WAS's Awesome New Wave Song Of The Week #5: Freur - Doot Doot

Freur was a Welsh band in the early 80s that started it’s career as a squiggle!  Yes, unlike the guy from Minnesota who went from “Prince" to a sign, Freur started as symbol and only named itself after they got a record deal and had to have a name.  An art school synthpop duo of Karl Hyde and Rick Smith - that expanded to five to make the record - Freur didn’t release much material.  Their first album got a global release and their second very limited. It was their very first single in 1982 that was their one & only hit.  

The soaring, ethereal Doot Doot is their masterpiece.  It’s a timeless song that incorporates all kinds of sounds into an atmospheric wonder.  Layered vocals, odd drum rhythms, synthesized sounds, birds chirping, laughter …and do I hear dogs barking?  Yet it comes together wonderfully, evoking a feeling of rising above everything else.  If there is anything to criticize about Doot Doot,it is that it is only 3:45 long - it ends just as you’re really getting into it.  Thankfully this is the 1980s we’re talking about here, so an extended mix is available, which clocks in at a more appropriate 6 minutes.  I would actually suggest listening to it on repeat for an hour (or more) to best appreciate it’s subtle sounds & complexities!

So join Freur, Marc D & I … as we go DOOT!   DOOT DOOT !

-WAS

Just Missed My Top 200: The Cult - She Sells Sanctuary

Ian Astbury and The Cult had several huge hits in the 80s, including "Love Removal Machine", "Fire Woman", and my favorite song of theirs, "She Sells Sanctuary". An eclectic mixture of new wave, rock, and gothic influences, The Cult released awesome albums and blew the roof off live venues all throughout the decade. "She Sells Sanctuary" (from their 1985 LP Love) hit #15 in England and #11 in Canada, though strangely it didn't chart at all in the USA. It also just missed making my Top 200.

Here's a live performance of the song in Finland during their '86 world tour:

See you next Saturday with another tune that almost made it onto my list.

WAS's Awesome New Wave Song Of The Week #4: Sigue Sigue Sputnik - Love Missile F1-11

Sigue Sigue Sputnik … what the heck were they?  Wrong question!  It’s more appropriate to ask “What WEREN’T they??!”
 
Cyberpunk outlaws … Post punk drag queens ... Synthpop swingers … Hi-tech new wavers … Aural assaulters … Sci Fi samplers … Ultra-violence practitioners… Marketing hustlers  ... Video pioneers … Fashion renegades ... Sex bomb boogiers !
 
Produced by Giorgio Moroder.  On the Soundtrack of a John Hughes film. Sigue Sigue Sputnik were everywhere yet nowhere, in your face, yet hiding in plain sight.
Started in London in 1982 by ex-Gen-Xer Tony James, SSS were (at least) 25 years ahead of their time.  Their blend of musical saturation, pop culture references, sexual elasticity, style over substance, relentless self-promotion and multi-media shock & awe was never seen before and has rarely been pulled together so well in such a succinct package since.  

Like an out-of control heat-seeking moisture missile, SSS spewed forth a load of 12” singles during their brief hurtle through the pop culture universe.  Albums collected them in various forms … remixes, singles, dance versions, dubs, edits, extended mixes - almost every release had multiple variants.  Fake advertisements were slotted between songs, a la RoboCop 5 years later.  Dystopian sci-fi movies like A Clockwork Orange, Mad Max & Blade Runner were sampled relentlessly.  Videos featuring the band and their over-the-top look were slick and entertaining.  Neither BPM - nor hair - could ever be too high.
 
Their biggest hit “Love Missile F1-11” was produced by the golden hand of Giorgio Moroder in 1986, and an extended mix of it was used in the shower scene of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.  It charted in various countries and even made #1 in Spain.  The video of 'Love Missile' is a mini-movie unto itself, with SSS strutting about like a mega-rich, hyper-sexualized version of Buckaroo Banzai and the Hong Kong Cavaliers, well-armed with weapons … and hairspray.
 
SSS were a band that proved right the Blade Runner line that "the candle that burns twice as bright, burns half as long."  And for a brief period in the mid 80s … SSS burned oh so brightly.

-WAS

Just Missed My Top 200: Baltimora - Juke Box Boy

Jimmy McShane and Baltimora had a huge hit with "Tarzan Boy" (#96 on my Top 200) and a lesser hit with "Living In The Background" (#200). By the time "Juke Box Boy" was released, however, the group's star had begun to dim. A hit only in their native Italy and some surrounding European countries, "Juke Box Boy" was the beginning of the end for the new wave/eurodance band. While they would soldier on for another year or two, until the abject failure of "Key Key Karimba" and the second Baltimora album from which it came (1987's Survivor In Love), it was only a matter of time.

Here's "Key Key Karimba"...

...and here's "Woody Boogie" as well. After this I promise, no more Baltimora.

 See you next Saturday with another song that just missed my Top 200.

WAS's Awesome New Wave Song Of The Week #3: Near Paris - Ceiling

This week’s Awesome Song is a wondrous synthpop nugget from Near Paris, a band from Columbus Ohio.  Near Paris was only a duo, Dana and Gerald, but what a sound they made.  Strong synth, infectious grooves and Dana’s absolutely mesmerizing vocal can be found in all of their work, which unfortunately was only one EP.  I remember hearing NP at new wave clubs in NYC in the mid-eighties but that was the days before Shazam and Soundhound .. so their band name was unknown to me . You can imagine my delight when I heard the same song thirty years later on SOMA-FM’s Underground 80s and finally discovered it was Near Paris. And even better - like their modern-day labelmates, the phenomenal Play - their entire catalog, of everything they made in 1985, has been re-released digitally in the new century by Medical Records!  Enjoy “Ceiling” in 2017.  And we’ll hear from Near Paris again on a future Awesome Song.

-WAS

Just Missed My Top 200: Midge Ure - Call Of The Wild

After Ultravox broke up, Midge Ure's solo career got off to a flying start with his 1985 LP The Gift and its #1 hit "If I Was". While I don't really care for that song, his between-albums single release, 1986's "Call Of The Wild" is a great tune. Reaching #27 on the UK chart, the track has been retroactively added to some later pressings of The Gift. It was accompanied by a very odd video, showing the events of Ure's typical day in great detail:

-Wake up.

-Wear atrociously ugly sweater outside to collect firewood.

-Begin drinking (you know there's a slug of whiskey in that glass!).

-Settle in to work on disturbingly-exact clay sculpture of own face, tickling it affectionately from time to time.

-Stand in windswept fields, singing.

Aside from the bizarre video, the song is Ure's best solo work in my opinion. I was lucky enough to see the man himself perform in Halifax back in 2015 (see link below), and I can attest that he was in top form during that sold-out show. And yes, he brought the standing-room-only crowd to its feet with "Call Of The Wild".

Ad for Midge Ure Halifax performance:

See you next Saturday with another song that just missed making my Top 200.

WAS's Awesome New Wave Song Of The Week #2: INXS - Don't Change

Before the reality TV show … before a rotating cast of lead singers… before international fame … before a bunch of hit singles that all sounded the same … before the sad & weird demise of their front man  … there was a new wave band from Oz named INXS.  They took a while to hit their stride, releasing two unremarkable sorta-synthpopy albums as the 80s dawned.  They finally found some success in 1982 with the single “The One Thing” from their third album, Shabooh Shoobah. But buried on that album was the final track on side 2 which was also their one and only masterpiece: “Don’t Change”.  From the opening synth notes to the guitars ringing in … the urgent singing … the quiet part in the middle… the outro with the the soaring backing vocals, this song never fails to send a chill up my spine and make me think of great times gone by … in the greatest decade.  If you love 80s synthpop and you love New Wave … Don’t Change A Thing !

-WAS

Just Missed My Top 200: Blancmange - Blind Vision

Every Saturday I will post a new wave/synthpop song that just missed making my Top 200 list. Let's get going with the first song!

Blancmange is a band I'm not a huge fan of, as their biggest hits ("That's Love That It Is", "Living On The Ceiling", etc.) don't really appeal to me. The only tune from them that made my Top 200 was "Lose Your Love" which got the #14 spot because it's awesome. I revisited "Blind Vision" after reading a comment Was made on my writeup for "Lose Your Love", and realized it was a great song. A great song with a great video. A great song that just missed the Top 200.

 

WAS's Awesome New Wave Song Of The Week #1: Red Rockers - China

Long-time reader and comment contributor WAS has volunteered to keep this thing going by showcasing an Awesome New Wave Song of the Week in this space. Check back each week for a regular dose of auditory goodness from the greatest era in music history. I'm pumped and looking forward to reading and listening to his picks. let's get this party started!
                                                         -Marc D.
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And now, a note from WAS and his first entry:

Like Marc D, I am also a firm believer that some the greatest music of all time can be found at the nexus of new wave and synthpop in the early to mid 1980s.  It was a time of amazing developments on the music scene - punk rock was over, but all of the elements that caused it were searching for a new post-punk outlet.  They coalesced into a new movement that evolved into something altogether more exploratory … more listenable… and more interesting.  It wasn’t just a new kind of music … and it was more than just the “DIY" trend that punk introduced (which was rebellious in a conformist sort of way as Bart Simpson says) with the poor playing, mohawks and safety pins.  No this kind of new music was an onslaught of everything - new sounds … instruments .. fashion … clubs … music … video … movies … and yes … even haircuts.

Being fortunate enough to have grown up in NYC, I spun records for my college radio station in the early 80s and visited all the legendary local clubs of the era.  It was a time where pioneering new wave radio station WLIR became WDRE and Dared to be Different.  A time when independent record sellers were everywhere and would spin the latest innovative sounds from around the world the moment they came out.  In short - it was a great time to be alive.

So if you are like me and having withdrawal pains now that Marc D’s amazing Top 200 is done, fear not.  Marc has graciously allowed the blog to live on so we can present …. Awesome New Wave Songs Of The Week !

- Your DJ, WAS

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Red Rockers started out as a punk band from New Orleans Louisiana.  Their punk leanings were broad and deep; once billed as “America’s Clash” they were hardcore to the core and even teamed up with Dead Kennedy’s lead singer Jello Biafra on a Johnny Cash cover.  As they matured, however, their sound changed ... to the point that by 1982, their second album “Good as Gold” had a much more melodious new wave guitar-driven synthy sound and it delivered the one hit wonder song of their career “China”.   It’s a great song that has aged well and still sounds fresh today.  Sadly their success did not continue ... their next album was the Spinal-Tap-esque “Schizophrenic Circus”, complete with a cover featuring the band in cheesy circus costumes.  It garnered similar reviews to Tap’s “Shark Sandwich” (shit sandwich) and that was it for the Red Rockers.  But we’ll always have “China” ... it lives on as their shining contribution to early 80s new wave.

Video:

Special Announcement!

***Watch for a special surprise Wednesday Nov. 1st as this blog is NOT finished!***

Number 1: Blue Peter - Water Off The Moon

Canadian band Blue Peter formed in 1978 and released three full-length albums and one EP over the next six years. Those records contained great songs such as "Radio Silence" (#116 on this list), "Falling" (#56) and "Don't Walk Past" (#21). By early 1984, however, things had changed. New wave had faded in popularity; the clean, sparse synthesizer sound being replaced by a new pop sensibility. Blue Peter recognized this and set out to make a different kind of album. Vertigo, as the record was to be titled, would attempt to wed new wave, pop, and rock. A brave, original idea - something never tried before (and maybe since). Alas, it wasn't to be. The band disagreed on many aspects of the new LP. Compromises failed, and Blue Peter split up before Vertigo could be finished. The band was done, but one song survived in its complete form. "Water Off The Moon" was to have been the lead-off single from Vertigo.

Would "Water Off The Moon" have been a hit? Would Vertigo have saved new wave? We'll never know. Some demo versions, half-finished, have been released from the Vertigo sessions in the years since, on various greatest hits compilations and such. They're intriguing glimpses of what could have been, although no one can say for certain how those songs would have turned out had they been completed by the band.

We only have one finished song from Vertigo: "Water Off The Moon".

For its fantastic bassline, its driving drums, its subtle, almost-hidden-at-times synthesizers, its amazing, cryptic lyrics, its haunting vocals by Paul Humphrey, and for all the lost potential it carries with it to this day, "Water Off The Moon" gets the ultimate spot on my Top 200. In some alternate universe, Blue Peter stayed together and released Vertigo at the absolute height of their creative powers. In the real world, we can only listen to this song and imagine what that record might have sounded like.


Live performance from 2008 (Blue Peter reunited in 2006):

I hope everyone enjoyed listening to the 200 songs I picked, and reading my little write-ups. It was fun for me, and I hope it was fun for you. I would encourage anyone who might want to give it a go to do so! I'd love to read *your* top 200 (or 100, or 300, or whatever).

This blog is now finished, but great new wave and synthpop from that era will always be with us, a reminder of what I consider a better and more interesting time in the history of pop music. I'm out, cheers!  -Marc

Number 2: A Flock Of Seagulls - Modern Love Is Automatic

A Flock Of Seagulls' eponymous 1982 debut album contained the hits "I Ran (So Far Away)", "Messages" (#122 on this list) and "Space Age Love Song" (#15). To me, however, "Modern Love Is Automatic" is their best track. In fact, I love it so much that I had it at #1 on my Top 200 off and on throughout the summer. Ultimately it settled into the #2 spot, but it was close. This song is the epitome of musical greatness. Mike Score's vocals, the synth lines, the drums, the guitar work of Paul Reynolds. It all adds up to an amazing listening experience. Never released as a single, "Modern Love Is Automatic" is four minutes of sonic bliss.

P.S. Never mind annoying solos and shredding crap. *This* is how you use an electric guitar! Absolutely perfect use of the instrument in a song.

Live performance below.

Number 3: Trans-X - Eyes Of Desire

Canadian new wave group Trans-X released multi-platinum album Living On Video in early 1986. The LP featured their biggest hit, "Living On Video" (#165 on this list) and the awesome track "Through The Eyes Of The Nineties" (#107). Another song, however, eclipsed them both for pure synthpop excellence: "Eyes Of Desire". This tune was somehow never released as a single, but it held the #1 spot on this list for a time before eventually settling in at #3. Pascal Languirand, Laurie Gill, and the rest of the band outdid themselves with this track, and for me synthpop music doesn't get any better than this (well, I suppose it does get better, since "Eyes Of Desire" is #3 not #1, but you know what I mean). Trans-X hits it out of the ballpark with their third and final entry on my Top 200.

...and they still rock! Here's Trans-X with their 2011 single release "I Want To Be With You Tonight".

Number 4: Bill Nelson - Flaming Desire

Musical genius Bill Nelson dropped his second solo album, The Love That Whirls, in 1982. "Flaming Desire" was released as a single, only reaching #55 on the UK charts (though it was top-20 in Germany for some reason). What a travesty! This is one of the finest songs of the entire new wave/synthpop era, and was #1 on my Top 200 for a week or so. I eventually slotted it into the #4 spot, but that's only due to the absolute brilliance of the next 3 songs and is not a slight against "Flaming Desire" at all. If this song were twenty minutes long instead of five, I still wouldn't get sick of it. Bill Nelson worked with Gary Numan and others throughout his career, frequently as a background contributor, and didn't seek the spotlight much. But with "Because Of You" (#125 on this list) and "Flaming Desire", he staked his claim as one of the great innovators and composers in synthpop history.

Number 5: B-Movie - Nowhere Girl

At #5 on my Top 200 is B-Movie with their best-known song, "Nowhere Girl". This entry represents the final debut on my list. The remaining 4 songs are all by artists that have already appeared earlier. B-Movie were an English group fronted by Steve Hovington, joined by bandmates Rick Holliday, Paul Statham, and Graham Boffey. The group formed in 1981 and released "Nowhere Girl" after signing a record deal in 1982. Unfortunately, their momentum stalled and they failed to release their debut full length album, Forever Running, until early 1985. The record tanked and the band's career entered a tailspin. After a few more fits and starts they broke up for good in 1986, only to reform decades later in 2013. "Nowhere Girl" is a fantastic piece of music. The part from 1:59 to 2:10 alone qualifies them for the rank of genius.

Number 6: Berlin - Rumor Of Love

Berlin released Love Life, their third LP, in mid 1984. Big hits from the album included "Dancing In Berlin" (#160 on this list) and "No More Words". Not released as a single was "Rumor Of Love", which is not only my favorite Berlin track, but one of my favorite new wave songs of all time. Berlin frontwoman Terri Nunn does not sing the lead vocals on "Rumor Of Love": that task falls instead to uber-bassist John Crawford. He turns in a virtuoso performance, his voice a perfect fit for the track's laid-back synth groove. I have no idea why the A&R men at Berlin's label didn't choose this song to be released as a single; that decision still leaves me shaking my head. To my ear this is head and shoulders above anything else they recorded, especially the awful-yet-popular "Take My Breath Away" (the worst misstep of genius producer Giorgio Moroder's career). I have "Rumor Of Love" at #6 on my Top 200, marking Berlin's third and final appearance here.

Number 7: Leisure Process - Love Cascade

Leisure Process. The awesome vocal stylings of Ross Middleton. The musical genius of multi-instrumentalist Gary Barnacle. This duo made some amazing music in their short career together, including "Anxiety" (#106 on this list) and their masterpiece, "Love Cascade". Unfortunately, the vagaries of the music industry meant that a full-length LP was not to be, but the tracks they did create were pure gold, especially "Love Cascade", their first collaboration in early 1982. Who knows what kind of amazing stuff Leisure Process could have come up with, had Middleton and Barnacle been given proper label support and backing? As it is, two of their songs ended up on my Top 200 (and "Cashflow" just missed making it three). The fantastic "Love Cascade" takes the #7 spot. Make way!

Video below.

Number 8: Pseudo Echo - A Beat For You

Pseudo Echo debuted in 1984 with seminal album Autumnal Park. The Aussie new wave outfit sported sophisticated synthpop sounds blended perfectly with a guitar-rock edge. The best song on the album to my ear is "A Beat For You", which features fantastic keyboard work by Tony Lugton and top-notch vocals by frontman Brian Canham. The track reached #12 in their native Australia and #6 in New Zealand, cementing the band as a fixture of the new wave scene down under. I've always loved "A Beat For You" and often play it as a good example of they type of music I enjoy most. I have the song at #8 on my Top 200.

Here is a live version from Pseudo Echo's 1987 world tour.

Number 9: Spoons - One In Ten Words

My favorite Spoons song is "One In Ten Words", from their 1982 debut album Arias and Symphonies. It's one of the few classic Spoons tracks where Sandy Horne sings the lead vocals during the verses. The synth work by Rob Preuss is impressive, and the song epitomizes for me the new wave sound popular in Canada at the time. Never released as a single, I have "One In Ten Words" in the #9 spot on my Top 200, marking the Spoons' fourth and final appearance here.

Live performance from 1982:

...and they still rock! Here's a live performance of the song from 2012 (they add a bit of their 1984 hit "Romantic Traffic" there at the end). 

 

Number 10: Yaz - Bring Your Love Down (Didn't I)

We have reached the final ten songs out of 200. These tracks are my favorite of the entire new wave/synthpop era. I haven't gotten tired of hearing these songs yet, and don't anticipate it happening anytime soon. In my opinion, these are the best of the best. I hope you enjoy listening! Here we go.

Upstairs At Eric's. What else is there to say about that seminal synthpop album? Like Numan's Telekon or Ultravox's Systems Of Romance, it's one of the few LPs that changed the entire history of new wave music. After such amazing songs as "Situation", "Only You" (#158 on this list), "Goodbye 70s" (#105), and "Don't Go" (#76), one could be forgiven for thinking that the final song on side two might be a bit of filler, a synth instrumental perhaps. Nope. Instead we get "Bring Your Love Down (Didn't I)", which is my favorite Yaz song of all time. Lyrics by Alison Moyet, awesome disco beat and layered synths by Vince Clarke. Talk about ending an album with a bang! This song always gets people moving when played at a party, but it's equally cool to pump from your car speakers when on a long solo drive. I have "Bring Your Love Down (Didn't I)" at #10 on my Top 200, the final of four Yaz songs to make the list. Crank it up and enjoy!