Archive for the 1984 tag

B-Movie: A Letter From Afar

Best known for their single "Nowhere Girl", B-Movie was an '80s new romantic could-have-been, never quite reaching mainstream success. Formed in 1978 in Mansfield, they named themselves after an Andy Warhol painting and trudged their way through the music industry in vain until 1985. The unbelievably detailed and exclamation point-filled biography on their website blames their record labels, management, Soft Cell, former band members, and anyone else they associated with for their failures (and frankly makes the band sound like egotistical jerks).

Too bad anyway, since they wrote some great pop songs that hardly anyone remembers now. "A Letter From Afar" was meant to be their comeback single, produced by pop hitmaker Jellybean Benitez, but it never made a blip on the charts. I'm sure it was all Marc Almond's fault...

Buy B-Movie on Amazon.com
official website

Fiction Factory: (Feels Like) Heaven

A Scottish band of New Romantics, Fiction Factory were best known for their 1984 top 10 UK hit "(Feels Like) Heaven" from their debut album Throw the Warped Wheel Out. They were recognized for writing melancholy pop songs and vocalist Kevin Patterson sounds frighteningly similar to Heaven 17's Glenn Gregory in my opinion.

The song was most recently revived only to be featured in a Reese's Peanut Butter Cups television advertisement. Go figure such a tragic end for such a bittersweet piece of the new wave story. "(Feels Like) Heaven" remains a personal favorite of mine & holds a special place in my dark little heart.

Recommended for fans of Ultravox, Japan & Freur.

Throw the Warped Wheel Out on Amazon

Strawberry Switchblade: Since Yesterday

The could-be long lost Scottish synthpop sisters of Tegan & Sara, Rose McDowall and Jill Bryson from Strawberry Switchblade paved their way with teased hair, gothy cupcake dresses and polkadots in the mid-80's with their debut and only album of the same name... and what a great album and name they were!

Their biggest imprint was with their sugary sweet single "Since Yesterday," which became a top 10 hit in the UK and featured the opening fanfare of Sibelius' Symphony No.5 and enough sunshine harmonies to keep you smiling for days - days of Dayglo, if you will. C'mon, I dare you to give this a listen and not be bouncing right out of your seat! Take a close listen though - beneath the surface of those driving dancefloor drumbeats is a truly tragic tale of love lost. But hey, that's really nothing to be shocked by in the world of new wave now, is it? The album actually dives into much deeper, darker water than the single does.

Following a busted switchblade in 1986, Rose went on to become a floating member of various goth & industrial acts like Coil, Psychic TV, Into a Circle and Death in June. She now continues to perform solo under her own name.

"Since Yesterday" is available on the CD import of their debut album or the Warner Platinum Collection, which is probably much easier & less expensive to track down. Highly recommended cutesy bubblegum pop for New Romantics.

Platinum Collection on Amazon

Vicious Pink: Cccan’t You See…

Although only a band for five short years, the dynamic duo of singer Josephine Warden and keyboardist Brian Moss formed Vicious Pink (originally Vicious Pink Phenomenon) in 1981 and got their start as backing vocalists for Marc Almond and Dave Ball's Soft Cell. With two new wave godfathers to guide them, the influence of Soft Cell's provocative, sexualized lyrics and dance beats were apparent in Vicious Pink's music. Through the course of their career, they earned three club hits rather than making any commercial impact.

The band made their biggest splash with the release of their third single "Cccan't You See..." Yes, stutter when you say it - it's necessary. Legend has it that Vicious Pink were actually the first band to coin the word "techno" in 1982 when describing their music to the press. Maybe not techno by today's standards, but certainly modern electro. Listen to anyone from Ladytron and Goldfrapp and tell me you can't hear the influence these pretty in pink things had on them.

There are several versions of the song. The original 12" version of the song is the most common (and certainly most addicting), though there is at 7" version that varies slightly. A year after the original was released, the song was remixed to have a French vocal, which was recently re-released in a limited pressing on vinyl. Vicious Pink have yet to release an official CD though their MySpace states a retrospective is currently in the works.

Oh. Don't be fooled by the opening sample to the song either.  Your shuffle didn't accidently turn on "This Corrosion" by the Sisters of Mercy. Now go bust out those poppers and shake a tailfeather!