ah but coming out in the 1980s was an option, for stars and regular people. Bronski Beat, Tom Robinson, Communards, Andy Bell, Holly Johnson... all out and proud at the time, even Boy George had finally come out by 1988, as had one MP (Chris Smith).
But these were the generation younger than Mercury, Kenny Everett, etc. And Mercury hadn't been politicised around his sexuality like Tom Robinson, Bell or Somerville. Also you could argue Mercury had far more to lose, having become a global star in countries with hostile attitudes to homosexuality. And he had the rest of the band to consider (not to mention a very conservative family).
He was very typical of many gay men of that time: not 'out' to his family, or professionally and resigned to living a public life where his sexuality wasn't discussed and a private life of boyfriends, gay friends and an active life on the gay scene. And of course in those days the media weren't as intrusive as they are now. These days a star's private life is considerd fair game for speculation, innuendo and sometimes plain old 'outing'.
Dead right of course. Coming out was becoming an option in the 1970s and 1980s, but was much rarer than now.
Some people clearly want it to define themselves. I think there should be much more to someone than that of course.
Well there always was more than sexuality to identity, but it just seemed and seems important to highlight that area when equality had not been achieved, that is all.:)
Oh, Hot Space. Not my fave Queen album. Too disco. Too Mercury.
Still please convince me that it is underestimated.
It's not their finest hour. Even though it is generally considered a disco album there are some decent 'traditional' Queen tracks on there, 'Las Palabras De Amor' and 'Under Pressure' being on there as well a lesser known rocker 'Put Out The Fire', but these alongside the disco tracks make it a very disjointed album. And also I think disco was a bit outdated by the time 'Hot Space' came out. I'm not a fan of the disco tracks but 'Body Language' is a guilty pleasure . One of the first music videos banned from MTV believe. Not sure if it was shown on Top of the Pops, highly doubt it.
The album was made during a turbulent period for the band. Freddie was very into the gay scene at this point and was also influenced by his manager Paul Prenter. Apparently he influenced the direction Mercury's (and ultimately Queen's) music was going, also the success of 'Another One Bites The Dust' pushed them towards disco. Roger Taylor and Brian May were against this direction - I believe Taylor compared it with music you'd hear at a gay club - and Deacon was in support of the disco. As a result this caused a bit of a divide in the band and 'Hot Space' reflected this. Just what I remember from the brilliant 'Days of our Lives' documentary.
The 1982 Milton Keynes Bowl gig that Rich Tea mentioned is one of my favourite concerts of theirs - and Mercury clarifies that they are still a rock band despite the disco to sounds of huge cheers which I love.
Next week, we have no Pops, but we do have some musical treats coming on BBC 4. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 9pm, we get Danny Baker's Rockin' Decades, which will focus on the 70's, the 80's and then the nineties. Each has special guests relevant to the decade under discussion, and is followed by Danny Baker Rocks The.......A Bit, which TV Cream are describing as a sort of TOTP 2 presented by Baker.
The first item introduced on 'Danny Baker Rocks The 70s (A Bit)' on Monday was The Who's mimed 'Join Together' performance video (as seen on TOTP in July 1972) which he explained was filmed on a Sunday afternoon in June 1972 in the same LWT studio where 'The X Factor' is now made:
Danny Baker also said the video was directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg (son of Orson Welles) who began his career directing the 1960s British pop programme 'Ready Steady Go!' and later worked extensively with the Beatles (he directed the full length documentary feature 'Let It Be' in 1969) and the Rolling Stones.
At least seven videos directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg have been shown on TOTP since the BBC Four repeats started in April 2011:
The Beatles: Hey Jude; Get Back (1976)
The Rolling Stones: Fool To Cry (1976); Miss You; Respectable (1978)
Wings: Mull Of Kintyre (1977); With A Little Luck (1978)
'Join Together' received a new lease of life this year when a re-mixed 'dub' version of the song was used to soundtrack a new Sony TV commercial in the USA:
Consequently young people previously unfamiliar with this 42 year old record have been seeking it out on YouTube and comments such as 'the sony ad brought me here' appear in the Comments beneath the video.
You're welcome!
Yes, it was more of a meandering ballad than anything.
The guys looked smart but the song itself was pretty ordinary and unspectacular.
I think it's fair to say The Jacksons' singles were very hit and miss. You'd have a run of good ones followed by some absolute mediocre offerings. 'Destiny' definitely isn't the most memorable of tracks, and I wonder whether it has a lot to do with it being the first album they had control over the writing and production for.
I was a big MJ fan in the 1980s and 1990s and fondly remember that Dad had all of the 12" and a lot of 7" singles from The Jacksons/MJ. It so happened he also had this:
The limited edition 12" single of 'Destiny,' featuring the 'special extended disco remix' of 'Blame it on the Boogie,' which was on the b-side. It is a brilliant disco remix, and the guy who did it (John Luongo) did a better job when remixing 'Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground).'
I remember flipping it over to listen to the A-side - 'Destiny' - and thinking that it probably should have been the B-side!
There's no admin notice so, as the opening poster, I'll say for the sake of the thread's future...there are still court proceedings to take place in terms of charges and bail. These are still legal matters that are yet to be sorted so please refrain from making further comments regarding you know who about you know what for the time being.
Please do not respond to this post. Just take it on board.
Just to say - whoever stated the other week, that music started going downhill in 1987 - I have to agree!
I have just listened to the Top 20 countdown from February 1987, on my local radio show - and what utter dross! >:( - Infact - I can only name one good song out of all of it - Down to Earth by Curiosity Killed the Cat!!
I must admit - though I never really rated 1987 too highly in the first place - I didn't think it got so rubbish so much early on!
Just to say - whoever stated the other week, that music started going downhill in 1987 - I have to agree!
I have just listened to the Top 20 countdown from February 1987, on my local radio show - and what utter dross! >:( - Infact - I can only name one good song out of all of it - Down to Earth by Curiosity Killed the Cat!!
I must admit - though I never really rated 1987 too highly in the first place - I didn't think it got so rubbish so much early on!
>:(
Almaz by Randy Crawford is brilliant!! Plus Blow Monkeys, Pepsi & Shirley, Michael Crawford & Sarah Brightman, Elkie Brooks, Smiths, Alison Moyet, Eric Clapton, Level 42 and Ben E King all in the Top 20. And You Sexy Thing (and even Male Stripper!). You sure you didn't turn the dial to some other station by mistake during the show?
Almaz by Randy Crawford is brilliant!! Plus Blow Monkeys, Pepsi & Shirley, Michael Crawford & Sarah Brightman, Elkie Brooks, Smiths, Alison Moyet, Eric Clapton, Level 42 and Ben E King all in the Top 20. And You Sexy Thing (and even Male Stripper!). You sure you didn't turn the dial to some other station by mistake during the show?
Exactly - terrible selection! Especially that Pepsi & Shirley song >:(
Just to say - whoever stated the other week, that music started going downhill in 1987 - I have to agree!
I have just listened to the Top 20 countdown from February 1987, on my local radio show - and what utter dross! >:( - Infact - I can only name one good song out of all of it - Down to Earth by Curiosity Killed the Cat!!
I must admit - though I never really rated 1987 too highly in the first place - I didn't think it got so rubbish so much early on! [/
I remember hearing the dreadful Jack Your Body by Steve "Silk" Hurley in 1986 and couldn't believe such dross could make it into the charts let alone top them. I guess that was in some ways a belwether to the rubbish that folowed - SAW, smiley faces and drugged up idiots vomiting in fields in Basildon to trance crap. Stop the world I want to get off, as Anthony Newley so piquantly observed.
Almaz by Randy Crawford is brilliant!! Plus Blow Monkeys, Pepsi & Shirley, Michael Crawford & Sarah Brightman, Elkie Brooks, Smiths, Alison Moyet, Eric Clapton, Level 42 and Ben E King all in the Top 20. And You Sexy Thing (and even Male Stripper!). You sure you didn't turn the dial to some other station by mistake during the show?
Just to say - whoever stated the other week, that music started going downhill in 1987 - I have to agree!
I have just listened to the Top 20 countdown from February 1987, on my local radio show - and what utter dross! >:( - Infact - I can only name one good song out of all of it - Down to Earth by Curiosity Killed the Cat!!
I must admit - though I never really rated 1987 too highly in the first place - I didn't think it got so rubbish so much early on!
It's true that 1987 wasn't one of the better years for music and the top 20 for this week back then wasn't the best. But there were a number of singles that failed to make the top 20 which were good. In particular I like the following (chart position from this week listed)
27 Magic Smile - Rosie Vela
35 Forgotten Town - The Christians
50 Outside In The Rain - Gwen Guthrie
57 Evangeline - Icicle Works
58 Caught Up In The Rapture - Anita Baker
59 This Brutal House - Nitro Deluxe
60 Ship Of Fools - World Party
68 Walking Down Your Street - The Bangles
72 Let Her Fall - Then Jerico
78 Keep Your Hands To Yourself - Georgia Satellites
83 Beautiful Imbalance - Thrashing Doves
84 Give Me The Reason - Luther Vandross
88 When Love Comes Calling - Paul Johnson
96 Mama Told Me - Fantastique
100 Meeting Place - XTC
The Fantastique single at number 96 was originally a hit in Belgium in 1981 and after being a big favourite in clubs over the years finally made the charts in 1986, peaking at number 84 a week before Christmas 1986. I can remember it from 1983 or 1984 and bought the 12" in 1985. It's a glorious piece of Euro music of a style that was popular in gay clubs and mainstream clubs alike. It's utterly camp-tastic!
Because it dates from 1981 it sounds out of place in a 1987 chart because, as good as it is, the use of the vocoder makes it sound like a 'Funkytown' clone and so makes it sound very much of its time.
My favourite song from the above is the sublime 'Magic Smile' by Rosie Vela. An excellent song that deserved to be a big hit but sadly peaked at number 27
Been watching and enjoying these shows religously for the last few years but can anyone please tell me how the hell Darts were so big in this period. They are on the show every few weeks and always so bloody awful (apologies to fans).
I like both of those songs, (I'm assuming its 'Wanted' by the Dooleys), I have very eclectic taste! :D
'Almaz' is a great song.
Even though I hated the Dooleys I always thought 'Wanted' was a brilliant song. In fact i still like it.
I've never liked 'Almaz' though. There's something about her warbly voice that I just couldn't get into and the records I did like by her - 'Street Life' with The Crusaders, 'One Day I'll Fly Away', 'You MIght Need Somebody' and 'Rainy Night In Georgia' - I liked despite and not because of her voice. another singer with a warbly style voice, Elkie Brooks, was in the top 20 this week in 1987 with the slightly over the top but good 'No More The Fool'. I love the song, again despite her voice.
Been watching and enjoying these shows religously for the last few years but can anyone please tell me how the hell Darts were so big in this period. They are on the show every few weeks and always so bloody awful (apologies to fans).
They were a very popular singles band and back in those days the big singles bands released a new single every three months or so hewnce why the likes of darts and Showaddywaddy seemed to be on every few weeks.
They were one of those bands that people just seemed to like without them seemingly ever being anyone's actual favourite act.
It's true that 1987 wasn't one of the better years for music and the top 20 for this week back then wasn't the best. But there were a number of singles that failed to make the top 20 which were good. In particular I like the following (chart position from this week listed)
27 Magic Smile - Rosie Vela
35 Forgotten Town - The Christians
60 Ship Of Fools - World Party
100 Meeting Place - XTC
.
Oh yes - very perceptive of you!! The Mission's Wasteland was out then too!
I loved the above tracks! Plus - the top 2 remind me of The Tube's last few shows, in 1987 - as The Christians, Rosie Vela and The Mission were all on the same show in January! (Wish I had the video! )
Infact - if it wasn't for the alternative music scene in the late 80s - I don't know what I would've done!
Comments
Some people clearly want it to define themselves. I think there should be much more to someone than that of course.
Dead right of course. Coming out was becoming an option in the 1970s and 1980s, but was much rarer than now.
Well there always was more than sexuality to identity, but it just seemed and seems important to highlight that area when equality had not been achieved, that is all.:)
Still please convince me that it is underestimated.
It's not their finest hour. Even though it is generally considered a disco album there are some decent 'traditional' Queen tracks on there, 'Las Palabras De Amor' and 'Under Pressure' being on there as well a lesser known rocker 'Put Out The Fire', but these alongside the disco tracks make it a very disjointed album. And also I think disco was a bit outdated by the time 'Hot Space' came out. I'm not a fan of the disco tracks but 'Body Language' is a guilty pleasure
The album was made during a turbulent period for the band. Freddie was very into the gay scene at this point and was also influenced by his manager Paul Prenter. Apparently he influenced the direction Mercury's (and ultimately Queen's) music was going, also the success of 'Another One Bites The Dust' pushed them towards disco. Roger Taylor and Brian May were against this direction - I believe Taylor compared it with music you'd hear at a gay club - and Deacon was in support of the disco. As a result this caused a bit of a divide in the band and 'Hot Space' reflected this. Just what I remember from the brilliant 'Days of our Lives' documentary.
The 1982 Milton Keynes Bowl gig that Rich Tea mentioned is one of my favourite concerts of theirs - and Mercury clarifies that they are still a rock band despite the disco to sounds of huge cheers which I love.
The first item introduced on 'Danny Baker Rocks The 70s (A Bit)' on Monday was The Who's mimed 'Join Together' performance video (as seen on TOTP in July 1972) which he explained was filmed on a Sunday afternoon in June 1972 in the same LWT studio where 'The X Factor' is now made:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HDMCCLlGl4
Danny Baker also said the video was directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg (son of Orson Welles) who began his career directing the 1960s British pop programme 'Ready Steady Go!' and later worked extensively with the Beatles (he directed the full length documentary feature 'Let It Be' in 1969) and the Rolling Stones.
At least seven videos directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg have been shown on TOTP since the BBC Four repeats started in April 2011:
The Beatles: Hey Jude; Get Back (1976)
The Rolling Stones: Fool To Cry (1976); Miss You; Respectable (1978)
Wings: Mull Of Kintyre (1977); With A Little Luck (1978)
'Join Together' received a new lease of life this year when a re-mixed 'dub' version of the song was used to soundtrack a new Sony TV commercial in the USA:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyokM38u0U0
Consequently young people previously unfamiliar with this 42 year old record have been seeking it out on YouTube and comments such as 'the sony ad brought me here' appear in the Comments beneath the video.
What's on next week's show? Anyone give me a head's up?
Some good stuff...some not-so-good looking stuff. Without giving too much away, you might want to start brushing up on your lyrics ;-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAsmf1LGcpA
I think it's fair to say The Jacksons' singles were very hit and miss. You'd have a run of good ones followed by some absolute mediocre offerings. 'Destiny' definitely isn't the most memorable of tracks, and I wonder whether it has a lot to do with it being the first album they had control over the writing and production for.
I was a big MJ fan in the 1980s and 1990s and fondly remember that Dad had all of the 12" and a lot of 7" singles from The Jacksons/MJ. It so happened he also had this:
http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=157305
The limited edition 12" single of 'Destiny,' featuring the 'special extended disco remix' of 'Blame it on the Boogie,' which was on the b-side. It is a brilliant disco remix, and the guy who did it (John Luongo) did a better job when remixing 'Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground).'
I remember flipping it over to listen to the A-side - 'Destiny' - and thinking that it probably should have been the B-side!
Please do not respond to this post. Just take it on board.
I'm particularly looking forward to Lene Lovich. However, The Dooleys are back so you've been warned.
Absolutely!! ;-)
Lene Lovich is another underrated artist - who should've had more hits!! :cool:
I have just listened to the Top 20 countdown from February 1987, on my local radio show - and what utter dross! >:( - Infact - I can only name one good song out of all of it - Down to Earth by Curiosity Killed the Cat!!
I must admit - though I never really rated 1987 too highly in the first place - I didn't think it got so rubbish so much early on!
Almaz by Randy Crawford is brilliant!! Plus Blow Monkeys, Pepsi & Shirley, Michael Crawford & Sarah Brightman, Elkie Brooks, Smiths, Alison Moyet, Eric Clapton, Level 42 and Ben E King all in the Top 20. And You Sexy Thing (and even Male Stripper!). You sure you didn't turn the dial to some other station by mistake during the show?
Another one I'll end up singing the Barron Knights' lyrics to.
A little lamb followed me across the moors, but it soon ran away when I yelled 'MINT SAUCE!' ee-oo ee-oo
Exactly - terrible selection! Especially that Pepsi & Shirley song >:(
Although Almaz is quite a nice song!
I like both of those songs, (I'm assuming its 'Wanted' by the Dooleys), I have very eclectic taste!
'Almaz' is a great song.
Lennon mentioned he liked her during one of his last interviews.
27 Magic Smile - Rosie Vela
35 Forgotten Town - The Christians
50 Outside In The Rain - Gwen Guthrie
57 Evangeline - Icicle Works
58 Caught Up In The Rapture - Anita Baker
59 This Brutal House - Nitro Deluxe
60 Ship Of Fools - World Party
68 Walking Down Your Street - The Bangles
72 Let Her Fall - Then Jerico
78 Keep Your Hands To Yourself - Georgia Satellites
83 Beautiful Imbalance - Thrashing Doves
84 Give Me The Reason - Luther Vandross
88 When Love Comes Calling - Paul Johnson
96 Mama Told Me - Fantastique
100 Meeting Place - XTC
The Fantastique single at number 96 was originally a hit in Belgium in 1981 and after being a big favourite in clubs over the years finally made the charts in 1986, peaking at number 84 a week before Christmas 1986. I can remember it from 1983 or 1984 and bought the 12" in 1985. It's a glorious piece of Euro music of a style that was popular in gay clubs and mainstream clubs alike. It's utterly camp-tastic!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJrMqRZiJdY
Because it dates from 1981 it sounds out of place in a 1987 chart because, as good as it is, the use of the vocoder makes it sound like a 'Funkytown' clone and so makes it sound very much of its time.
My favourite song from the above is the sublime 'Magic Smile' by Rosie Vela. An excellent song that deserved to be a big hit but sadly peaked at number 27
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwaiZL51H6I
It's not the best of recordings and it sounds like the tape it was originally recorded on wasn't playing properly.
I've never liked 'Almaz' though. There's something about her warbly voice that I just couldn't get into and the records I did like by her - 'Street Life' with The Crusaders, 'One Day I'll Fly Away', 'You MIght Need Somebody' and 'Rainy Night In Georgia' - I liked despite and not because of her voice. another singer with a warbly style voice, Elkie Brooks, was in the top 20 this week in 1987 with the slightly over the top but good 'No More The Fool'. I love the song, again despite her voice.
They were one of those bands that people just seemed to like without them seemingly ever being anyone's actual favourite act.
Oh yes - very perceptive of you!!
I loved the above tracks! Plus - the top 2 remind me of The Tube's last few shows, in 1987 - as The Christians, Rosie Vela and The Mission were all on the same show in January! (Wish I had the video!
Infact - if it wasn't for the alternative music scene in the late 80s - I don't know what I would've done!