Too right - a top tune and one that, curoiusly, hasn't aged in the way many other tracks from this era.
Glad to see your love of Brian & Michael hasn't blinded you to genuine musical greatness ... ;)
Well I suppose I should feel obliged to attempt to claw back my personal music pedigree, eh!
I promise, or at least will do my best not to make any further mentions of Brian & Michael, but as they are No1 for another couple of weeks it could be tricky, if both those shows are shown? However, any derisory comments and I may feel the need to rush back to the defences!:p
I'd say that 1978 and 1979, taken as a whole, are the best disco/dance music years since the pop era began. I also have the Cerrone track, and many other fabulous ones like that from '78, like A Taste Of Honey's Boogie Oogie Oogie, and Shame by Evelyn "Champagne" King which sounds similar in parts to Boogie Oogie Oogie.
I have just discovered that 1978 is the sixth best year I have most singles for on my iPod, and it will soon increase when I put Take Me I'm Yours onto it. This below, is a telling statistic which confirms the improvement since 1976 as out of 1632 singles on iPod, it looks like this;
1976 - 52
1977 - 70
1978 - 84 (this does not include B&M, who are best left on vinyl!)
1979 - 92
1980 - 98
1981 - 135
1982 - 133
1983 - 109
1984 - 74
1985 - 58
1986 - 37
1987 - 27
1988 - 19
1989 - 17
Clearly the evidence of my own taste confirms a definite and sharp rise from 1976 to 1978, rising to a personal peak for me in 1981, and those big amount years in the early 80's, due to the age issue that huge "bump". A stunning fall away after the mid 80's, shows how that decade fell to pieces in my view. Yet these years cover me 7 to 20, so how bad does that make the late 80's seem to decline, that I have so much more from the decade earlier which we are viewing.
It makes an interesting up and downwards peaked graph. Either side of these years are more stable, with at least a couple of singles every year from 1960 to 2013. So in the Top 54 years, '78 comes in at No6.
Would anyone else like to do something similar to see if they have a similar kind of match, year on year, in the era above, especially 1976 to 1978?
Finally, Servalan would you care to name me a few 1978 dance/disco tracks that you think have aged badly? Views may differ on that one I'm certain.
I've actually got that track on this my latest "toy," (my wife likes Will Young) where I can mix contemporary and vintage recordings with a bit of nostalgia thrown in. I keep a page for pop, one for Motown & soul, and one for jazz and standards, although the end result uses modern technology, the "old" reduces my total selections to 160, but it's easy enough to change the iTunes playlist and print out new title cards..
Really enjoyed looking at the clip, and some of the others too. Noticed also that you had the 1976 version of I'm Your Puppet, as opposed to the 60's one. '76 version is my fave, and I have it. I loved the variety you had there. The sound of the coin slipping into the machine was a throwback sound to another era in itself, not that I am the jukebox era, but it did also remind me of phone boxes!
Very nice indeed. I will view some more over the weekend.
I'm probably a bit of an outlier here as didn't think this edition was that good: not as many absolute horrors as some but to me nothing really that good.
in my view it went from good-ish/ok:
Andrew Gold (not a patch on Lonely Boy tho), Manhattan Transfer, Andy Gibb, Hot Chocolate, Genesis
to mediocre:
Wings (not to my taste but obviously still effortless from Paul McCartney tho), Blondie, Shelia B Devotion, Squeeze, The Stylistics
to completely appalling;
Brian & Michael, Boomtown Rats (this was just embarrassing in so many ways)
I don't have physical singles anymore (except about 3 or 4 12" I've kept for special reasons) but from my tastes in music and what I've got on compilation/downloads I'd be in agreement with Rich Tea re 1980-83 but then my tastes diverge dramatically as 1984-86 would be very poorly represented but 1988-89 would be up there with 1980-83.
TBH although the 80s are "my" decade 1985/86 are to me probably the worst years in popular music ever - terrible music/fashion (amongst pop stars anyway)/record covers everything. Completely unredeemable!
PS I also saw the Gary Numan as Bowie copy as really lazy journalism by boring old farts who loved guitars and didn't like what Numan was doing with the electronics- yes there's a vague resemblance to the 1976-78 Bowie (especially some parts of 'Low') but Gary Numan went off on his own (excluding the first dodgy rockyTubeway Army singles) from the beginning.
With the same beach/coastline featured in David Bowie's 'Ashes To Ashes' video ...?
I love 'Supernature' and bought the single back in the day. The track was something of a flop when first released in March 1978, reaching number 4 on the Breakers Chart dated 01/04/78, its run on that chart being 4-5-7. It finally made the main chart in July 1978 after it was featured on Kenny Everett's show on ITV.
I think the Hot Gossip video above was produced by the same person who produced 'Ashes To Ashes' and it is the same beach that is used in both videos.
Ah, yes, the main reason I was elated to find that the 1978 repeats weren't being scrapped after all. Voyage's From East to West is my favourite song ever, bar none. I'm looking forward to that video appearing in June, and it's not on a DLT or JS edition. I'd recommend the LP of the same name, which has been rereleased on CD, and is probably on iTunes; From East to West is about 7 minutes long and at the start of a 17 minute medley on Side 1, with a further 17 minute medley on side 2. It's a journey around the world, through the Orient, Scotland, the Bayou, Latin America and back to the USA.
The French disco scene was great in '78; as well as Chantereau/Pezin/Dahan that put together Voyage and other acts, there was also Cerrone (coming up on TOTP later this year), Don Ray, and Alec Costandinos, to name a few. Most of their prolific output didn't make it near the charts, but you can find it all on YouTube...
I used to own three Voyage singles, 'From East To West', 'Souvenirs' and 'Let's Fly Away'. At school we used to have a disco once a month with the Maths teacher doubling up as the DJ. He used to buy the singles he played out of school funds and would buy the squarest of records (usually bland pop and rock records as well as the likes of all the Grease singles). So for our Christmas 1978 school disco I took in some of my own records including 'From East To West' and 'Souvenirs'. The result when they were played? the dance floor was packed!
I love 'Supernature' and bought the single back in the day. The track was something of a flop when first released in March 1978, reaching number 4 on the Breakers Chart dated 01/04/78, its run on that chart being 4-5-7. It finally made the main chart in July 1978 after it was featured on Kenny Everett's show on ITV.
I think the Hot Gossip video above was produced by the same person who produced 'Ashes To Ashes' and it is the same beach that is used in both videos.
I remember hearing the 'Supernature' track by Cerrone in a club and dismissed it as the usual euro-disco trash. It was a huge surprise when it turned up on the Kenny Everett Show and became a big hit. Little known fact in that Lene Lovich wrote the lyrics. She may well have sang on it as well but is not credited, though she is thanked for her input on the album.
I remember hearing the 'Supernature' track by Cerrone in a club and dismissed it as the usual euro-disco trash. It was a huge surprise when it turned up on the Kenny Everett Show and became a big hit. Little known fact in that Lene Lovich wrote the lyrics. She may well have sang on it as well but is not credited, though she is thanked for her input on the album.
Well I suppose I should feel obliged to attempt to claw back my personal music pedigree, eh!
...
Finally, Servalan would you care to name me a few 1978 dance/disco tracks that you think have aged badly? Views may differ on that one I'm certain.
So the response to my B&M dig is a disco challenge? Bring it on! ;)
Maybe 'aged well/badly' was a poor choice of words on my part - but I do think there are some disco tracks that sound very much part of that era ... tracks which were obviously and shamelessly jumping on the bandwagon and didn't bring anything new to the table.
So I'd guess it's the cheesier tunes I'm thinking of - 'Singing In The Rain' being a good example or, from 1979, Patrick Hernandez's 'Born To Be Alive'.
But I think my top choice for the category you've created from 1978 would be this, which reached number 44 in February:
The scary thing about this track is that it's a Giorgio Moroder production ... perhaps proof (if proof were needed) that Moroder needed Donna Summer just as much as she needed him.
I'm probably a bit of an outlier here as didn't think this edition was that good: not as many absolute horrors as some but to me nothing really that good.
in my view it went from good-ish/ok:
Andrew Gold (not a patch on Lonely Boy tho), Manhattan Transfer, Andy Gibb, Hot Chocolate, Genesis
to mediocre:
Wings (not to my taste but obviously still effortless from Paul McCartney tho), Blondie, Shelia B Devotion, Squeeze, The Stylistics
to completely appalling;
Brian & Michael, Boomtown Rats (this was just embarrassing in so many ways)
I don't have physical singles anymore (except about 3 or 4 12" I've kept for special reasons) but from my tastes in music and what I've got on compilation/downloads I'd be in agreement with Rich Tea re 1980-83 but then my tastes diverge dramatically as 1984-86 would be very poorly represented but 1988-89 would be up there with 1980-83.
TBH although the 80s are "my" decade 1985/86 are to me probably the worst years in popular music ever - terrible music/fashion (amongst pop stars anyway)/record covers everything. Completely unredeemable!
PS I also saw the Gary Numan as Bowie copy as really lazy journalism by boring old farts who loved guitars and didn't like what Numan was doing with the electronics- yes there's a vague resemblance to the 1976-78 Bowie (especially some parts of 'Low') but Gary Numan went off on his own (excluding the first dodgy rockyTubeway Army singles) from the beginning.
BIB - I think there was a bit more to it than the music press setting Numan up: I'm sure they stoked the tension between him and Bowie (well documented), but I don't think the Bowie fans I knew in the late 70s 'switched sides' purely because of what they read. To give Numan credit, that first TOTP appearance for Tubeway Army was dramatic enough for him to make a splash in his own right. And I'm sure his record company - not that successful until then - were quite happy to market him as a 'new Bowie' figure.
But I don't think Numan is as much of an original as you infer: while I'd agree with you that the Bowie comparisons are actually quite superficial, his real influences - to which he has admitted - were the John Foxx-fronted Ultravox (particularly their Systems Of Romance album, previously referenced in this thread) and Bill Nelson. And while I'm sure Numan's success in 1979 helped land John Foxx a solo deal after he left Ultravox, Numan's profile probably made his idol look like a wannabe ...
'Supernature' isn't, however, Lovich's first chart appearance - that came in 1975, as a member of The Diversions, who tried (and failed) to trump Carl Malcolm's original of 'Fattie Bum Bum' ... :eek:
Only now been able to watch this week's edition. A big improvement on last week, there was very little I didn't like. My favourites were the Boomtown Rats, Squeeze, and Wings. Another reminder why Andy Gibb would have been better as part of the Bee Gees than on his own.
That link from the Boomtown Rats to Hot Chocolate was the worst edit I've seen yet! Haven't noticed any edits before that one. I assume we'll see tonight in the longer edition what came after the Boomtown Rats.
1976 - 52
1977 - 70
1978 - 84 (this does not include B&M, who are best left on vinyl!)
1979 - 92
1980 - 98
1981 - 135
1982 - 133
1983 - 109
1984 - 74
1985 - 58
1986 - 37
1987 - 27
1988 - 19
1989 - 17
.
Would anyone else like to do something similar to see if they have a similar kind of match, year on year, in the era above, especially 1976 to 1978?
My MP3 player often puts up the wrong dates for songs - so I would probably have to do it by hand!!
Although I'm fairly sure like you - most of my records are from about 1979-1983!
I particularly remember not liking many singles from 1984 - but then picking up again in 1985!;)
How do you check the date of songs on your ipod? I'd hate to go through them all as I've about other retro charts) on my ipod. I can use when I cherry pick my fave retro charts as an example, though, and it's about 75/76 to 91.
1978 is actually my most popular year!! :eek: Also - I can't see why 1985 & 1987 were so good - must've been a few goth/indie bands I was into at the time!
Yes - think I'll have to look up MediaMonkey as I was just counting up my 7" singles by hand!!
Then I realised I had some more less-played singles stuffed in a cupboard that I havn't played for years ( 1 or 2 of them dance tunes from the late 80s!! )
Comments
well it can't be for their T&A
Ah look, bringing it back on topic, look, there's Floyd from Ruby Flipper! Thanks for posting that video.
Never have guessed.
Will have to have a listen closely.
Well I suppose I should feel obliged to attempt to claw back my personal music pedigree, eh!
I promise, or at least will do my best not to make any further mentions of Brian & Michael, but as they are No1 for another couple of weeks it could be tricky, if both those shows are shown? However, any derisory comments and I may feel the need to rush back to the defences!:p
I'd say that 1978 and 1979, taken as a whole, are the best disco/dance music years since the pop era began. I also have the Cerrone track, and many other fabulous ones like that from '78, like A Taste Of Honey's Boogie Oogie Oogie, and Shame by Evelyn "Champagne" King which sounds similar in parts to Boogie Oogie Oogie.
I have just discovered that 1978 is the sixth best year I have most singles for on my iPod, and it will soon increase when I put Take Me I'm Yours onto it. This below, is a telling statistic which confirms the improvement since 1976 as out of 1632 singles on iPod, it looks like this;
1976 - 52
1977 - 70
1978 - 84 (this does not include B&M, who are best left on vinyl!)
1979 - 92
1980 - 98
1981 - 135
1982 - 133
1983 - 109
1984 - 74
1985 - 58
1986 - 37
1987 - 27
1988 - 19
1989 - 17
Clearly the evidence of my own taste confirms a definite and sharp rise from 1976 to 1978, rising to a personal peak for me in 1981, and those big amount years in the early 80's, due to the age issue that huge "bump". A stunning fall away after the mid 80's, shows how that decade fell to pieces in my view. Yet these years cover me 7 to 20, so how bad does that make the late 80's seem to decline, that I have so much more from the decade earlier which we are viewing.
It makes an interesting up and downwards peaked graph. Either side of these years are more stable, with at least a couple of singles every year from 1960 to 2013. So in the Top 54 years, '78 comes in at No6.
Would anyone else like to do something similar to see if they have a similar kind of match, year on year, in the era above, especially 1976 to 1978?
Finally, Servalan would you care to name me a few 1978 dance/disco tracks that you think have aged badly? Views may differ on that one I'm certain.
Really enjoyed looking at the clip, and some of the others too. Noticed also that you had the 1976 version of I'm Your Puppet, as opposed to the 60's one. '76 version is my fave, and I have it. I loved the variety you had there. The sound of the coin slipping into the machine was a throwback sound to another era in itself, not that I am the jukebox era, but it did also remind me of phone boxes!
Very nice indeed. I will view some more over the weekend.
in my view it went from good-ish/ok:
Andrew Gold (not a patch on Lonely Boy tho), Manhattan Transfer, Andy Gibb, Hot Chocolate, Genesis
to mediocre:
Wings (not to my taste but obviously still effortless from Paul McCartney tho), Blondie, Shelia B Devotion, Squeeze, The Stylistics
to completely appalling;
Brian & Michael, Boomtown Rats (this was just embarrassing in so many ways)
I don't have physical singles anymore (except about 3 or 4 12" I've kept for special reasons) but from my tastes in music and what I've got on compilation/downloads I'd be in agreement with Rich Tea re 1980-83 but then my tastes diverge dramatically as 1984-86 would be very poorly represented but 1988-89 would be up there with 1980-83.
TBH although the 80s are "my" decade 1985/86 are to me probably the worst years in popular music ever - terrible music/fashion (amongst pop stars anyway)/record covers everything. Completely unredeemable!
PS I also saw the Gary Numan as Bowie copy as really lazy journalism by boring old farts who loved guitars and didn't like what Numan was doing with the electronics- yes there's a vague resemblance to the 1976-78 Bowie (especially some parts of 'Low') but Gary Numan went off on his own (excluding the first dodgy rockyTubeway Army singles) from the beginning.
I think the Hot Gossip video above was produced by the same person who produced 'Ashes To Ashes' and it is the same beach that is used in both videos.
Listen to the opening of this song and you will find it's the same as the Scissor Sisters Laura, Youtube it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=484_ERMX_tM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-0d3cjgfLg
It is similar
So the response to my B&M dig is a disco challenge? Bring it on! ;)
Maybe 'aged well/badly' was a poor choice of words on my part - but I do think there are some disco tracks that sound very much part of that era ... tracks which were obviously and shamelessly jumping on the bandwagon and didn't bring anything new to the table.
So I'd guess it's the cheesier tunes I'm thinking of - 'Singing In The Rain' being a good example or, from 1979, Patrick Hernandez's 'Born To Be Alive'.
But I think my top choice for the category you've created from 1978 would be this, which reached number 44 in February:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwPKz8WfbWk
The scary thing about this track is that it's a Giorgio Moroder production ... perhaps proof (if proof were needed) that Moroder needed Donna Summer just as much as she needed him.
BIB - I think there was a bit more to it than the music press setting Numan up: I'm sure they stoked the tension between him and Bowie (well documented), but I don't think the Bowie fans I knew in the late 70s 'switched sides' purely because of what they read. To give Numan credit, that first TOTP appearance for Tubeway Army was dramatic enough for him to make a splash in his own right. And I'm sure his record company - not that successful until then - were quite happy to market him as a 'new Bowie' figure.
But I don't think Numan is as much of an original as you infer: while I'd agree with you that the Bowie comparisons are actually quite superficial, his real influences - to which he has admitted - were the John Foxx-fronted Ultravox (particularly their Systems Of Romance album, previously referenced in this thread) and Bill Nelson. And while I'm sure Numan's success in 1979 helped land John Foxx a solo deal after he left Ultravox, Numan's profile probably made his idol look like a wannabe ...
It was indeed me ...
'Supernature' isn't, however, Lovich's first chart appearance - that came in 1975, as a member of The Diversions, who tried (and failed) to trump Carl Malcolm's original of 'Fattie Bum Bum' ... :eek:
That link from the Boomtown Rats to Hot Chocolate was the worst edit I've seen yet! Haven't noticed any edits before that one. I assume we'll see tonight in the longer edition what came after the Boomtown Rats.
My MP3 player often puts up the wrong dates for songs - so I would probably have to do it by hand!!
Although I'm fairly sure like you - most of my records are from about 1979-1983!
I particularly remember not liking many singles from 1984 - but then picking up again in 1985!;)
And got some surprising results:-
Late 60s - I own about 15 songs
1970 - 2
1971 - 0 :eek:
1972 - 3
1973 - 9
1974 - 3
1975 - 10
1976 - 15
1977 - 21
1978 - 41 :eek:
1979 - 33
1980 - 29
1981 - 13
1982 - 12
1983 - 7
1984 - 8
1985 - 13
1986 - 5
1987 - 9 :eek:
1988 - 1
1989 - 4
1990s/00s - 25
1978 is actually my most popular year!! :eek: Also - I can't see why 1985 & 1987 were so good - must've been a few goth/indie bands I was into at the time!
My average year of music of MP3's owned is 1970 and average year of music played is 1980.
My numbers are :
1920's - 2
1930's - 8
1940's - 42
1950's - 134
1960's - 935
1970 - 75
1971 - 104
1972 - 93
1973 - 111
1974 - 83
1975 - 104
1976 - 114
1977 - 119
1978 - 153
1979 - 208
1980 - 192
1981 - 200
1982 - 173
1983 - 174
1984 - 178
1985 - 133
1986 - 121
1987 - 103
1988 - 75
1989 - 92
1990's - 708
2000's - 441
2010's - 56
Then I realised I had some more less-played singles stuffed in a cupboard that I havn't played for years ( 1 or 2 of them dance tunes from the late 80s!! )
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