::
Archive 16
::
376 - 400
::
Here
you will gain exclusive access to my own personal record collection! I
try to bring you mp3s of rare tracks, deleted material, long forgotten
artists, total flops and down right obscure shit. Often, my choices were
only available on vinyl or were just plain unreleased, the aim being to
indulge an old fan or inspire a new one. I try not to post up
forthcoming releases or anything that's too readily available. Honest,
Gov!
There's a tenuous thread running through the tracks but
your requests are always welcome and I'll try and squeeze them in amongst my
own fancies... eventually.
Do read all the blurb, as there's often links to extra tracks lurking in
there... ; )
Tracks are only available for a 'limited
time' folks (sometimes months!), so get them while you can!
Now for the science bit! To access the music, please click on 'Download' and
you'll be whisked off to those nice people over at Sharebee.
Tracks are ripped at 192 kbps and wherever possible taken from the
highest quality source available. All of the music offered here has been
purchased by myself and is part of my own collection. Tracks are for
evaluation purposes only and wherever possible, purchasing is always
encouraged. If you own any of the material posted here or anywhere else
on this site and are very cross with me, please
email me with threats and such like...
The
Sisters Of Mercy were a rock band formed in Leeds, who emerged
out of the post-punk scene in 1980-81. After achieving early underground
goth fame in the UK with singles such as 'Temple Of Love',
'Alice' and 'The Reptile House EP', the band had
their commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s , which they sustained until
the 1990s. The group has recorded three original studio albums; 'First
And Last And Always' (1985), 'Floodland' (1987) and
'Vision Thing' (1990), plus two singles compilations; 'Some
Girls Wander By Mistake' (1992) and 'A Slight Case of
Overbombing' (1993).
Dead
Or Alive was founded in 1980 in Liverpool by
Pete Burns (vocals), who was encouraged
by local music promoters to form a band based around his outrageous
appearance. Earlier attempts to get a band together included
The Mystery Girls, with
Julian Cope and
Pete Wylie, who lasted long enough to play only one gig; and
Nightmares In Wax, who released their
only recording, a 3 track post-punk EP, 'Birth Of A Nation' in
1979. A name change to Dead Or Alive got
them noticed and a Peel Session was recorded in 1980. The band went through
several different line-up changes over the next three years while recording
a series of independent singles ('I'm Falling', 'Number
Eleven', 'It's Been Hours Now', 'The Stranger').
Burns' eccentric appearance began
attracting attention, both locally and further a field, often leading to
comparisons with Boy George, lead singer
of pop band Culture Club. The two men
had frequented the same New Romantic clubs in the early 1980s and were known
rivals, each of them claiming the other had stolen his gender-bending image!
When Dead Or Alive's singles charted in
the indie charts, Epic Records took notice, signing them in 1983.
Their first release for Epic was 'Misty Circles', which
failed to chart, whilst two more singles, the fantastic 'What I Want'
and 'I'd Do Anything', were club hits but mainstream success
continued to elude the band. The line-up at this point included
Steve Coy (drums), who remains with
Pete still, and
Wayne Hussey (guitar) who left after a year to join goth rock
band The Sisters Of Mercy. Finally
getting their hit in 1984 with a remake of the 1975 hit by
KC And The Sunshine Band, 'That's
the Way (I Like It)' (22), Dead Or Alive
released their debut album, 'Sophisticated Boom Boom'
(29 - re-issued with bonus material in September 2007! Click
Formed
in Cologne, Germany, the moniker of Gina X
Performance was adopted by the charismatic vocalist
Gina Kikoine and
writer/producer/musician Zeus B. Held.
Between 1979 and 1984, the group released four albums of chic art house
electro-disco; 'Nice Mover' (79), 'X-Traordinaire'
(80), 'Voyeur' (81) and 'Yinglish' (84). Their
classic club hit single, 'No G.D.M.' (a tribute to
writer/actor Quentin Crisp - posted by
us a long while back) from 1979, remains a cult classic thanks to electro
compilations from International Deejay Gigolos and Nag Nag Nag.
A slinky second single, 'Nice Mover', is also an established
DJ favourite, having appeared on the Andrew
Weatherall compilation of alternative dance tracks from the first
half of the '80s, 'Nine O'clock Drop', in 2000.
Gina's Germanic android-like voice has
been compared the likes of obscure disco singer
Amanda Lear and fellow German Marlene
Dietrich and has been much imitated in the electro scene ever
since. She is known to have contributed her vocals to a duet with
The Associates'
Billy Mackenzie, during the group's 'Perhaps'
recording sessions circa 1983-4. The track (a version of 'The Best Of
You') remains unreleased and is unlikely to ever see the light of
day. Annie Lennox also recorded a
version of the same song with Billy at
this time. All of Gina X Performance's
work, including the last 'solo' album 'Yinglish', showcases
the production skills of Zeus B. Held,
who went on to work with Dead Or Alive,
John Foxx, Nina
Hagen and Transvision Vamp
amongst others. 'Harley Davidson', originally written by
Serge Gainsbourg for
Brigitte Bardot, features on 'Yinglish'
along side Gina's take on
The Beatles' 'Drive My Car',
both of which can now be found on LTM's excellent CD re-issue from
2005. Click
Time
for Transvision Vamp again and another
one of their B-side gems. Formed in 1986 by Nick
Christian Sayer and Wendy James,
Transvision Vamp set out to fuse
elements of punk, art rock and Phil Spector's
'wall of sound'. James was the lead
singer and focal-point of the group, attracting huge media attention and
criticism for her sexually-charged and rebellious image and attitude. The
line-up was completed with Dave Parsons
and Anthony Doughty (AKA
Tex Axile) and the foursome signed a
deal with MCA. Their debut single was 'Revolution Baby'
in late 1987, which tanked, and they then released a cover of the
Holly And The Italians song, 'Tell
That Girl To Shut Up' in 1988. It was their third single release,
punk-pop confection 'I Want Your Love', which broke the band
into the top 10 however. 'Evolution Evie (Electric Version)'
was the B-side to this record but despite the title, there wasn't any other
version released! The band went on to release the hit album 'Pop Art'
in October 1988, and two further singles, a re-release of
'Revolution Baby' and Eco-friendly anthem, 'Sister Moon'.
1989 was the band's most successful year, with their highest chart entry,
number 3 hit single 'Baby I Don't Care', and a second hit
album 'Velveteen'. More singles came in the shape of
'The Only One' (15), the epic 'Landslide Of Love' (14
-
Jennifer Ellison is a young actress,
'glamour'
model, television 'personality', dancer and singer. She's from Liverpool and is
perhaps best known for playing Emily Shadwick in the
Phil Redman's television soap opera,
'Brookside' (R.I.P.) until 2003. Since then her regular photo shoots
in lad mags have kept her in the public eye. She has become renowned for
having a large bust and has recently made cameo appearances in a few crap
television shows. Ellison flirted with a pop career a few years back,
signing to WEA Records and releasing her first single, 'Baby I Don't Care',
in June 2003. The track reached number 6 in the charts and was originally
by Transvision Vamp (
Boy band
Bros achieved a total of 11 top 40
singles and three Top 40 albums in the United Kingdom, making them one of
the biggest acts in British music between 1988 and 1993. Consisting of heart
throb twin brothers Matt and
Luke Goss, along with drummer
Craig Logan, they
were managed and masterminded by former Pet Shop Boys manager
Tom Watkins,
who it was rumoured was actually one of the main songwriters. In fact, the
songs on both of the first two albums were written by their producer
Nicky
Graham, working under the pseudonym 'The Brothers' to give the impression
that the Goss brothers were the actual writers of the early hits. Their
first single, 'I Owe You Nothing', was released in 1987 on the
CBS label and
flopped. It wasn't until their second release, 'When Will I Be Famous?',
which reached number 2 in the United Kingdom, that they dominated the charts
and sparked the ridiculous fashion craze of attaching Grolsch beer bottle
tops to shoes... Their first album, 'Push', was released in 1988 and
featured further pop hits 'Drop The Boy', 'I Quit',
'Cat Amongst The
Pigeons' and 'I Owe You Nothing' (which was re-released and became their
first number one). Logan left the band in 1989, and the
Goss brothers
continued without him. A second album, 'The Time', was released in 1989,
featuring 'Too Much', 'Chocolate Box' and 'Sister', followed by a third
album, 'Changing Faces', in 1991. The band dissolved in 1992 due to
contractual and financial disputes. Matt Goss started a solo career in 1995
and has enjoyed slight chart success. He recorded 'This Pain' around this
time, a duet with friend Denise Pearson out of
Five Star, although the song
has never been commercially released. He also turned up as one of the
celebrity chefs on ITV's 'Hells Kitchen'. Brother
Luke appeared in West End musicals throughout the 1990s and has also appeared in
several movies since including 'Blade II'. He recorded a few singles with
his band, Band Of Thieves, and was briefly signed to
One Little Indian Records. After his stint with the group,
Craig Logan went on to work as a
sales rep for EMI Records and later as P!nk's UK manager. In 2006, he was
put in charge of Sony BMG's RCA Records label group. Trivia!
Craig Logan was
briefly engaged to Dannii Minogue.
Encouraged by her boyfriend, ex-Bros bassist
Craig Logan, Kim Appleby launched a solo career in late 1990. Much of her
debut solo album was composed of songs co-written with sister
Mel, who died
January 18, 1990. Her debut single, 'Don't Worry', reached number 2 on the
British charts in November 1990, followed by her self-titled album. Further
singles appeared the following year, 'G.L.A.D' (10 -
Sisters
Melanie and Kim
Appleby were noticed dancing in a nightclub in their native
London and they auditioned for producer Steve
Rowland outside on the pavement. They signed a recording contract
with Supreme Records, under the guidance of production team
Stock, Aitken & Waterman in 1985 and began
releasing records as Mel & Kim.
'System' was intended as their first single but
Pete Waterman didn't think it was funky
enough so 'Showing Out (Get Fresh At The Weekend)' was
recorded and released, with 'System' as the B-side. It reached
number 3 on the British charts and became a minor hit in the USA. Their next
single, 'Respectable', reached number 1 in Britain and became
one of the year's biggest hits. They became known for their visual style
which combined urban street wear with high fashion and prior to their music
career, Mel had worked as a fashion
model. A third hit followed, 'F.L.M. (Fun, Love, Money)',
taken from their debut album of the same name, but something was wrong. The
Desiree
Heslop, AKA Princess, is an
English soul singer, who cut her musical teeth doing session work and
providing backing vocals for late 1970s African outfit
Osibisa. She ran into an associate of
Pete Waterman's in a recording studio who
set up a meeting with Pete, where she was
given five backing tracks on a cassette to work on, including 'Say I'm
Your Number One'. After a showcase held for CBS
Records failed to deliver a recording contract,
Pete Waterman orchestrated an independent release of
'Say I'm Your Number One' in 1985 on new label
Supreme Records. Reaching the top 10 within six weeks, the
track went on to sell over 1 million copies worldwide. The eponymous album
arrived in 1986 and went gold, yielding three further top 40 singles,
'After The Love Has Gone' (28 -
Philadelphia-born
Lonnie Gordon is a female Hi-NRG, House
and Soul music singer-songwriter who had a number 4 hit with the
Stock, Aitken & Waterman produced song,
'Happenin' All Over Again' in 1990. She has released more than 20
singles throughout the 1990s and 2000s, but only had the minimum of UK chart
success. In the USA, however, she's had several entries on the Hot Dance
Club Play chart including three number 1's. As subsequent UK singles
following 'Happenin' All Over Again' performed less well
(although two did reach the top 40), her debut album, 'If I Had To
Stand Alone', was never officially released in the UK. It did
however receive a
small release in Europe and Japan in 1990, on PWL's soul-pop
label off shoot, Supreme Records (home to
Princess and Mel & Kim). This
track is taken from it. In 1991, Lonnie
released the single 'Gonna Catch You', taken from the
Vanilla Ice movie, 'Cool As Ice'.
It was also included on her second album, the excellently titled 'Bad
Mood', from 1993. It also housed the singles 'Do You Want It?'
and a new remixed version of 'Happenin' All Over Again', plus
a cover of Gloria Gaynor's disco
classic, 'I Will Survive'. By this time,
Lonnie had shaved her head and bleached her hair platinum
blonde, as seen in
Sybil (Lynch)
is an American R&B/dance/pop singer, who has been recording since 1986. Most
of her hits have been covers versions and her career gradually evolved from
a soul/pop sound towards a more dance influenced one. She first achieved chart success with covers of
'Don't Make Me Over' and 'Walk On By', which were
both recorded as tributes to her musical heroine,
Dionne Warwick. Released in 1989 and 1990 respectively, both
tracks were Top 20 successes on the singles chart, the latter being the
highest charting position ever for this Burt Bacharach/Hal
David classic (6), narrowly beating eye patch-wearing
Gabrielle's version, which made number 7
in 1997. Her first three albums ('Let Yourself Go',
'Sybil', 'Sybilization') all sold poorly but have
since become quite collectable. It was when she hooked up with the UK hit
production team Stock, Aitken & Waterman
that Sybil had her biggest successes.
She had two huge top 5 smashes in 1993. The first was a version of 'The
Love I Lost' (3), a collaboration with production duo
West End, which was originally a hit for
Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes. The
second hit, 'When I'm Good And Ready', was an original song
penned by Mike Stock and
Pete Waterman which reached number 5.
Her fourth album was also released that year, entitled 'Good 'N'
Ready', and it made number 12 on the album chart. Post 1993,
Sybil's chart success dwindled and
releases like 'Beyond Your Wildest Dreams' (recorded by
Lonnie Gordon 3 years previous),
'Stronger Together' and a re-released 'My Love Is Guaranteed'
all fell short of the top 40 mark. Sybil
continues to record but no longer troubles the charts... In 2005,
she appeared in the ITV singing contest, 'Hit Me Baby One More Time',
presented by Vernon Kay, where she
performed a cover of 'I'm Gonna Getcha Good!' by
Shania Twain.
West End were a production/remix team
consisting of Denis Ingoldsby (co-owner
of 1st Avenue Records/Management) and DJ
Eddie Gordon. They were responsible for remixing many pop acts
in the 1990s, including Eternal,
Bad Boys Inc.,
Michelle Gayle, Dina Carroll
and Kylie Minogue. They released a
single as West End Featuring Sybil in
1993, 'The Love I Lost', which was a top 10 hit. In 1994, they
inked a deal with RCA via 1st Avenue to release an
album of original material as a proper pop act. They added three vocalists
to the line-up; Dawn,
Lorraine and
Sheryl, whilst they themselves remained in the background/studio.
Their proper debut single, 'Love Rules' (
Bad Boys Inc.
were a boy band formed in 1993 by record producer
Ian Levine. The members were David Ross,
Matthew Pateman,
Tony Dowding (Mmmm!) and
Ally Begg. Oh, and
Scorch, their little cartoon mascot logo. They were signed to
A&M Records and were heavily promoted in a typical boy band publicity
blitz of teen mags, school tours and night clubs. Following their first hit
single, 'Don't Talk About Love' (
Upside
Down were a 90's manufactured boy band, put together by
Ian Levine following the demise of his
previous project, Bad Boys Inc., in
1995. They came to fame after being showcased on a late night 1995 BBC
documentary about the making of a boy band. The lads names were
Richard, Chris,
Giles and Jamie
and they were signed to independent label World Records.
'Change Your Mind' was their debut single, reaching 11 on the UK top
40 chart in 1996. Their other singles were, 'Every Time I Fall In
Love' (18), 'Never Found A Love Like This Before' (19)
and 'If You Leave Me Now' (27 - the old
Chicago hit used in the 3G adverts
where the little girl eats a singing cherry...). I suggest tracking down a
copy of 'Never Found A Love Like This Before'... not because
the songs that much cop (although it does sound suspiciously like
Take That's 'Pray'), but
because there's a tasty topless poster of the lads in CD1. I have ONE extra
copy of this CD single which I am happy to post to any hapless boy band
lunatic who happens to be reading this. And yes, the poster is included!
Wank-tastic! First person to
During
the 80's, big ole gay icon Hazell Dean
scored no less than 10 chart hits in the UK, including 'Searchin' (I
Gotta Find A Man)', 'Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go)',
'Back In My Arms (Once Again)', 'No Fool (For Love)'...
all a bit bracket-tastic, eh?... 'Who's Leaving Who',
'Maybe (We Should Call It A Day)' and 'Turn It Into Love'.
The latter you'll know from the debut Kylie Minogue
album, no doubt. Anyway, she actually started singing in the 70's, releasing
a number of pop singles credited to The Hazell Dean
Orchestra but without any success.
Hazell developed her soft pop sound into a more dance-orientated
one and in February 1984,
she entered the UK top 75 with the double A-side 'Evergreen/Jealous
Love'. Camp classic 'Searchin'' quickly followed and
spent an impressive 15 weeks in the singles chart, reaching number 6 and
getting Hazell and her rolled up sleeves
on 'Top Of The Pops'. Hazell Dean
has the accolade of being the first ever Stock,
Aitken & Waterman artist to hit the top 10 when her single,
'Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go)', reached number 4 in 1984. 'Heart
First', Hazell's debut long
player, was released the following year and was a tricky little buggar to buy on CD
until Infinity Records re-released it in 1997. That's also now
deleted however. Anyway, a few more singles were pulled off the album in
1985-6 but despite remaining part of the S/A/W
fold, Hazell hit a dry spell and
failed to make any further impact on the top 40. New material similarly
flopped, the singles 'They Say It's Gonna Rain' (a number 1
single in South Africa -
This
is Sinitta's mum,
Miquel (pronounced Michael) Brown!
She is an actress and singer, best known to the Gay community for her Hi-NRG
records produced by Ian Levine in the
80s. As a teenager, by day Miquel
studied Medicine at Washington University in Washington D.C. and by night,
frequented nightclubs, dreaming of becoming a professional performer. During
this time she fell in love, married and had a daughter (Sinitta)
in Seattle, Washington. She then left university after successfully
auditioning for the part of Sheila in the US touring company version
of the musical 'Hair'. Miquel
arrived in the UK in 1973, having divorced her husband. She was cast as the
lead in something called 'Decameron '73' at the famous Roadhouse in London and
earned critical acclaim leading to an interview on 'The Michael
Parkinson Show'. She also turned up in the pilot episode of
'The Sweeney'. In 1974, she continued to perform, appearing in the
film 'Rollerball', as well as the teleplay 'Regan'
and joined the all-singing, all-dancing group
Second Generation. Through the next two years she performed
various parts in 'Bubbling Brown Sugar' and scored television
appearances in 'Seaside Special', 'Supersonic',
'The Ronnie Corbett Show', 'Jack Parnell's Show',
'Vince Hill's Musical Time Machine' and
Bruce Forsyth's 'Bring On The Girls'. Her musical
break came when she starred in the musical 'Mardi Gras' in
1976. It was through this that she got first record deal, releasing debut
single 'The First Time Around' and the album 'Symphony
Of Love' in 1978. The album shot up the American charts to number 26
and was a hit with the Gays. Also in 1978, she appeared in the film
'Superman', as a non-speaking news reporter.
Miquel crossed the paths with Ian
Levine and Fiachra Trench in
1983 and together with Record Shack Records, they created the album
'Manpower', a Hi-NRG classic. The first single released from
the album was 'So Many Men, So Little Time' (
Sinitta
Renet Malone is an African-American actress and singer. She is
also the daughter of disco singer Miquel Brown
and the niece of another disco singer, Amii Stewart.
Sinitta began her own show business
career by starring as a cheerleader in the movie 'Shock Treatment'
(a sequel, of sorts, to 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show') in
1981. Sinitta then furthered her singing
and dancing skills as part of sexy dance troupe Hot
Gossip, releasing two disco singles, 'Break Me Into Little
Pieces' and 'Don't Beat Around The Bush', in 1983/4.
She landed a singing role in the musical 'Cats' in-between and
spent 1985-6 appearing in the West End musical 'Mutiny!'.
Sinitta was romantically linked in the
British tabloids with her much older leading man,
David Essex, who also wrote the score. Returning to music,
Sinitta released her first solo hit,
'So Macho' in 1986, backed with 'club hit' 'Cruising'
(the gays love this one). It reached number 2 but it's follow up,
'Feels Like The First Time', just missed the top 40... Somebody call
Stock, Aitken & Waterman!
S/A/W-produced 'Toy Boy'
was released as a single in 1987 and reached number 4 in the chart, taken
from Sinitta's debut album, 'Sinttia!'.
More hits followed with 'G.T.O.' (15) and 'Cross My
Broken Heart' (6 -
Hot
Gossip were a British dance troupe best known for their
appearances on the TV series 'The Kenny Everett Video Show',
which aired on ITV in the late 1970s. The
sexually suggestive dance routines, moves, gestures and tight costumes used
by the troupe were created and choreographed by Arlene Phillips
and considered very risqué for the time. Check
B.E.F.
(British Electric Foundation) are a
studio 'band'/production company formed by ex-Human
League members Martyn Ware
and Ian Craig Marsh, who later became
Heaven 17 with lead singer
Glenn Gregory.
Ware and Marsh's first
release as B.E.F. came in 1980, with the
collection of instrumentals, 'Music For Stowaways'. Initially
released only on cassette, it was inspired by the appearance of the first
ever Sony walkman, marketed in the UK as the Sony Stowaway. A
vinyl release appeared also, 'Music For Listening To', mainly
for export sales, which was slightly truncated but had the addition of a
bonus track. In the late 1990s, Caroline Records in the USA released
a CD version with this title containing the complete contents from both
versions. In 1982, with Heaven 17
already established with Glenn Gregory
as the lead vocalist, B.E.F. released an
album entitled 'Music Of Quality And Distinction Volume One'
on Virgin Records. Long-time visitors to this site might remember we
posted a track from it back in the early days. The album featured various
artists covering classic songs, backed with synthesisers and drum machines.
In attendance were Billy Mackenzie,
Tina Turner,
Sandie Shaw, Gary Glitter,
Paula Yates, Paul Jones (ex-Led
Zeppelin),
Glenn Gregory and
Bernie Nolan (which is what's on the menu here - 4 years before
Kim Wilde's version, too!). Due to the
demands of
Heaven 17, it was not until 1991 that a second volume appeared,
'Music Of Quality And Distinction Volume Two', this time
showcasing the vocal talents of Terrence Trent
D'arby, Chaka Khan,
Green Gartside (Scritti
Politti), Lalah Hathaway,
Mavis Staples and
Billy Mackenzie once again. It wasn't until the 28th of March
2007, that B.E.F. made their first ever
live performance, as part of the line-up for the 'Tribute To Billy
MacKenzie' concert held at Shepherds Bush Empire, London. The
B.E.F. line-up included
Martyn Ware on keyboards, with
Glenn Gregory on vocals. Included in their
set was a version of Heaven 17's
'Temptation' with Claudia Brucken
providing the female vocals, and an acoustic rendition of
The Associates' 'Party Fears Two'. Apparently,
B.E.F. are currently working on a third
album/project entitled 'Dark', again consisting of cover
versions but with a sinister twist...
60's
Brit girl singer Sandie Shaw began her recording career at the age of 17,
after being discovered by popular singer Adam Faith. Her trademark was to
perform in bare feet because, in her own words, "I feel more relaxed, more
able to get the mood of a song". Whatever, love. Anyway, she was a bit of a
relentless hit machine back in the 60's, belting out a string of classic pop
singles including '(There's) Always Something There To Remind Me' (a number
1), 'Girl Don't Come', 'I'll Stop at Nothing',
'Long Live Love' (a
second number 1), 'Message Understood', 'Tomorrow' and
'Nothing Comes Easy',
all of which made the Top 20. 'Run' was her tenth single released in 1966
and it actually gave her her lowest UK chart placing since the start of her
career - peaking only at number 32. It features OTT thunder and lightning
effects, some serious string action and paranoid lyrics, making it one of my favourites! I
was sad to learn Shaw herself was not particularly keen in recording the
song, but her songwriter Chris Andrews insisted it should be recorded. By
1967, Shaw's record sales were tailing off and her manager decided, against
Sandie's better judgement, to put her forward to represent the UK in that year's
Eurovision Song Contest. 'Puppet On A String' became a song she hated, but
she now says; "It is a song which has been the source of much grief,
hilarity, circumspection and I have to admit, financial reward for many
years". The song won the contest and the following year, there was
a Sandie Shaw
fashion label launched, selling her own brand of clothes and shoes,
followed by her own TV show, 'The Sandie Shaw Supplement'. A key track,
'Heaven Knows I'm Missing Him Now', was issued as a single in 1969 and would
go on to inspire The Smiths on their
'Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now' single
15 years later. Shaw generally regards the 1970s as a low point in her life
and differences of opinion about the direction her career was going in with
her label and manager led to her into semi-retirement. Lured back to the
limelight by B.E.F. (Martyn Ware and
Ian Craig Marsh, of
Heaven 17), Sandie
recorded 'Anyone Who Had A Heart' in 1982, previously recorded by
Dionne
Warwick, Cilla Black,
Dusty Springfield and Petula Clark. In August 1983, a
new phase in her career began after she received a letter signed "Two
incurable Sandie Shaw fans", telling her that, "The Sandie Shaw legend cannot
be over yet — there is more to be done". The letter was in fact from
Morrissey and lead guitarist
Johnny Marr of The Smiths. Quickly recording
her own version of The Smiths 'Hand In
Glove' and taking it to the top 40,
any hopes of a new album were put on hold when Shaw fell pregnant. 1988
finally saw a new Sandie Shaw album,
'Hello Angel' (named after the
affectionate opening of one of Morrissey's postcards) which featured
two Morrissey/Marr compositions ('Hand In Glove' and
'Please Help The Cause
Against Loneliness'), plus 'Cool About You', written by
Jim and William Reid
of The Jesus And Mary Chain.
Shaw's autobiography, 'The World At My Feet',
was published in 1991, and the following year she began studying at Oxford
and London University, qualifying as a psychotherapist in 1994. A 4CD box
set entitled 'Nothing Comes Easy' was released in 2004, containing all her
A and B-sides, plus rare and unreleased tracks. All
songs were digitally remastered and some were heard in stereo for the first
time.
'The
Queen Is Dead' is the third studio album by
The Smiths. It was released on June 16, 1986 by Rough Trade
Records and reached number 2 in the British album charts. The album is
popularly regarded as The Smiths' finest
hour. A typical mixture of the mordantly bleak ('Never Had No One
Ever', 'I Know It's Over') and dry humour ('Frankly,
Mr. Shankly', 'Vicar In A Tutu'), with a unique blend
of musical styles (jangle pop, rockabilly and punk rock), it quickly became
a British sensation and established The Smiths
as one of the biggest alternative bands of their era. Both
Morrissey and
Marr disagree, however, citing it's 1987 follow up album, 'Strangeways,
Here We Come', as their peak. 'Cemetery Gates' was
Morrissey's direct response to critics
who had cried foul over his use of texts written by his some of his
favourite authors, notably Shelagh Delaney
and Elizabeth Smart.
Oscar Wilde, who was also accused of
plagiarism, figures as a patron saint of Morrissey's
in the song's lyrics. Like Wilde,
Morrissey regards the appropriation of
texts as not at all problematic and, in fact, a common artistic practice.
Wilde said "Talent borrows, genius
steals", and Morrissey agreed. He
even had Wilde's epigram etched in the
vinyl run-out grooves of 'Bigmouth Strikes Again',
the first single off the album. In 1997, 'The Queen Is Dead'
was named the 15th greatest album of all time in a 'Music Of The
Millennium' poll conducted by HMV,
Channel 4, 'The Guardian' and Classic FM. In
2003, the album was ranked number 216 on 'Rolling Stone'
magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2005, Channel
4 viewers placed it at number 20, and in 2006, 'Q'
magazine readers placed it at number 12. In 2000, 'Q' placed
it at number 27 in its list of the '100 Greatest British Albums Ever';
in 2004, a similar list by 'The Observer Music Monthly'
magazine's critics placed it at number 37, behind the band's eponymous debut
which came in 21st. It was ranked number 5 in 'Spin'
magazine's '100 Greatest Albums 1985-2005'. In June 2006, 20
years after its original release, 'NME' dedicated almost a
whole issue to the album and placed the album second in a list of greatest
British albums, behind The Stone Roses.
Phew! Watch Derek Jarman's promo clip
that accompanied the title track
Following
the break up of The Smiths',
Morrissey began a successful solo career with
1988's 'Viva Hate' album. Reaching number 1 upon release, the album was
supported by two very strong singles; 'Suedehead' and 'Everyday Is Like
Sunday' (
Echobelly
were at the forefront of the Britpop phenomenon, brought to
prominence after much praise by singer Morrissey
who asked them to be the opening act on his 1994 tour. The original line-up
consisted of Sonya Aurora Madan
(vocals), Glenn Johansson (guitar),
Debbie Smith (ex-Curve,
guitar), Alex Keyser (bass) and
Andy Henderson (drums). Very much a product
of their time, Echobelly used upbeat
pop/rock as the backdrop for a lyrical intensity and diversity, with early
songs dealing with issues of equality, particularly racial and sexual, and
many songs appeared to rally against lad culture. Their debut single in
November 1993, 'Bellyache', dealt with the emotional fall-out
of abortion and led the band, especially Madan,
to be closely associated with the Riot Grrrl scene. Within 6 months,
Echobelly broke into the top 40 singles
chart with their third single, 'I Can't Imagine The World Without Me',
one of Brit Pop's most exhilarating artefacts. Their debut album,
'Everyone's Got One' (or 'EGO') was well received, if
short of further hit singles ('Close… But' only reaching 59).
'Father, Ruler, King, Computer' is taken from their debut and
is one of the best tracks on it by far. Echobelly
peaked in 1995 with 'Great Things' (13), which saw
Madan perform the song decked out in a
school uniform on 'Top Of The Pops' (long before
Britney might I add -
Tim
Simenon, an English man of Malaysian origin, was born and raised
in London in 1968. As a teenager, he used to DJ at the Wag Club and
attended a studio-engineering course in the late 1980s. Inspired by the new
studio trickery he'd picked up on the course, his first hit record under the
Bomb The Bass moniker, 'Beat Dis',
sampled everything from 'Thunderbirds' to Blaxploitation
movies. The track was released on the Rhythm King label and it's
timing was perfect. The pop charts were littered with homemade dance records
at this time, including M/A/R/R/S' 'Pump Up The
Volume', Coldcut's 'Doctorin'
The House' and label-mates S'Express'
'Theme From S'Express'. 'Beat Dis' reached
number 2 in the UK charts in February 1988 and was followed by a run of
singles which includes Burt Bacharach/Hal
David composition, 'Say A Little Prayer' (with
Maureen) and 'Assault On Precinct
13'-sampling double A-side 'Megablast/Don't Make Me Wait'
(With Merlin/Lorraine
-
Maureen?
Not a very exciting popstar name is it? She was the singer on
Bomb The Bass' top 10 cover of
Aretha Franklin hit, 'Say A Little
Prayer' in 1988. She had released her own single prior to this, called 'Don't Fight The Music', which was 'big in the
clubs'. After her exposure alongside Tim Simenon,
she released a string of soul flavoured dance-pop singles between 1990-91. These were
'Don't Hold Back', 'Where Has All The Love Gone?'
(not a Yazz cover), 'It's My Life'
(not a Dr Albarn cover) and
'Mesmerise Me'. She also released a funky house cover of
Sister Sledge's 'We Are Family',
which charted in the UK top 20. This track we're posting, and all the others, can be found on her only album, 'From Now On'
and it is quite representative of her stuff - inoffensive, quite funky
house-pop. She had no real success, bless her, but she gets the award
for crappest popstar name in the world ever.