It's strange how a run of the mill disco track can sound quite good thirty years on. Freddie James recorded the track in 1979 and managed to get a worldwide hit with it, despite his age (he was just a young kid).
Double singles have always been irresistible to me, so when I spotted this one I bought it despite the fact that I didn't know the A-side track. Elton John is a classic singer/songwriter anyway, so most of his stuff is worth listening to. With the exception, perhaps, of 'Heartache all over the world', which is a piece of music that doesn't really go anywhere.
Aled Jones was born on December 29, 1970. He was raised in the small Welsh-speaking community of Llandegfan, in Anglesey and attended Ysgol David Hughes. Jones joined the choir of Bangor Cathedral at age nine and was lead soloist within two years. The remarkable clarity of his treble voice was appreciated by a member of the congregation, Hefina Orwig Evans, who wrote a letter to local record company Sain, and he was duly signed. In 1982 he won the Cerdd Dant solo competitions for competitors under 12 at the Urdd Eisteddfod.
Donna Summer's collaboration with Stock, Aitken & Waterman was short-lived, i.e. it only lasted for one album (1989's 'Another place and time'), but there were three singles taken from the album.
'When Smokey sings' was a comeback single of sorts for the band ABC. It was released as the first single from their fourth album 'Alphabet city' and their first big hit since 'All of my heart' almost five years previous.
Pat Boone was born on June 1, 1934 and was a successful pop singer in the Fifties and early Sixties. As a devout Christian, Boone refused songs and movie roles that he felt might compromise his standards—including a role with sex symbol Marilyn Monroe. In his first film, 'April love', he refused to give co-star and love interest Shirley Jones an onscreen kiss, because the actress was married in real life.
I've known the English band Fiat Lux since 1984 when their single 'Secret' made quite an impression on me. For a long time I thought it was their debut single, but I was wrong: they actually started two years previous with the independently released single 'Feels like winter again'.
'John, I’m only dancing (again)' was released in 1979 as a reworking of David Bowie's 1972 track 'John, I'm only dancing', made during the sessions for the album Young Americans. The re-recording featured a much more funk-influenced take on the track. Originally running at 6:57, the track was cut for a 7" single release, but the full version was issued on 12" vinyl – the first Bowie single to have a regular 12" release in the UK. For the B-side, the original version of 'John, I'm only dancing' was remixed.
'Need you tonight' is one of those singles I never bought because by the time it was into the charts I was already sick of it. It must have been one of the most played tracks of 1987 and even now when INXS is remembered, it's usually for this song - although they have recorded much more interesting tracks before and after this.
The single 'Smalltown boy' was an instant hit upon its release in 1984. Part of this was due to the track, with a driving beat and haunting vocals, but the music video had a lot to do with it as well. It told the story of a boy moving to the big city after having issues with his parents - his father especially. It wouldn't be all too obvious if it weren't for the fact that the lead singer Jimmy Somerville was very vocal in gay rights groups.
The S.O.S Band first found fame in 1980 when they released 'Take your time (Do it right)'. Three years later they joined forces with the new production team of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who went on to have lots of success with Janet Jackson in the second half of the Eighties.
Kim Wilde has been presenting her radio show 'Secret songs' for two years now, and being a regular listener, this is one of the songs I picked up on recently. It was apparently a number 1 hit in the UK, when it was released as a single from their 1990 album 'Choke'.
'Mathema solfege' was only the third contribution of Greece to the Eurovision Song Contest, back in 1977. They started participating in 1974, two decades after the contest started. This song landed the country in the top 10, as the quartet consisting of Pascalis Arvanitidis, Marianna Toli, Robert Williams and Bessy Argyraki managed to get to fifth place.
I wasn't the first to discover the band Hurts this year, but when I did, I was glad. They have been described as a modern version of Black and the Blue Nile, and in a way there are - although the most obvious links would have to be the song titles ('Wonderful life' and 'Stay' respectively).
Dusty Springfield's collaboration with Richard Carpenter must have seemed a strange move after she gained street credibility with the Pet Shop Boys. The single, taken from Carpenter's album 'Time', his first project since the death of his sister Karen, didn't repeat the success of 'What have I done to deserve this?' when it was released in October 1987. It only managed one week in the UK singles chart, at number 89.
I was not impressed when 'Are you gonna go my way' was released in 1993. It was a reasonable chart hit at the time, but the rocky sound of the track put me off. It was at a time when most chart music was putting me off - I'd already moved into more obscure territory.
If nothing else, the songs by Lady Gaga are infectuous. I don't think they will really stand the test of time, as this kind of overproduced pop rarely sounds fresh a decade later. In the case of 'Alejandro', it sounds a bit like a rejected Ace of Base track from circa 1990, which is quite remarkable in itself.
Sophie Ellis-Bextor is best known for her 2001 hit 'Murder on the dancefloor'. But she's still going strong, as is evidenced by this picture disc 7", released earlier this year. Produced by the Freemasons, this track sounds a lot like the Eighties classic 'Blue Monday' by New Order, yet sounds very contemporary.
'When 'Oxygene IV' was first released in 1977, it was an instant chart success around the world. Such much, created entirely on synthesizers, had never been heard before and Jean-Michel Jarre acquired a reputation as being a master of technology.' The press info sheet included with this single stretches historical facts a bit: long before 'Oxygene' was released, the German masters of technology Kraftwerk were already at it. But we go on...
'Me myself I' was a single taken from Joan Armatrading's 1980 album of the same name. She had made a name for herself with the hit single 'Rosie', but subsequent singles weren't as successful as that one. It's undeniable, however, that the lady packed a lot of power in this song.
