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March 28, 2024, 05:12:22 PM

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Topic: Top of the Pops on BBC Four - Thread Two.

Started by Dr Rock, August 26, 2018, 02:21:41 PM

Previous topic - Next topic
Quote from: buzby on April 01, 2020, 10:22:52 PM
Amazing tune, and a fine follow-up to Buffalo Stance. Produced by her partner Booga Bear this time, though Tim Simenon does still appear doing the scratching. The string arrangement was by Will Malone, who would go on to arrange the strings on Massive Attack's Unfinished Sympathy (the recording of which was financed by Cherry and her partner). Much later he would also arrange the strings n The Verve's Bittersweet Symphony

I hadn't made the connections, but that explains why I've always desperately wanted to like Manchild, but can't. It's basically a prototype of numerous much better songs. It's got the strings of Unfinished Sympathy underneath, it's got the scratches from Be Thankful For What You've Got and strings from Unkle's Lonely Soul in there too.

All of the ingredients are there, Neneh's hot as all hell*, I should absolutely love Manchild. But I don't. I can respect what it does, but I can't fall in love with it. A proper Ford Mondeo of a song.

*the performance in the tight minidress is staying on the Sky box forever. I've locked that shit.

Natnar

Quote from: buzby on April 01, 2020, 10:22:52 PM
This is the most basic S/A/W production line filler, and Waterman should be ashamed for asking Donna Summer to sing it.
I think the story with this track is that Donna Summer was dead against it being released as a single, however the record company ignored her and released it anyway so Donna refused to appear in the video. That's why it's just a video of random people hanging about.

Johnboy

latest two episodes fairly weak

wanted to like the beautiful south but found them annoying

the

Quote from: Huxleys Babkins on April 02, 2020, 11:41:16 AMI hadn't made the connections, but that explains why I've always desperately wanted to like Manchild, but can't. It's basically a prototype of numerous much better songs. It's got the strings of Unfinished Sympathy underneath, it's got the scratches from Be Thankful For What You've Got and strings from Unkle's Lonely Soul in there too.

All of the ingredients are there, Neneh's hot as all hell*, I should absolutely love Manchild. But I don't. I can respect what it does, but I can't fall in love with it. A proper Ford Mondeo of a song.

I like the original, but I'm also been keen on the more hip-hop Old School Mix, with the extra rap at the start.

non capisco

I've just never been sure who Neneh's meant to be having a go at on 'Manchild'. Car mechanics? I dunno.

Non Stop Dancer

Quote from: non capisco on April 02, 2020, 09:05:45 PM
I've just never been sure who Neneh's meant to be having a go at on 'Manchild'. Car mechanics? I dunno.
She took against them after she got talked into buying 4 new tyres when strictly speaking, she could've got another 6 weeks out of the two rear ones. Best to do them all at once, they said, otherwise you don't feel the benefit.

I think Manchild is great, certainly one of (if not) the first tunes to utilize the strings + hip hop beats formula touched upon by Soul II Soul taking it in a more pop direction that, via Unfinished Sympathy resulted in the popularity of the sound by the mid 90s. The productions of Nellee Hooper who worked with both Cherry & Soul II Soul and also William Orbit both utilized these elements successfully,  I feel that Orbit's production work on Madonna's Frozen is in the vein of Manchild and there are many other mid 90's hits that also follow this template, such as the remix of Candi Staton's You Got The Love and even the Spice Girls - Two Become One owes it a debt.


buzby

Quote from: Better Midlands on April 02, 2020, 10:47:38 PM
I think Manchild is great, certainly one of (if not) the first tunes to utilize the strings + hip hop beats formula touched upon by Soul II Soul taking it in a more pop direction that, via Unfinished Sympathy resulted in the popularity of the sound by the mid 90s. The productions of Nellee Hooper who worked with both Cherry & Soul II Soul and also William Orbit both utilized these elements successfully,  I feel that Orbit's production work on Madonna's Frozen is in the vein of Manchild and there are many other mid 90's hits that also follow this template, such as the remix of Candi Staton's You Got The Love and even the Spice Girls - Two Become One owes it a debt.
I think Manchild goes a bit further than just 'strings and breakbeats' due to the way the strings are used. Hooper (who had also been a member of the Wild Bunch collective that spawned Massive Attack) used strings in Soul II Soul in a more 'traditional' way, similar to how they had been used on the likes of Philly Soul records. Cameron 'Booga Bear' McVey and Will Malone's use of them on Manchild is far more classical/symphonic in feel, and this was developed further with Malone's work on Blue Lines (which was executive produced by McVey, and largely recorded in his and Cherry's front room). It does feel like this is precursor to what would become trip-hop.

Orbit got in on the 'symphonic' style a few years later, starting with his Classics In A Modern Style album in 1995 that spawned the Adadgio For Strings single. That was carried over into his production work on Madonna's Frozen.

Another early use of the 'symphonic' style was Sinead O'Connor's Nothing Compares 2 U, which was co-produced by Hooper (though he left after 2 days' work following a bust-up with O'Connor, with the bulk of the production being completed by Chris Birkett). The sampled strings on that were programmed by Japanese acid jazz artist (and Simply Red's drummer) Gota Yashiki, who had also arranged the strings for Hooper on Soul II Soul's records.

Parkin absolutely bricking it. Thank god Mark "safehands" Goodier's on hand to steady the ship.

Norton Canes

Was there some kind of shady deal going on for Living In A Box to keep getting booked?

Norton Canes

Loving the very egalitarian positioning of the Bangles

Norton Canes

Bono basically taking a dump on Clannad here

Norton Canes


Norton Canes


daf

15 June 1989: Presenters: Mark Goodier & Simon Parkin

(17) FUZZBOX – Pink Sunshine
(28) REM – Orange Crush
Especially nice on a hot day!!  #Parkindeadpangenius
(22) DONNA ALLEN – Joy & Pain
- - - - - - - - - - - (breakers) - - - - - - - - - - - -
(31) BANGLES – Be With You
(30) CLANNAD & BONO – In A Lifetime
(33) PLACIDO DOMINGO & JENNIFER RUSH – Till I Loved You
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(16) DOUBLE TROUBLE & REBEL MC – Just Keep Rockin'
(8) CYNDI LAUPER – I Drove All Night (video)
Lahwper?
(4) SINITTA – Right Back Where We Started From
Smash(ing) Hats



(1)   JASON DONOVAN – Sealed With A Kiss
(29) TOM PETTY – I Won't Back Down (video / credits)

DrGreggles


Lisa Jesusandmarychain

Fuzzbox got a bit of grief on 'ere recently for being blummin' big sell- outs didn't they? No dissing them this time round please, " Pink Sunshine " is a perfectly  acceptable  Indie- Pop banger of a choon.

non capisco

Batdance remains side-splitting. I love Prince to the moon and back but he clearly farted that one out in an afternoon and deemed it to be the single. Thank god he did, it's hysterical. Just him going 'BATMAAAAAAAAAAN!" over and over again. "Is this the sort of thing u wanted, Tim?" Unfortunately they cut away on this episode before the "V-V-Vicki Vale..I like...BATMAAAAAAAAAAAN!" bit.

PRINCE: BAMP BAMP BAMP BAMP...keep bustin'.
TIM BURTON: No, Prince, this is Batman. Bobby Brown is doing the theme to 'Ghostbusters 2.'
PRINCE: It stays in.
TIM BURTON: *sighs* Fair enough.
PRINCE: BAT...MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!!!!

daf

22 June 1989: Presenters: Gary Davies & Simon Mayo

(37) LIVING IN A BOX – Gatecrashing
(20) GLADYS KNIGHT – Licence To Kill (video)
The names Spy . . . Jones the Spy
(5)   U2 – All I Want Is You (video)
(26) BANGLES – Be With You
(21) CLANNAD & BONO – In A Lifetime (studio / video)
Bo-no . . . The Hatted Man
(3)   PRINCE – Batdance (video)
Atomic batteries to Purple
(11) D MOB featuring LRS – It Is Time To Get Funky
(8)   THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH – Song For Whoever
(1)   SOUL II SOUL – Back To Life (However Do You Want Me) (video)



(24) PLACIDO DOMINGO & JENNIFER RUSH – Till I Loved You (video / credits)

non capisco

Bono and Clannad is the first song I've skipped since I started watching these repeats. Even in self isolation with swathes of time now on my hands I'm not putting myself through that.

DrGreggles

Quote from: non capisco on April 05, 2020, 02:03:32 PM
Bono and Clannad is the first song I've skipped since I started watching these repeats. Even in self isolation with swathes of time now on my hands I'm not putting myself through that.

Al's reaction to that on Chart Music summed it up perfectly.

Jockice

That was one of the most forgettable top tens ever. I really could only remember about three songs in it.

QuoteDONNA ALLEN – Joy & Pain

Doesn't go anywhere but her previous hit 'Serious' was a banger:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRpTmBAnkp0

Norton Canes

Buzby. You must know. Who's Holly's guitarist?

Gulftastic

Fuck me, 'London Nights' is even better than I remember!

buzby

Quote from: Norton Canes on April 10, 2020, 07:37:40 PM
Buzby. You must know. Who's Holly's guitarist?
I wanted to know this myself, as I'd not been able to trace her. After going to the horse's mouth, she was US musician/performance artist/translator Sally Station. There's a 2009 interview with her here - between the late 80s and 1993 she lived in Paris and London, before moving back to Chicago. That was presumably how she hooked up with Holly.

Quote from: Gulftastic on April 10, 2020, 07:54:03 PM
Fuck me, 'London Nights' is even better than I remember!
It's a banger - it's the best one of their short run of Top 40 singles.

Norton Canes

Quote from: buzby on April 10, 2020, 08:32:11 PM
I wanted to know this myself, as I'd not been able to trace her. After going to the horse's mouth

CLANG!!

Quote
she was US musician/performance artist/translator Sally Station. There's a 2009 interview with her here - between the late 80s and 1993 she lived in Paris and London, before moving back to Chicago. That was presumably how she hooked up with Holly

Nice one, thanks!

buzby

Quote from: daf on April 04, 2020, 04:46:56 PM
15 June 1989: Presenters: Mark Goodier & Simon Parkin

(17) FUZZBOX – Pink Sunshine
This is a great song, and like their previous Big Bang singles it was co-written with Liam "Walk Like An Egyptian' Sternberg and produced by ex-Trevor Horn associate Andy Richards (notice the 3-note sting from Relax in the middle 8? He played the keyboards on that). Vicki does an excellent job selling it too. however ,you can sense the same thing was happening to Fuzzbox as what was happening between Susanna Hoffs and the rest of The Bangles, and it would ultimately have the same effect.
Quote
(28) REM – Orange Crush
Ah, the famous 'bullhorn' performance - The story was that it was a protest at having to mime, but he sang the bridges through it when they played it live. It's a belting song too.
Quote
(16) DOUBLE TROUBLE & REBEL MC – Just Keep Rockin'
DX7 Corner makes a late reappearance! Double Trouble were producers Leigh Guest, Karl Brown and Michael Menson. They had previously been known for their DJing (as the Double Trouble Roadshow), acid house mixes and remixes (most notably their remix of Bam Bam's Give It To Me), produced on a portastudio in their bedroom studio Noisegate.

The success of this remix allowed them to buy an eight-track tape machine for the studio, and one of the first customers to use it was Michael 'Rebel MC' West, who  came to Noisegate to record his first single Cockney Rhythm, which mixed hip-hop and reggae and was produced by Double Trouble and put out by London dance label B Ware. It was not a success, and their next project was a single under their own name, Feel The Music (Feel The Bass), again via B-Ware, This was not a success either.

West and Double trouble had got on well and so then decided to collaborate on another track, this time with a mix of hip-house and ska, another nod to West's reggae soundsystem background. The tracks samples the  opening drum break from The Monkees' Mary Mary, the main riff from The Harry J All Starss The Liquidator and the "Woo, Yeah" from the intro to Toots And The Maytals' 54-46 Was My Number (a welcome, but no less grating alternative to the usual Bobby Byrd/James Brown 'Think Break' version).
Quote
(8) CYNDI LAUPER – I Drove All Night (video)
Dreadful. The am-dram antics in the video are terrible too, a rather desperate attempt to try and out-do her arch-nemesis Madonna.

buzby

Quote from: Norton Canes on April 10, 2020, 09:10:31 PM
CLANG!!
The horse in this case being Holly himself, btw. She is the only one of his Blast!-era band he is still in touch with.

Dr Rock

I Drove All Night is fantastic. And so is the Roy Orbison version, which is actually better, and was supposed to be his song to record and release until he snuffed it.