Flashback Friday: 09/05/1984

It’s Flashback Friday again. Today we enter our time machine and travel back to the year 1984. The Top 5 of the British Single Charts were full of great hits on this day. We have two timeless ballads: Hello by Lionel Richie and Against All Odds by Phil Collins, which was the title song for the movie of the same name. Queen were regular guests in the charts of the 80s. This time they are on No. 3 with I Want To Break Free. Duran Duran have just climbed the pole position with their hit single The Reflex.

 

1. Duran Duran – The Reflex

 

2. Phil Collins – Against All Odds

 

3. Queen – I Want To Break Free

 

4. Lionel Richie – Hello

 

5. Pointer Sisters – Automatic

30 years ago: The Reflex release

Today exactly 30 years ago the Duran Duran hit single The Reflex was released. Musically it is probably not one of their best songs, but it is definitely very catchy. The Reflex is often regarded as the song, which catapulted Duran Duran to superstardom, and it was their first number 1 hit in the USA.

What makes the song so special? It is the unusual arrangement and the strange lyrics, which leave much space for interpretation. But most of all it was the remix done by Nile Rodgers which unfolded the full hit potential of the song. If you listen to version on the Seven And The Ragged Tiger album and the remix, which was released as a single, you will find two very different songs.

In the video below the band members and producer Nile Rodgers are talking about the creation of the song.

Happy New Year!

In some regions of the world 2014 has already begun. For me there are still 9 hours of 2013 left . I hope you all will have a great start into the New Year, no matter whether you are on a big party or stay at home with your family or some friends.

To get into party mood here is a video of Frankie Goes To Hollywood performing Relax on MTV New Year’s Eve Ball 1984. Towards the end of the song they are joined by two special guests. Let me know if you recognize them 😉

 

 

If you are looking for more New Year’s eve related 80s music stuff, you could also watch the Duran Duran concert on MTV New Year’s Eve Ball 1982 I wrote about previously.

33 years ago: first Duran Duran gig

Today in 1980 the classic Duran Duran lineup with Simon, John, Nick, Roger and Andy had its first concert at the Rum Runner in Birmingham.
According to John’s book the first song they played on stage was Night Boat, followed by A Sound Of Thunder. He says the crowd at the Rum Runner was a pretty cool lot:
„A cool appraisal with a positive look was the most that could be hoped for. And that was what we got. But, looking out at them, I could tell that we had something now the we had not had last time. Call it the X-factor.“
(John Taylor – In The Pleasure Groove, p. 120)
Duranies, celebrate this day!

Monday Blues

Nobody likes Mondays. On Monday everything seems to be worse than during the rest of the week. Already getting up can be quite difficult on a Monday morning. To make this worst day of the week a little more pleasant, here a my favourite Monday songs for you.

I Don’t Like Mondays is actually from 1979, but like someone wisely said: „For a good song I’ll bend the rules.“ Besides, the song is even on one of my 80s samplers.

New Moon On Monday isn’t one of those typical „Mondays are so terrible“ songs. The cryptic Le Bon lyrics as usual leave a lot of space for interpretation. I really love the video, although the light sabers and that dancing stuff in the end are a bit odd. Teh 17 minutes short film version is even more funny. A shame I can’t show it to you.

After the death of singer Ian Curtis the members of Joy Division formed the group New Order. Blue Monday become their biggest hit.

And, of course, Manic Monday shouldn’t be missing in any list of Monday songs.

Boomtown Rats – I Don’t Like Mondays

 

Duran Duran – New Moon On Monday

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xctnw5_duran-duran-new-moon-on-monday_music

 

New Order – Blue Monday

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8yfo_new-order-blue-monday-original-1983_news#.UdHebOdM_IU

 

The Bangles – Manic Monday

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6u2o_bangles-manic-monday_music?search_algo=2#.UdHgEedM_IU

Duran Duran live at MTV New Year’s Eve Ball 1982

Another precious Youtube discovery, especially to my fellow Duranies: Duran Duran live at MTV New Year’s Eve Ball 1982 at the Palladium in New York. A great live performance at the end of a very successful year for Duran Duran. With the Rio album they laid the foundation for an unbelievable international success.

The setlist includes the best songs of the first two Duran Duran albums:
Rio (0:33), Hold Back The Rain (6:17), New Religion (10:32), Save A Prayer (16:15), Hungry Like The Wolf (23:11), Planet Earth (27:29), Careless Memories (31:50) and Girls On Film (36:03).

John and Roger really form a great rhythm section together. But although Simon is a great live singer and I really love his jumping and twirling style of dancing, this time he seems to be a bit hyperactive. During Careless Memories I thought: „Please, give him his tambourine back or he’s gonna hurt himself.“ The tambourine seems to have a calming effect on him. However, it’s really entertaining and funny. And I really love that moment in the end, when Simon is introducing the band members and John reminds him that he’s forgotten Roger. Really Simon, how could you forget Roger?

Video killed the radio star

This Buggles song from the 70s turned out to be prophetic. The trend to produce music videos as such(and not just clips showing the musicians playing the song) started in the mid 70s. Often Queen’s promo video for Bohemian Rhapsody (1975) is mentioned as the first real music video.

Then in 1981 a little television channel called MTV came around the corner and with the rise of music television in the 80s music videos experienced a real boom. The video was no longer just a medium to promote the song, but it became a form of art of its own. Artists and producers started experimenting with special effects, outfits, stories and exotic locations. There is no other decade than our beloved 80s that originated awesome, funny, controversial, bizarre or just legendary music videos in such a huge number. So here I’ve put together a small selection of 80s music video glory.

 

Madonna – Like A Prayer (1989)

So let’s start with a controversial one. Madonna always had a talent to stage herself, which showed in her great music videos. However, the Queen of Pop seducing a black Jesus in a video full of religious symbols caused a real scandal.

 

a-ha – Take On Me (1985)

Dramatic or cute love stories (the one in this video combines both characteristics) were nothing new in the relatively short history of music videos at that time. But it’s that witty comic-strip idea, which lets Take On Me deservedly appear on every list of great music videos.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xvdas_aha-take-on-me_music?search_algo=2#.UW3QDqKePIU

 

Duran Duran – The Wild Boys (1984)

How could I write an article about 80s music videos without mentioning Duran Duran? I guess, you might have already noticed my subtle affection for them 😉 Besides they were one of the first big MTV stars, their videos often featuring mysterious and puzzling stories, super models, exotic locations or all at the same time. With a budget of over 1 million US dollars The Wild Boys was one of the most expensive music videos at that time.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xcu0e6_duran-duran-the-wild-boys_music

 

Michael Jackson – Thriller (1983)

Okay, if you’d ask me to choose the greatest music video of all time, it would probably be Thriller. This music video, which in its full 14 minutes version could also qualify as horror movie, and its well choreographed zombie group dance are just legendary.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xzv4f_michael-jackson-thriller_fun?search_algo=2#.UW3Z1qKePIU

 

Bonnie Tyler – Total Eclipse Of The Heart (1983)

This is probably the creepiest music video of the 80s. Floating choir boys with glowing eyes… Okay, it says “Turn around bright eyes” – but honestly, I don’t believe Bonnie Tyler had something like that in mind… It frightens me every time I watch it, really!

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xhfmg_bonnie-tyler-total-eclipse-of-the-h_news?search_algo=2#.UW3bZqKePIU

 

Pop Quiz Duran Duran vs. Spandau Ballet

Yesterday while clicking around on Youtube searching for nohing in particular, I discovered a real treasure: Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet, the two New Romantic bands par excellence, duelling in a special of the TV quiz show Pop Quiz. At this point it should be mentioned that there was always some sort of friendly rivalry between the two bands and as a fan you only liked one band or the other.

For those of you who don’t know Pop Quiz, because they are either not from England or too young or both (like me): It was a British music quiz show, which aired on BBC during the early 80s. Teams made up of three pop star had to recognize songs by the intro or a certain lyric or answer several song related questions.

I have to admit I like them both, Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet. But as a fan, of course my heart was with the Durans. So I absolutely needed to share this with you. See for yourself to find out the winner of this epic battle 😉

Click on the links below to watch the whole show:
part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4

For those of you coming from Germany – I’m sorry, for some GEMA and copyright reasons you might not be able to watch those videos above (unless you’re using a foreign proxy server). So here’s at least a video of the last part, which should work, so that you can find out the winner:
part 4 (German)

 

D for Duran Duran

Duran Duran in 1981. Clockwise from top left: Nick Rhodes (keyboards), Simon Le Bon (vocals), John Taylor (bass), Andy Taylor (guitar) and Roger Taylor (drums) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’m sorry, there wasn’t anything new on 80s music mixtape last week. I was a little bit stressed and had a lot to do.

As a kind of compensation, today I have a really long new 80s ABC entry for you. The letter D is dedicated to… what could it be else than my favourite band Duran Duran?!

Duran Duran were one of the most successful bands in the 80s and pioneers of the New Romantic scene. Despite of several line-up changes and a less successful period during the 1990s they still make music together and have sold more than 100 million records.make music together and have sold more than 100 million records. Since last month Simon, John, Nick and Roger are back in the studio to work on their new album.

Click here to read the whole story of one of the most awesome bands in the world – Wild Boys always shine!

80s Music Muffins

Some kind of craziness…
Depeche Mode, U2, AC DC, Queen, Duran Duran