18 August 1984 Like a "want-away" striker issuing a "come and get me" plea during the football transfer window, releasing a solo single while still in a group was a pretty clear statement of George Michael's intent. In one way, the pained balladry of 'Careless Whisper' wouldn't have been a good fit with the randy-lads … Continue reading George Michael – ‘Careless Whisper’
Neil – ‘Hole In My Shoe’
28 July 1984 Another number one that I don't know, so as per my usual process I will listen to it LIVE as I write. Before that, some context: I'm aware that Neil was a character in The Young Ones, that British sitcom featuring a lot of Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson hitting each other … Continue reading Neil – ‘Hole In My Shoe’
Frankie Goes To Hollywood – ‘Two Tribes’
23 June 1984 The only one of Frankie's three big 1984 singles to get to number one here in Ireland, 'Two Tribes' certainly fits in with that year's fashion for songs about nuclear war. However, where '99 Red Balloons' laments our self-destruction and lost civilisation, this is a slightly different take: nuclear war may indeed … Continue reading Frankie Goes To Hollywood – ‘Two Tribes’
Wham! – ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go’
9 June 1984 You may have aspirations to create timeless pop epics and personal artistic statements, but if the other fifty per cent of your group is Andrew Ridgeley, plus your group's name includes an exclamation mark, then you need to cut your cloth to measure. Even to my small child brain at the time, … Continue reading Wham! – ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go’
The Pointer Sisters – ‘Automatic’
26 May 1984 Post-disco, R n' B-originating, Prince-influenced synth-pop: that's what it is. As for why it is, I'm less certain. 'Automatic' feels less a song than a keyboard setting; the lyrics even lean gleefully into the whole circuitry-systems conceit. Ruth Pointer's contralto is an interesting lead vocal choice, and in truth the only item … Continue reading The Pointer Sisters – ‘Automatic’
Duran Duran – ‘The Reflex’
12 May 1984 I have a lot of time for Duran Duran, and I think most '80s kids and pop fans do too. At their best they made brilliant singles like 'Planet Earth', 'Girls On Film', 'Hungry Like The Wolf', 'Notorious', and 'A View To A Kill': over the top and fairly daft, for sure, … Continue reading Duran Duran – ‘The Reflex’
Phil Collins – ‘Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)’
28 April 1984 I've not seen the movie Against All Odds, but I assume from the title song that it's about a woman who finally has enough of her man's middle-aged, passive-aggressive, cry-baby sulking, and leaves him to his Ford Mondeo and his Top Gear DVDs and his Phil Collins CDs. Later cover versions will … Continue reading Phil Collins – ‘Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)’
Lionel Richie – ‘Hello’
31 March 1984 Has any other well-known song ever been so fatally undermined by its own promo video as Lionel Richie's 'Hello'? If you've not yet had the pleasure—and it awaits you at the end of these few lines—it features Lionel as a drama teacher who has fallen for a student who is blind. Poor … Continue reading Lionel Richie – ‘Hello’
Nena – ’99 Red Balloons’
3 March 1984 I think most of us would agree that a nuclear war would be a bad thing. However, I must admit that the threat of ballistic armageddon wasn't a major concern for me in my 1980s Irish childhood. We weren't being taught at school to duck and cover, or build fallout shelters; perhaps … Continue reading Nena – ’99 Red Balloons’
Cyndi Lauper – ‘Girls Just Want To Have Fun’
18 February 1984 I bet you're as surprised as I am to discover that 'Girls Just Want To Have Fun' was written and originally performed by a man. But yes, 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun' was a slightly punkish 1979 track by a Robert Hazard, and the spelling isn't the only difference. Hazard's version is … Continue reading Cyndi Lauper – ‘Girls Just Want To Have Fun’
