|
S'funny
about the music of the 80s. I guess to a lot of pundits some of
the sounds from that decade are still deemed uncool...
Not
that I'm a member of that fraternity. Oh no, in 20-foot high flashing
neon letters!
| "ABC,
Squeeze and Tears For Fears were all pop craftsmen who knew
their way around a mean tune..." |
The
80s was the period that saw me leaving my teens and entering my
twenties - and believe you me, I embraced it full-on with outstretched
arms and the biggest grin this side of Marti Pellow!
In
particular the years '83 to '85, when I dee-jayed at a club called
Bogarts in South Harrow to a clientele - made up of suburbanites
and Soho trendies - dancing their espradrilles off to a soundtrack
of funk, rock and rap and rubbing shoulders out on the dancefloor
with the likes of The Style Council, Wham and Bananarama. Happy
daze!
gold lame suit
This
week [October '03] Universal Music releases four DVDs featuring
some of the key bands of the 80s: Best Ofs from ABC, Squeeze,
Tears For Fears and Wet Wet Wet.
Let
me say, right here and now, that the last lot never did anything
for me, but the other three were all pop craftsmen who knew their
way around a mean tune.
ABC, fronted by the man in the gold lame suit - Martin Fry - served
up a pop/ funk collision that was at its best on gems like Poison
Arrow, The Look Of Love and the sublime Ocean Blue.
 |
|
Squeeze:
masters of the south London vignette
|
Meanwhile,
Squeeze's vignettes of south London life are matters I've waxed
lyrical about in this column before. Suffice to say that songs like
Cool For Cats, Up The Junction and the awesome Tempted
have, quite rightly, become modern classics.
soaring
pastiche
Tears
For Fears on the other hand, featuring Messrs Smith and Orzabal,
were one of those bands whose records had a habit of growing on
you: singles like Shout, Everybody Wants To Rule The World
and the soaring Beatles pastiche Sowing The Seeds Of Love
revealed a duo who were brimming with ideas and melody.
 |
|
Tears
For Fears: a tad pretentious?
|
Watching
these DVDs brought home to me how all these bands, in their own
ways, embraced the new phenomenon of video.
The ABC and Squeeze videos tend to have a humour running through
them, while some of those early Tears For Fears efforts were, to
put it mildly, a tad on the pretentious side and seem hilarious
now!
Check
them out if you get a chance and watch those memories flood back...
listen
hear
ABC and 'Ocean Blue' from The Look of Love: The Very Best of
ABC click
here
(listen in Windows Media Player -
need help?)
add
your opinion
email me direct at: yourlondon@bbc.co.uk
more
music
the
interview vault
useful
links
abc
squeeze
tears
for fears
universal
music
|
Listen live
Click
through amazing shots of London from high up in a helicopter!