Innholdsfortegnelse for September - October 2024 i Classic Pop

A special edition Careless Whisper EP, commemorating the 40th anniversary of George Michael’s much-loved debut solo single will be released on 18 October. Available on digital and physical formats, the four-track EP features a previously unreleased live recording of the timeless hit performed at New York’s Madison Square Garden during Michael’s live show on 23 July 2008. The concert was part of George’s epic 25Live tour, which filled arenas and stadiums worldwide and played out in front of more than 1.3 million fans. The EP, available on 12" vinyl picture disc, 12" ruby marble vinyl, 12" white vinyl, standard 12" vinyl, CD and digital, will also include newly-remastered versions of the original single, the extended mix and instrumental. Written with Wham! bandmate Andrew Ridgeley when Michael was just 17 years…

What was the first pop song you remember truly loving? Andrew Gold’s Lonely Boy. That’s a great radio record, it just seemed to create this atmosphere. It had this presence, this beautifully produced sound. It got me interested in radio programmes, how they were made, and how they were knitted together. What’s your all-time favourite album? Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s Welcome To The Pleasuredome – there is nothing more 1984 than that album. It just brings back that time, of being 16 years of age and feeling the sense of all possibilities. That was probably the peak of their moment. Are there any bands or artists you’re particularly obsessive about? I love Level 42, Mark King with his very distinctive vocals and that slap bass. He was once a drummer…

Paul Heaton will release a new solo LP, The Mighty Several, on 11 October. Produced by The Lightning Seeds’ Ian Broudie and recorded at Blueprint Studios in Salford, the album features 12 new songs, performed by Paul and his band alongside guest singers including his regular live vocalist Rianne Downey as well as Yvonne Shelton and Danny Muldoon. To celebrate the release, Heaton will hit the road in November and December. Performing a career-spanning set that includes solo material and his work in The Beautiful South and The Housemartins, the tour opens in Bridlington on 29 November and includes Leeds, Glasgow, Brighton, Wolverhampton as well as Liverpool, Nottingham and Newcastle, before closing on 10 December at London’s Eventim Apollo. Special guests on all dates will be The Zutons. For more details,…

Suede’s second album Dog Man Star, originally released in October 1994, is being reissued with bonus tracks and reimagined artwork to mark its 30th birthday. Dog Man Star 30 will be released as a new half-speed remaster pressed on 2LP 180g black vinyl, and a newly remastered 3CD edition. CD1 features the original album, while CD2 includes the B-sides to all Dog Man Star-era single releases, alongside the full-length version of the non-album single Stay Together. CD3 boasts bonus tracks from the period. A highly collectable ‘dinked’ edition will be available on a 2LP vinyl set, including yellow gatefold packaging and an exclusive two-sided 7" single featuring the songs The Living Dead (Piano Version) and La Puissance (The Power) on vinyl for the first time. New artwork has been undertaken…

When most artists disappear for seven years between albums, the cause is generally writer’s block or an extended holiday. Alison Moyet is different. Since her previous record Other in 2017, Moyet has gained a First in a Fine Art Printmaking degree from her local Brighton University. This shouldn’t be wholly unexpected: when she spoke to Classic Pop around Other, Alison was passionate about sculpting, completing a college course after her previous studio album The Minutes. Initially conceiving her degree as something to do during lockdown, she also had a more long-lasting desire for formal learning. “I left school at 16 and had a chip on my shoulder about not having an education,” says Moyet, at the quiet upstairs bar of a discreet hotel just off Brighton’s seafront. “I thought music…

BRONSKI BEAT Formed by the group’s frontman Jimmy Somerville, his fellow Glaswegian Steve Bronski and Londoner Larry Steinbachek, Brixton flatmates Bronski Beat arrived at a time when mainstream pop was inarguably at its queerest. But believing their fellow gay artists, whether out and proud or remaining firmly in the closet, were terrified of offending middle England, the trio were determined to wave the rainbow flag lyrically rather than merely aesthetically. Referencing the fact that, unlike most of Western Europe, Britain’s homosexual age of consent was five years higher than the heterosexual, the group’s debut album was overtly political, overtly socially conscious (its inner sleeve featured contact details for LGBTQ+ legal advice) and, on a musical level, overtly idiosyncratic. Indeed, the album’s trio of Top 10 singles would suggest The Age…

It was the Zang Tuum Tumb connection that finally brought Propaganda back from pop’s precipice. “Holly Johnson asked us to remix one of his tracks,” says Michael Mertens, the musical brains behind Propaganda, speaking from his studio in Düsseldorf. He’s sitting alongside his bandmate, the lyricist and Propaganda co-founder Ralf Dörper. The remix of the track in question, Dancing With No Fear, was released in 2015 and united former disgruntled ZTT employees in one glorious union (Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s frontman Johnson was, of course, a labelmate). “We recorded it in my studio and liked the feel of working together again,” says Mertens. “It all turned out well. Holly was happy. And Ralf and I became closer friends during that period than we’d ever been before.” The German synth-pop provocateurs…

Mid-February, and on Top Of The Pops, wearing a vintage flight jacket, swaggering in front of his troop of accidental New Romantics, Julian Cope stares saucer-eyed into a camera, singing new single Reward. In December, with the song now a hit and the band performing as Christmas Day’s opening act on the show, he returns, this time wearing a dress apparently made of pyjamas. It’s 1981, the year The Teardrops exploded. There’ll be plenty more TOTP shenanigans over this manic 12-month celebration of their debut album, Kilimanjaro, released in October 1980. They’ll rack up another six outlandish appearances notable for their anarchic energy, with Reward’s video providing another. They’ll dance around Spandau Ballet’s Tony Hadley in a manner Cope will describe as “psychotically friendly and encouraging…” in Head On: Memories…

13 JULY Even before you enter Hyde Park there are stalls selling sparkly Stetsons. Once inside, there’s sequins and glitter aplenty – on both women and men. It’s Kylie day at BST in Hyde Park. Time to party. And if you’re up for one there’s nobody better. Ms Minogue is as good a nailed-on bet for uncomplicated fun times as you’re likely to get. Unlike other artists, there’s no yawnsome trawl through a new album, nor even a mid-set sag when you might find a ballad or two. It’s hits. Party hits. And plenty of them. As showtime arrives the video screens turn pink and Kylie enters, clad in red PVC, knocking out Tension, Come Into My World and In Your Eyes even before she addresses the crowd. New-ish material…

From its striking keyboard intro and Jimmy Somerville’s imploring countertenor refrain of “Cry, boy, cry”, Smalltown Boy has become an enduring anthem for marginalised groups. Now, the lead single taken from Bronski Beat’s debut album, The Age Of Consent, has unexpectedly enjoyed a major renaissance courtesy of a trend on TikTok. Forty years on from its release in May 1984, the track is the go-to song for the viral hashtag “80sdancechallenge”, which has amassed millions of views and involves Gen Z and millennials asking parents to show off their best 80s dance moves. The song has achieved more than 500 million streams, including over 100 million views of its music video. FORTY YEARS ON FROM ITS RELEASE IN MAY 1984, THE TRACK IS THE GO-TO SONG FOR A VIRAL HASHTAG…

Q+A Next month, Acid Jazz pioneers The Brand New Heavies reissue their platinum-selling third album Brother Sister to celebrate its 30th anniversary. Here, the band’s co-founder and guitarist Simon Bartholomew tells us about its recording and impact, being nominated for a BRIT Award, playing their greatest hits with an orchestra, and what to expect from their upcoming Brother Sister 30 tour. How are you? Really good. My auntie reminded me recently of this conversation we’d had when I was nine or 10 when she asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up and I said I wanted to be a rock star. Dreams come true [laughs]. It’s 30 years since the release of Brother Sister. How do you look back on that time? With great fondness. The…

TAKES A LITTLE TIME TOTAL CONTRAST London funk duo Total Contrast enjoyed dancefloor popularity through the second half of the 80s, but only once did it translate into real chart success. Takes A Little Time, a catchy floorfiller with soulful vocals and a smart, cautionary lyric about jumping straight into new relationships, was issued in the summer of 1985, with promo releases earning positive feedback among live DJs. This propelled the track up the Disco Top 100 published in the music press and mainstream radio soon cottoned on. Upon official release, the single was A-listed by Radio 1 and numerous major commercial stations, and this exposure eventually helped the track into the charts in July 1985. Entering the UK hit parade at No.65, it had climbed to No.40 a fortnight…

TURN BACK THE CLOCK JOHNNY HATES JAZZ A debonair debut album which proves that when the sheen was being handed out, Johnny Hates Jazz got the lion’s share. However, the cleanliness and slickness of their arrangements and Clark Datchler’s supercool vocals are backed up by some great melodies. Datchler, a precocious teenage singer-songwriter, found standout hooks on the album’s four hits, including the irresistible breakthrough Shattered Dreams and brass-drizzled rewrite of Roxanne, Heart Of Gold. Directionless flop fifth single, Don’t Say It’s Love, and the plodding title track are the weakest here by some distance but remedied by numerous highlights elsewhere. First single Me And My Foolish Heart begins innocuously but quickly becomes a catchy singalong while What Other Reason, a gentle piano tale, is stripped back enough to force…

Body language is everything. If you compare the cover photo of ABBA’s first album (and pretty much every other release that followed) with that of their final LP in that original run, the difference is startling. 1973’s Ring Ring – attributed to ‘Björn Benny & Agnetha Frida’ – clearly depicts two happy couples, smiling arm in arm. It’s repeated again on 1974’s Waterloo, and so forth. Then take The Visitors – not two sets of two, well-lit and tightly-packed within the frame, but four separate individuals positioned apart from one another in an open space, almost lurking in the gloom of muted autumnal colours. Instead of the customary warmth and eye contact, each band member stares into space, as if lost in some deep, and possibly troubling, thought. If the…

ONE OF US For The Visitors, ABBA continued to work with longtime video collaborator, Lasse Hallström, who directed the majority of their promos, and would go on to a Hollywood career, with films including Chocolat, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and Salmon Fishing In The Yemen (though not the Mamma Mia! movies). The video for lead single One Of Us sees Agnetha settling into a new home on her own, a not-so-subtle nod to the break-ups and moving on with life. Hallström deploys ABBA’s trademark shots of the individuals, lit up and closely-cropped on a black background, with split screen (or clever mirror work) showing them sing in both portrait and profile, before some more adventurous kaleidoscope effects. Props to Frida for her Ziggy Stardust hairdo. WHEN ALL IS SAID AND…

Send your Poparazzi pics now to steve.harnell@anthem.co.uk ADAM ANT WITH DARREN FRICKER ”I’m pictured here with Adam after his gig at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, in 2011. He’s a very polite and softly spoken person who took the time to sign some items that I brought along to the show. I’ve been a fan of his since 1979 and have a massive Adam Ant collection, including some personal items. I’ve also met all of the former members of the Ants from 1980 onwards at various conventions over the years.” RED RUM CLUB WITH STEVE LENTON ”This photo was taken after an acoustic show by Red Rum Club at Rough Trade in Bristol on 26 February while they were promoting their Western Approaches LP. They were so friendly and…

“It was an absolute shock – no one knew it was coming,” says Midge, of his friend and fellow musical traveller Chris Cross’ death at 71 in March this year. “He went for a nap, and never woke up. “He was my sidekick – we were the Butch and Sundance of Ultravox,” smiles Ure. “We used to write lyrics together, we went on holiday together. We were really close.” “It was such a bolt out of the blue,” says Warren. “Being in a band, especially one that’s been through a lot of ups and downs together, it’s like a marriage. In some ways, it’s closer than a marriage. And Chris was always the one on the most even keel.” “Midge emailed to tell me and I just couldn’t believe it,”…

It’s Monday morning and, while your bleary-eyed correspondent is nursing his first coffee, Rose Elinor Dougall and Graham Coxon are well into their day, seated at their kitchen table ready for the next task. The couple have been up a while and their occasional, albeit polite yawns are proving hard to disguise. “We haven’t been to bed!” Coxon boasts, but they’re not suffering from a night of rock’n’roll debauchery. Since first hanging out some three and a half years ago, they’ve delivered both The WAEVE’s eponymous debut album and a daughter, Eliza May, yet to reach two years old, as well as, due September, a second album together. Coxon, meanwhile, has published a graphic novel, Superstate, with its own accompanying album, as well as a memoir, Verse, Chorus, Monster!, not…

Q+A Since the late 90s, Peter Cox has enjoyed a fulfilling solo career away from Go West, the duo he formed with Richard Drummie in 1982. While the group still tour the world with their 80s hits, Peter has never lost the desire to create new music. His forthcoming compilation album, The Deep Dive – Anthology 1997-2024, is a testament to this restless creativity. How’s it felt, looking back on your solo career for this album? It’s been an interesting process and has reminded me how much of the time I have effectively been an independent artist, funding my own recording career. That’s been the case with the majority of the material – I’ve therefore enjoyed a greater degree of creative control. Last year, you released your latest solo album,…

Aspecial edition 5LP vinyl boxset of Phil Collins’ fifth solo studio album Both Sides is set for release on 20 September to celebrate its 30th anniversary. The deluxe edition will feature the remastered full original LP, cut at half-speed by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios, as well as early demo tracks from the recording of the album and rarities drawn from its singles. Both Sides (All The Sides) also includes live tracks from the era, including Can’t Turn Back The Years, and Both Sides Of The Story taken from Collins’ MTV Unplugged performance. The set is housed in a slipcase with picture sleeves and a 16-page booklet containing new liner notes by journalist Michael Hann. Proclaimed by Collins as his most personal LP up to that point in his career,…

Manchester Metropolitan University has presented Simply Red’s Mick Hucknall with an honorary doctorate in recognition of his contribution to music. The singer was awarded with the honorary Doctorate of Arts (DArt) by Professor Martyn Evans, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Manchester Met. On receiving the award, Hucknall told the ceremony: “Growing up in East Manchester, I didn’t know anybody who went to university. I studied Fine Art, but music was always bubbling away. It doesn’t mean to say that what you are now is what you will be in 10 years’ time. You may end up taking a different path, a different subject, but what you learn will always be there inside you, this experience that you had and it’s something to really treasure.” Professor Evans…

Forget nuclear winters: in 1984, fear of atomic annihilation was officially the soundtrack to summer, with everyone from Queen (Hammer To Fall) to Nik Kershaw (I Won’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me) issuing stark warnings about mushroom clouds and “power gluttons” with their fingers on the button. But the Cold War was never hotter than on 10 June that year, when Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s Two Tribes landed with a seismic blast at No.1, to sit alongside fellow nuclear earworm Dancing With Tears In My Eyes by Ultravox, then enjoying its fourth week in the Top 10. “It was definitely a hot subject at the time,” reflects Ultravox’s frontman, Midge Ure, 40 years on. “Though I’ve never actually made the Frankie connection before. The great thing about songs…

Italy has given us so many treasures: Michelangelo’s David, Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, the movies of Federico Fellini and bruschetta among them, but in terms of pop, its greatest gift has been Italo House, a genre of music that first emerged in the late 80s and announced its arrival on these shores with the screamed sounds of Black Box’s Ride On Time. An exuberant, heady fusion of Chicago House and Italo disco, it was characterised by its heavy use of electronic piano and samples, and was usually – not always though – powered by diva-like female vocals. Its euphoric, summer-defining sound would rip through the clubs and warehouses of the late 80s and early 90s. As Black Box’s Daniele Davoli recalled to DJ Mag, it was the sheer number…

Earlier this year, the first of two Blur performances at Coachella made international headlines when Damon Albarn berated the crowd for their lacklustre response to the classic Girls And Boys. “You can do it better than that,” he yelled, adding “You’re never seeing us again.” At the second, he announced during Tender, “This is probably our last gig.” So, we have to ask: have Blur made it to the end? “Whenever we work together, we come together having lived a bit more life, and see what comes out of it,” Coxon says, laughing, as Dougall briefly leaves the table – “She said, ‘If you ask about Blur, I’m off!’” – before returning to the subject as his partner reappears. “I don’t know whether it’s the last thing ever, but it…

ULTRAVOX LAMENT CHRYSALIS THE CLASSIC LINE-UP’S LAST STAND BEFORE 2012’S BRILL!ANT WAS A RECORD OF TWO HALVES – BUT THERE IS NOTHING TO LAMENT ABOUT THIS EXHAUSTIVE DELUXE EDITION In Midge Ure’s native Scotland, a lament is a musical commemoration of death. And while Ultravox weren’t exactly on their last legs in 1984, their seventh album marks the end of their imperial phase: before Band Aid, solo success and that old banality, musical differences, saw them rapidly fall apart. That the pop star life was taking its toll on their singer is obvious from the lyrics to the album’s lead single One Small Day, as he sings, “How many times have you let depression win the fight?” Confusingly, it’s a cry for help set to one of the band’s most…

GIRLS ALOUD RESORTS WORLD ARENA, BIRMINGHAM 18 JUNE Every generation has its chart princesses, a girl group whose pop nous defines a time, and for the early Noughties that was undoubtedly Girls Aloud. Born out of ITV talent throwdown Popstars: The Rivals, the five-piece trounced One True Voice, going on to amass a record-breaking 20 consecutive Top 10 singles and four No.1s. Now, after an 11-year hiatus, they’re back for an extensive tour. With an opening date in Dublin, the much-hyped Show arena tour has had its dramas, including forgotten lyrics and heavily discounted ticket offers – both widely reported. But now 21 shows into the 30-date tour, Cheryl, Nadine, Nicola and Kimberley rise above tabloid stirrings as they make their grand entrance suspended high on individual platforms for the aptly…