21 June 1986 Perhaps my small-child brain only had room for the World Cup in Mexico at that time, but I don't remember 'The Edge Of Heaven' making much of an impression on me. Another explanation is that 'The Edge of Heaven' doesn't make much of an impression anyway. It's more or less the same … Continue reading Wham! – ‘The Edge Of Heaven’ →

14 June 1986 I was vaguely aware of this record as a child at the time, perhaps after hearing one of my primary school classmates singing it. Whatever notions this group had of being glam rock revivalists and the like, primary school children were probably the natural audience of 'Spirit In The Sky' by Doctor … Continue reading Doctor and the Medics – ‘Spirit In The Sky’ →

7 June 1986 Falling almost halfway between Gilbert O'Sullivan and James Blunt in time, sound and fashion, Mick Hucknall in 1986 was still kind of tolerable. You can hear why 'Holding Back The Years' was such a hit. Yes, it's bland pseudo-soul like most Simply Red songs, but this one has streaks of genuine hurt … Continue reading Simply Red – ‘Holding Back The Years’ →

31 May 1986 Status Quo had two Irish number one singles in 1986; I know the later one but not this first one, 'Rollin' Home'. So, as per my standard operating procedure, I will listen to this for the first time LIVE as I write this. I expect this to be exactly the same three-chord … Continue reading Status Quo – ‘Rollin’ Home’ →

17 May 1986 As my mentor and life coach Hugo Drax would put it: "Not being English, I sometimes find your sense of humour rather difficult to follow". I was a bit too young at the time to watch Spitting Image's acidic British political satire. (It was eventually shown on one of Ireland's two TV … Continue reading Spitting Image – ‘The Chicken Song’ →

10 May 1986 Not a good sign: I can't find this single on the usual video or streaming sites. The live version in the video below, plus whatever I can remember from the time, will have to suffice. First, though, a lot of background and explanation: what was Self Aid? Just as Band Aid inspired … Continue reading Christy Moore, Paul Dolan and the Self Aid Band – ‘Make It Work’ →

3 May 1986 I had forgotten that the studio version of U2's 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' features a prominent fiddle, which just goes to show how little it's been played on any radio within my hearing. 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' was where a big Celtic stadium rock sound became, if not fashionable, then at least profitable. Big … Continue reading Big Country – ‘Look Away’ →

26 April 1986 My memory of the night is hazy. However, I'm pretty sure I was at a college party where as a party piece someone stood by the fireplace, propped their elbow on the mantelpiece in time-honoured come-all-ye style, but instead of some dreary ballad gave us a full-on rendition of 'Rock Me Amadeus'. … Continue reading Falco – ‘Rock Me Amadeus’ →

29 March 1986 Being young and innocent, I was genuinely concerned that Cliff Richard was literally "gonna lock her up in a trunk". Now that I'm older and more cynical, that and the whole 'living doll' conceit is still as horribly sexist as it must have seemed even in 1920 or whenever it was first … Continue reading Cliff Richard and The Young Ones – ‘Living Doll’ →

15 March 1986 At this point in my short life I hadn't yet heard Bowie's glam, Philly soul or Berlin records. On the plus side, I hadn't seen the movie Absolute Beginners either. So, my small child brain was a tabula rasa on which to take this Bowie hit—the title song from the aforementioned movie … Continue reading David Bowie – ‘Absolute Beginners’ →