Fluchtweg Madagaskar (Fluchtweg meaning escape route). This was their first lp dressed in trademark Mood Records (“nur bei Zweitausendeins”) black and white cover and released in 1982. Predominantly instrumental, it kicks off with ‘Vietnam’ which is pure Kruder & Dorfmeister (complete with sample from ‘Musique Mnong Gar du Vietnam’) 15 or so years before they came into being or Coldcut 10 years early. [Source]
Buy the album on iTunes here.
“After a lot of albums of variable quality, McCartney got it together on 1982′s Tug Of War. He teams up for the first time after the Beatles with George Martin as producer on an album. Success! The album is also the first since Lennon’s death and it is as if Paul has to prove something. They succeeded and the album is one of the most complete of the entire solo career. Carl Perkins and Stevie Wonder have guest appearances. Incidentally, the album is one of the first records in my own [gigantic, ed.] record collection and is a soundtrack for a period of my childhood. ” – Tim Christensen
Ever So Lonely is a single written by Steve Coe and originally recorded by Monsoon with Sheila Chandra on vocals. The song went on to be a #12 hit in the UK in April 1982. Monsoon’s “Ever So Lonely” was the first “world music” hit. It was a hit in the UK, Europe and Australia but was never released as a single in the USA. Sheila Chandra was just 16 and she’d just left school and her first single was a massive landmark hit. The single was originally released by Indipop Records. After they were signed to Phonogram it was released under the label “Mobile Suit Corporation”. Several different remixes were made including 3 by Monsoon, 2 by Ben Chapman, and several by Jakatta) named “So Lonely”, one of which reached #8 in the UK. Sheila became the first Asian singer to appear on the BBC TV’s longstanding chart show Top Of The Pops. Even though Sheila wore a sari on “Top Of The Pops” to underline how proud she was of this, many Asians refused to believe she was Asian. Sheila nearly never made it to “Tops Of the Pops” – she was in hospital with appendicitis the week before “Ever So Lonely” entered the Top 20. Just before the single was released, the record company decided they wanted Sheila to change her name to “Boo”. She politely declined. Some people thought Sheila’s name was ”Monsoon” – Sheila sang all the songs, did all the interviews and the publicity shots by herself. Sheila Chandra was the only Asian artist to have mainstream chart success in the 1980s. Contrary to popular belief “Ever So lonely” was never released as a single on the Indian Subcontinent. Actually on a trip to India in 1985, Sheila discovered that the track had been pirated and included in a South Indian Telegu film called “Darling, darling, darling”. The soundtrack quality was poor.
[Dedicated to Hajo Dezelski]
There was never a video for the 1982 Yazoo hit ‘Only You’ but Mute did send this recorded performance out to promote the single. Per Aksel Lundgreen found the video for YouTube.
Taken from their album Force The Hand Of Chance, it was released on 7″ and 12″ vinyl. “Just Drifting (For Caresse)” is a slow folk song with gentle string backing written for and about P-Orridge’s newborn daughter. [Visit a blog link for more information here]
“I Know There’s Something Going On” is a song recorded in 1982 by ABBA singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad (Frida). It was the lead single from her solo album Something’s Going On. The song was a huge hit around the world during 1982 and 1983. Recording began in ABBA’s Polar Music Studio, Stockholm, in February 1982. As ABBA were unofficially on a break, Lyngstad spent time on her solo project. At the time of recording this song/album, Frida wanted to distance herself from “the typical ABBA pop sound”. “I Know There’s Something Going On” was written by Russ Ballard and produced by Genesis drummer & singer Phil Collins, who also played drums on the song. The back-up vocals are sung by Lyngstad herself & Collins. The song and video were released in Autumn 1982 and became a massive hit. It hit No. 1 in France (spending five weeks on top), Belgium, Switzerland and Costa Rica and was a Top 10 hit throughout the whole of Europe, as well as in Australia and South Africa. In the United States, the track reached No. 13. In the UK, the song peaked at No. 43 in September 1982 and spent seven weeks inside the Top 75. The single sold 3.5 million copies worldwide. A one hour TV documentary about the making of the album and this song, is included in Frida – The DVD. The whole recording process, from day one in the studio to the release party, was filmed by Swedish TV SVT. This documentary includes interviews with Frida and Phil, Björn and Benny from ABBA, as well as all the musicians playing on the album. The music video was directed by Stuart Orme and filmed at several locations in London, England in early July 1982. The video, which received heavy promotion on MTV due to the worldwide success of the song, shows Frida as a young woman in a struggling relationship. She then discovers through photos taken at a fashion shoot that her husband or lover is seeing another woman. The video is included in Frida – The DVD.
“Memories” is a cover of a song written by Hugh Hopper, recorded by Soft Machine in 1967, prior to his joining the band. Soft Machine’s Robert Wyatt recorded a solo version and another version on Daevid Allen’s Banana Moon album. Recently (2008) it has been covered by The Mars Volta. The vocal here is performed by Whitney Houston in one of her first ever featured lead performances.
R.I.P.
October 2, 1982 at Keio University. After Fujio Yamaguchi’s departure (“Double Heads” experiment). Doronco on bass, more focus on Mizutani’s guitar and singing without rhythm guitar (imitated at 3:57), deep echo, and dark atmosphere with strobe lights and projections of cathedrals. A very good rendition. Metal Machine Music ’82 DVD [UNIVIVE-02] / Tripical Midbooster – Winter 1981-1982 [UNIVIVE-020].
Certain Ratio released their seventh single, “Knife Slits Water”. It was backed by “Tumba Rumba”. The A side appeared on their third album, Sextet. The B side was a non-LP track but was added as a bonus track to their fourth album, I’d Like To See You Again, as was the 12 inch version of the A side. The Manchester, England post-punk band, who recorded for the legendary Factory Records, still records and performs. [Source]
Watch a rare video of the song here.
[via Ian Atkin in Silicon Valley]
Marshall Crenshaw is the debut album by Detroiter Marshall Crenshaw. It featured his breakthrough classic hit, “Someday, Someway”, which reached #36 on Billboard’s Hot 100 in the summer of 1982, as well as #31 on the Cash Box singles chart. The album spent over six months on the chart, peaking at #50, and eventually sold close to 400,000 copies in the United States. It has never been out of print.
[via Mats Drougge in Stockholm, Sweden]
