An Alternative History of "Pop" Music

[Gregory Torso]

The Honeymoon Killers - Histoire À Suivre



Not to be confused with the New York noise rock band of the same name (who formed two years later and featured a young Jon Spencer) these Honeymoon Killers, or Les Tueurs de la Lune de Miel, were from Belgium and made some lovely weird pop music.
Originally forming in 1974 and being some kind of confrontational 1970s band bud, they found Véronique Vincent and went all lovely in a synth rock style.
Two of their songs here - one from their debut sept pouces and then a lovely instrumental called 'Ariane' from their album released in the same year.

Histoire à Suivre

Ariane

[jobotic]

Tanks A Lot by the other Honeymoon Killers is a, um, killer tune.

[jamiefairlie]

Orange Juice - Dying Day

https://youtu.be/acmxp_nCPUA



Taken from their August peel session, the studio version would later appear on their debut album, You Can't Hide Your Love Forever, in 1982.

[Johnny Yesno]

These Frayed Edges - The Danse Society

Barnsley's premier goth band with the b-side of their none-more-goth titled There Is No Shame In Death single. Later tried to go commercial with singer pretty boy Steve Rawlings being promoted as 'the face of 84' and them being one of the first acts to record a single with Stock, Aitken And Waterman. Say It Again, which may have been a hit if Dead Or Alive hadn't already used the tune for You Spin Me Round.

Reformed about ten years ago but now there are apparently two versions, neither of which contain Rawlings, who buggered off back to America, where he has lived for many a year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OYQxcy-hE0

Thank you. I was meaning to get round to working out which of their records came out in 1981 - fuck me, there's so much great music from 1981.

Paul Gilmartin was a hero of mine whose playing inspired me to take up playing the drums. I was reading an article written by him about what was going on with those two new DS bands and, bearing in mind that it was all from his point of view, he came across as a complete arsehole. Rawlings, on the other hand, seems to have been a decent bloke who was wise not to get involved in the corpse reanimation. Hmm. Now I've typed this, I have a feeling we've had this conversation before... the other old man's disease :-)

[Johnny Yesno]

The Drowning Man - The Cure



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp2DD2M9ohM

Primary was actually the single from Faith but, fuck it, this is an alternative history and this would have made a very strange hit. The Cure could sure do gloom but the strangeness of much of Faith saves it from being too navel gazing.

[Johnny Yesno]

Oh, pretty much my favourite Danse Society single was released the same year. I realise we probably can't have two tracks by the same band in the same year but this is the drumming I was on about that made me want to play drums...


Woman's Own - The Danse Society



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

[Jockice]

Oh, pretty much my favourite Danse Society single was released the same year. I realise we probably can't have two tracks by the same band in the same year but this is the drumming I was on about that made me want to play drums...


Woman's Own - The Danse Society



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

I'm sure we can. And I played and nearly chose this track myself before deciding I preferred These Frayed Edges. I originally planned to post their debut single Clock, before discovering it came out in 1980. And yes, we have conversed about them before. It's always good to meet another fan. They were a big part of my late teens.

[Johnny Yesno]

I'm sure we can. And I played and nearly chose this track myself before deciding I preferred These Frayed Edges. I originally planned to post their debut single Clock, before discovering it came out in 1980. And yes, we have conversed about them before. It's always good to meet another fan. They were a big part of my late teens.

Ah, yes, Clock is great too. I keep finding things that came out in 1979 or 1980. Aaagh!

[Johnny Yesno]

And if we have The Danse Society, The Cure and Killing Joke, we can't not have Bauhaus...


Harry - Bauhaus



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oWusK7KNxQ

I love Kick in the Eye but that was actually the single, so for this alternative history, I've chosen one of the b-sides of the 12" (the other being Earwax).

[Jockice]

But having said that, I'd forgotten about We're So Happy, which is on the same EP as Woman's Own and I think is  probably better than that or These Frayed Edges. I won't post it though. You can have too much of a goth thing.

[Johnny Yesno]

Radio Teeth - Scissor Fits



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhvM5DM2CTc

No idea, really[nb]The Scissor Fits hailed from Hounslow, barely two miles off the main runways of Heathrow, so "I Don't Wanna Work for British Airways" takes to heart the DIY maxim "write what you know." Their debut EP was recorded before they'd ever played in public, and 'dedicated to the Soft Boys.' Mike Alway was a songwriter and part-time guitarist-and-general-inspiration who actually went on to manage the Soft Boys: he had the 'Fits open for them several times during the Underwater Moonlight era. (Alway later managed the Monochrome Set and launched the Blanco y Negro, Reviere, ...If, él and Sound of Chartreuse labels.) Yank drummer Bud Drago put out a (remarkably American-sounding) EP on the same Dubious label but soon headed back Stateside (he's now in Character Z, and running www.listening-post.com), while the 'Fits went on to record a live EP for Tortch that featured a couple of DIY's finer, longer, more psychedelic numbers. The band-name? "a Don Martin cartoon in MAD magazine depicted a woman with a long cigarette holder accidentally stubbing her cigarette out in a man's eye. The resulting sound effect was 'SIZZZA - FITZZ' or something like that..."
Bass Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Weird Guitar, Guitar Effects – Simon Ives.
Drums, Percussion, Synthesizer, Rhythm Guitar, Vocals – Bud Drago.
Guitars, Funky Phaser, Backing Vocals – Vic Watson.
Lead And Backing Vocals – Nick East.
Lyrics, composing - Mick Alway.[/nb]. I bought The Snoopies Album for the Cardiacs and Trudy tracks but ended up liking the Scissor Fits song more. I never saw them but from the other tracks scattered about on YouTube (e.g. I Wish I Hadn't Shaved My Pubic Hair Off), it seems I missed out.

[chveik]

The Electronic Circus - Direct Lines



cheesy synthpop, but it's nice. only single from this band


ESG - UFO

A band consisting of four sisters from Bronx, New York. They grew up listening to James Brown and other Funk and Soul artists. After entering a few talent contests they were spotted by Ed Bahlman, owner of 99 Records, who later signed them on his label. In the end of the 70s they became a part of the NY Punk scene and played at various clubs, sometimes opening shows for the likes of A Certain Ratio, The Clash and Public Image Ltd Their music can be described as almost entirely rhythm-based hard funk, with the bass and drums and percussion as the most prominent instruments. ESG have been immensely influential for the development of Dance and Hip Hop music.

Renaldo & the Loaf - Melvyn's Repose



one of the most catchy song from the second album of the British Residents. lovely bouzouki riff.

Wenn der Südwind weht



beautiful ambient track from one half of Cluster.

[Brundle-Fly]

John, I'm Only Dancing - The Polecats. Released on Mercury in 1981.



Happy belated birthday, Dave.

The Polecats were a London rockabilly band formed in London in 1980.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRfDdP4pniA&feature=emb_logo

[Johnny Yesno]

Schmerzen hören -  Einstürzende Neubauten



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMx85tYZlgA

According to the Wikipedia article:

Trouser Press described Kollaps as "one of the most shocking visions ever committed to vinyl."[3] The album is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[4]

So listen to it right now, pop fans.

[Brundle-Fly]

Renaldo & the Loaf - Melvyn's Repose



one of the most catchy song from the second album of the British Residents. lovely bouzouki riff.

A masterpiece!!

[Brundle-Fly]

Can't Get My Motor To Start - Nick Mason  Released on Harvest in 1981.



When blues and prog-rock meet New Wave. Lavly!

Nick Mason is a founding member of Pink Floyd in 1965, he is the only group member to have performed on each and every one of their albums.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5UWhewMXzE

[jamiefairlie]

The Drowning Man - The Cure



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp2DD2M9ohM

Primary was actually the single from Faith but, fuck it, this is an alternative history and this would have made a very strange hit. The Cure could sure do gloom but the strangeness of much of Faith saves it from being too navel gazing.

Lovely stuff, the live versions of this at that time were fantastic.

[jamiefairlie]

Oh, pretty much my favourite Danse Society single was released the same year. I realise we probably can't have two tracks by the same band in the same year but this is the drumming I was on about that made me want to play drums...


Woman's Own - The Danse Society



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

We can certainly have multiple entries by the same band in the same year

[jamiefairlie]

The Past Seven Days - Rain Dance

https://youtu.be/d9Z2CIUjh_0



From Sheffield, and that's about the limit of knowledge I have about these guys. This is their one and only single and one of the first released on 4AD.

[daf]

We can certainly have multiple entries by the same band in the same year

Not forgetting, in a couple of freak entries, we've also had the same track by the same band at the same time!

[Johnny Yesno]

Not forgetting, in a couple of freak entries, we've also had the same track by the same band at the same time!

Haha! Wtf? That is a weird coincidence. Weird enough that I reckon the track should appear on the playlist twice.

[Jockice]

The Past Seven Days - Rain Dance

https://youtu.be/d9Z2CIUjh_0



From Sheffield, and that's about the limit of knowledge I have about these guys. This is their one and only single and one of the first released on 4AD.

Dan
They supported The Fall once, I saw them do so at a free gig for the unemployed. They were bottom of the bill, below Disease. One of them was callled Max Wall. Danny Baker reviewed this in NME with a comment about them 'making one weak' that even he admitted was a bit obvious. Will that do?

[daf]

Richard O'Brien - Shock Treatment



Released in October 1981 - did not chart

'Shock Treatment' is a dark comedy musical film directed by Jim Sharman, and co-written by Sharman and Richard O'Brien. Released in 1981, it was the follow-up to the 1975 film The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Patricia Quinn: "It was different to Rocky Horror, we did that on stage. This film began as something else but there was a strike in Hollywood. They wanted to make this film in Texas for some reason. Quite exciting because I'd never been to Texas. The costume designer went there to do a recce and she bought the clothes in all these thrift shops, so the costumes the audience wore came from there. What happened was we couldn't go to America at the time so we had to go very quickly to Wembley Studios."

Richard O'Brien : "It's not a sequel, it's not a prequel, it's an equal."

'Shock Treatment' features several characters from the previous film, most portrayed by different actors, as well as several Rocky Horror actors in new roles. Continuing from 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' are the characters of Brad and Janet Majors (now portrayed by Cliff De Young and Jessica Harper), now married.

 

The film takes place in the town of Denton, USA, which has been taken over by fast food magnate Farley Flavors (also De Young). The town of Denton is entirely encased within a television studio for the DTV (Denton Television) network. Residents are either stars and regulars on a show, cast and crew, or audience members. Brad and Janet, seated in the audience, are chosen to participate in the game show Marriage Maze by the kooky, supposedly blind host Bert Schnick (Barry Humphries).

Patricia Quinn: "It was never explained. None of us knew what it was about. Barry Humphries was sitting in the dressing room with me having his make up done and I was there and he said "Do you know what this is about?" and I said "No!" I was told Richard O'Brien went into his flat for three weeks and when he came out it was with the script for Shock Treatment."



As a "prize", Brad is imprisoned on Dentonvale, a soap opera that centers upon the local mental hospital run by brother and sister Cosmo and Nation McKinley (Richard O'Brien and Patricia Quinn). Janet is given a taste of showbiz as Farley molds her into a singing diva superstar in an attempt to take her away from Brad. Her compliance is assured through the use of drugs supplied by the McKinleys.



Betty Hapschatt (Ruby Wax) and Judge Oliver Wright (Charles Gray) investigate Farley and other people involved in DTV and eventually discover that Cosmo and Nation are not doctors, but merely character actors, and Farley Flavors is Brad's jealous, long-lost twin brother, seeking to destroy Brad and take Janet for himself. The pair rescue Brad from Dentonvale and have him confront his twin on his show Faith Factory. Farley imprisons the three and Janet, but they manage to escape in a car along with a local band while the remainder of Denton's citizens follow Farley and commit themselves to Dentonvale.

 

Given a limited release on the midnight movie circuit beginning on 30 October, 1981, Shock Treatment was a critical and commercial failure, not earning the same level of cult film status its predecessor received. Since its release, the film has grown a more minor cult following than its predecessor.

Patricia Quinn: "The idiots put Shock Treatment on at midnight, they never gave it a proper release. It's not that sort of film, it's very different. It disappeared without anything. The thing is Richard O'Brien thinks the songs are better than Rocky. They're different because they're not rock and roll. I think he's one of the best lyricists alive. At the end you have that song between the two brothers. It's almost like a battle with swords. They sing: "The best thing you could ever do is die!" Who would sing that in a song, they wouldn't dare!"

God, I love that chorus - like an explosion of Rickenbacker glitter!!

[Brundle-Fly]

They All Run After The Carving Knife (See How They Run) - New Musik  Released on GTO in 1981.





I can't imagine the long gloopy intro was on the single.  New Musik were rather good, I thought. The synth XTC?

New Musik were a British synth-pop group from South London, active from 1977 to 1982. They had a top twenty UK hit with the catchy Living By Numbers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29jNk3rAtes&feature=emb_logo

[jamiefairlie]

The Sound - Silent Air

https://youtu.be/U4gggZTAdSE



Formed in South London in 1979 and dissolved in 1988. They were fronted by singer/songwriter Adrian Borland.

This is from their second album, From the Lions Mouth. The NME review described it like this: "The Sound seem set to take up where Joy Division left off and become the saviours of the adolescent grim brigade".

They would go on to release three further albums and, sadly, never able to conquer his depression and anguished about returning to a psychiatric hospital, Borland committed suicide on 26 April 1999.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Haha! Wtf? That is a weird coincidence. Weird enough that I reckon the track should appear on the playlist twice.

It's just the strangest doggone thing! daf and I tend to favour similar choices, but still. Speaking of which...

Richard O'Brien - Shock Treatment



Released in October 1981 - did not chart

God, I love that chorus - like an explosion of Rickenbacker glitter!!

You beat me to it! I love that soundtrack. The film itself, not so much.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Pete Shelley - Homosapien



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzk9K8Wjca4

The debut solo single from yer actual Buzzcocks lynchpin. A top ten hit in Canada and Australia, but it didn't chart in the UK or US. It's also the opening track on Shelley's album of the same name, which boasts the most 1981 cover art you ever will see.

Shelley wrote Homosapien in 1974, before forming the Buzzcocks in 1976. Originally intended as a demo track for a Buzzcocks song, Homosapien was recorded in one day with producer Martin Rushent, who would later go on to produce The Human League. The track adopted a more synth pop sound in contrast to the Buzzcocks' harsh guitar riffs.

The song reportedly was banned by the BBC for its "explicit reference to gay sex" with the lyrics "homo superior/in my interior". Shelley denied this was the intention. However, according to then BBC Radio 1 DJ Annie Nightingale, "Its then risqué lyrics were noted at the time. Didn't stop me playing it on my radio show." Nice one, Annie!

[daf]

Superb!

I was wondering why this wasn't at least a modest top 30 hit in the UK, but I guess the lack of airplay (Annie excepted) really put the brakes on it.

[daf]

Angelika Mann - Kutte



Featured on the album 'Was Treibt Mich Nur' released in East Germany in 1981

Angelika Mann was born in 1949 in East Berlin. She trained as a singer and pianist from 1969 to 1973 at the Friedrichshain Music School. From 1980 to 1984 she sang in the band Obelisk, and in 1982 got her own TV program - 'Rockmusik zum Anfassen'.

   

In 1985 she left the German Democratic Republic and traveled to West Berlin. She worked as an actress dubbing television films and series such as Frasier and California Clan into German. On the stage, she appeared as Lucy in Günter Krämer's production of the Threepenny Opera in the Theater des Westens. From 1994 to 2000 she played the witch in Hansel and Gretel in Berlin's Friedrichstadtpalast, and took part in many concerts and musicals by the Rumpelstil group.

   

Since 2010 she has played the role of housewife Doris Bertram in the successful play Hot Times - Menopause. In 2013 and 2014 she appeared in the theater play Calendar Girls, and was voted "Most Popular Actress of the 2014/2015 Season" by the Friends of the Essen Theater in the Town Hall. She played "Queen Anne Stuart" in the musical Der Mann mit dem Lachen in the Dresden State Operetta, and won the "German Musical Theater Prize 2019" for best actress in one Supporting role.

Got to say 'Angelika Mann und gruppe Obelisk' must take the prize for the most East German sounding name for a band!

[Brundle-Fly]

Another One Bites The Dust - Clint Eastwood & General Saint.  Released on Greensleeves in 1981



Good time reggae fun. Not a Queen cover.

Clint Eastwood And General Saint are a Jamaican deejay duo formed in the early 1980s by Robert Brammer and Winston Hislop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vDrj32r7-I&feature=emb_logo