Am I the only person who thinks that much of what The Police did was great stuff, yet almost everything that Sting has done as a solo artist is absolute cr*p!
No Rich, I think many people will share that view.
Am I the only person who thinks that much of what The Police did was great stuff, yet almost everything that Sting has done as a solo artist is absolute cr*p!
Am I the only person who thinks that much of what The Police did was great stuff, yet almost everything that Sting has done as a solo artist is absolute cr*p!
Spot on! The Police were the sum of their parts.
I find Sting somewhat pretentious, sadly during their recent reunion Copeland and Summers wanted to record a new album, but sadly Sting didnt want to. Probably because they refused him any lute solos....
Very true what you say about Abba, even the previously unreleased Thank You For The Music couldnt make the Top 30 in 1983.
It hadn't been issued as a single, but inaccurate to say it was 'previously unreleased' as it had been a very popular album track since 1977. It was really their goodbye song issued by the record company.
For a group that mastered the technique of getting the debut week No1 hit on three occasions, and many other instant top five entries, in an era when songs simply never much entered the charts high up, it is rather curious to me how all of a sudden in early 1975 all that just ended abruptly, despite the quality of a song like How Does It Feel which should have maintained the run. I'd love to know what the reason was. It's not as if it is a bad record, it's a great record. So what so suddenly changed for them? Only 5 months earlier they had debuted into the top three yet again with the less impressive Far Far Away. This must have come as an almighty shock to them at the time, and when they got to 1977 and couldn't even break the Top 40 anymore that would have finished most groups off for good.
Although Dave Hill would, from everything I've read, point to the gritty tone of the Slade In Flame film being responsible for the group's changing fortunes, I'd say that the soundtrack album - deliberately more 60s in feel because of the era in which the movie was set - marked a change in sound for Slade. And while 'Far, Far Away' was not a million miles away from 'Everyday', 'How Does It Feel' is more complex, with extensive use of a horn section ... so probably the group's most 'different' single to date - and possibly too different for the general public at the time, who thought they knew who Slade were? David Bowie may have had a reputation for unpredictability, but Slade didn't.
But I'd argue that there were other, wider factors that led to Slade's fading popularity - one of them specifically linked to TOTP ...
The 1974 Musicians Union strike that took TOTP off air came just as disco first exploded - and suddenly there was a new influence in the charts. The absence of TOTP meant that an artist's visual impact was less relevant as the impact of radio and clubs increased ... and the charts started to change, with soul/disco becoming a much more dominant force.
At the same time, Slade's glam contemporaries were struggling. At the end of 1974, T Rex and the Sweet released singles that failed to crack the Top 30. So I'd say all those groups were caught between their former glories and the dilemma of how to adapt their sound to changing tastes. Unchained from Chinnichap, The Sweet pursued a more rock-based agenda; T Rex had a stab at disco ('Dreamy Lady' - credited to 'T Rex Disco Party'); and even Slade tried out a funky keyboard sound in 1975's follow-up to 'How Does It Feel', 'Thanks For The Memory'. So I'd argue all those groups were musically going through changes ... and, in the long run, Slade survived better than most (literally in some instances).
Could you explain what you mean by "done the dirt"? I do know that Phil Lynott had infact just had his highest charting hit of his career with Gary Moore a couple of months prior to Live Aid, with Out In The Fields, so was very much in the public consciousness at the time, and they were still using his music as the TOTP theme, but just six months after Live Aid he was himself dead.
This may help you understand ...
"Phil was particularly crushed when Bob [Geldof] and Midge [Ure] didn't invite him to Live Aid," Gorham says – the blow must have been especially hard given that Ure, briefly and bafflingly, had been a member of Thin Lizzy. "But I don't blame them. He was in no fit shape." By the time of Live Aid, those who knew him well were shocked by his physical condition, after years of drugs and drink. "I do think Phil felt things were going south, which probably hastened his demise," Gorham says.
Comparing Abba and Slade is quite a good one Ian. They hadn't missed the top ten in years, had the Christmas No3 with One Of Us in 1981, not to mention the Christmas No1 album with The Visitors, yet in the new year released the great Head Over Heels which stalled badly and later in the year, a record that was recently voted their 3rd best single on ITV came to miss the entire top thirty, The Day Before You Came, a surefire enormous hit if ever there should have been. There seems no clear cut reason for it. But of course Slade managed a successful return to almost the top in the 80's, and Abba, although not with singles, have had massive No1 success with albums as recently as August 2008.
I think Abba's demise was triggered by their own sound maturing and becoming more complex (The Visitors is a brilliant album, but it's a far cry from the likes of 'Super Trouper' or 'Does Your Mother Know') at the same time as the likes of Dollar and Bucks Fizz were releasing more commercial songs which muscled into territory previously pretty much exclusively held by Abba.
Brotherhood of Man's impersonations had been seen off by spring 1978, but their records always sounded dreary and thin next to the 'Abba wall of sound'. The production work by Trevor Horn (for Dollar) and Andy Hill (for Bucks Fizz), however, was much more ambitious - and a more credible threat for Benny and Bjorn ... who, with interests growing elsewhere, felt they'd done all they could do with the group?
I had no idea 'The Day Before You Came' was voted their 3rd best single ... :eek: How come so many people came to it so late?
The late night repeats are now just half an hour. Presumably the original shows were only half an hour for a while. Anyone know how long half hour shows lasted?
I think Abba's demise was triggered by their own sound maturing and becoming more complex (The Visitors is a brilliant album, but it's a far cry from the likes of 'Super Trouper' or 'Does Your Mother Know') at the same time as the likes of Dollar and Bucks Fizz were releasing more commercial songs which muscled into territory previously pretty much exclusively held by Abba.
Brotherhood of Man's impersonations had been seen off by spring 1978, but their records always sounded dreary and thin next to the 'Abba wall of sound'. The production work by Trevor Horn (for Dollar) and Andy Hill (for Bucks Fizz), however, was much more ambitious - and a more credible threat for Benny and Bjorn ... who, with interests growing elsewhere, felt they'd done all they could do with the group?
I had no idea 'The Day Before You Came' was voted their 3rd best single ... :eek: How come so many people came to it so late?
Thanks Servalan for some great input in your three posts. Nicely written explanations if I may say. Ironically just two years later Blancmange covered The Day Before You Came and had a slightly bigger hit with it! I haven't heard their version since the time it hit. But with the delayed reaction to The Day Before You Came, and it coming so high up in a poll of all their hits, I would have thought it was ripe for an official re-release at that point. At a guess I would say it must surely be their longest single to get released, at almost 6 minutes, and wonder if that contributed to it's modest success, as we all know how radio are sniffy about playing things lasting more than 3 minutes much of the time.
Thanks Servalan for some great input in your three posts. Nicely written explanations if I may say. Ironically just two years later Blancmange covered The Day Before You Came and had a slightly bigger hit with it! I haven't heard their version since the time it hit. But with the delayed reaction to The Day Before You Came, and it coming so high up in a poll of all their hits, I would have thought it was ripe for an official re-release at that point. At a guess I would say it must surely be their longest single to get released, at almost 6 minutes, and wonder if that contributed to it's modest success, as we all know how radio are sniffy about playing things lasting more than 3 minutes much of the time.
Thank you ...
I have to say I loathe Blancmange's cover of The Day Before You Came with a passion. It sounds like a sarcy p*ss-take.
I suspect the Abba original struggled partly because of the length of the track, but also its narrative, that required attention - it wasn't a quick pop fix of the kind Bicks Fizz, Dollar and, indeed, Tight Fit were producing in 1982. Nice to see people have got wise to the track's merits 20 years later ...!
The late night repeats are now just half an hour. Presumably the original shows were only half an hour for a while. Anyone know how long half hour shows lasted?
if you dont mind being spoiled-bbc radio devons vintage chart show yesterday played the chart of september 1977 (some good songs played-the advert's Gary gilmour's eyes and dr feelgoods-she's a windup among the tracks ) (and September 1967 in the second hour) http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00dx9xc
Am I the only person who thinks that much of what The Police did was great stuff, yet almost everything that Sting has done as a solo artist is absolute cr*p!
Definately not. For me, it's the same with Genesis and Phil Collins. I really like Genesis but never been a knocked out fan of Phil's solo output. Genesis had a much edgier sound than Phil.
Although Dave Hill would, from everything I've read, point to the gritty tone of the Slade In Flame film being responsible for the group's changing fortunes, I'd say that the soundtrack album - deliberately more 60s in feel because of the era in which the movie was set - marked a change in sound for Slade. And while 'Far, Far Away' was not a million miles away from 'Everyday', 'How Does It Feel' is more complex, with extensive use of a horn section ... so probably the group's most 'different' single to date - and possibly too different for the general public at the time, who thought they knew who Slade were? David Bowie may have had a reputation for unpredictability, but Slade didn't.
But I'd argue that there were other, wider factors that led to Slade's fading popularity - one of them specifically linked to TOTP ...
The 1974 Musicians Union strike that took TOTP off air came just as disco first exploded - and suddenly there was a new influence in the charts. The absence of TOTP meant that an artist's visual impact was less relevant as the impact of radio and clubs increased ... and the charts started to change, with soul/disco becoming a much more dominant force.
At the same time, Slade's glam contemporaries were struggling. At the end of 1974, T Rex and the Sweet released singles that failed to crack the Top 30. So I'd say all those groups were caught between their former glories and the dilemma of how to adapt their sound to changing tastes. Unchained from Chinnichap, The Sweet pursued a more rock-based agenda; T Rex had a stab at disco ('Dreamy Lady' - credited to 'T Rex Disco Party'); and even Slade tried out a funky keyboard sound in 1975's follow-up to 'How Does It Feel', 'Thanks For The Memory'. So I'd argue all those groups were musically going through changes ... and, in the long run, Slade survived better than most (literally in some instances).
Thanks for that Servalan. Some really interesting points.
Definately not. For me, it's the same with Genesis and Phil Collins. I really like Genesis but never been a knocked out fan of Phil's solo output. Genesis had a much edgier sound than Phil.
But, but, but.......Phil Collins did translate into massive solo success both in the UK and indeed the US. He does also have a least one excellent stand out track, In The Air Tonight, and in all Sting's solo work I defy anyone to say that he has ever had any track since the Police that could be described as such. Also of course Genesis and Phil Collins solo work overlapped for years anyway, unlike Sting who finished recording with the Police at a definitive time, and went solo. Although I do recall one track in 1982 called Spread A Little Happiness that he did, come to think of it, which was a year when Police had no new material out themselves. But as a soloist Phil Collins beats Sting hands down. Sting has not got that "In The Air Tonight" moment. Against All Odds isn't bad either, or I Wish It Would Rain Down.
But, but, but.......Phil Collins did translate into massive solo success both in the UK and indeed the US. He does also have a least one excellent stand out track, In The Air Tonight, and in all Sting's solo work I defy anyone to say that he has ever had any track since the Police that could be described as such. Also of course Genesis and Phil Collins solo work overlapped for years anyway, unlike Sting who finished recording with the Police at a definitive time, and went solo. Although I do recall one track in 1982 called Spread A Little Happiness that he did, come to think of it, which was a year when Police had no new material out themselves. But as a soloist Phil Collins beats Sting hands down. Sting has not got that "In The Air Tonight" moment. Against All Odds isn't bad either, or I Wish It Would Rain Down.
I wasn't slating ol' Phil, just not as good as his Genesis work for me. Grant you "In The Air Tonight" and "Against All Odds". Both strong tracks. It's ironic they both reached No.2, whilst both his No.1's were cover versions. Sod's Law eh?.
Re. Sting...That Godawful "All For Love" with Rod Stewart and Bryan Adams makes my ears bleed!!! :eek:
But, but, but.......Phil Collins did translate into massive solo success both in the UK and indeed the US. He does also have a least one excellent stand out track, In The Air Tonight, and in all Sting's solo work I defy anyone to say that he has ever had any track since the Police that could be described as such. Also of course Genesis and Phil Collins solo work overlapped for years anyway, unlike Sting who finished recording with the Police at a definitive time, and went solo. Although I do recall one track in 1982 called Spread A Little Happiness that he did, come to think of it, which was a year when Police had no new material out themselves. But as a soloist Phil Collins beats Sting hands down. Sting has not got that "In The Air Tonight" moment. Against All Odds isn't bad either, or I Wish It Would Rain Down.
Agree re Sting v Phil Collins, with Mr Collins work being superior and less pretentious.
However Sting did return to the Police post his first solo album (probably his best) The Dream Of The Blue Turtles in 1985, for the aborted album that resulted in Every Breath You Take '86. A new version of De Do Do Do De Da Da Da also resulted from these sessions and can be found on YouTube, but don't bother!
Sting just seems to have made a career from rehashing his old Police songs be they operatic, symphonic, jazz or whatever new slant he can give them, with old lyrics often appearing in newer songs.
45 minutes is remarkably long for a normal episode when you think about it.
This is interesting. When episodes seemed to become a permanent half hour from the mid 80's or so, when Eastenders hogged the schedule into those half hour blocks and became immovable, I always remember thinking that the traditional length of TOTP had always been a minimum 40 minutes and much of the time 45 minutes. I used to get annoyed with 30 minute editions because they simply couldn't do justice to a full Top 40 and play the tracks that were eligible properly and fully. But after all this time I have found out I am wrong, and that they were rarely 45 minutes even in the heyday of TOTP like in 1977.
I wasn't slating ol' Phil, just not as good as his Genesis work for me. Grant you "In The Air Tonight" and "Against All Odds". Both strong tracks.
I personally enjoyed 'Take Me Home' from the summer of '85 which I find both atmospheric and hypnotically mesmerising. Sting incidentally was one of the backing vocalists. I think it went top ten in the States but it only reached No. 19 over here.
I remember about 30 years ago when he had his first solo number 1 with 'You Can't Hurry Love' a bitchy female music journalist remarking that Phil Collins was an eyesore because he looks as if he is permanently wearing a stocking over his head.
Agree re Sting v Phil Collins, with Mr Collins work being superior and less pretentious.
However Sting did return to the Police post his first solo album (probably his best) The Dream Of The Blue Turtles in 1985, for the aborted album that resulted in Every Breath You Take '86. A new version of De Do Do Do De Da Da Da also resulted from these sessions and can be found on YouTube, but don't bother!
Sting just seems to have made a career from rehashing his old Police songs be they operatic, symphonic, jazz or whatever new slant he can give them, with old lyrics often appearing in newer songs.
Was it not infact Don't Stand So Close To Me '86?
I got an album of The Police greatest hits released in 1986, called Every Breath You Take - The Singles, and was absolutely livid when I noticed that instead of the original proper version of 1980's Don't Stand So Close To Me, they had put the fiddled about '86 inferior version on the album.
I personally enjoyed 'Take Me Home' from the summer of '85 which I find both atmospheric and mesmerically hypnotic. Sting incidentally was one of the backing vocalists. I think it went top ten in the States but it only reached No. 19 over here.
I always had a wee soft spot for "Take Me Home". If I recall correctly it had a cool video where Phil filmed in different cities of the world. Not seen it in years. It reminds me of the parties I used to go to as a 16 year old that summer..early experimenting in booze and gals!! It's low chart peak was probably due to it being one of the last tracks taken from the album.
I got an album of The Police greatest hits released in 1986, called Every Breath You Take - The Singles, and was absolutely livid when I noticed that instead of the original proper version of 1980's Don't Stand So Close To Me, they had put the fiddled about '86 inferior version on the album.
I remember "Don't Stand So Close To Me '86"....I was very unimpressed!! :mad:
Comments
No Rich, I think many people will share that view.
No, you are not the only one.
I find Sting somewhat pretentious, sadly during their recent reunion Copeland and Summers wanted to record a new album, but sadly Sting didnt want to. Probably because they refused him any lute solos....
It hadn't been issued as a single, but inaccurate to say it was 'previously unreleased' as it had been a very popular album track since 1977. It was really their goodbye song issued by the record company.
Although Dave Hill would, from everything I've read, point to the gritty tone of the Slade In Flame film being responsible for the group's changing fortunes, I'd say that the soundtrack album - deliberately more 60s in feel because of the era in which the movie was set - marked a change in sound for Slade. And while 'Far, Far Away' was not a million miles away from 'Everyday', 'How Does It Feel' is more complex, with extensive use of a horn section ... so probably the group's most 'different' single to date - and possibly too different for the general public at the time, who thought they knew who Slade were? David Bowie may have had a reputation for unpredictability, but Slade didn't.
But I'd argue that there were other, wider factors that led to Slade's fading popularity - one of them specifically linked to TOTP ...
The 1974 Musicians Union strike that took TOTP off air came just as disco first exploded - and suddenly there was a new influence in the charts. The absence of TOTP meant that an artist's visual impact was less relevant as the impact of radio and clubs increased ... and the charts started to change, with soul/disco becoming a much more dominant force.
At the same time, Slade's glam contemporaries were struggling. At the end of 1974, T Rex and the Sweet released singles that failed to crack the Top 30. So I'd say all those groups were caught between their former glories and the dilemma of how to adapt their sound to changing tastes. Unchained from Chinnichap, The Sweet pursued a more rock-based agenda; T Rex had a stab at disco ('Dreamy Lady' - credited to 'T Rex Disco Party'); and even Slade tried out a funky keyboard sound in 1975's follow-up to 'How Does It Feel', 'Thanks For The Memory'. So I'd argue all those groups were musically going through changes ... and, in the long run, Slade survived better than most (literally in some instances).
This may help you understand ...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/jan/27/bands-replacing-dead-rock-stars?INTCMP=SRCH
I think Abba's demise was triggered by their own sound maturing and becoming more complex (The Visitors is a brilliant album, but it's a far cry from the likes of 'Super Trouper' or 'Does Your Mother Know') at the same time as the likes of Dollar and Bucks Fizz were releasing more commercial songs which muscled into territory previously pretty much exclusively held by Abba.
Brotherhood of Man's impersonations had been seen off by spring 1978, but their records always sounded dreary and thin next to the 'Abba wall of sound'. The production work by Trevor Horn (for Dollar) and Andy Hill (for Bucks Fizz), however, was much more ambitious - and a more credible threat for Benny and Bjorn ... who, with interests growing elsewhere, felt they'd done all they could do with the group?
I had no idea 'The Day Before You Came' was voted their 3rd best single ... :eek: How come so many people came to it so late?
Thanks for any info...
Thanks Servalan for some great input in your three posts. Nicely written explanations if I may say. Ironically just two years later Blancmange covered The Day Before You Came and had a slightly bigger hit with it! I haven't heard their version since the time it hit. But with the delayed reaction to The Day Before You Came, and it coming so high up in a poll of all their hits, I would have thought it was ripe for an official re-release at that point. At a guess I would say it must surely be their longest single to get released, at almost 6 minutes, and wonder if that contributed to it's modest success, as we all know how radio are sniffy about playing things lasting more than 3 minutes much of the time.
Thank you ...
I have to say I loathe Blancmange's cover of The Day Before You Came with a passion. It sounds like a sarcy p*ss-take.
I suspect the Abba original struggled partly because of the length of the track, but also its narrative, that required attention - it wasn't a quick pop fix of the kind Bicks Fizz, Dollar and, indeed, Tight Fit were producing in 1982. Nice to see people have got wise to the track's merits 20 years later ...!
TOTP is half an hour for the rest of 77.
Indeed. It's the 17th September. TOTP is half an hour for the rest of 77. (obviously baring Xmas specials)
Definately not. For me, it's the same with Genesis and Phil Collins. I really like Genesis but never been a knocked out fan of Phil's solo output. Genesis had a much edgier sound than Phil.
Thanks for that Servalan. Some really interesting points.
But, but, but.......Phil Collins did translate into massive solo success both in the UK and indeed the US. He does also have a least one excellent stand out track, In The Air Tonight, and in all Sting's solo work I defy anyone to say that he has ever had any track since the Police that could be described as such. Also of course Genesis and Phil Collins solo work overlapped for years anyway, unlike Sting who finished recording with the Police at a definitive time, and went solo. Although I do recall one track in 1982 called Spread A Little Happiness that he did, come to think of it, which was a year when Police had no new material out themselves. But as a soloist Phil Collins beats Sting hands down. Sting has not got that "In The Air Tonight" moment. Against All Odds isn't bad either, or I Wish It Would Rain Down.
I wasn't slating ol' Phil, just not as good as his Genesis work for me. Grant you "In The Air Tonight" and "Against All Odds". Both strong tracks. It's ironic they both reached No.2, whilst both his No.1's were cover versions. Sod's Law eh?.
Re. Sting...That Godawful "All For Love" with Rod Stewart and Bryan Adams makes my ears bleed!!! :eek:
Agree re Sting v Phil Collins, with Mr Collins work being superior and less pretentious.
However Sting did return to the Police post his first solo album (probably his best) The Dream Of The Blue Turtles in 1985, for the aborted album that resulted in Every Breath You Take '86. A new version of De Do Do Do De Da Da Da also resulted from these sessions and can be found on YouTube, but don't bother!
Sting just seems to have made a career from rehashing his old Police songs be they operatic, symphonic, jazz or whatever new slant he can give them, with old lyrics often appearing in newer songs.
45 minutes is remarkably long for a normal episode when you think about it.
This is interesting. When episodes seemed to become a permanent half hour from the mid 80's or so, when Eastenders hogged the schedule into those half hour blocks and became immovable, I always remember thinking that the traditional length of TOTP had always been a minimum 40 minutes and much of the time 45 minutes. I used to get annoyed with 30 minute editions because they simply couldn't do justice to a full Top 40 and play the tracks that were eligible properly and fully. But after all this time I have found out I am wrong, and that they were rarely 45 minutes even in the heyday of TOTP like in 1977.
I personally enjoyed 'Take Me Home' from the summer of '85 which I find both atmospheric and hypnotically mesmerising. Sting incidentally was one of the backing vocalists. I think it went top ten in the States but it only reached No. 19 over here.
I remember about 30 years ago when he had his first solo number 1 with 'You Can't Hurry Love' a bitchy female music journalist remarking that Phil Collins was an eyesore because he looks as if he is permanently wearing a stocking over his head.
Was it not infact Don't Stand So Close To Me '86?
I got an album of The Police greatest hits released in 1986, called Every Breath You Take - The Singles, and was absolutely livid when I noticed that instead of the original proper version of 1980's Don't Stand So Close To Me, they had put the fiddled about '86 inferior version on the album.
I always had a wee soft spot for "Take Me Home". If I recall correctly it had a cool video where Phil filmed in different cities of the world. Not seen it in years. It reminds me of the parties I used to go to as a 16 year old that summer..early experimenting in booze and gals!!
I remember "Don't Stand So Close To Me '86"....I was very unimpressed!! :mad: