips
22 July: Anti-apartheid activist Sir Robert Birley
27 July: Olympic swimmer Hilda James/Olympic runner Jack Powell
29 July: Engineer Maysie Chalmers/Army general Sir Richard Gale
2 August: Cathleen Nesbitt
3 August: Art historian David Carritt
5 August: Orthopaedic surgeon Sir John Charnley

Meanwhile…

19 July: Home Secretary William Whitelaw announces that the Queen’s bodyguard, Michael Trestrail, has resigned from the Metropolitan Police Service over a relationship with a male prostitute.

20 July: The Provisional IRA detonates two bombs during British military ceremonies in Hyde Park and Regents Park, Central London. Eight soldiers are killed, 47 people are wounded, and seven horses die.

21 July: The Falklands War Royal Navy flagship HMS Hermes returns home to Portsmouth to a hero’s welcome.

22 July: Production of the Ford Cortina ends after 20 years and five generations.
Also on this day, the exclusion zone around the Falklands is lifted, and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher rejects calls in parliament for a return of the death penalty for terrorist murder.

23 July: A coroner’s jury returns the verdict of suicide on Roberto Calvi.

1 August: The Conservative government creates Britoil as the privatised successor to the British National Oil Corporation.

3 August: The Queen Elizabeth 2 returns to civilian use.

4 August: The first child of The Prince and Princess of Wales is christened William Arthur Philip Louis.

6 August: The Kessock Bridge in Inverness is opened by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.

504. Captain Sensible – Happy Talk (1982)

/ robbarker1979

The Intro

From punk axeman to pop star – Captain Sensible, guitarist for The Damned, shocked his fans with a number 1 cover of Happy Talk – that jolly old Rodgers and Hammerstein showtune from South Pacific.

Before

Sensible was born Raymond Ian Burns on 24 April1954 in Balham. London. Growing up, he went to Stanley Technical School for Boys in South Norwood, Croydon. He spent his formative years loving music, particularly Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd, Small Faces and Soft Machine.

Sensible became involved in the proto-punk scene, becoming a member of Johnny Moped and then Masters of the Backside, who were formed by future Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren. They never recorded anything and allegedly only performed once, and consisted of Chrissie Hynde and the nucleus of what would become The Damned.

Ever wondered why so many punks had stage names? Sensible once said it was to keep their real names out of the music papers, otherwise it might stop them being able to claim dole. His name was an ironic comment on his reckless behaviour. And the iconic red beret and sunglasses were his attempt to stop getting covered in the spit of punks when performing.

The Damned formed in 1976 and consisted of Dave Vanian on vocals, Brian James on guitar, Sensible on bass and Rat Scabies on drums. Sid Vicious had been invited to audition for the singer role, but he didn’t turn up. They supported the Sex Pistols, and beat them to become the first punk band to release a single that October, with New Rose. They briefly split in 1978 and when they returned a year later, Sensible was their guitarist and keyboardist.

In 1982, Sensible found himself splitting his time between The Damned and a solo career. He had signed a deal with A&M to release an album in his own right, due to his band rejecting some of his tunes for being too melodic, but he was a track short. His producer Tony Mansfield suggested a cover version. Sensible considered See Emily Play or Waterloo Sunset, but knew he couldn’t top the originals, so he rifled through his parents’ records for ideas, and came across the record-breaking soundtrack to South Pacific.

The Rodgers and Hammerstein show premiered on Broadway back in 1949 and became the second-longest-running Broadway musical up to that point, behind their own Oklahoma!. Happy Talk is sung by Bloody Mary – originally played by Juanita Hall – to Lieutenant Joe Cable, who has begun courting her daughter, Liat. It was covered by Ella Fitzgerald in 1955, but the most famous version is from Hall reprising her role in the 1958 film, the soundtrack of which held the album chart number 1 for 115 weeks – 70 of those consecutively.

Sensible, who was ‘exceedingly drunk’ when recording his version, was backed by rock band Dolly Mixture on vocals. Sensible had recently helped produce the trio. Although it was meant to be treated as an album filler, A&M saw Happy Talk could have crossover appeal, but Sensible was having none of it. That is, until his label tricked him into thinking a pop star was intending on releasing a version. Fearing he might miss out on a hit, he relented. Little did he know he would actually end up going all the way to the top of the pops.

Happy Talk was the fifth time a Rodgers & Hammerstein song went to number 1 in the UK, and was the first since You’ll Never Walk Alone in 1963.

Review

Never underestimate the great British public’s love of latching onto a novelty track, whether good or bad. Thankfully, Sensible’s Happy Talk falls into the ‘good’ category for me. Yes, the track is annoyingly sprightly (I like few musicals) anyway, and I’ve no time for the original. And the backing music brings to mind John Shuttleworth. Actually, that’s a compliment, as I love Graham Fellows’ comic creation.

Sensible is very charismatic, and I feel few could fail to be won over by him drunkenly singing:

‘You’ve got to have a dream
If you don’t have a dream
How you gonna have a dream come true?’

The visual element makes this even more so, whether it’s his Top of the Pops appearances, or the singalong video above, the sight of this lumbering punk swaying earnestly and comically at the same time captured the hearts of many. Including me – as a child, I thought Sensible seemed ace – just a big kid misbehaving and annoying ‘grown-ups’. He would have fitted in as a resident on The Young Ones very easily. However, he did appear performing with The Damned in the episode ‘Nasty’.

After

My brother and I were proud owners of Sensible’s follow-up, Wot, a Rapper’s Delight reworking in which the good captain tries his hand at hip-hop. Despite this being superior to his Happy Talk, it was clear that was a number 1 smash in large part due to nostalgia for the song. Wot only made it to 26, though it would have a second lease of life when it was reworked for an early 90s ad campaign for Wotsits (‘no that’s a whoosh because you only get a whoosh from a Wotsit!’).

After two years juggling The Damned and his solo career, Sensible left the band. He released his last hit, Glad It’s All Over, which peaked at number six. Surprising really, as it was an anti-Falklands War song, coming only a year after the 1983 General Election, won by Margaret Thatcher in large part due to the conflict.

Sensible released material throughout the 80s, before temporarily rejoining The Damned in 1988 for a series of intended farewell shows. That same year he released a cover of The Snooker Song, from Mike Batt’s musical The Hunting of the Snark. Three years later it became the theme tune to the hit BBC One snooker gameshow Big Break.

Sensible rejoined a new line-up of The Damned with Vanian in 1996 and has stayed ever since. He’s also continued to release solo material and he joined Kirk Brandon’s second incarnation of the supergroup Dead Men Walking, now known as The Jack Tars.

The Outro

Wotsits aren’t the only snack in a bag associated with Sensible. In 2006 he formed the political protest group The Blah! Party as a reaction to Tony Blair’s leadership of the country. Part joke and part serious, they entered into a sponsorship deal with Seabrook Crisps. The deal ended in 2008 and the party de-registered from the political party register.

The Info

Written by

Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II

Producer

Tony Mansfield

Weeks at number 1

2 (3-17 July)

Trivia

Births

8 July: Playwright James Graham
9 July: Actor Toby Kebbell

Deaths

4 July: Early British AIDS casualty Terry Higgins/Multiple murderer Barry Prudom (see ‘Meanwhile…‘)
5 July: Surgeon Geoffrey Keynes
6 July: Screenwriter Alma Reville
10 July: Classicist GEL Owen
12 July: Kenneth More
13 July: Actor Evan Thomas
15 July: Actress Enid Lorimer

Meanwhile…

3 July: ASLEF train drivers go on strike over hours of work, returning on 18 July.

4 July: Following a 17-day hunt by North Yorkshire Police, fugitive multiple murderer Barry Purdom, AKA the Phantom of the Forest, dies by suicide before police open fire. 

5 July: In the World Cup, England draw 0–0 with hosts Spain and are eliminated. Manager Ron Greenwood would subsequently retire and be succeeded by Ipswich Town manager Bobby Robson. 

9 July: Michael Fagan breaks into Buckingham Palace for the second time. This time, he is apprehended after entering the royal bedroom and being reported by Queen Elizabeth II.

15 July: British GCHQ civil servant Geoffrey Prime is remanded in custody on charges under the Official Secrets Act 1911.

503. Charlene – I‘ve Never Been to Me (1982)

/ robbarker1979

The Intro

When US easy listening singer Charlene originally released I’ve Never Been to Me for Motown in 1977, it left little mark. In 1982, she was working in a sweet shop in Ilford when the song was rereleased and subsequently went to number 1.

Before

Charlene Marilynn D’Angelo was born on 1 June 1950 in Hollywood, California. In 1973, she was signed to Motown, aged 23. Using her married name, Charlene Duncan, she released two singles. Neither Relove or All That Love Went to Waste a year later made any impression.

She then spent some time writing her own songs and recording demos – including One Day in Your Life, which became Michael Jackson’s first UK number 1 in 1981.

In 1976 she dropped her surname and recorded her eponymous debut album with producer Ron Miller, who had worked with Stevie Wonder, co-writing his hit For Once in My Life. I’ve Never Been to Me, which had been released by Randy Crawford earlier that year, was the second track.

The song had been written by Miller, with Kenneth Hirsch, and appears to come from the viewpoint of a bohemian woman, addressing a ‘discontented mother and a regimented wife’ who longs to escape her mundane existence.

Charlene’s second LP, the boringly named Songs of Love, came out a year later. It was basically a reshuffled version of Charlene. I’ve Never Been to Me was issued as a single, with the spoken-word section edited out. It only made it to number 97 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Although another album was planned, it never materialised, and following the failure of the 1980 single Hungry, from the musical Daddy Goodness, Charlene was dropped by Motown.

Fast forward three years, and Scott Shannon, a disc jockey for Tampa radio station WRBQ-FM (and former Motown employee), played the album version of I’ve Never Been to Me at the behest of his girlfriend. It became so popular, Shannon contacted the label’s president Jay Lasker. Seizing the opportunity, Lasker somehow tracked Charlene down. She had married an Englishman in March and was living in Ilford, working in a sweetshop. Of course, Charlene was more than willing to re-sign with Motown and then the album version of I’ve Never Been to Me was issued as a single.

Review

I’ve Never Been to Me is a terrible song. It’s patronising, slushy tripe with terrible lyrics. Basically, the lyrical conceit revolves around this woman listing all these incredible things she’s done – she’s travelled the world, slept with kings, sipped champagne, all kinds of things that the poor wife and mother could only dream about. But, hey, guess what? She’s ‘never been to me’, which is a crap way of saying she isn’t fulfilled and that, really, the mother is the lucky one, because she has done the most meaningful thing a woman can do.

Except, it’s all to easy to argue back, why can self-fulfilment for a woman only happen if you serve others, as a wife and mother? None of that ‘subtle whoring’ the narrator has been up to! It’s offensive to both women in the song. Lazy, stereotypical crap. And just in case you haven’t grasped the message of the song, there’s a cheesy spoken-word section to really hammer it home.

Oh, and when the lyrics do try to be symbolic, they’re so bad they create unnecessary controversy. ‘Sometimes I’ve been to cryin’ for unborn children/That might have made me complete’ made many understandably wonder if the narrator is revealing she had undergone multiple abortions. That’ll teach the subtle whore! Turns out, the intention was simply that she was mourning unborn children she may have had if she hadn’t been so bohemian.

For the video, the recently remarried Charlene wore her wedding dress, sauntering around Blickling Hall forlornly.

After

I’ve Never Been to Me became inexplicably huge, reaching number 1 in the UK, Canada, Ireland and Australia. It went to three in the US, becoming the first top 10 hit for Motown by a white singer. An album was released with the same name, containing a mix of old and new recordings. However, Charlene couldn’t repeat her surprise success. Her third single, It Ain’t Easy Coming Down, was reissued, but sank, despite appearing in the film The Last American Virgin.

Later in the year, she teamed up with Stevie Wonder on the single Used to Be. Despite Wonder’s number 1 success with Paul McCartney, this also tanked. Although that may have been due to its controversial lyrics – Wonder may have been commenting on the way he feared society was heading, but singing ‘Have another Chivas Regal/You’re 12-years old and sex is legal.’ resulted in an outright ban in the UK.

In 1984 Charlene released the LP Hit & Run Lover, which had a more modern sound, but it bombed. After an appearance in the Motown martial arts film (!) The Last Dragon, she was dropped by her label again.

In 2002, Charlene, now back in the US, released a dance remix of her hit, and has been sporadically releasing material online as Charlene Oliver since 2012.

The Outro

I’ve Never Been to Me has surfaced many times since 1982, including appearances in Will & Grace, Desperate Housewives, Shrek the Third (2007) and most memorably in the opening of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994).

The Info

Written by

Ron Miller & Kenneth Hirsch

Producers

Ron Miller, Don Costa & Berry Gordy

Weeks at number 1

1 (26 June-2 July)

Trivia

Deaths

26 June: Snooker player Kingsley Kennerley/Comedian Sandy Powell
30 June: Children’s author Malcolm Saville

Meanwhile…

2 July: Roy Jenkins, former Labour Party Home Secretary and Chancellor, is elected as Leader of the Social Democratic Party.

502. Adam Ant – Goody Two Shoes (1982)

/ robbarker1979

The Intro

Adam and the Ants were one of Britain’s hottest acts of the early 80s, and when the flamboyant frontman decided to go solo, you could forgive him for thinking he had a bright future. However, despite Goody Two Shoes being an excellent debut and worthy number 1, it was the beginning of the end of Adam Ant’s peak.

Before

Ant’s solo career came about very quickly. In January 1982, Adam and the Ants were at number three with Ant Rap – a very respectable place after their two chart-topping singles in 1981, Stand and Deliver! and Prince Charming. Their album Kings of the Wild Frontier won the BRIT Award for British Album of the Year.

The split was announced in March. Ant was a workaholic and felt the band weren’t putting the effort in anymore, and guitarist and co-songwriter Marco Pirroni had decided to quit performing live. The duo decided to work together to launch Ant as a solo star.

Ant was wise to move fast and release new material as soon as possible, as his commercial standing was at its peak. And the meaning behind Goody Two Shoes couldn’t be more timely. The British press had been busy trying to find out about any scandals surrounding the hippest pop star of the era, and came up short. Ant was teetotal and didn’t smoke, and journalists wanted to know, ‘what do you do?’. So Ant moved away from the dandy highwaymen and noblemen characters that had made him famous, and turned inwards.

Goody Two Shoes was also recorded quickly, and featured three fifths of the Ants, as Pirroni was on guitar and Chris Hughes played the drums. It may well have been the case that Ant was still debating whether to release the single under the Adam and the Ants name, as there are versions of the single under that name.

Review

You can really feel the urgency in Goody Two Shoes due primarily to Hughes’ echoing drumbeat, underpinning the song and not exactly light years from the Burundi beats of Kings of the Wild Frontier. However, it’s less new wave than Adam and the Ants material and distinctly pop – actually reminiscent of 50s rock’n’roll thanks to the rockabilly style guitar.

The lyrics are great, and it was a bold move by Ant to bait journalists and fire their words back at them. ‘Subtle innuendos follow/Must be something inside’ is a not very subtle reference to Ant being a sex addict – his only vice at the time, but the problem for the press was, nobody was willing to dish the dirt on the devilishly handsome Ant’s antics in the bedroom and elsewhere.

It’s not purely about Ant’s squeaky clean image. The first lines – ‘With your heartbreak open/So much you can’t hide’, suggest Ant might not be as happy and content as his public image suggested. Although once he’s got his makeup on, he reverts to the mission statement verse that starts ‘We don’t follow fashion’ – a very Adam and the Ants proclamation that he’s the trendsetter. The next verse is actually a tribute to Dexys Midnight Runners singer Kevin Rowland – Ant was rumoured to be considering teaming up with Rowland, but didn’t want to follow his tough rules. It doesn’t come across in his heartfelt lines, inspired by a 1981 Dexys concert he witnessed:

‘When they saw you kneelin’
Cryin’ words that you mean
Openin’ their eyeballs, eyeballs
Pretendin’ that you’re Al Green, Al Green’.

As always with Ant’s hits, the video is excellent. This day shows a day in the life of the singer as he deals with being hounded by the press – one of which was played by Norman Cook, a few years from fame as one of The Housemartins and a long way off becoming Fatboy Slim. It also features comedy actor Graham Stark as his butler, Till Death Us Do Part star Dandy Nichols as a cleaner, and horror actress Caroline Munro, who plays a journalist that Ant takes home and gets it on with. Must be something inside, indeed.

It’s a shame that Ant’s star fell so quickly after Goody Two Shoes – however, his last number 1 is as great as his previous chart-toppers and a very fitting way for him to bow out of this blog.

After

Goody Two Shoes was released on 7 May and Ant pulled out all the stops 13 days later with an awesome appearance on Top of the Pops. Seemingly filmed in one take, Ant takes over the studio as the camera follows him miming and dancing in front of several backdrops, before being joined by a bevy of dancers on a dancefloor surrounded by the audience. A few weeks later, it overtook House of Fun and became number 1.

Ant then went into the studio that June to record his debut solo LP, Friend or Foe. A new version of Goody Two Shoes was recorded for the album, featuring Bogdan Wiczling on drums instead. There’s not much difference, but the single version has more reverberation and is slightly superior. The title track to the album, made it number 9, but lacklustre follow-up Desperate But Not Serious only scraped in at 33.

A year later, the album Strip saw a brief return to the limelight with the decent single Puss ‘n Boots (featuring Phil Collins on drums) reaching number five, but the title track didn’t even make the top 40. Apollo 9 peaked at 13 in 1984. The law of diminishing returns came thick and fast for Ant. His songs had lost their spark and the goodwill of his fans was evaporating.

Famously, Ant’s appearance at Live Aid was a huge misfire. His set was cut to one track, and he chose to ignore his hits and perform Vive Le Rock, the title track to his as-yet-unreleased album, produced by Tony Visconti. Despite the size of the audience at Wembley Stadium and around the world on TV, the eventual single release failed to chart. Ant decided to focus on acting instead.

In 1990 Ant returned with the album Manners & Physique, produced by André Cymone, a former bassist for Prince. It was a brief but welcome return, with the single Room at the Top climbing to 13. It did even better in the US, becoming his biggest hit there, soaring to number three.

Five years later, Ant released Wonderful, a more reflective album, featuring Morrissey’s guitarist Boz Boorer. The decent title track peaked at 32 and is his last charting single to date.

In 2002 Ant returned to the limelight, but due to his mental health problems. Pre-fame, in 1975, Ant had been diagnosed as bipolar after overdosing on pills. 27 years later he was on the nostalgia circuit when he was arrested and charged for throwing a car alternator through a pub and then threatening people inside with a starting pistol. The imagery of a former dandy highwayman behaving in such a way proved sadly hilarious for many, but Ant was unwell, and he was placed under psychiatric care. The fact that a year later he and Boorer made a well-meaning rework of Stand and Deliver into Save the Gorillas for the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund drew further laughs.

Since then, Ant has swung from acclaimed live shows of his classic albums to further mental health struggles. In 2010 he returned to psychiatric hospital. Two years later came his last album to date, the astoundingly named Adam Ant Is the Blueblack Hussar in Marrying the Gunner’s Daughter.

The Outro

Charismatic, dynamic and witty, Ant was my first musical hero and I fell in love with pop music thanks to him. His time at the top was all too brief but he burned bright and created some truly classic tracks in the early 80s. I hope that despite his demons, he knows how loved he is by his fans.

The Info

Written by

Adam Ant & Marco Pirroni

Producers

Adam Ant, Marco Pirroni & Chris Hughes

Weeks at number 1

2 (12-25 June)

Trivia

Births

12 June: Cricketer James Tomlinson
17 June: Actress Jodie Whittaker/Actor Arthur Darvill
20 June: Rapper Example
21 June: William, Prince of Wales

Deaths

12 June: Falklands War casualty Sergeant Ian McKay (see ‘Meanwhile…‘)
16 June: Pretenders guitarist James Honeyman-Scott
17 June: Olympic rower Walter James, 4th Baron Northbourne
22 June: Actor Alan Webb

Meanwhile…

12 June: The last battles of the Falklands War draw to a close at Mount Longdon, Mount Harriet and Two Sisters. Sergeant Ian McKay is killed at Mount Longdon, and is awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

14 June: The Falklands War officially ends as British forces reach the outskirts of Stanley. They arrive to find the Argentine forces flying white flags of surrender. The formal surrender is signed that evening. 

16 June: Welsh miners go on strike to support health workers demanding a 12% pay rise.

19 June: The body of Roberto Calvi, aka ‘God’s Banker’, is found hanging beneath Blackfriars Bridge in London.

21 June: William, Prince of Wales becomes the first birth in direct line of succession to the British throne to be born in a hospital – St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington.

23 June: Support for Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government continues to rise, largely due to the success of the Falklands War campaign.

24 June: The Coatbridge and Airdrie by-election is held in Scotland following the death of sitting Labour MP James Dempsey. Labour’s Tom Clarke is the victor.

25 June: Northern Ireland defeat hosts Spain 1-0 in the World Cup.