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An Alternative History of "Pop" Music: Part 2, 1982 -

Started by jamiefairlie, January 20, 2021, 05:43:47 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

Gregory Torso

Non Band - Duncan Dancin'




QuoteNon was part of the Tokyo punk scene and played bass in a duo called Maria 023 before forming her own NON BAND - a trio with Kinosuke Yamagishi on violin and clarinet, and Mitsuru Tamagaki on drums.

In February 1982 they released a 10-inch LP on a label called Telegraph Records. Following that release, a guitarist and keyboardist joined, but then the whole band quit one after the other over the next six months for unknown reasons.

Non ended up returning to her hometown, where she raised two children and took over the running of the family business, an arts supplies store. However, in 1999 she started making and performing music again with legendary noise dude Keiji Haino and Tatsuya Yoshida (of Ruins, among many other things). This marked the beginning of a new phase for her, and she played live in Tokyo and released a solo album, "ie". She got back in touch with Yamagishi and Tamagaki and reformed NON BAND. They added Emi Sasaki on accordion and began to play a handful of gigs each year, bringing a mature depth to their undiminished power and dazzling a new generation of fans. In 2012 the group released an album of recent live performances entitled " NON BAND Liven' 2009-2012".

Gregory Torso

L-Seven - Insanity




Not to be confused with grunge grrl metal band of later years. This L-Seven was a Detroit punk/rock band who only released one seven inch in 1982, although an album of unreleased material came out last year on Third Man records.

Guitarist Larissa Strickland later went on to be in the abrasive noise rock band The Laughing Hyenas who released records on Touch And Go.


jamiefairlie

The Chameleons - Love Is

https://youtu.be/JQw_d8OLcJI



An early demo included on the compilation The Fan and The Bellows.

Ballad of Ballard Berkley

The Spongetones - She Goes Out With Everybody



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwtpS1mBjzo

Power Pop at its most immaculately Merseybeat-esque. Neil Innes would've doubtless doffed his beret to this heartfelt pastiche.

Ballad of Ballard Berkley

Gary Portnoy - Where Everybody Knows Your Name (Theme from Cheers)



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhVRzh4_j50

Norm!! Ben Folds famously based his entire career on this classic theme tune.

I'm glad the snickering "and your husband wants to be a girl" line wasn't included in the truncated opening credits version. Sheesh. Different times.


Phil_A

Quote from: Dusty Substance on January 20, 2021, 11:12:02 PM
Same here. I only began browsing the first thread the other night but have already found a few great songs that I'd not heard before.

Don't 'spose anyone's put all the suggested songs on a Sp*t*fy Playlist?

I started putting mixes together but it was taking up more free time than I have at the moment. If anyone wants to carry on that's fine with me.

https://www.cookdandbombd.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,84396.0.html

Brundle-Fly

Black Coffee In Bed - Squeeze. Released on A&M in 1982





Surprised there's been no mention yet of Deptford's finest sons. This peaked at 51 in the UK hit parade.

Squeeze are a rock to New Wave band, formed in March 1974 in London, UK.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUx5z9O2ZGk

Mark Stewart & The Maffia - Jerusalem
Single released by On-U Sound, 1982. Reached number 4 in the UK charts.[nb]No.[/nb]



Ex-Pop Group singer (loosely speaking) Stewart continued his mission to disrupt the conservative normality throughout the 80s and beyond with a series of 'fairly' uncompromising albums, ably assisted by the On-U massive. As I recall, his preferred production technique was to try and recreate the sound of the Jah Shaka Sound System he once heard at Notting Hill Carnival through cheap speakers that just weren't up to the task. Distorted, punishing and broken – the perfect recipe for pop perfection.   

'Jerusalem' is the strangely beautiful sound of an unhinged whisky priest tackling William Blake head-on, complete with uncredited traditional brass and choral version dragged in and out of the mix for twisted posterity. The Last Night Of The Proms would have been a much more wholesome affair with this as its centre-piece. Single of the decade for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZa-OAF0unk

Brundle-Fly

Two Of A Kind - The Happy Family. Released on 4AD in 1982.





Almost a proto-version of The Smiths via Orange Juice.

The Happy Family were formed in 1981 by Edinburgh literature student Nick Currie with three ex-members of local group Josef K. Currie later recorded as "Momus" and is still active.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc6bBISs11o&feature=emb_logo

daf

Johnny Bull ‎– Battle Of The Falklands



Released in 1982 - did not chart

QuoteJohn Bull originated as a satirical character created by John Arbuthnot, a friend of Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope. Bull first appeared in 1712 in Arbuthnot's pamphlet Law is a Bottomless Pit. Arbuthnot provided him with a sister named Peg (Scotland), and a traditional adversary in Louis Baboon (the House of Bourbon in France). Peg continued in pictorial art beyond the 18th century, but the other figures associated with the original tableau dropped away. John Bull himself continued to frequently appear as a national symbol in posters and cartoons as late as World War I.

Bull is usually depicted as a stout man in a tailcoat with light-coloured breeches and a top hat which, by its shallow crown, indicates its middle class identity. During the Georgian period his waistcoat was red, but by the twentieth century, his waistcoat usually depicted the Union Jack flag. As a literary figure, John Bull is well-intentioned, frustrated, full of common sense, and entirely of native country stock. Unlike Uncle Sam later, he is not a figure of authority but rather a yeoman who prefers his small beer and domestic peace, possessed of neither patriarchal power nor heroic defiance.



The Falklands War was a 10-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom. The conflict began on 2 April 1982, when Argentina invaded and occupied the Falkland Islands, followed by the invasion of South Georgia the next day. On 5 April, the British government dispatched a naval task force to engage the Argentine Navy and Air Force before making an amphibious assault on the islands. The conflict lasted 74 days and ended with an Argentine surrender on 14 June 1982, returning the islands to British control. In total, 649 Argentine military personnel, 255 British military personnel, and three Falkland Islanders died during the hostilities.

jamiefairlie

Red Lorry Yellow Lorry - Beating My Head

https://youtu.be/i1nA4_SR-YQ



Formed in Leeds in early 1981. This is their debut single. They went on to release five albums before splitting in 1991.

Brundle-Fly

Quote from: jamiefairlie on January 21, 2021, 05:53:30 PM
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry - Beating My Head

https://youtu.be/i1nA4_SR-YQ



Formed in Leeds in early 1981. This is their debut single. They went on to release five albums before splitting in 1991.

That sleeve is beautifully on the nose.

Rizla

Whilst we're on the subject of the Falklands conflict - my second record by these lads, the first being back in 1976 at the starting peak of their career, we find them two years after their biggest hit, I Got You which was penned by Neil Finn, and this time it's older brother and founder Tim who has provided the smash hit, reaching no2 in Australia and no7 in both their native New Zealand and also Canada. In the UK, however, a nervous BBC kept it off the playlists due to the song's title, and not the borderline racist dancing in the video.

Split Enz Six Months In A Leaky Boat



From wikipedia -

Released in May 1982 as the second single from the group's seventh studio album, Time and Tide.

The song is a reference to the time it took pioneers to sail to New Zealand (hence the reference to Aotearoa and The Tyranny of Distance - a history by Geoffrey Blainey), and a metaphor that refers to lead singer Tim Finn's nervous breakdown.

The song was "discouraged from airplay" in Britain during the Falklands War by the BBC for reasons of morale - it was thought that references to leaky boats were not appropriate during the naval action in the war.



Later covered by Marillion, The Wiggles, and more besides.

jamiefairlie

Siouxsie and the Banshees - Green Fingers

https://youtu.be/a_mzSEURvE4



Taken from A Kiss in the Dreamhouse, their fifth studio album. It was released on 5 November 1982 by Polydor Records. The record marked a change of musical direction as the group used strings for the first time.

Oz Oz Alice

The Wild Swans - Revolutionary Spirit

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

This is bordering on perfection in its power and conviction: I love the contrast between the slightly detached verses and the choruses where the vocals are in your face and the drums are in your living room. For some reason this doesn't feature on the Cherry Red Liverpool scene compilation it is named after, which strikes me as a particularly silly and glaring omission. Bill Drummond's favourite release on Zoo Records reportedly.

Oz Oz Alice

The Flirts - Passion


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfI9_kMiS78

This will not be the last time I post a Bobby O production in this thread. What to say about him other than that as well as reportedly being extremely homophobic he also somehow managed to discover the Pet Shop Boys and record a version of his own hit Try It (I'm In Love With A Married Man) with them. At this point you'd think he'd have an inkling. Most Bobby O productions have the same octave bassline played on the same synthesizer patch, and the same riff and this is part of the appeal for me personally. Usually the vocals are delivered by a woman who swings rapidly between monotone and hysterical, or a strange "hunky" voiced guy who was usually Bobby himself. Regardless of his personal views, he made some of the most wonderfully camp records of the decade including this.

Divine - Shoot Your Shot


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt_Donc-Ogg

Yes he was also responsible for writing and producing the lion's share of Divine's output. Why? Because crime and beauty are the same, of course. Shame he never got round to doing the same for Edith Massey and rebranding them as a grotesque version of The Pointer Sisters. In this entry he just opts for brazenly stealing the bassline from I Feel Love. I feel that while there was obvious intentional comedy value to Divine, they manage to give quite commanding performances on most of their records.

Brundle-Fly

Uncertain Smile - The The   Released on Some Bizarre in 1982.





Even Jools Holland's Hootenany boogie-woogie stylings couldn't ruin this perfect gem of a single, in fact he makes it.

The The is an English musical and multimedia group with singer/songwriter Matt Johnson being the only constant band member. The group has no permanent group line-up, and Johnson has collaborated with a wide range of musicians, changing personnel from project to project.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bErFXjUGvQ&feature=emb_logo

Brundle-Fly


jamiefairlie

Quote from: Brundle-Fly on January 21, 2021, 07:13:21 PM
Uncertain Smile - The The   Released on Some Bizarre in 1982.



Even Jools Holland's Hootenany boogie-woogie stylings couldn't ruin this perfect gem of a single, in fact he makes it.

The The is an English musical and multimedia group with singer/songwriter Matt Johnson being the only constant band member. The group has no permanent group line-up, and Johnson has collaborated with a wide range of musicians, changing personnel from project to project.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bErFXjUGvQ&feature=emb_logo

Great song!

jamiefairlie

The Beat - Save It for Later

https://youtu.be/0bM0wVjU2-k



A late career highlight, although it only reached number 47 in the UK charts. Written by Beat guitarist Dave Wakeling before the band was founded, the song nearly went unreleased due to opposition from bassist David Steele.

daf

The Singing Sheep - Flock Around The Clock



B-side of Baa-Baa Black Sheep - Reached #42 in the UK chart in December 1982

QuoteRichard Charles Nicholas Branson was born in Blackheath, London. After failed attempts to grow and sell both Christmas trees and budgerigars, Branson launched a magazine named Student. The first issue appeared in January 1968, and a year later, Branson's net worth was estimated at £50,000. Branson eventually started a record shop in Oxford Street in London. In 1972, using money earned from his record store, Branson launched the record label Virgin Records with Nik Powell. Branson bought a country estate north of Oxford in which he installed a residential recording studio, The Manor. He leased studio time to fledgling artists, including multi-instrumentalist Mike Oldfield, whose debut album, blah, blah, blah . . .

 

The early 1980s also saw his only attempt as a producer — in association with Doug McLean and Grace McDonald. Clare Hoare kept a flock of Welsh Mountain Sheep and launched a business, called Black Sheep, selling shawls and sweaters knitted from their wool and pottery featuring pictures of her sheep. In 1982 the savvy businesswoman was astonished to find that one of her sheep had started singing [chinny reckon!!]. She immediately called her nephew (Richard Branson) and asked him to record the musical mutton.

   

The result was a 7-inch single called 'Baa Baa Black Sheep' with the singing sheep accompanied by a choir of other farmyard animals. Produced by the rib-ticklingly named 'Jeff Mutton', it spent five weeks in the Top 75, peaking at number 42 in December 1982.

Phil_A

Jandek - Nancy Sings



"Jandek" is the name given to the ongoing musical project of Sterling Smith of Houston, Texas, of whom little personal information is known. He has released over 100 albums since 1978.

Although frequently stereotyped as a guy wailing tonelessly over a detuned acoustic guitar for entire albums, the Jandek back catalogue covers a large number of styles and genres, euch as minimalist piano pieces, chaotic lo-fi garage rock, spoken word and ambient jazz suites

The track, from 1982's Chair Beside A Window, features the eponymous "Nancy" on lead vocals.

Quote from: Oz Oz Alice on January 21, 2021, 07:11:12 PM
The Flirts - Passion


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfI9_kMiS78

This will not be the last time I post a Bobby O production in this thread. What to say about him other than that as well as reportedly being extremely homophobic he also somehow managed to discover the Pet Shop Boys...
Not just discovered, apparently Passion was one of the tracks that Neil and Chris's shared enthusiasm for got them going with the band. The megamix version you linked to is wild and kind of manic, what on earth is going on in it? I'm going to chuck in a link to the rather more low-key and subdued 12"for balance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfik2eWywxo
 

Quote from: daf on January 21, 2021, 12:00:00 AM
Ted Rogers With The Young'uns ‎– Dusty Bin

Released in 1982 - did not chart

I was given a copy of this onstage by Ted Rogers when my family went to see his variety show in a northern seaside town, maybe Bridlington. For some reason they got some kids from the audience onstage to sing a song or something. If this was in 1982 it's actually the earliest memory I have! (But maybe, if it didn't chart he was handing out free copies of it for many years after). The B-side, Who Dunnit?, about Agatha Christie shenanigans, was vastly superior to the A, but sadly it's not on youtube. The lyrics to the chorus were
"Who Dunnit?
Nobody knows Who Dunnit?
Only the writer knows
(You'll find out in the end, though).
I was a bit jealous that the last remaining kid onstage didn't get a record but instead got a model Dusty Bin and some Polo mints. Sitting here 40 years later, I wonder if the mints were a planned gift, or were spur of the moment present out of Ted's pocket.

The Culture Bunker

Quote from: jamiefairlie on January 21, 2021, 07:30:51 PMA late career highlight, although it only reached number 47 in the UK charts. Written by Beat guitarist Dave Wakeling before the band was founded, the song nearly went unreleased due to opposition from bassist David Steele.
Can remember Dave Wakeling talking about an odd moment where his phone went one day, and it was Pete Townshend asking what the tuning was, as he wanted to do a version for some solo gig he had coming up.

Re Split Enz getting a ban on their 'Six Months In a Leaky Boat' due to Falklands, I think the same thing happened to Gang of Four and their 'I Love a Man in Uniform'.

Quote from: Phil_A on January 21, 2021, 08:54:03 PM
Jandek - Nancy Sings

"Jandek" is the name given to the ongoing musical project of Sterling Smith of Houston, Texas, of whom little personal information is known. He has released over 100 albums since 1978.

Although frequently stereotyped as a guy wailing tonelessly over a detuned acoustic guitar for entire albums, the Jandek back catalogue covers a large number of styles and genres, euch as minimalist piano pieces, chaotic lo-fi garage rock, spoken word and ambient jazz suites

The track, from 1982's Chair Beside A Window, features the eponymous "Nancy" on lead vocals.

Yeah, I love that track but the whole outsider-artist thing is a bit of a red-herring, isn't it. You can't make records like that without being a musician.

jamiefairlie

Quote from: Astronaut Omens on January 21, 2021, 09:17:55 PM
I was given a copy of this onstage by Ted Rogers when my family went to see his variety show in a northern seaside town, maybe Bridlington. For some reason they got some kids from the audience onstage to sing a song or something. If this was in 1982 it's actually the earliest memory I have! (But maybe, if it didn't chart he was handing out free copies of it for many years after). The B-side, Who Dunnit?, about Agatha Christie shenanigans, was vastly superior to the A, but sadly it's not on youtube. The lyrics to the chorus were
"Who Dunnit?
Nobody knows Who Dunnit?
Only the writer knows
(You'll find out in the end, though).
I was a bit jealous that the last remaining kid onstage didn't get a record but instead got a model Dusty Bin and some Polo mints. Sitting here 40 years later, I wonder if the mints were a planned gift, or were spur of the moment present out of Ted's pocket.

Shades of Partridge there....

Johnny Yesno

Brian Eno - The Lost Day



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JsF4Q93BMs

You'd think after making two of the greatest albums of all time in 1980 and 1981, Eno would have had a break from making greatest albums of all time. But he didn't. Cuh! Some people, eh?

On Land ain't no new age shit. It has a dark beauty and The Lost Day in particular has an understated menace.