The Next Teardrop Falls

Clockwise: The English Beat; The Police; Go West; Ultravox; and ABC.

For some reason, I had a desire to post about songs with the word "tear" in the title. This would be my own little twist on the recent series of Saturday night Torch Song posts. I went to iTunes, and typed in "t-e-a-r" and up popped the list. I picked out five songs, all well-loved by me. This will be my version of 80s-style Torch! Well, to be honest, my first entry was released in 1979 by The English Beat. The band was headed by Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger, and had just released their first album, Just Can't Stop It. The song was Tears of A Clown, written by the great Stevie Wonder, Hank Cosby, and the great Smokey Robinson. The Beat put the song in their own ska style, making for a great of of the song. You can find it on iTunes and Amazon.



Late in 1980, The Police released their third album, Zenyattà Mondatta. The album was written and recorded while they were on tour for the second album, and later, all would express disappointment with it. I think it was still a good, strong album, and I just love the song Driven To Tears. Tell me what you think.



I went absolutely crazy for the band ABC when I heard their debut album, Lexicon of Love. Of course, it began with a crush on Martin Frye, the driving creative force behind the band. The band made lush Pop songs that were a little bit Glam and a lot New Wave. In 1981, the album was released, and it had the fantastic song Tears Are Not Enough.



Another one of my crushes from the 80s was Midge Ure. I was totally into him, and his music. As part of the band Ultravox, I couldn't get enough of the music. Their dense sound had an almost orchestral sound, with electric guitars involved. Watch the wonderful video from 1984 for Dancing With Tears In My Eyes, off the Lament album.



Singer Peter Cox and musician Richard Drummie were Go West, another of my favorite bands of the 80s. I just loved the sound of Cox's voice, and thought they made great music together. From the moment I heard Don't Look Down in 1985, I knew I was hooked. And seeing the video, with the very handsome bandmates, well, it didn't hurt one bit. And in 1993, the band released the album Aces and Kings - The Best of Go West, which featured the song Tracks of My Tears, specially recorded for the collection. The song, written by Motown great William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr., Warren Moore, and Marvin Tarplin, made it to the music charts in several decades by different performers. It was a hit for The Miracles in the 1960s, Linda Ronstadt in the 1970s, a re-release by Smokey Robinson & the miracles in the 1980s, and for Go West in the 1990s. The song continues to be covered by countless artists, including by American Idol contestant Adam Lambert, who sang it on the show in his time on Idol in 2009, and by Rod Stewart that same year. But here is the video for the cover by Go West.



So, take care till the next teardrop falls...