Music Category
Music news and reviews, music videos and tittle tattle, with a lingering look at the past from Anorak. A source for rock, pop, album and live music, new releases, artist interviews and features.
1980s Band Names Demystified
HAVE you been wasting precious hours of your day wondering where A Flock of Seagulls got their name? Well, wonder no more. Before your very eyes are the etymologies of 1980s pop-synth and post-punk bands, illuminated for posterity. No more shall mankind contemplate the origin of Kajagoogoo. Mystery solved.
Boomtown Rats
Named after a gang of children that Geldof had read about in Woody Guthrie’s autobiography, Bound for Glory.
The Buggles
Trevor Horn imagined a futuristic computer creating a synthetic band “The Buggles”, a corruption of The Beatles
Record producer Trevor Horn poses in the Quadrangle of Buckingham Palace, London after being presented with a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) by the Prince of Wales. Picture date: Wednesday May 11 2011.
Dexy’s Midnight Runners
Dexedrine, a brand of dextroamphetamine – the original ADHD medication, and a once popular recreational stimulant.
Any excuse to hear this. (Cue the school disco frenzy.)
Duran Duran
Named after the villain in Barbarella, Dr. Durand Durand
Fine Young Cannibals
From the 1960 film All the Fine Young Cannibals starring Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood.
In a Nov. 25, 1959 file photo, Natalie Wood and her husband Robert Wagner are made up for their roles in “All The Fine Young Cannibals,” in Los Angeles. Dennis Davern, captain of the yacht Splendour, which Wood was aboard at the time of her death, said on national TV Friday, Nov. 18, 2011 that he lied to investigators about Natalie Wood’s mysterious death 30 years ago and blames the actress’ husband at the time, Robert Wagner, for her drowning in the ocean off Southern California.
A Flock of Seagulls
Taken from the lyrics to “Toiler on the Sea” by The Stranglers
We ventured overland
Fought with the aliens
The young ones used their hands
Pointed the way to a flock
A flock of seagulls!
Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Lead singer of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Holly Johnson (left) leads the group on to a train bound for Liverpool at London’s Euston Station. 01/07/04: Twenty years ago Thursday July 1, 2004, the band were at the top of the UK charts with Two Tribes. Frankie Goes to Hollywood spent 15 weeks at the top of the UK charts in 1984, with three songs – Relax, Two Tribes and the Power of Love.
A random headline from the New Yorker magazine (the “Frankie” in question referred to Frank Sinatra)
Heaven 17
Burgess in 1973
A fictional band mentioned in Anthony Burgess’s novel, A Clockwork Orange.
Hüsker Dü
Named after the board game. The heavy metal umlauts were added for effect.
INXS
Inspired by the band XTC and Australian jam makers IXL, they decided on a foreshortened version of “inaccessible”.
Jesus and Mary Chain
Allegedly from a breakfast cereal package which advertised that you could send off for a free Jesus and Mary chain.
Kajagoogoo
A slight variation on a baby’s first sounds: gaga googoo
Level 42
42 as in the answer to the meaning of life in the Douglas Adams book The Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy
Love and Rockets
After the Jaime and Mario Hernandez alternative comic books
Madness
Madness with their first full length feature film, “Take It or Leave It”, described as a documentary with music. The film features band members (pictured not in order), Bedders, Chas, Chrissy Boy, Lee, Mike, Suggs and Woody as themselves. Other parts are in the hands of actors. Take It or Leave It is titled after a track from the band’s top twenty album.
Homage to Madness a song by reggae artist Prince Buster.
Ready to the the Rude Boy dance that anyone could do (again, any excuse):
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
They wanted a name that in no way would confuse them as a punk band. I think they succeeded.
The Pretenders
Named after the Platters song The Great Pretender.
Public Image, Ltd.
After the Muriel Spark novel The Public Image
Scritti Politti
A homage to the Italian Marxist writer and political theorist Antonio Gramsci. The correct spelling in Italian to refer to “Political Writings” would have produced “Scritti Politici, but was changed to sound like the Little Richard song Tutti Frutti.
Simple Minds
Jim Kerr, lead singer with rock group Simple Minds, arrives for his marriage to actress Patsy Kensit at Chelsea register office. Date: 03/01/1992
From the David Bowie song “The Jean Genie”
“Hes so simple minded he can’t drive his module,
He bites on the neon and sleeps in the capsule”
Simply Red
The band’s name originally was “Red”, but when the singer had to repeatedly clarify their name as “Red, simply Red”, it seemed to stick.
Sonic Youth
A combination of the nickname of MC5’s Fred “Sonic” Smith with “Youth” from reggae artist Big Youth.
Spandau Ballet
Undated image of the changing of the guard at Spandau war criminals prison in Berlin, Germany in the post-war era.
The name refers to many hangings at Spandau Prison where the victims would twitch and jump (a macabre ballet) at the end of a rope.
Squeeze
A facetious tribute to The Velvet Underground’s oft-derided 1973 album Squeeze.
Tears for Fears
Inspired by “primal therapy”, developed by American psychologist Arthur Janov, who had John Lennon as a patient in 1970.
Thompson Twins
From the Thompson and Thompson characters from The Adventures of TinTin
T’Pau
Named after a Vulcan Elder on Star Trek
Wang Chung
Originally, Huang Chung which they claimed translated to “perfect pitch” and the sound a guitar makes. The spelling was changed from “Huang” to “Wang” simply to make it easier to pronounce.
… and there you have it. You’re welcome.
Posted: 20th, February 2014 | In: Flashback, Key Posts, Music | Comments (2)
Piña Colliding: Yes, Rupert Holmes’ 1979 Hit Can Make Every Movie Better
“ESCAPE (The Pina Colada Song) by Rupert Holmes is great and it should be in every movie.”
So writes Carol Hartsell and Sean Crespo in an introduction to their Tumblr Piña Colliding. For those of you not au fait with Holme’s 1979 hit, here it is.
But can the song make everything it touches better? Let’s see:
Pina Colada 1: The Lion King
he Hitcher
The Silence Of The Lambs
Jaws
Posted: 20th, February 2014 | In: Film, Key Posts, Music | Comment
1987 Photo: Mike Smith, Dave Lee Travis, Noel Edmonds And Mike Read Pimp Out Tony Blackburn
FLASHBACK to 30/09/1987: BBC Radio One Breakfast Show DJ Mike Smith (right) is joined by former presenters of the early-morning slot as the network celebrates its 20th anniversary. From left: Dave Lee Travis, Noel Edmonds, Tony Blackburn and Mike Read.
What happened next?
Posted: 19th, February 2014 | In: Flashback, Music, Photojournalism, TV & Radio | Comment
1978: Former Cliff Richard Guitarist Jet Harris At Marlborough Street Magistrates, London
FLASHBACK to 11/09/1978: Terence Harris of Porchester Terrace, Paddington – 29 year old pop musician Jet Harris – former bass guitarist with “The Shadows” – at Marlborough Street Magistrates, London, where he appeared on remand on a drink-drive charge and possession of drugs charge.
The Shadows had been Cliff Richard’s backing group. Harris left the group in 1962 following an alleged affair between his wife, Carol Costa, and Richard.
Harris is front right in the picture below.
Pop singer Cliff Richard and members of his supporting instrumental band The Shadows at London Airport as they are about to fly off on their Scandinavian Tour. Date: 15/08/1961
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Posted: 18th, February 2014 | In: Flashback, Music | Comment
8 Reasons Why Every Movie Needs A Theme Song
A LOT of people make a lot of films, but sadly not all those films have kick-ass theme songs. This is a crying shame – AN ENORMOUSLY CRYING SHAME – because in an ideal world every film ever made would either begin or end (ideally both) with a song (not an instrumental, they don’t count) sharing a title with the film in question. Filmmakers, heed this advice. Why? Why, you say? Well…
– YOU MIGHT FINALLY GET THAT KUDOS YOU’VE BEEN AFTER
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Posted: 18th, February 2014 | In: Film, Flashback, Key Posts, Music | Comment
Self-Abuse Challenge: Listen To 10 Awful Songs From The ’80s
WHY subject yourself to ten objectively awful songs, you ask? Even though it will be painful and there will be mental wounds that may take years to heal, it is a worthy endeavor. It will serve as a reminder that, no matter how bad the state of music is today, there were songs in the 1980s that were much, much worse.
Can you make it through all ten? Bear in mind, these aren’t “so bad they’re good”; they’re “so bad they cause cancer”. In fact, the selection chosen from a variety of countries to soften the blame on any one nation. Before beginning, we recommend you have the phone number of a good therapist close at hand. Good luck to you… but don’t say you weren’t warned.
“Neighbours” Theme Song (1985)
Australia
Is it possible for your brain to vomit? You’ll find out when you take a listen to this saccharine Australian TV show theme.
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Posted: 17th, February 2014 | In: Flashback, Key Posts, Music | Comments (2)
Hermeto Pascoal Plays Música da Lagoa: ‘All Art Aspires Towards The Condition of Music’
DOES all art aspire to the condition of music? Brazialian musician Hermeto Pascoal plays Música da Lagoa.
Terrible Toys: The 1964 Beatlee Beatles Dolls
In October 1964, all the cool kids could buy these Beatles dolls, seen here at the toy Fair in New York. The Beatlee dolls are being watched over by looked over by 10-year-old Carol Valentine, 10.
Posted: 14th, February 2014 | In: Celebrities, Flashback, Music, The Consumer | Comment
Top 10 De La Soul Tunes To Celebrate Them Giving Away Their Whole Back Catalogue
YOU may have heard about De La Soul giving their entire back catalogue away for free over at their website – wearedelasoul.com – which is great news for hip hop fans, the rap curious and anyone who like music.
They’re doing it to celebrate next month’s 25th anniversary of their debut cut ‘3 Feet High And Rising’. It is only available for 25 hours, so make sure you’re on it (from 4pm onward).
Speaking to Rolling Stone about their decision, Posdnuos said: “It’s about allowing our fans who have been looking and trying to get a hold of our music to have access to it. It’s been too long where our fans haven’t had access to everything. This is our way of showing them how much we love them.”
So what tracks should you look out for? Well, here’s ten of the best of De La Soul’s work. Enjoy!
Breakadawn
Classic laid-back De La. Overlooked by a few because, in short, it isn’t on their first album. Huge summer jam.
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Posted: 14th, February 2014 | In: Key Posts, Music | Comment
New Zealand Puts A Ban On Odd Future
BANDS are forever being banned from various countries. One thing seems to be more prevalent than others – these acts are usually hip hop outfits.
And again, New Zealand immigration authorities have decided to ban Odd Future from entering the country. Why? They have come to the conclusion that they’re a threat to public order.
Who knew that New Zealand was jumpier than China?
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Radiohead Release Mildly Diverting Music App, Probably Dubbed ‘Revolutionary’
RADIOHEAD, sulkiest of the sulky, a band so pious that they’ve had their blood replaced with sour grape juice, have released a new thing. They’ve not bothered with vinyl or CD or even a download which pretends to be free. No, they’ve worked with studio Universal Everything to create a ‘living, breathing, growing touchscreen environment’.
It is called the PolyFauna app, which can download for nothing on your phone and has been made as a collab with the band, Universal Everything, producer Nigel Godrich and artist Stanley Donwood.
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Posted: 13th, February 2014 | In: Music, Technology | Comment
On This Day In Photos: John Lennon Sings Instant Karma! With A Sanitary Towel On Top Of The Pops
ON this day in history – 1970: John Lennon performed his solo single Instant Karma! on Top Of The Pops.
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Posted: 12th, February 2014 | In: Flashback, Key Posts, Music | Comment
IceJJFish Sings On The Floor In The Manner Of The Bar Mitzvah Boy Whose Voice Broke Mid Verse
SINGER IceJJFish sings On The Floor in the manner of the Bar Mitzvah boy who voice broke mind verse.
It’s out latest instalment of World’s Got Talent. Previous hits for the compilation album are here.
Never Meet Your Heroes: In 1984 A Teenaged Fan Met ‘Poofy’ Duran Duran And Came Away Unimpressed
ON January 19, 1984, 16-year-old Tracy Nolan met top pop act Duran Duran. Smash Hits magazine was there to record the “Special Night Out”.
Things we learn:
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Posted: 10th, February 2014 | In: Flashback, Key Posts, Music | Comment
70s Rock Bands: When It Was Cool To Look Homeless
Lynyrd Skynyrd in their Sunday best
FOR some reason, it became a thing of pride for 1970s rock musicians to look as homeless and ungroomed as humanely possible. We may have chided the ’90s grunge bands for wallowing in filth, but that was nothing compared to the unwashed hordes of unkempt ’70s rock bands.
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Posted: 10th, February 2014 | In: Flashback, Key Posts, Music | Comments (2)
You’ll Blow Your Mind Out In A Car: The Hellish Rolling Stone Mag Beatles Tribute Of 1977 (Video)
THIS might be the world’s worst Beatles tribute. In 1977, Rolling Stone Magazine booked Ted Neeley (Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar), Patti Labelle, Ritchie Havens, Yvonne Elliman (she was Christ’s Mary Magdalene) and more for A Day In The Decade, a rendering of A Day In The Life. The show begins with Neeley (bigger than Jesus?) singing about himself getting out of bed, dragging a comb across his head, looking up, realising he was late…
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Posted: 9th, February 2014 | In: Flashback, Key Posts, Music | Comment
Tainted Love Played By 13 Floppy Disc Drives and One Hard Disk Drive
RETRO tunes on retro machines: Ed Cobb’s Tainted Love played by 13 Floppy Disc Drives and one Hard Disk Drive. Stand down the kazoo orchestra:
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Posted: 9th, February 2014 | In: Music, Technology | Comment
50 Years Ago, The Beatles Landed at JFK: 10 Great American Beatles Rip Offs
The Beatles face the media on arrival at JFK airport in New York City on Feb. 7, 1964. The British rock and roll group was also greeted by a screaming crowd estimated at 5,000. (AP Photo/Charles Tasnadi)
OF course, The Fab Four’s time in America is very well documented. No-one needs to know more about the whole Bigger Than Jesus thing and George Harrison’s ‘spotty youths’ comment when he visited the hippies on the West Coast.
However, less well documented are the mop-top knock-offs that The Beatles created. Garage bands and frat beat groups sprung up all over America after the mop tops played Ed Sullivan.
So, here’s 10 of the best American Beatle Bands or Fab Four rip-off records… and by the way, being a Beatle rip-off band is no bad thing at all! Feel free to chime in with your own!
1. The Byrds
The Byrds hit the jackpot when they took Dylan’s folk music and turned it into a Beatle beat. Perfect for the US market – homegrown lads (not like those British Invasion swine!) making Dylan’s nasal drawl more palatable. ‘Feel A Whole Lot Better’ is the choice here, but in fairness, it could’ve been picked from two dozen songs!
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Posted: 6th, February 2014 | In: Flashback, Key Posts, Music | Comment
One Hit Wonders: When Ryan Paris Lived La Dolce Vita In A Giant Red Shoe
WHATEVER happened to… Ryan Paris, the singer born Fabio Roscioli in Rome who gave full throat to the 1983 smash hit single, Dolce Vita?
Before creep shots, there was this video of women walking about minding their own business. Ryan Paris was the embodiment of the City of Love:
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Flashback To1957: The McCormick Skiffle Group Freak Out
FLASHBACK to 02/11/1957: The McCormick Skiffle Group were, from left to right, Billy McCormick, Frank Healy, Wesley McCausland, Edward McSherry, and James McCartney.
Paul McCartney’s 1960 Letter To Audition A Drummer For The Beatles Trip To Hamburg
LETTERS of note: Paul McCartney wrote this letter in 1960 to a possible drummer for the Beatles for the band’s trip to Hamburg. The wold-be drummer should go to the Jacaranda Club – the Liverpool venue first to host the Beatles.
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Posted: 3rd, February 2014 | In: Celebrities, Flashback, Music | Comment
Top 10 Joe Meek Records On The Anniversary Of His Death
TODAY marks the anniversary of Joe Meek’s death. The first British independent record label, genius producer and thorough crackpot departed this Earth on 3rd February after committing suicide after murdering his landlady at his home studio on Holloway Road.
And ever a fan of the occult, it only seems right to contact Meek on the date of his death, rather than birth. Meek, who ‘contacted’ Buddy Holly beyond the grave and got a hit out of it, was a studio wizard, as avant garde with his approach to pop music as Aphex Twin was in the ’90s.
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Posted: 3rd, February 2014 | In: Flashback, Key Posts, Music | Comment
On This Day In Photos: February 3 1959 – Buddy Holly Dies On The Winter Dance Party Tour
Buddy Holly shown in 1956, 22
ON This Day – February 3 1959: Charles Hardin Holley – aka Buddy Holly – 22, Jiles P Richardson – aka the Big Bopper – 28, and Richard Valenzuela – aka Ritchie Valens – 17, were killed when their single-engined Beechcraft Bonanza planed crashed shortly take-off from Clear Lake, Iowa.
Pilot Roger Peterson, 21, also lost his life.
The triumvirate’s last show has been at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, where their memory lives on:
Holly had only recent gone solo, breaking up with the Crickets.
On February 1 1959, the stars played Green Bay, WI, Ballroom.
At The Green Bay, WI, Ballroom – February 1, 1959
They had been a sensation. Buddy Holly and the Crickets made an appearance on the Arthur Murray Dance Party on December 29, 1957. It was unusual to see a band like the Crickets performing on the show.
“Now, if you haven’t heard of these young men, then you must be the wrong age because they’re rock and roll specialists. Now, no matter what you think about rock and roll, I think you have to keep a nice open mind about what the young people go for. Otherwise the youngsters won’t feel that you understand them. Now, if we’re ready for our rock and roll specialists, we have…Buddy Holly and the Crickets!”
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Posted: 3rd, February 2014 | In: Celebrities, Flashback, Key Posts, Music | Comment
Intercontinental Dance Floor Dives: Your Euro Disco Dynamite Primer
WHEN disco hit its stride in the mid to late Seventies, it transcended language and boundaries. Perhaps, the secret of its success was that the criterion was so damn simple: Can you dance to it? If the answer was “yes”, chances are, you have a disco hit on your hands.
While ABBA and The Bee-Gees propelled the genre into the stratosphere, there were plenty of other good (and not-so-good) disco tracks being churned out across Europe that deserve to be resurrected. Here are 9 interesting, odd, and awesome gems rescued from obscurity. Enjoy.
Dschingis Khan – “Dschinghis Khan” (1979) Germany
I wonder what the Mongol overlord would have said if he knew he’d one day be the subject of a peppy German disco track. I can’t predict his exact words, but I’m sure it would have ended with a beheading or evisceration of some sort. I suppose one day they’ll be dancing to songs about Pol Pot and Idi Amin.
Albert’s Negrita – “That’s The Ball” (1976) Germany
I think there’s something wrong with me. I actually really, really like this. The song makes no sense whatsoever, it’s alarmingly repetitive, and involves no musical talent or skill whatsoever. Maybe I’ve just listened to one too many disco songs, or maybe I’m coming down with a bad fever – whatever the reason, I dig this track. I don’t know a thing about it, except that it sounds like it comes from a German porno. And if it wasn’t, it should have.
Penny McLean – “Lady Bump” (1975) Austria
Was this a prelude to Fergie’s humps, her lovely lady lumps? In typical disco fashion, the lyrics are wonderfully bad:
They call me lady bump lady bump
It’s no lie – aaaaaaaah
Lady bump, lady bump –
Just the music takes me high.
Actually, the “aaaaaah” should read “AHHHHHH!!!!!!” – Penny really lays a eardrum shattering screech to that bit.
Svenne & Lotta – “Funky Feet” (1976) Sweden
Deciding it sounded too much like “Dancing Queen”, ABBA opted to include this on their album, sending it to fellow Swedes, Svenne & Lotta, instead. This is truly a piece of disco dynamite, but one can’t help but wonder what Frida and Agnetha could have done with it. Their vocals would have sent this track to another dimension of disco heaven.
The Duskeys – “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow” (1982) Ireland
I can’t help it. This just makes me want to put on a tight gold lame leisure suit, do a line of cocaine, and hit the discothèque.
Oh, wait. This is Irish disco. Make that – drink a pint of ale then hit the discothèque… then do a line of cocaine. (Glad we cleared that up.)
Sophie & Magaly – “Papa Penguin” (1980) France
“I Am The Walrus” is easily one of the most complex songs ever recorded, and “Papa Penguin” is easily one of the simplest. I guess you could say they are the Walrus and Penguin are Polar opposites……. Get it? Polar? (insert crickets chirping)
My apologies.
Chilly – “For Your Love” (1978) Germany
Who would have guessed a Yardbird classic would translate so well to disco? I understand this may be utterly offensive to rock purists; but, if you even have a passing appreciation for disco, you’ll have to agree this is solid gold. I would admit that I enjoy it more than the original, but I like to avoid being verbally assaulted whenever possible.
Raffaella Carra – “Pedro” (1980) Italy
The song itself is nothing particularly special; however, the male dancer outfits in this music video are special indeed. And by “special” I mean “hilariously awful”. They look like flamboyantly gay superhero private detectives who work in Willy Wonka’s factory. If that description makes no sense, have a look. All will become clear.
Jumbo – “City Girls” (1977) Germany
I included this song simply because the album cover is one of the greatest artistic creations ever conceived. Before you leave this article, I recommend you stare at this cover for a minimum of ten minutes, and let its awesomeness wash over you. When it changes your life forever, don’t forget to leave a comment at the bottom of this post. I don’t ask for much – your eternal gratitude is more than enough.
Posted: 3rd, February 2014 | In: Flashback, Key Posts, Music | Comment
