Atomic

456. Blondie – Call Me (1980)

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The Intro

In what must surely be one of the shortest durations between chart-toppers for one act, Blondie only had a month inbetween Atomic and Call Me – two of the best number 1s that year. This collaboration with Italian genius producer Giorgio Moroder (the man behind I Feel Love) was the theme song to Paul Schrader’s American Gigolo. The film starred a little-known actor called Richard Gere as a high-end male escort and it made him a star.

Before

Call Me began as a Moroder instrumental known as Man Machine. Not the tune by Kraftwerk, but similar in the sense it combined electronic music with pop. He originally had his eye on Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac to add lyrics and perform songs for American Gigolo, but she couldn’t for contractual reasons. Luckily for Moroder, Blondie were one of the hottest bands on the planet, and singer Debbie Harry was up for it. She watched the film and had the opening scene – driving on the Californian coast – in mind as she set to work writing the words, which only took a few hours.

Blondie went into the studio in New York with Moroder in August 1979 to record Call Me – just one month after finishing up their fourth LP Eat to the Beat. The pressure of following up the massive album Parallel Lines, and Harry’s perceived increasing dominance of the group, was causing tension. The recording of Call Me didn’t help. The first session, in LA, had seen Moroder and his crew, including keyboardist Harold Faltermeyer and Keith Forsey (drummer on I Feel Love), record an instrumental version to a timecode so it would synchronise with American Gigolo.

It’s unknown whether Moroder was only expecting Harry, but Faltermeyer later claimed the producer was surprised the rest of the band were insisting on adding their own instrumentation. Guitarist Chris Stein’s equipment was buzzing and annoying the perfectionist Moroder, who, after realising the musicians were struggling to play in time and fighting among themselves, aborted the sessions. The backing tape was completed by Moroder and co, including the keyboard solo by Faltermeyer. This riled an already paranoid Blondie (minus Harry of course), but when Call Me shot to number 1 in the US before Atomic did, and then after Atomic in the UK, they changed their tune. Who is it on backing vocals, is it drummer Clem Burke, keyboardist Jimmy Destri, bassist Frank Infante, all three, or Moroder’s boys? I don’t know.

Review

Moroder and Blondie are two of the greatest names in disco, so it’s a given that any collaboration between the two would be great. Call Me and Atomic are like sisters, both showing Blondie at the top of their game, melding disco, pop and rock in a totally natural way. And although only Harry is on the recording, you’d never know upon listening, which shows how effectively Moroder had also become in combining different genres. Moroder was intending to produce Blondie’s next LP, but the infighting caused him to change his mind. It’s fascinating to imagine how good that could have been.

The rest of the band’s jealousy towards their singer is only natural, but she is also at the peak of her powers as a songwriter. Where Atomic featured improvised lines that captured the feel of the band’s blistering performance, Call Me shows Harry studying her source material and coming up with a song that is perfect as a film soundtrack. She succinctly communicates that Gere’s character is available whenever you need him, referencing the classic Martini ad tagline ‘Anytime, anyplace, anywhere’. He’s clearly used to a higher class of clientele (‘Roll me in designer sheets’) and ‘speaks the languages of love’, with a smattering of Italian and French thrown in for good measure. But the best lines are Harry’s frustration at feelings ruining what are meant to be a purely business arrangement: ‘Emotions come I don’t know why/Cover up love’s alibi’. As with I Feel Love, this Moroder classic is best heard in full via the 8:05 album version. The video edit is way too short at only 2:15

Further proof that Harry now pretty much was Blondie in the public eye is apparent in the record sleeve above and the video to Call Me, in which the striking singer is filmed in the city, on the beach and on stage. The rest of her band are nowhere to be seen.

After

Call Me was released in the US first in January 1980 and surprisingly was only their second number 1. It became their biggest-selling single and was also number 1 on Billboard‘s end-of-year chart that December. In addition to the soundtrack version, video edit and radio edit, there was a Spanish-language 12″. A Ben Liebrand mix missed out on top 40 action in 1988. Oh, and an abbreviated version was sung by Harry on The Muppet Show in 1981.

The Outro

Of course, the problem with being at the peak of your powers is that the only way is down. There was only one more Blondie 80s number 1, and it was a cover that didn’t hit the heights of Call Me. The band re-recorded Call Me in 2014, and to be fair, this probably felt more needed than their other 2014 covers, as it meant Blondie were actually on the recording. However, it’s probably not a huge surprise to find out it doesn’t match the original.

The Info

Written by

Giorgio Moroder & Debbie Harry

Producer

Giorgio Moroder

Weeks at number 1

1 (26 April-2 May)

Trivia

Births

28 April: Cyclist Bradley Wiggins
2 May: Footballer Zat Knight 

Deaths

26 April: Actress Cicely Courtneidge/Conservative MP Irene Ward, Baroness Ward of North Tyneside
27 April: Theatre director E Martin Browne/Producer John Culshaw
29 April: Film director Sir Alfred Hitchcock (see ‘Meanwhile…’)
30 April: Scottish Labour MP Thomas McMillan
2 May: Conservative MP Sir Jocelyn Lucas, 4th Baronet/Army captain Herbert Westmacott

Meanwhile…

29 April: Legendary filmmaker Sir Alfred Hitchcock died at home in Los Angeles, aged 80.

30 April: A six-man team of terrorists from the Democratic Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of Arabistan began the Iranian Embassy Siege, taking 26 hostages at the Embassy of Iran in Knightsbridge.

1 May: British Aerospace was privatised.

454. The Jam – Going Underground/The Dreams of Children (1980)

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The Intro

The Specials weren’t the only group successfully reviving a 60s musical movement as the 80s began. Mod power trio The Jam had been around several years before achieving this first of four number 1s. And yet, had it not been for an error at the pressing plant, Going Underground/The Dreams of Children might not have shot to the top spot.

Before

The Jam go back a fair few years than many realise, as singer and bassist Paul Weller began the band aged 14 in 1972, while still at Sheerwater Secondary School in Woking, Surrey. He was joined by Steve Brookes on lead guitar and vocals, Dave Waller on rhythm guitar and Rick Buckler on drums. But this was before the frontman discovered Mod, so The Jam’s setlist mostly consisted of early US rock’n’roll covers. Waller left in 1973 and was replaced by Bruce Foxton.

When Weller heard The Who’s debut album, My Generation, everything changed. He fell totally in love with becoming a Mod. He bought a Lambretta, made the band dress in sharp suits and they started covering Motown, Atlantic and Stax soul music.

In 1975, Brookes also left. Although The Jam advertised for a new lead guitarist (and among those auditioning was apparently a young Gary Numan), Weller decided to ape The Who’s line-up. He persuaded Foxton to switch to bass and he took over full guitar duties.

In 1975, rock music was often moribund. Punk had yet to arrive, so The Jam stood out on the London scene, capturing the imagination and perhaps reminding older gig-goers of happier times. When punk did appear, Weller, Foxton and Buckler were even more distinct – their smart appearance was totally different to the ripped, scruffy clothes of the Sex Pistols and co, and they were in thrall to the 60s. But like the Sex Pistols, The Jam were angry, energetic and distinctive.

They were signed to Polydor in 1977, and that April released their debut single In the City, which peaked at 40. But they struck a chord and their album with the same name was a number 20 hit. When second single All Around the World climbed to 13, Polydor asked for more material ASAP. They completed another LP that year, This Is the Modern World, but the (almost) title track Modern World only reached 36.

In 1978 News of the World (that’s right, three singles in row with ‘world’ in the name) fared better when it peaked at 27. This was the only single to be written and sung by Foxton, and later became the theme tune to BBC Two’s Mock the Week. A third LP was quickly planned, but Weller was struggling for inspiration and their producers dismissed Foxton’s material as poor. Weller became the principle songwriter from here on in.

The influence of The Kinks on The Jam, if it wasn’t already noticeable, certainly was when they released a soundalike cover of David Watts as a double-A-side with ‘A’ Bomb in Wardour Street. These first fruits of their third album All Mod Cons climbed to 25. The next single, Down in the Tube Station at Midnight, is highly regarded as a return to form both critically and commercially, and shot to 15. It also placed a large question mark over The Jam’s early reputation as Conservative poster boys. Where previously they sang about the decline of the British Empire and disparagingly about ‘Uncle Jimmy’ Callaghan, now Weller was talking about being mugged by thugs who had been to ‘too many right wing meetings’.

In 1979 two non-album singles, Strange Town and When You’re Young, peaked at 15 and 17 respectively. Then came the first song from the next LP, Setting Sons. The Eton Rifles was rightfully their biggest yet, soaring all the way to three. In 2008, future Conservative Prime Minister, the Etonian David Cameron, called himself a fan of the song back in the day, causing a furious Weller to state ‘it wasn’t a fucking jolly drinking song for the cadet corps’.

The Dreams of Children, recorded during the Setting Sons sessions but not on the LP, was to be their first single of the new decade. It wasn’t on the album, but considering the LP was originally a concept album about three childhood friends, perhaps it was intended to feature originally. It saw the trio broadening their sonic palette with producer Vic Coppersmith-Heaven, while the intended B-side was an angry tirade at the people in power.

However, there was a mix-up at the pressing plant, and this single became a double A-side. Because of this, radio DJs mostly preferred to spin the snappier, catchier, more immediate fare intended for side B.

Reviews

It seems obvious in retrospect that Going Underground deserved to be the A-side. And what a number 1 as the Thatcher era was just getting started. In just a few minutes, Weller succinctly wipes away any doubt of whose side he’s on. And he does it with no small measure of belligerence and fire in his belly. Over jagged guitar strikes, this reads like the manifesto of a man who is so sickened with the state of his country and its politics, he’s retreating from modern life. The only negative to this song is how it resonates even more now than it did in 1980, particularly ‘Some people might get some pleasure out of hate.’

The beauty of Going Underground is how The Jam make such a bleak message so uplifting. We shouldn’t be celebrating the need to opt out of society, but doesn’t it sound so good? And there is a small glint of hope as the song ends ‘Well, let the boys all sing and let the boys all shout for tomorrow’. Not that there’s much hope in 2023 – the other side aren’t offering much to get excited about as another election looms.

There have already been some classic number 1s in the first quarter of 1980. This is the best of the bunch, ahead even of Atomic.

The fact there’s a video for Going Underground is puzzling. If this was always intended as a B-side, why is there one at all? However, the fact both mostly feature the band performing in front of a white background wearing very similar clothes suggests it could have been filmed in the same session. The Going Underground film is one of the most enduring images of the young, angry Weller, resplendent in a scarf, interspersed with images of Uncle Sam, atomic explosions and photos of Conservative Prime Ministers (plus, interestingly, Labour’s Harold Wilson), pushed to one side.

The Dreams of Children is a decent track too, but I doubt it would have become their first chart-topper on its own. Opening with backmasking from Setting Sons track Thick as Thieves, it’s an early sign of Weller’s love of psychedelic rock, and the lyric is akin to songs from that era about loss of innocence, like Pink Floyd’s Remember a Day.

Like Going Underground, The Dreams of Children paints a bleak picture – bleaker in fact. And very true, because Weller explains how he had a glimpse of optimism in his dreams, before waking up ‘sweating from this modern nightmare’. The closing refrain of ‘You will choke on your dreams tonight’ paints a very bleak picture. Interesting stuff, with some nice bass playing from Foxton.

The video is less simple than Going Underground, cutting between the band playing outdoors, hanging out near somewhere derelict and performing once more against a simple white background but with added camera and lighting equipment.

After

The Jam were touring the US to small crowds when they heard Going Underground/The Dreams of Children had made it to number 1. They immediately returned home and prepared for a triumphant Top of the Pops appearance.

The Outro

A version of Going Underground by US rock band Buffalo Tom climbed to number six in 1999, as a double A-side with a version of Carnation by Liam Gallagher and Steve Cradock.

The Info

Written by

Paul Weller

Producer

Vic Coppersmith-Heaven

Weeks at number 1

3 (22 March-11 April)

Trivia

Births

23 March: Comedian Russell Howard
24 March: Sports presenter Amanda Davies
28 March: Labour MP Angela Rayner
3 April: Fascist Conservative MP Suella Braverman
8 April: Actor Ben Freeman/Scottish field hockey midfielder Cheryl Valentine

Deaths

22 March: Historian Evelyn Procter
23 March: Journalist SW Alexander/Royal Navy admiral Sir Henry McCall/Labour MP Charles Pannell, Baron Pannell/Red Cross aid worker Joan Whittington/Racehorse trainer Norah Wilmot
24 March: Actor John Barrie
26 March: Army major-general Basil Coad/Botanist Lily Newton
30 March: Labour MP Francis Douglas, 1st Baron Douglas of Barloch/Trade union leader Jim Hammond
22 March: Historian Evelyn Procter
23 March: Journalist SW Alexander/Royal Navy admiral Sir Henry McCall/Labour MP Charles Pannell, Baron Pannell/Red Cross aid worker Joan Whittington/Racehorse trainer Norah Wilmot – Evelyn Procter, historian (born 1897)
24 March: Actor John Barrie
26 March: Botanist Lily Newton
30 March: Labour MP Francis Douglas, 1st Baron Douglas of Barloch/Trade union leader Jim Hammond
31 March: Actor John Nightingale
1 April: Actress Cicely Courtneidge/Director Alfred Hitchcock/Actress Joyce Heron
2 April: Long distance runner George Wallach
3 April: Geophysicist Sir Edward Bullard/Actress Isla Cameron/Army major-general Sir Alexander Douglas Campbell/Chemist Ulick Richardson Evans
5 April: Scottish composer Hector MacAndrew
6 April: Film director Antony Balch/Writer John Collier/Philosopher Sir Thomas Malcolm Knox
8 April: Horticulturalist Beatrix Havergal
10 April: Writer Antonia White
11 April: Legal historian Norman Hargreaves-Mawdsley/Actor Nicholas Phipps

Meanwhile…

25 March: The British Olympic Association votes to send athletes to the Olympic Games in Moscow, USSR, in the summer, in defiance of the government’s boycott.
Also on this day, Robert Runcie becomes the Archbishop of Canterbury.

26 March: On Budget Day, Chancellor Geoffrey Howe announces raises in tax allowances and duties on petrol, alcohol and tobacco.

31 March: British Leyland agrees to sell its MG factory in Abingdon to Aston Martin-Lagonda in the autumn.

1 April: The steelworkers’ strike is called off, and Britain’s first official naturist beach is opened in Brighton.

2 April: 130 people were arrested after rioting in St Pauls, Bristol.

3 April: The Assisted Places Scheme introduces free or subsidised places for children at fee-paying independent schools, based on examination performances. It also gives parents more powers on governing bodies and admisssions, and removes the obligation for local education authorities to provide school meals and milk. Thatcher, Thatcher, milk snatcher.

4 April: Alton Towers Resort was opened as a theme park.

10 April: The UK and Spain come to an agreement, and the latter reopens its border with Gibraltar.

452. Blondie – Atomic (1980)

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The Intro

Blondie were one of the best bands around in the late-70s and rightfully continued to storm the charts in the early 80s. Their last number 1, Sunday Girl, was a nice tune, but they were at their best when they combined disco and rock. Atomic does this extremely well.

Before

Blondie’s third album, Parallel Lines had been a huge success, despite some critics referring to them as sell-outs for supposedly jumping on the disco bandwagon with Heart of Glass. Which is nonsense, as the band had dabbled in disco from its early days.

However, tensions were high. Drug use was increasing among the six-piece, and there was understandable jealousy over the fact Blondie were fast becoming known as ‘Debbie Harry and some men’. There was no wonder of course – Harry was the singer, and an incredibly cool and beautiful one at that, so the spotlight was always on her. And Harry used this momentum to increasingly decide on future material, which coincided with the making of their fourth album, Eat to the Beat. Their new wave stylings were on the way out in favour of a more pop-oriented approach.

The first fruits of Eat to the Beat to be released – opening track Dreaming – peaked at two. When the follow-up, Union City Blue, stalled at 13, Blondie must have been worried their fortunes were waning. Fortunately they had Atomic up their sleeves, which after two singles of plaintive melancholy, was a return to a more fiery sound.

Atomic came from Harry and keyboardist Jimmy Destri, who was trying to find a sound akin to Heart of Glass. From there the track was transformed by the twangy guitar sound, which simultaneously gave the tune a Spaghetti Western and surf sound. Harry has described that her songwriting approach with Blondie would often involve working out the lyrics while the rest of the band were rehearsing. She would scat ideas, often as placeholders. She came up with ‘Ooooh, your hair is beautiful’ first. The song transformed into an erotically charged pop-rock anthem. The song title most likely came from Harry trying to find a word that matched the guitar hook. It was perfect. Although some think the title has no fixed meaning, to me, it’s describing the potentially explosive level of attraction she’s feeling for the person she’s singing about.

Review

Coward of the County spoiled a very impressive run of number 1 singles but Atomic puts us firmly back on track. What a single. It doesn’t matter that the lyrics are somewhat basic because they fit the mood and get the message across perfectly. It’s a night out, and a girl wants a man to ‘make it magnificent’. The tense, edgy sound here is a million miles away from the sedate bounce of Rogers’ song. It’s Blondie at their best, and is expertly produced by Mike Chapman, as you’d expect from such a prolific pop and rock hitmaker. For me, although Heart of Glass edges it as their best chart-topper, Atomic does a better job of combining disco, rock and pop naturally. However, the album mix, with its intro based on Three Blind Mice, features a bass guitar solo, which makes the disco element more obvious. This is the essential version and is nearly a minute longer than the single edit.

It’s worth nothing that singing backing vocals is Ellie Greenwich. The singer, songwriter and producer wrote or co-wrote some of the most famous pop music of the 60s, including Da Doo Ron Ron, River Deep – Mountain High and Do Wah Diddy Diddy, number 1 for Manfred Mann in 1968.

Eat to the Beat was the first full LP to have a video made for every song, by director David Mallet. The video for Atomic has a very literal premise but is a charming product of its time. The band are seen performing in a post-apocalyptic nightclub as the crowd do some freaky dancing. Harry is one of the only people in the world who could manage to look cool while dancing badly in a binbag. The video also features Gia Carangi – considered the world’s first supermodel. You can see similarities in Mallet’s video for Ashes to Ashes later in the year, as both feature solarising effects. Strangely, the version of the song in the full video is the album version, minus the intro.

After

Released in February, Atomic quickly rocketed up the charts to number 1 on 1 March. It was followed only two months later by Call Me, which had already been a US chart-topper and soon repeated the feat here.

The Outro

Atomic is a song that stands outside of time, sounding as hip now as it did 43 years ago. Attempts to update it only end up sounding more dated. In 1994 the ‘Diddy’s Edit’ (not P Diddy) gave the song a backing ideal for clubbing in the 90s, but it’s not aged well. It performed respectably though, reaching 19. To mark the 40th anniversary of Blondie, the band re-recorded Atomic for Greatest Hits Deluxe Redux. It’s better than the 1994 remix but only because it’s so similar to the original – the only real difference is the understandably inferior new vocal performance from Harry.

The Info

Written by

Debbie Harry & Jimmy Destri

Producer

Mike Chapman

Number of weeks

2 (1-14 March)

Trivia

Births

2 March: Footballer Chris Barker 
13 March: Scottish field hockey player Linda Clement

Deaths

1 March: Footballer Dixie Dean/Motorcycle racer Eric Oliver
3 March: Socialite Sir Michael Duff, 3rd Baronet
4 March: Football manager Alan Hardaker
5 March: Historian Jack Gallagher/John Raven/John Skeaping
6 March: Conservative MP Harry Becker/Philanthropist Noel Croucher/Cricket journalist Norman Preston/Physician EA Underwood
7 March: Yacht designer John Illingworth
14 March: Chemical engineer Dudley Maurice Newitt/Artist Vere Temple

Meanwhile…

10 March: An opinion poll in the Evening Standard suggests six out of 10 Britons are unhappy with the Conservative government, who are trailing Labour in the opinion polls. 

437. Blondie – Sunday Girl (1979)

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The Intro

Blondie’s third album Parallel Lines is understandably regarded as their best. It’s certainly the most successful, selling more than 20 million and containing some of their best-known songs, including first number 1 Heart of Glass and their next chart-topper, Sunday Girl.

Before

It didn’t get off to the best of starts in June 1978. Producer Mike Chapman, one of the songwriters and producers of some of the biggest glam rock hits of the decade, found them difficult to work with. He had high praise for guitarist Frank Infante and keyboardist Jimmy Destri, but in general found them lazy and juvenile. Guitarist Chris Stein was often stoned and unable to play well, so was advised to concentrate on songwriting rather than playing.

Singer Debbie Harry was a particular problem. Chapman quickly took note of her moodiness but could see she was a great, unique talent. Patience was a virtue, and despite some stormy moments, he was able to work on her vocal phrasing and general attitude.

Despite these issues, Parallel Lines was completed in six weeks – after being given six months. This is even more remarkable when you consider many of the songs were unfinished when recording started. On several occasions, instrumental tracks were laid down and Chapman would ask Harry to step into the recording booth, only to find her still penning lyrics.

Chrysalis Records were also sceptical and asked Blondie to go back and start again, but Chapman assured them the singles would prove popular. He was right. Picture This reached 12 and Hanging on the Telephone soared to five in 1978. Then Heart of Glass, one of the finest new wave number 1s, cemented their status as mainstream stars.

Sunday Girl was the eagerly awaited follow-up and the final single from the LP. Written by Stein, it was inspired by Harry’s cat, Sunday Man, who had recently ran away, which accounts for its plaintive, melancholy nature. Stein was nervous to be writing alone, and asked Harry if she’d be credited too, but in the end the idea was dropped. The original demo featured a Latin-influenced arrangement that impressed Chapman.

Review

As we know, this was transformed into effortlessly bright and breezy pop akin to the girl groups of the 50s – a regression back to the style of song Blondie made over their first two LPs. And like many Blondie songs, the upbeat tune masks downbeat lyrics. I’m not sure entirely, but I think it’s from the perspective of a woman remembering her lovelorn youth – she is the Sunday Girl of the title. She’s recalling her man running off with another woman:

‘Hey, I saw your guy with a different girl,
Looks like he’s in another world,
Run and hide, Sunday Girl’.

The archetypal bored teenager waiting for the weekend, Harry also sings:

‘She can’t catch up with the working crowd,
The weekend mood and she’s feeling proud,
Live in dreams Sunday girl’.

It’s a slight single, and I find it one of their weakest number 1s. But that’s when compared to classics like Heart of Glass or Atomic. It’ll stick in your head, and the chorus when Harry pleads for her love/ex-love to ‘Hurry up’ adds a welcome shot of speed to proceedings. However, in a year of classic chart-toppers, Sunday Girl is lost among the crowd.

After

Sunday Girl also reached number 1 elsewhere in Europe, but didn’t get a release in their home country. The US had One Way or Another instead, which is superior. But while the band enjoyed their second UK number 1, they were already working on the fourth Blondie album, Eat to the Beat.

The Info

Written by

Chris Stein

Producer

Mike Chapman

Weeks at number 1

3 (26 May-15 June)

Trivia

Births

12 June: Lawn bowler Ellen Falkner/Actor Jamie Harding

Deaths

8 June: Fashion designer Norman Hartnell

Meanwhile…

30 May: Nottingham Forest defeated Swedish football league champions Malmö FF 1-0 in the European Cup final at Olympiastadion, Munich.

7 June: The first direct election to the European Parliament results in a low turnout in Britain – only 32%. The Conservatives, riding high from Margaret Thatcher’s General Election victory, won 60 seats, while James Callaghan’s Labour only managed 17.

12 June: The new Tory government’s first budget saw chancellor Geoffrey Howe cut the standard tax rate by 3p and slash the top rate from 83% to 60%.