Indice dei contenuti per July - August 2024 in Classic Pop

You should never underestimate the power of a great cover version. Across the decades its pecking order position in the music world may well have changed, but the impact of a well-chosen cover can still stretch far and wide. Rewind to the 50s and 60s where songwriting epicentres such as London’s Tin Pan Alley and the iconic Brill Building in New York held sway and you would regularly see multiple versions of the same song face off against each other in the pop charts simultaneously. And that was a trend accelerated by the rise of The Beatles where every morsel that Lennon & McCartney served up was seized upon as a potential hit by countless artists of the day. The concept has disappeared in the modern era but covers remains…

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D IS FOR… DON’T GIVE UP I once wrote an A To Z about how in the late 70s the Robert Stigwood Organisation (RSO) literally owned the music business. Everything they touched – not least the Bee Gees and Saturday Night Fever – turned to gold. But they dropped the ball on 10 May 1979, penning a now infamous rejection letter to U2. “We have listened with careful consideration,” they wrote, “but feel it’s not suitable for us at present.” Undeterred, the group were quickly snapped up by Island Records and the rest is history. It got me thinking about the rejection letters of pop history, and the effect they had to spur artists on to great heights. While a copy of The Beatles’ infamous rejection letter from Decca Records has…

Following his own solo tour in September, Marc Almond heads out as the guest vocalist on old friend Jools Holland’s run of dates starting on 31 October. Marc has sung regularly with the former Squeeze keyboardist’s Rhythm And Blues Orchestra over the past decade. He explains: “Playing with Jools is nice, because it’s not a massive strain, and I get to see parts of Britain I never usually go to. I’m singing to an audience that I don’t usually sing to. Jools’ audience isn’t usually my hardcore fans, so it’s a nice change.” Although not fronting a show is a more relaxed experience for Almond, it still keeps his vocals in great shape. “Jools’ tour will be good for me,” he reasons. “Being onstage is a muscle you have to…

SUCH A SHAME Continuing the ‘roll of a dice’ theme, director Tim Pope wrote down six different moods or emotions on a piece of paper, then rolled the dice to decide which character Hollis should spontaneously embody when performing the next take. Hollis’ alternately coloured scarfs signify the different emotions he is portraying (anger, joy, regret?). When Hollis read the emotion ‘maudlin’, he interpreted the command as meaning the recent politician, Reginald Maudling, so did an impression of him instead. It’s a simple, but effective premise. Meanwhile, various configurations of the band play in each take, with the number again representing a roll of the dice. DUM DUM GIRL Filmed at Sparrow Hall Farm, Bedfordshire, Hollis wanted something very simple and honest, bemoaning the prevalence of videos “so gross in…

“Perfect was like a ticket for me, it gave me an instant audience,” says Reader of her subsequent long and distinguished solo career, highlights of which have included a third Brit Award (won for Best British Female in 1995) and a second signature song, in the Boo Hewerdine-penned and Ivor Novello-nominated Patience Of Angels. Her musical interpretations of the poems of Robert Burns, meanwhile, were cited as a major factor in her 2006 MBE for outstanding contribution to the arts. Nevin, meanwhile, struck up a fertile partnership with Morrissey, co-writing songs for his Kill Uncle and Your Arsenal albums. “He’d just broken up with The Smiths, and was greatly wounded by that, so we had that in common,” Mark reflects. “We both understood what the loss was like.” Kirsty MacColl…

While New Order are playing shows in August at Cardiff Bay and Manchester Wythenshawe Park, there is still no sign of their first new material since 2020’s lockdown single Be A Rebel. “I feel embarrassed to say it but, no, there isn’t any new music,” says Stephen. “Our boxsets are continuing, though, and they take up a lot of time.” A deluxe version of 1986’s fourth album Brotherhood – “The one with Bizarre Love Triangle on, which is how I remember it” – will be out in time for Christmas. Camcorder footage by Morris of the band recording the album and touring Japan has been turned into a documentary for the boxset. In addition, after Pet Shop Boys told Classic Pop last year that they would love to repeat their…

ARMY OF LOVERS Formed in Sweden in 1987 by Alexander Bard, Jean-Pierre Barda and Camilla Henemark, Army Of Lovers were one of the most visually distinctive bands of their era, with their campily outlandish costumes mostly designed by fashionista Camilla Thulin. Masterminded by sex worker-turned-economics graduate Bard, the band was formed from the ashes of bubblegum outfit Barbie, hitting the UK chart (if at the lower end) with such songs such as Obsession and Ride The Bullet. They split in ’96, reformed in 2001, disbanded again in 2009 before reuniting in 2012, releasing their latest album, Sexodus, in 2023. ACE OF BASE Dismissed at the time as the poor man’s ABBA, mainly because they were a two-woman, two-man pop outfit from Sweden, as if no one else was allowed to…

Long before Marcella Detroit rose to prominence alongside Siobhan Fahey as one half of Shakespears Sister, the powerhouse singer had already established a career as a songwriter and vocal collaborator. Under the name Marcy Levy, she sang backup for classic rockers Bob Seger and Eric Clapton – as well as co-writing the latter’s 1977 hit Lay Down Sally – and duetted with Robin Gibb on Help Me!, which appeared in the cult 1980 New Wave movie Times Square. And in 1982, she released a solo LP, Marcella, that received warm reviews but didn’t make much of a commercial dent, but went on to co-write songs for Chaka Khan (So Close) and Belinda Carlisle (UK Top 40 hit Little Black Book). When Detroit released her second solo album, 1994’s Jewel, she…

MARC ALMOND I’M NOT ANYONE BMG AFTER CHANGES IN BOTH THE PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL LIFE OF MARC ALMOND, HIS LATEST COVERS ALBUM IS A WELCOME OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE TIME OUT FOR REFLECTION Although it’s only been seven years since Marc Almond’s previous covers album Shadows And Reflections, he has fitted a lot in since 2017, even by his standards. Soft Cell reformed for their ‘last ever’ concert then quickly un-farewelled to instead make their superb first album for 20 years. There was a joint album with Jools Holland, plus the swirling drama of 2020’s Chaos And A Dancing Star, an underrated record kneecapped by lockdown. For anyone with the most casual interest in Almond’s life away from music, his decision to quit London after relocating there as soon as he…

4 JULY 1988 KYLIE RELEASES HER DEBUT ALBUM In the United States every 4 July, Americans celebrate Independence Day. For the rest of the world, however, it’s a chance to mark Kylie Day, the date in 1988 in which the soon-to-be Princess of Pop released her debut album. Anticipation was at fever pitch before the unveiling of Kylie and by the time it landed on record shelves, the singer, then just 20, had already scored a No.1 single (I Should Be So Lucky) and a No.2 hit (follow-up Got To Be Certain). And through her success in Aussie soap Neighbours (where she played tomboy mechanic Charlene Robinson), her name was already more well-known than any other artist on the Stock Aitken Waterman roster – Kylie’s co-star Jason Donovan wouldn’t release…

*1 “A delicate folky reinvention of one of Prince’s finest songs. Frazey Ford’s inimitable vocals are a masterclass in understated elegance.” *2 ”So good (almost) everyone thinks that it’s the original.” *3 “Anyone who doesn’t say that or Tainted Love is overthinking it.” *4 “Roland Gift is an underrated singer anyway but Jimmy Somerville’s incredible backing vocals elevate this is above the original.” *5 “A beautifully melancholic reimagining of a Tears For Fears gem.” *6 “Transformed a country obscurity into a synth-pop classic.” *7 “Why this languished in a vault for years until the 2014 reissue of Nightclubbing is a total mystery.” *8 “Joan’s biggest hit, a cover of the Arrows’ stomper delivered with swagger and, improbably, a straight face.“ *9 “An epic, earnest version that let Andy Taylor rip…

FREDDIE McGREGOR A slice of cheerful and optimistic reggae-lite jauntiness gave Jamaican superstar Freddie McGregor a hit in 1987, nearly a quarter of a century after his first record deal. The Clarendonians were a young ska group, and McGregor had to stand on a box to reach the microphone when he first joined them in the studio at just seven years old, working for the legendary Studio One label. McGregor then went solo in 1979, aged 23, following a period as a Studio One session singer and drummer. His eventual signature song was a bouncy, electronic Caribbean anthem, with a chirpy rhythm and a lyric of reassurance and reliance, earning extensive radio airplay. Originally recorded by soul star Ronnie Dyson, it had become familiar when funk trio The Main Ingredient’s…

China Crisis have announced an extensive tour to promote their current album China Greatness. Kicking off in the Philippines and Singapore, the New Wave outfit fronted by mainstays Gary Daly and Eddie Lundon return for a string of UK dates starting in Leicester on 3 August stretching all the way through to a pair of Glasgow shows on 14-15 December. Released on 31 May, China Greatness features China Crisis’ best-loved songs reworked in a cinematic style by three-time Grammy Award-winning engineer Mark Phythian. The album is available on double vinyl and an expanded deluxe CD.…

01 Bon Jovi sign to Mercury Records in the United States. The group, headed up by singer Jon Bon Jovi, will become one of the defining rock outfits of the decade. 02 Rod Stewart starts a three-week run at No.1 with Baby Jane, his biggest success since 1978’s Da Ya Think I’m Sexy and his last single – to date – to top the UK charts. 07 Martin Scorsese’s movie The King Of Comedy is released in Australia. The film includes cameo appearances from three members of The Clash – Mick Jones, Joe Strummer and Paul Simonon. 14 REM’s debut album Murmur enters the US Billboard chart where it peaks at No.36. (The LP doesn’t chart in the UK until 1994, where it hit No.100). A re-release of debut single Radio…

On a recent set visit to Doctor Who’s studio in Cardiff for Doctor Who Magazine, CP contributor Paul Kirkley reported on the singles that the Time Lord houses on the jukebox in his Tardis. These include Tainted Love, as well as artists including Scissor Sisters and Britney Spears. This delights Marc Almond, a Whovian since seeing the show’s very first episode in 1963 at his aunt’s house when he was six. Treating us to his rendition of Delia Derbyshire’s classic theme, Marc recalls: “Once the ‘Wooo-ee-oooh’ music came on, with the slightly fuzzy special effects of the title sequence, I was transported.” Although he stopped watching during Tom Baker’s tenure, Almond explains: “I’ll always have a love for Doctor Who. As a child, I’d do drawings of the show and made…

1 DUM DUM GIRL The album opens on an acoustic piano riff, complete with fluttery flute sounds and percussion instruments, laying a foundation of interesting textures, before segueing into the more standard instrumentation. From here, it’s back to business as usual, with synths set to a driving 4/4 beat and Webb’s bass upfront in the mix. Until, that is, they adopt a subversive trick, so favoured by the Pixies, going full throttle in the pre-chorus bridge before dropping it down to an almost ‘anti-chorus’, stripping it right back once more for the main “Dum Dum Girl” refrain. Here, the vocal delivery resembles a revolving monastic chant at odds with the lyrical imagery. The title is a sly nod to Iggy Pop’s Dum Dum Boys (which incidentally also inspired the similarly…

It has been a long time coming but, 35 years on, Classic Pop can finally reveal the true reason Fairground Attraction suddenly split up at the height of their chart-topping, Brit Award-winning success. “It was when they didn’t let me have ‘ladling’ during a game of Scrabble on the tour bus,” declares singer Eddi Reader, clearly still nursing a grievance over this lexicographical injustice. “They were fucking wrong!” “That’s what it was,” concurs guitarist and songwriter Mark Nevin. “It was a Scrabble problem.” They’re joking, of course. The real reasons for the folk-rock four-piece’s sudden immolation – less than two years after they’d come from nowhere to score a No.1 hit with their debut single Perfect – are as messy and complicated as any break-up. But three-and-a-half decades on, Fairground…

After writing memoirs about Joy Division and New Order in, respectively, Record Play Pause and Fast Forward, Stephen Morris has been considering ideas for a novel… and a sitcom. “I’ve got ideas and titles for eight episodes,” Morris reveals. “I’m not giving the idea away, just in case it ever gets made. I would love to do a sitcom, but it’s much harder work than a book. I’d have to get it in production, think about casting… Every time I think about it seriously, I start telling myself: ‘Just write a fucking book instead.’” Meanwhile, Gillian will be the final member of New Order to tell her side of the band’s story, but with a difference. Shortly before Christmas, Gilbert is releasing a book of photographs. “It’s not: ‘I was…

The 12" record was introduced to vinyl consumers by Columbia way back in 1948, replacing the old phonograph cylinders, though it was during disco’s heyday that 45rpm mixes featuring a high fidelity single track across one side of a record became fashionable. By the 1980s, the 12" was de rigueur for any self-respecting artist or label. The proliferation of the extended mix would no doubt have surprised Tom “undisputed king of the disco mix” Moulton, or even hip-hop great DJ Kool Herc, innovators whose methods of prolonging the groove came from the necessity of keeping the dancefloor moving. 2O DEAD OR ALIVE YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) (1984) In 1984, You Spin Me Round not only ushered in one of pop’s great characters in Pete Burns, but it also…

AQUA BARBIE GIRL (1997) Despite Aqua fans hoping that the band’s signature song would feature in last year’s box office-busting Barbie movie, Barbie Girl wasn’t actually used, at least not in its original form, with Mattel choosing to soundtrack a new song, Barbie World, that only sampled Aqua’s original. Still, the ’97 version, with its compulsively catchy chorus, has still had something of a resurgence in the past 12 months, thanks to the success of the Margot Robbie-starring blockbuster. WHIGFIELD SATURDAY NIGHT (1994) Sannie Charlotte Carlson’s debut 45 entered the UK Singles Chart at No.1 in 1994, dethroning Wet Wet Wet’s 15-week chart-topper Love Is All Around. Also reaching the summit in Ireland, Germany, Spain and Switzerland, and going Top 10 in Austria, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden,…

While Detroit was recording Jewel, Elton John rang up Chris Thomas with a request: would he produce John’s forthcoming duets album? Thomas declined the offer, noting that he was currently working with Detroit, but Elton wasn’t miffed; in fact, he responded by asking Marcella to be on the album and choose her preferred duet song. It’s safe to say that she was thrilled. “I was always such an Elton John fan,” she says. “I remember in my teens going to parties where I would hear his album playing in the background and we’d be doing all kinds of substances and singing along to Bennie And The Jets.” Detroit suggested John’s 1970 cut Border Song, but Elton passed, so she started cycling through Motown classics, eventually landing on 1968’s Marvin Gaye/Tammi…

The winner of the Best Writer, Specialist category, in 2022’s British Society of Magazine Editors Awards, our latest issue sees John Earls talking to Marc Almond about his new covers album I’m Not Anyone as well as The Other Two’s Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert. John also oversees our new albums and reissues reviews sections. Paul Kirkley makes his living from interviewing famous people with much more interesting and glamorous lives than his own. He is also, to the best of his knowledge, the only paid TV critic for a national supermarket chain. This issue, Paul catches up with Eddi Reader and Mark Nevin from Fairground Attraction for an exclusive interview as the band reveal all about their comeback after 35 years apart. Wyndham Wallace has written for The Guardian, Uncut…

With the warring Gallagher brothers still no closer to settling their differences, Oasis fans will have to content themselves with an expanded version of the band’s landmark debut LP Definitely Maybe to celebrate its 30th birthday. The remastered version of the 1994 classic album also boasts unheard recordings and new artwork. Available on 30 August, a 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of the record-breaking Britpop debut features tracks from the album’s discarded original recording sessions at Monnow Valley Studios in Monmouthshire, along with outtakes from the definitive album laid down at Sawmills Studios in Cornwall, newly mixed for the first time by Noel Gallagher and Callum Marinho. These Monnow Valley recordings and outtakes from the Sawmill sessions have been recently unearthed, offering fans a fresh insight into the album. The sessions…

Following sold-out live dates in North America, Janet Jackson has revealed she’ll extend her Together Again Tour to Europe later this year. Jackson’s shows in Birmingham, London, Glasgow and Manchester, taking place between 27 September and 1 October, will be the singer’s first in the UK since her acclaimed Glastonbury Festival performance in 2019. In a video message Jackson said: “I just wanted to thank you for making this my most successful tour to date. And Europe, I know it’s been a minute since we’ve seen each other but the wait is no longer. I will be taking the Together Again Tour all over Europe this fall. I cannot wait to see you guys; I miss you so much. We’ve had so much fun with this show, so can’t wait…

ALL ABOUT EVE ALL ABOUT EVE Few bands bettered All About Eve when it came to remaining true to their goth principles while embracing pop – and this polished, gutsy album proves it. Haunting guitars and moody rhythm sections marinate much of this self-titled debut LP, but thanks to the cool, pure vocals of Julianne Regan and some disarming melodies, it’s also very much a ‘goth-pop’ effort – Wild Hearted Woman, In The Clouds and Flowers In Our Hair immaculately combine earnest lyrics with singalong melodies. Every Angel has sweet multi-tracked harmonies; Never Promise (Anyone Forever) has handclaps that could sound naff but don’t; and the uplifting acoustic guitars and strings on What Kind Of Fool, Gypsy Dance, In The Meadow and the immortal Martha’s Harbour – the biggest hit…

Although Marc Almond and Dave Ball grew up in Southport and Blackpool respectively before meeting at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, Soft Cell are arguably a London band: both men moved to the capital as soon as they could and remained there for decades afterwards. While their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret isn’t exactly a London concept record, it captures the sound of pre-gentrification Soho better than anyone else. Seamy songs like Youth, Sex Dwarf and Seedy Films drip with the danger and illicit sex of the city in the 1980s. For the remainder of Soft Cell’s first incarnation, and his even murkier 80s alter-ego in Marc And The Mambas, Almond lived opposite infamous Soho strip club Raymond Revuebar. For Soft Cell, success only meant finding nicer homes in London, rather…

I’m Not Anyone isn’t the only covers album Almond has been involved with recently: he also co-produced veteran blues singer Dana Gillespie’s latest LP First Love with Marc’s regular associate, Tris Penna. Dana’s song Stardom Road was the title track of Almond’s 2007 album. Marc enthuses: “Dana is one of the last great bohemian ladies of rock, who’s made about 70 albums. She mostly makes quite dirty blues, and I said to Tris: ‘We’ve got to do something with her, but a more pop-based album.” First Love covers everyone from Green Day to Lana Del Rey. “Even now, Dana’s pitch is great,” says Almond. “The way she sings Morrissey’s song Spent The Day In Bed is wicked and mischievous.” That was the album’s first single, as Marc explains: “I know…

“It’s miraculous,” says Eddi Reader, of Perfect’s continued cultural reach. “And such a compliment to think that, in our own selfish way, we carved out something that other people saw the light in, whether it’s in Asda or Ikea, or somebody’s wedding reception or funeral…” “Somebody’s funeral?” laughs Nevin. “Yeah. I’m having it at my funeral!” insists Eddi. “We should have a joint funeral,” suggests Mark. “And we’ll have that song.” We’ll take that as a Classic Pop exclusive. Have they ever worried that the song cast too long a shadow over their careers? “No,” says Nevin, firmly. “If you’re going to complain about that, you don’t really deserve success.” “Yeah,” agrees Reader. “I mean, if it’s that or Mr Blobby, which would I prefer?” “Mr Blobby every time,” deadpans…

01 IT’S A SIN PET SHOP BOYS (PARLOPHONE) Neil Tennant may not have conceived Pet Shop Boys’ first single off second LP Actually to be as issue-defining as it became (“the song was written in about 15 minutes, and was intended as a camp joke. It wasn’t something I consciously took very seriously,” he told Out in 2009), but since its release in June ’87, It’s A Sin has become something of a gay anthem, so much so that Russell T Davies picked it as the title of his 2021 drama chronicling the 80s AIDS crisis. Neil and Chris Lowe actually won a lawsuit against singer-songwriter, TV presenter (and future felon) Jonathan King, who in his Sun column accused the pair of pilfering It’s A Sin’s melody from Cat Stevens’…

With five albums and various film and video game scores to his name, there’s a wealth of music that Dolby can choose from when planning a setlist. But while certain songs choose themselves, there must be others he thinks are just as good, if not better, than those world-conquering chart hits. So does he have one song in his back catalogue he wishes was as well-known as She Blinded Me With Science? “My record companies never really had the balls to take a song like Screen Kiss or I Love You Goodbye and put that out front and say, ‘This is the song that you should be listening to’. In the UK, they tended to pander to a BBC producer’s A-list mentality, and go, ‘Well, this wouldn’t fit in the…

Send your Poparazzi pics now to steve.harnell@anthem.co.uk NORMAN COOK WITH CLIVE HAMMOND ”Back in November 2013, I attended a Shaun By The Sea charity event at Brighton Corn Exchange. It was an auction of 45 Shaun The Sheep sculptures dotted around the city in aid of the local Martlets Hospice. Norman is an ambassador for the hospice and was guest DJ. I was thrilled to chat to him and grab a photo. What a lovely man – he stayed for the entire four-hour auction, interacted with the bidders and even bid on items himself.” NIK KERSHAW WITH PAUL DOUBLE ”This photo of me and Nik Kershaw was taken at The Apex, Bury St Edmunds, in September 2017 following one of his sold-out shows. After the gig, Nik came into the foyer to…

1 DEMON MUSIC GROUP VARIOUS ARTISTS Demon has announced a string of Classic Pop-friendly reissues and an essential compilation. Heaven 17’s Penthouse And Pavement and The Luxury Gap return separately as 2CD deluxe 7" gatefold remastered sets, featuring the full LPs, non-album A- and B-sides, demos and 12" versions. Given a similar 2CD set treatment will be Altered Images’ Happy Birthday album and its follow-up Pinky Blue. Also of note is a deluxe reissue of Toyah’s 1985 album Minx boasting rarities and unreleased demos. Finally, the 2CD It’s A Beautiful Thing: The Best Of Ocean Colour Scene compiles 44 of the finest moments from the Britpop favourites. A 26-song vinyl version is also available plus an exclusive HMV 2LP vinyl set in translucent blue. 2 MICHEL MOERS AS IS Michel Moers…

UNDER A ROCK: A MEMOIR CHRIS STEIN CORSAIR A half-century after the now iconic Blondie formed on the mean streets of New York, founder Chris Stein’s autobiography lifts the lid on how this group of downtown denizens broke out of the city’s vibrant art scene to achieve international success and was lucky enough to survive it – just. Tracing his life from Brooklyn boyhood to the bowels of the Bowery, Stein’s story describes how the bankrupt Big Apple was a breeding ground for artists, musicians and authors in the mid-70s, with talent and grit their only currency until global fame came calling. Unmistakably in Stein’s voice, the stream-of-consciousness style of storytelling can be distracting at times and frustratingly vague as a result, yet you can’t help being awestruck by the…