Catch The New Wave...

Clockwise: Lloyd Cole; Haircut 100; Nik Kershaw; and Fine Young Cannibals.

As we take one last breath before going out tonight, and try to not let the last day of work get us down, I thought I would offer up some of the music I was listening to about 30 years ago, give or take a year or two. I will start with a singer/songwriter I loved back then, and still love today. That would be the delicious Lloyd Cole, here performing with the wonderful group, The Commotions. It is so amazing, for I did purchase his latest release, Broken Record, in 2010. But now, we are going back to 1985, and enjoy Lloyd's Lost Weekend.



There is something that is just far too delicious about the music of Haircut 100, and the amazing Nick Heyward. I loved their yummy Pop music. I fell in love with Favourite Shirt (Boy Meets Girl) in 1981. And the following year, they had the coolest song of them all, Love Plus One. You can't help but move when you hear this!



I won't like, I had such a crush on Nik Kershaw. I first discovered him when I heard Wouldn't It Be Good, an amazing song he released in 1984. The song had me running to the import store, and buying his album. It was then I heard the song that would quickly become my favorite, the intricate Don Quixote. Some 28 years later, and I can say that Don Quixote is still a favorite of mine. And I still have a bit of a crush on Nik!



There is something about the music of Fine Young Cannibals that is ultimately sexy and sultry as hell. Roland Gift's voice is just amazing to hear, with nuance and a nod to earlier rock 'n' roll music, but certainly looking forward to a new and exciting combination of sounds. I remember hearing Johnny Come Home for the first time in 1985, and actually getting excited, and wanting to own the album.



You can find all of the music on both iTunes and Amazon.

Lloyd Cole & the Commotions iTunes and Amazon
Haircut 100 iTunes and Amazon
Nik Kershaw iTunes and Amazon
Fine Young Cannibals iTunes and Amazon

Countdown to the weekend has begun...

Dark Monday - Red Hot + Blue

Twenty years ago, the album Red Hot + Blue was released. It featured the music of American musical theater legend Cole Porter and some of the top acts of the day, all to raise money and awareness for AIDS research. The album contained 20 cuts, and I found 17 videos for those cuts, and for the next several weeks, will be running them in this Monday night spot. The album was thought of as a fundraising tool, it also allowed the artists involved great freedom with their interpretation of Porter's music, making for a wide variety of styles on the album. We shall go through the album in the order that is on my CD, which I did purchase at the time.



Porter was an amazing talent, and some consider him one of the best LGBT songwriters, if not THE best. He started his Broadway career in 1915, when one of his songs appeared in a Broadway Revue. He was just 24 years old. He went on to write songs for the theater like Lets Do It, Let's Fall In Love, What Is This Thing Called Love, and Anything Goes. Despite having a whife of 35 years, most believed him to be gay, and the marriage one between two dear friends who gave one another space and freedom, while gaining both wider acceptance in the greater world at large.

I've Got You Under My Skin was written in 1936 for the MGM musical Born To Dance. Frank Sinatra had a hit with his version, as did the Four Seasons, better known today from Broadway's Jersey Boys. On the album, it was performed by the incredible Nenah Cherry, who retitled it Under My Skin. I loved her take on it, which was very new and fresh [at the time], and oh-so-appropriate for the song.



In The Still Of The Night was written for another MGM musical, this one named Rosalie. Originally published in 1937, the song was covered by countless artists, but the most well-known would be the Doo-Wop group Dion & the Belmonts. On the album, it was covered by The Neville Brothers, featuring the incredible voice of Aaron Neville.



You Do Something To Me was written in 1929 for the show Fifty Million Frenchmen, although more people know it from the cover versions. Everyone from Frank Sinatra to Ella Fitzgerald had sung the song, and on this album, it was the Irish singer Sinead O'Connor who did the duties, and her version is pretty amazing!



The next track was Begin The Beguine, covered by Salif Keita. While a video was made, I was unable to find it. The song was written in 1935, and appeared in the Broadway show Jubilee. Keita is an Afro-Pop singer/songwriter from Mali, and definitely put his own spin on the song. Love For Sale followed, a song that first appeared on the Broadway stage in 1930 in a show called The New Yorkers. It was covered by Billie Holiday in 1945, and Harvey Fierstein in the movie version of Torch Song Trilogy. Here it was covered by Fine Young Cannibals with a rather sultry version. Unfortunately, this is one of two songs that did not have a video.

Written in 1939 for the musical Du Barry Was A Lady and sung by pin-up girl Betty Grable, and later added to the 1956 film High Society, sung by Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby, Well, Have You Evah was classic Porter. On the album, it is performed to perfection by Debbie Harry & Iggy Pop.



Hope you enjoyed this, and I look forward to bringing you more in the coming weeks!

Worth Another Listen - Fine Young Cannibals

In 1984, after the break up of The English Beat, bassist David Steele and guitarist Andy Cox formed a band with singer Roland Gift, and it became known as Fine Young Cannibals. By 1985 they had their first album out, The Finest. Along with the album came a single, Johnny Come Home. It became a small hit in the US, climbing up the charts, and creating a stir with a the retro sound and Gift's striking good looks. The kinetic sexuality of the band was hard to miss.



The following year, they released Suspicious Minds, a remake of the Elvis Presley song that included background vocals by Jimmy Somerville, the amazing vocalist from the bands Bronski Beat and the Communards, as well as a fantastic solo career. Again, the kinetic energy of the band is an obvious factor, a strong characteristic of their 80s New Wave, post-punk persona.



In 1989 they released The Raw & The Cooked, their second and, unfortunately, final album. By 1992 they were no more, save a brief reunion in 1996 to record a single for a greatest hits collection. The new album was a departure from their first outing, much more mainstream and pop-driven. While it alienated a few fans, it certainly appealed to many new one, as it scored two number 1 hits, and the top spot on the US album charts. She Drives Me Crazy had a stronger rock sound, the guitars driving the opening beats.



Good Thing returned to the retro sound of the sixties, pre-dating Amy Winhouse and Duffy's ventures by almost 20 years. It brings a bit of Memphis soul to the proceedings.



After the breakup, both Steele and Cox continued to work in the music industry, and still do to this day. Gift went on to do some acting and released a solo album with limited success, and since the turn of the century, the band has done a couple of tours together. To find out more, you can catch up on Gift's official site here.