The Wild Swans - Young Manhood

The Wild Swans released their second single in the now revamped line of the group, which fans refer to as The Wild Swans MK II, in 1988.

their second single entitled 'Young Manhood' was a departure from the sound the band developed during the first incarnation.  

Like the first single the second also failed to enter the charts.

Click the link below to download the following:

Video

Single Version

Holy, Holy - B-Side

The World Of Milk And Blood - 12 inch Extra Track

Download

Five Star - Someone's In Love

'Someone's In Love' is the name of a 1988 US only remixed single by British pop group Five Star.

 It reached number 36 on the US R and B Billboard chart. The single was the third of five releases from their album Rock The World.

Doris sang the lead vocals on this track rather than sister Denise, who was lead singer on all of Five Star's singles up to this point.

The Radio Mix was used on the US edition of the Rock The World album.

Click the download link to download the following:
Album Version
Dub Version
R and B Dance Mix
Rare Groove - B-Side

Download

Devoid - In Void EP

I have to say that I know nothing on this band. 

I do remember that for some years myself and some friends send each other singles in the post of bands we thought we would each like. 

This is one of those singles that a friend from Italy sent me but I have to admit that I can not remember anything more about this.

Still this EP is a fine example of European 80's music that listening to again I just loved.

Hope you all enjoy it to.

Click the link below to download the following:
Butterfly Girls - Track 1
Running For My Life - Track 2
Dreams - Track 3
Life Is Hot - Track 4
Possesion - Track 5
Voices - Track 6

http://www.mediafire.com/?f47vx4f2afjpd

Holly Knight - Holly Knight - Album

As you may all be awaire, over the last couple of weeks I have featured songs by Holly Knight. 

Whether it be in her bands Spider or Device or solo.

Well here is her only solo album.

'Holly Knight' is the dubut solo album (and only album released) by the singer songwritter Holly Knight.

Released in 1988 I don't know if it ever charted.  I know it ddn't here in the UK.

Tracklisting:
01 - Heart don't Fail Me Now
02 - Every Man's Fear
03 - Sexy Boy
04 - It's Only Me
05 - Palace Of Pleasure
06 - Why Don't 'Cha Love Me (Like You Used To)
07 - Baby Me
08 - Love Is A Battlefield
09 - Nature Of The Beast
10 - Howling At The Moon

http://www.mediafire.com/?pyb5vfh2uuwm2

Holly Knight - Heart Don't Fail Me Now

'Heart Don't Fail Me Now' is a single released in 1988 by the US singer songwritter Holly Knight.

Released from her debut album 'Holly Knight' this was to be her only single release from the album.

The single features Daryl Hall on background voculs.  I have to say that I don't know if this ever charted anywhere.

Click the link below to download the following:
Video
Single Version
Howling At The Moon - B-Side

http://www.mediafire.com/?ln0c3k81slprb

Tokyo Pop - Soundtrack

As most people who follow this blog may know by now my partner, Mark, has his own blog dedicated to the TV programe The Kids FRom Fame. You can go to his blog by hitting the link below:

http://kidsfromfamemedia.blogspot.com/

Well one of the actresses of the TV show, Carrie Hamilton stared in a film after she had left which we got around to watching last week so Mark could feature it on his blog.

Well, it's an interesting film showcasing Japanese pop which I enjoyed back in the 80's and 90's with bands such as Sandii and the Sunsetz and X Japan (who make a very brief apperance in the film).

In anycase I managed to get a copy of the soundtrack for Mark so decided to also feature it on this little blog of mine.  Hope you enjoy it.

Tokyo Pop (東京ポップ Tōkyō Poppu?) is a music-centric movie from 1988 that tells the story of a girl from the USA, a boy from Japan, and a briefly successful pop band. The movie contrasts American customs with Tokyo lifestyles, as it presents an evolving love story between the two main characters.

The main actors are Carrie Hamilton for Wendy and Diamond Yukai (aka Yutaka Tadokoro) for Hiro Yamaguchi. Other actors included Gina Belafonte and Tetsuro Tamba. The movie was directed by Fran Rubel Kuzui.

Tracklisting:
01 - Never Forget - Carrie Hamilton
02 - Monkey Dancin' - Red Warriors
03 - You! - Michael Cerveris
04 - Hearts And Diamonds - Yutaka Tadokoro
05 - Hero's song - Red Warriors
06 - Blue Suede Shoes - Yutaka Tadokoro
07 - (You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman - Carrie Hamilton and Yataka Todokoro
08 - Homesick Blues - Alan Brewer
09 - Do You Believe In Magic - Carrie Hamilton and Yutaka Tadokoro
10 - Rakuen, Rakuen (Paradise, Paradise) - Papaya Paranoia

Click the link below to download the album:

http://www.mediafire.com/?wr3a33r8ky7zs

Whitney Houston - Love Will Save The Day

Continuing with my tribute to Whitney Houston here is another one of here great singles.

'Love Will Save the Day' was the fifth single by American singer-songwriter Whitney Houston from her second multi-platinum studio album Whitney. The single was released in July 1988 by Arista Records.

'Love Will Save the Day' is the fastest-tempoed song on the album Whitney. Produced by John "Jellybean" Benitez and featuring Roy Ayers, the song is one of the uptempo numbers on the album that also includes 'I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)' and 'So Emotional'.

At this time, Whitney Houston had achieved a record-breaking string of seven number-one hits, with four of those number 1's from her current album 'Whitney'. 'Love Will Save the Day' did not become Houston's eighth consecutive number one, but continued her trend of hit singles by peaking in the US Top 10. The number 9 peak on the Hot 100, amazingly, was Houston's lowest solo peak up to this time. The song also made the Top 10 without an accompanying music video.

Houston had stronger performances on the charts prior to this song but it did remain in the top forty for eleven weeks, and reached fifth place on the R and B Chart, and number 1 on the Hot Club/Dance Play Tracks.

Internationally, the song mostly saw less success except in the United Kingdom, where it went to number 10 and Switzerland, where it went to number 18. It was a moderate hit in Germany, making thirty-seven; and was a minor hit in Australia, peaking at seventy-seven.

Click the link below to download the following:
Single Version
Accapella Version
B Souls Santuary Mix
Disconect Edit Version
Extended Remix
Morales 'Jellybean' Classic House Mix
Dub Will Dave The Day
Hold Me Now - B-Side
http://www.mediafire.com/?hm3dkhvw91sg4

Erasure - Crackers International EP

Crackers International is an EP released by Erasure in 1988, in between the albums The Innocents and Wild!.

The EP appeared in several different versions. The original UK release by Mute Records consisted of four original, self-produced tracks.

In the UK, where at the time EPs were eligible for the singles chart, it became one of Erasure's most successful releases, matching the number two peak of 1986's 'Sometimes'.

In the U.S., Crackers International was still considered an EP, although two remixes were added (bringing the tracklist count to six) when Sire Records released it. In the U.S., where EPs chart on the Billboard 200, it hit number seventy-three. The song 'Stop!' was also released as its own stand-alone single in the U.S., just barely making an appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 (number ninety-seven). On the U.S. Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart 'Stop!' / 'Knocking On Your Door' peaked at number four as a double-sided entry.

Additionally, a version of the EP was released in the UK by Mute Records in a very limited-edition, seasonal pressing, titled Crackers International Part 2. Released originally in 12 inch vinyl with extended versions of 'Stop!' and 'Knocking On Your Door', both remixed by Mark Saunders, it also added the Christmas standard 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen'. It was subsequently released as a 3-inch compact disc containing the original 7" versions of 'Stop!' and 'Knocking On Your Door'.

Click the link below to download the following:
Video
Single Version

Mark Saunders Remix
Knocking On Your Door - Bonus Track
Knocking On Your Door - Mark Saunders Remix
She Wont Be Home - Lonely Christmas - Bonus Track
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Bonus Track
The Hardest Part - Bonus Track

http://www.mediafire.com/?3kb4v42v7644s

Boney - Mary's Boy Child / Oh My Lord

'Mary's Boy Child - Oh My Lord' is a 1978 Christmas single for Boney M., a cover of Harry Belafonte's 1956 hit, put in medley with the new song 'Oh My Lord' (Farian / Jay).

The single was recorded in a hurry early November, included in the group's live set and rushed out at the end of the month, topping the UK charts for four weeks during its eight week stay in the charts, and becoming the second single for the group in the all-time best selling singles charts. The song was later included in the group's Christmas Album, 1981.

In the United States, the track reached number 85 in the Billboard Hot 100, Boney M's last of four singles to chart; despite its chart position, the medley is an airplay favorite in the United States during the Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday season on radio stations which change to temporary all-Christmas music formats.

A promotional gatefold single (15 816 AT) backed with 'Never Change Lovers in the Middle of the Night' (from Nightflight to Venus) was released shortly before the commercial single which had a new track on the B-side 'Dancing in the Streets'. Different edits were issued in various countries. In Spain and France, the 3rd verse (Now Joseph and his wife Mary came to Bethlehem that night ...) had been cut out, the French mix of 'Oh My Lord' was a different mix. A 4:29 edit surfaced on the 1980 compilation The Magic of Boney M. - 20 Golden Hits, possibly the originally intended single edit. The full-length 6:18 mix appeared as the B-side of the 12" single 'Dancing in the Streets'.

'Rivers of Babylon' / 'Mary's Boy Child / Oh My Lord' is a 1988 remix single by German band Boney M., issued to launch the group's reunion, having been split since their 10th anniversary, 1986. The double-A-side single contained new mixes of the band's two very most successful single releases ever. Although their remix album sold well, the single failed to chart.

After Christmas, Hansa Records flipped the single and released it with 'Dancing in the Streets' on the A-side. The non-album track was sung solely by the group's producer Frank Farian, singing the chorus in multi-dubbed falsetto vocals and singing the verse in his deep voice. The mix that came out on the B-side of 'Mary's Boy Child' in the UK and US was an early version with shriller falsetto vocals and no answer-back chorus vocals in the verses. Despite the lack of success, the track was chosen as the one to launch Boney M. in the USA which remained the only territory the group had yet to conquer. The group did a promotional tour in April 1979 and also lip-synced the track at important TV shows Soul Train but the single stalled at number 105 in the Pop charts and fared only slightly better in the R and B charts at number 75.

Click the lin below to download the following:
Video
Single Version
PWL 1988 Edit Version
Dancing In The Streets - B-Side
Dancing In The Streets - Live Performance
Dancing In The Streets - Long Version
Never Change Lovers In The Middle Of The Night - B-Side

http://www.mediafire.com/?4j80ecc27ekf3

New Order - Blue Monday

'Blue Monday' is a single released in 1983 by British band New Order, and later remixed in 1988 and 1995. The song has been widely remixed and covered since its original release, and became a popular anthem in the dance club scene.

At nearly seven-and-a-half minutes, 'Blue Monday' is one of the longest tracks ever to chart in the UK, and is the biggest-selling 12 inch single of all time. Despite selling well it was not eligible for an official gold disc because Factory Records was not a member of the British Phonographic Industry association. However, the Official UK Chart Company (UK Singles Chart) has estimated its total UK sales at over one million. In the all-time UK best-selling singles chart, published in 2002, 'Blue Monday' came 76th.

'Blue Monday' is often seen as one of the most important crossover tracks of the 1980s pop music scene. Synthpop had been a major force in British popular music for several years, but 'Blue Monday' was arguably the first British dance record to exhibit an obvious influence from the New York club scene, particularly the work of producers like Arthur Baker (who collaborated on New Order's follow-up single 'Confusion').

According to Bernard Sumner, 'Blue Monday' was influenced by four songs: the arrangement came from 'Dirty Talk', by Klein + M.B.O.; the signature bassline with octaves came from Sylvester's disco classic, 'You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)'; the house beat came from 'Our Love', by Donna Summer; and the long keyboard pad on the intro and outro was sampled from the Kraftwerk song 'Uranium', from the Radio-Activity album.

In an interview for Channel 4's countdown of the biggest selling UK singles, the band claimed to have written the song in response to crowd disappointment at the fact that they never played encores. This song, they say, allowed them to return to the stage, press play on a synthesiser and leave the stage again. An example of this happening appears on New Order's concert video Pumped Full of Drugs.

A popular misconception about 'Blue Monday' holds that the single's die-cut sleeve, created by Factory designer Peter Saville, cost so much to produce that Factory Records actually lost money on each copy sold. It is unlikely that Factory Records could have sustained the losses implied, and the sleeve was soon changed to a similar non-die-cut design that would cost no more than a regular sleeve. It is, however, probably true that New Order saw little profit from the single's success, since an investment in the Haçienda nightclub swallowed much of the money they made from their hit.

Another notable feature of the sleeve is that it does not display either the group name nor song title in plain English anywhere. Instead the legend "FAC 73 BLUE MONDAY AND THE BEACH NEW ORDER" is represented in code by a series of coloured blocks. The key enabling this to be deciphered was printed on the back sleeve of the album, Power, Corruption & Lies. 'Blue Monday' is one of three New Order releases from this time period to employ the colour code. The sleeve's spine simply reads "FAC SEVENTY THREE".

A music video for a shortened version of the original song was created in 1983, featuring military clips with false colour, simple computer-generated graphics such as colour blocks and geometric lines, digitised video of band members at very low resolution and framerate, and a short appearance of the game Zaxxon (reportedly the Apple II port). The colour blocks were created using Peter Saville's colour coded alphabet.

The music video for 'Blue Monday '88' (the Quincy Jones re-recording and mix of the song), shortened by several minutes and featuring added vocal effects, appears on the Substance video collection released as a companion to the album of the same name. It features sketches by photographer William Wegman and his Weimaraner dog named Fay Ray doing balancing acts intercut with hand-drawn animation by Robert Breer. The band members are shown standing around doing various tasks, such as walking a wooden plank over a floor that is painted blue, holding wire-mesh constructed art and milk crates over their faces, being hit by tennis balls, and standing still while they flip through various flip books (tying into the hand-drawn animation sequences).

On the Australian show Rage, a video was shown containing footage taken from their Top of the Pops performance with the studio track dubbed over it. At other times, the aforementioned videos also get airings.

'Blue Monday' has been a hit several times in the UK. In 1983, it charted twice, initially reaching number 12, then re-entering the chart later in the year and climbing to number 9, helped by the fact that neither side of the single (the B-side 'The Beach' was an instrumental re-working of 'Blue Monday') was featured on the UK version of the group's subsequent album, Power, Corruption & Lies.

New Order appeared on the BBC's Top of the Pops, on 31 March 1983, to promote the song. It had long been the show's policy that artists would mime to a backing track, but New Order insisted on performing 'Blue Monday' live. The performance was dogged by technical problems, and was unrepresentative of the recording. In the words of drummer Stephen Morris, "Blue Monday was never the easiest song to perform, anyway, and everything went wrong. The synthesisers went awry. It sounded awful".

In 1985, 'Blue Monday' and 'Thieves Like Us' were officially released in Poland as a 7 inch single in different sleeve by Tonpress under license from Factory Records and sold over 50 000 copies and reached number 5 on end of year single chart.

In 1988, 'Blue Monday' was officially remixed by Quincy Jones and John Potoker under the title 'Blue Monday 88' (with the instrumental flip being titled 'Beach Buggy'). The single reached number 3 in the British charts, number 4 in the Australian charts, and topped the dance charts in the United States. A further official remix/reissue in 1995, with a mix by Hardfloor as the lead track, also made the British Top 20.

Click the link below to download the following:

Video

Original Version

1983 Extended Edit

Version Instrumental

Version Vocal

Extended Hardfloor Mix

1988 7 inch Version

1988 12 inch Mix

1988 Dub Version

1988 Single Mix

The Beach - B-Side

Beach Buggy - 1988 B-Side

Beach Buggy - 12 inch B-Side

http://www.mediafire.com/?gegwdqti8a8tj

Mandy Smith - I Just Can't Wait

'I Just Can't Wait' is a Pop-dance song written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman for Mandy Smith's debut studio album Mandy (1988).

The song was released as Mandy's debut single and the album's first single.

This song has a B-side, 'You're Never Alone', which also appeared on her debut album.

In the UK the single didn't fair very well as it made it to number 91 on The Singles Charts. However it faired better overseas by hitting number 1 in Japan, 14 in Germany and number 9 in Italy and Norwegian charts.

Click the link below to download the following:
Video
Single Version
12 inch Extended Mix
German 12 inch Mix
You're Never Alone ' B-Side

http://www.mediafire.com/?9gj80pc44zafs

Danielle Dax - Cat House

Danielle Dax is an experimental musician and producer most active from the late-1970s to the mid-1990s. She was born in Southend-on-Sea, Essex.

In 1988 Dax released her 4th single entitled 'Cat House'. It didn't chart.

Click the link below to download the following:
Single Version
House Cat - B-Side
Touch Piggy's Eyes - 12 inch Extra Track

http://www.mediafire.com/?olb5kfx7ydsa9

Pat Benatar - All fired Up

In 1988 Pat Benatar released her 31st siingle entitled 'All fired Up'.

This was the first single from the Wide Awake In Dreamland album.

The single made it to number 19 on the UK Singles's Chart whilte in the US the single made it to number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 2 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks Charts. The single also reached number 8 in Canada and number 2 in Australia.


Click the link below to download the following:
Single Version
12 inch Version
Cool Zero - B-Side

http://www.mediafire.com/?04meund5ryjqv

Front 242

Front 242 is a pioneering Belgian electronic music group that came into prominence during the 1980s. They are known for being the premier pioneer of electronic body music and as a major influence on the electronic and industrial music genres.

'Headhunter' is a song by the Belgian EBM band Front 242. It was released in 1988 on the album Front By Front, in two versions (Version 1.0 and Version 3.0). Version 1.0 was then released as a single, with Version 2.0 as one of the b-sides. The song was a major hit in the electronic and industrial music scenes, and Front By Front subsequently became the top selling album in the history of Wax Trax! Records.

After a long hiatus from 1993 onwards, Front 242 regrouped to re-record the song in late 1999, releasing it with multiple remixes on the dual-CD single Headhunter 2000.

Click the link beow to download the following:
V1 - 12 inch Version
Welcome To Paradise - V1 - B-Side

http://www.mediafire.com/?lsrclgm885b6w

Brenda Russell - Piano In The Dark

On Tuesday I was reading Chris Daniel's 80's Man blog and he posted the song 'Piano in the Dark' by Brenda Russell.

Well I realised that I had also not included it here on my little blog, and as I love this song I decided to rectify this little error. So here it is.

'Piano In The Dark' was released in early 1988, nine years after Russell's previous charting single on the Billboard Hot 100 (1979's 'So Good, So Right').

'Piano In The Dark' was the first single to be released from the 1988 album 'Get Here'.

The song gained heavy airplay and became Russell's biggest hit, peaking at number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 8 on the R&B Chart and number 3 on the Adult Contemporary Chart. The song was also a moderate hit in the UK, peaking at 23.

The song earned Russell three Grammy Award nominations in 1989, including one for Song of the Year.

The B-Side 'In The Thick Of It' was taken from Russell's 1979 self titled album.

I have to say that like chris I too remember listening to this song on the late night radio stations that played the slow music as I went to sleep. Listening to it again is just a delight as I just love this soulfull classic song and I hope you enjoy it too.

Click the link below to download the following:
Video
Single Version
In The Thick Of It - B-Side

http://www.mediafire.com/?7z4z94ps8uvkq

Blue Zone - Thinking About His Baby / Big Thing

Before Lisa Stansfield made it big in 1989, first with Cold Cut and then as a solo artist, she first appeared in a band called Blue Zone. The band added UK to the name in the US due to a name dispute.

The band consisted of:

Lisa Stansfield on Lead Vocals
Ian Devany on Trombobe, Keyboard, Guitar and Backing Voculs Andy Morris on Trumpet, Fluglehorn, Electronic Keyboard and Backing Voculs.

'Thinking About His Baby' was released as a singe in 1987. On the B-Side was the track Big Thing.

These were then flipped in 1988 when the single 'Big thing' was given a release as a 12 inch single and promo single. Backed with the previous A-Side the 12 inch also included the Big Dub Club Mix.

'Thinking About His Baby' eventually reached number 79 in the UK singles Chart while 'Big Thing' failed to chart in 1988.

Click the link below to download the following:

Thinking About His Baby:
Video
Extended Version

Big Thing
single Version
Extended Version
Big Dub Club Mix

http://www.mediafire.com/?9augs160c11c7

Erasure - Chains Of Love

'Chains of Love' is a song by British synthpop duo Erasure, released in May 1988 as their ninth single overall.

The song was released by Mute Records as the second single from Erasure's third studio album The Innocents. In the United States, Sire Records released it as the first single. The album version was produced by Stephen Hague and was slightly remixed for its single release (most notably the album version starts cold, while the radio version contains a short synthesizer pattern as an intro).

'Chains of Love' became Erasure's sixth consecutive Top 20 hit on the UK singles chart, just missing the Top 10 by peaking at number eleven. In the United States, it became Erasure's mainstream breakthrough by climbing to number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming the group's first entry on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. It also hit number four on the U.S. Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. 'Chains of Love' remains as Erasure's highest-charting U.S. pop hit.

The song, written by Vince Clarke and Andy Bell, is an uptempo dance-oriented synth pop track with Clarke's signature analogue sound and Bell's lyrics about breaking through any restrictions or stereotypes of what love should be. The lyrics allude subtly to Bell's desire for wider acceptance of homosexual couples, his pain evident from the opening lines "How can I explain when there are few words I can choose/How can I explain when words get broken". The chorus is memorable for Bell's use of falsetto.

The music video featured Clarke and Bell performing the song while being hoisted through the air by thick, metal chains.

Click the link below to download the following:
Video
Single Version
Original Mix
Extended Version
Almighty Definitive Mix
Truly In Love With The Marks Bros Mix
Don't Suppose - B-Side

http://www.mediafire.com/?sxd7n5q31l4pk

Terence Trent D'Arby - Sign Your Name

'Sign Your Name' is the name of a famous song written and performed by Terence Trent D'Arby (now known as Sananda Maitreya).

Released in his 1987 album Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby, it was an international success, reaching number two on the UK Singles Chart in early 1988 and number four on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Click the link below to download the following:
Video
Single Version
Greasy Chicken - Live - B-Side

http://www.mediafire.com/?murymj89dl6c7

The Adventures - Broken Land

The Adventures are a Northern Irish pop group, formed in Belfast in 1984.

Following the split from Chrysalis Records the band were picked up by Elektra Records.

In 1988 the band released their most successful single entitled 'Broken Land'.

With a burst of promotion and heavy airplay, this new single reached number 20 in the UK Singles Chart and spent 10 weeks on the chart.

The single also became the most played song on BBC Radio 1 in 1988.

Click the link below to download the following:
Video
Single Version
Don't Stand On Me - B-Side

http://www.mediafire.com/?u5b6yn135rmar

Now That's Embarrassing: The 80's

Now That's Embarrassing: The 80's is another in the long line of Friday night list shows broadcast at 9pm on Channel Five in the UK.

True to its name, Now That's Embarrassing: The 80s features the most embarrassing or 'cheesy' aspects from 1980s culture including the Minipops (at number 12), MC Miker G & DJ Sven, Australian soap operas and the Sinclair C5.

As with other shows of this type - such as Channel 4's rival strand of the 2000s: the 100 Greatest shows - this strand features a rundown of popular clips with a number of vox pops from cultural historians and celebrities from the era in question.

Click the link below to download the programe in 22 parts:

http://www.mediafire.com/?5x113v1y75cnx