'My forbidden lover' is another one of those catchy tunes only Chic could make during the late Seventies. It was the second single from the band's third album 'Risque'.
Rod Argent wrote 'She's not there' and was recorded by his band the Zombies in 1964. Although this version became a hit in several countries, it was not as memorable as the 1978 cover version by Santana.
I've been searching for this single for such a long time, that I totally forgot I was searching for it. I saw it for the first time in over 10 years, and for a reasonable price too. For a moment, I was even wondering whether I had it or not...
Boney M officially disbanded after the commercially unsuccessful and ininspired album 'Eye dance' (1985). From that point, several different versions of the group were formed. The classic line-up reformed in 1988 for the album 'Greatest hits of all times - remix 88', but this reunion didn't last very long: within the year Liz Mitchell left the group, to be replaced by Madeleine Davis.
According to Sting, 'Walking on the moon' is about the feeling of being in love. He wrote the song when he: 'was drunk in a hotel room in Munich, slumped on the bed with the whirling pit when this riff came into my head. I got up and starting walking round the room singing: 'Walking round the room, walking round the room'. That was all. In the cool light of morning I remembered what had happened and I wrote the riff down. But 'Walking round the room' was a stupid title so I thought of something even more stupid which was 'Walking on the moon'.'
In 1986, Nena released their sixth album 'Eisbrecher' ('Ice breaker'). It was to be their last album as a band; frontwoman Nena Kerner continued as a solo artist, still using the name Nena. The single 'Mondsong' was written by her and recorded with the band.
Although the Police never formally broke up, 1985 was the year in which all three members started concentrating on solo projects. The most successful of the three was Sting, who launched his solo career in the summer of 1985 with this single, 'If you love somebody set them free'. It was the first single from his first solo album, 'The dream of the blue turtles', which he recorded with a band of accomplished jazz musicians.
'Blok aan mijn been' was the third and final single taken from the self-titled debut album by the Frank Boeijen Groep, the Dutch band that was founded by Frank Boeijen at the end of the Seventies. Like its predecessor 'Vrijdagavond', this single failed to chart.
Just three weeks ago, in my entry about the single 'Manzanar', I wrote that I hadn't been able to find a copy of the third and last single from Cock Robin's third album 'First love last rites', 'Straighter line', and indeed, it has been a hell of a search. But fortunately the single popped up on a mailorder website 12 days ago, and so now I do have it.
David Bowie recorded 'Up the hill backwards' as a track on his 1980 album 'Scary monsters (and super creeps)'. The lyric is often seen as a commentary on the public coverage of his divorce from Angela Bowie, one of several tracks on the album that muse over the double-edged sword of celebrity. It has also been interpreted as facing up to crises in general.
After Mai Tai had some big successes in the Eighties, their career came to a complete standstill when their third album 'Cool is the rule' (1987) was less successful. They disappeared from view until 1991, when a 'Best of' album was released. This album featured one new track, 'Dance in the light'. That single did not chart.
'Love of the common people' was written by John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins. The lyrics tell a bleak story of poverty and joblessness. Though Wilkins and Hurley did not expressly say so in the lyrics, the song is also a protest of what they saw as the failure of the American government to do more for the poor and unemployed than it had. The track was originally recorded by Waylon Jennings in 1967, then covered by Nicky Thomas in 1970.
'Thursday's child' was released as the third and last single from Tanita Tikaram's second album 'The sweet keeper'. The track was re-recorded for the single release. However, this did not help matters much: the single did not chart.
According to Erasure members Vince Clarke and Andy Bell, 'The circus' was a deliberate departure of the pop sound of their previous six singles. The lyric touches on social issues and center around the lament of 'working men', whose bright futures and job securities are left shattered in the modern world of greedy corporations and technology.
With Bobby Farrell out of the line-up of Boney M and new male singer Reggie Tsiboe in, the group was facing difficult times. With already three singles landing outside of the top 40 in Germany, 'Somewhere in the world' was the fourth attempt at having more success - but another failure.
Paloma San Basilio was born on November 22, 1950 in Madrid, Spain. She started her career in the Spanish music scene in the Seventies with the album 'Sombras'. In 1985, she represented Spain during the Eurovision Song Contest with 'La fiesta terminó'. This song was composed by Juan Carlos Calderón, who is best known for the 1973 entry 'Eres tu' by Mocedades, which ended second in the Contest but went on to become a worldwide hit. 'La fiesta terminó' was less successful: it finished 14th in the Contest in a field of 19 competitors.
'Only your love' was the first single by Bananarama after a four year relationship with the producers trio Stock, Aitken & Waterman. This song was co-written and produced by Youth. It was released as the first single from the group's fifth studio album 'Pop life' and released several months prior to its release.
'Never knew love' was written by John Paul and Derek Bordeaux and recorded by Rick Astley on his third album 'Free', the one he made without the involvement of Stock, Aitken & Waterman. Instead, this track was produced by Gary Stevenson and Astley himself.
I might never have heard 'A little respect' if Kim Wilde hadn't decided to start performing the song live during her 2009 spring tour. Although the single was a big hit in the UK in 1988, I didn't hear the song at the time so I caught up 21 years later.
If this song sounds familiar to you, then most probably you're reminded of the original version of 'Song sung blue' by Neil Diamond, recorded in 1972. It was a number 1 hit in the USA, also reaching number 14 in the UK singles chart.
