I keep getting Emails from people asking me to re-upload the links and music etc. I think people are just getting to those particular pages so are not reading the reason for the dead links.
So I am putting this in place so hopefully people will read it and stop Emailing me about it.
The reason the links are dead is that my account with Media Fire has been closed with all 11,000 files lost. That is why you can not download the things and No I can not re-upload them.
Eventually I will start doing that again when I have found something suitable. In the meantime this blog will be information only blog.
Thank you all
Michaael
New Blog Forum
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The Special AKA Live! was a live EP by The Specials, released in 1980.
Renowned for their live shows, The Specials released a 5-track live EP in January 1980 as the third single by the band. The EP featured 'Too Much Too Young' (originally recorded on the album Specials) with 'Guns of Navarone' recorded live in London; and 'Skinhead Symphony' - a medley of 'Long Shot Kick De Bucket', 'The Liquidator' and 'Skinhead Moonstomp' - which was recorded at Tiffany's in Coventry.
Lead track 'Too Much Too Young' is based on the 1969 song 'Birth Control' by Lloyd Charmers. It is sometimes wrongly stated that the song was banned by the BBC due to mentions of contraception in the lyrics. This is not true - however, when the song's promotional video was featured on Top of the Pops, it was cut off just before reaching the final line, "try wearing a cap".
The song topped the UK Singles Chart for two weeks in January 1980. It became only the second EP to top the chart after 'The Demis Roussos Phenomenon EP' in 1976, and was also the first live recording to top the chart since Chuck Berry's 'My Ding-a-Ling' in 1972. It was the shortest song to reach number 1 on the UK Singles Chart in the 1980s at 2:04.
Rico Rodriguez played trombone on 'Guns of Navarone' and 'Long Shot Kicked De Bucket', and Dick Cuthell played flugelhorn on 'Guns of Navarone'.
Click the link below to download the following: The Old Grey Whistle Test - Performance Single Version Skinhead Symphony - B-Side
Link removed due to DMCA notice
The Specials - The Old Grey Whistle Test - Performance
Julia Fordham's second album stepped ahead of her smoky, and wonderful debut album.
Released in1989 Fordham reached for some universal themes in her songwriting and came up with ten great songs that spanned the range from lonely desire, 'Did I Happen to Mention', to the humorous Brazilian inflections of 'Genius'.
All these songs are tied together by the strength of her voice, which mirrors both Sade and Annie Lennox.
Tracklisting: 01 - Lock And Key 02 - Porcelain 03 - Girlfriend 04 - For You Only For You 05 - Genius 06 - Manhattan Skyline 07 - Did I Happen To Mention 08 - Towerblock 09 - Island 10 - Your Lovely Face
The Jam were an English Punk Rock band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore neatly tailored suits rather than ripped clothes and incorporated a number of mainstream 1960s rock influences rather than rejecting them, placing The Jam at the forefront of the mod revival movement.
'Going Underground' is the first British number-one chart single by The Jam, released in March 1980. It went straight in at number one, a rare feat at the time, and spent three weeks at the top. It was the first of three instant chart-toppers for the group.
'Going Underground' was not released on any of the band's six studio albums initially, although it has appeared on many compilation/re-releases since then. The single's B-side was 'Dreams of Children', which had originally been intended to be the A-side; following a mix-up at the pressing plant, the single became a double-A-side, and DJs tended to choose the more melodic 'Going Underground' to play on the radio.
The song provided the inspiration for the Nemesis the Warlock character in the weekly comic book 2000 AD. The song was parodied in 2004 by the Amateur Transplants as 'London Underground', a humorous song full of abuse at the London Underground Strike. It was also turned into "Go England" by Virgin Radio for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. In March 2005, Q magazine placed 'Going Underground' at number 73 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks, and in October 2006 placed it at number 98 in their list of the 100 Greatest Songs Ever.
Click the link below to download the following: Video - Going Underground Single - Going Underground Video - Dreams Of Children Single - Dreams Of Children
'A Broken Frame' is the second studio album by the British synthpop band Depeche Mode, released in 1982. The album was written entirely by Martin Gore and recorded after the departure of Vince Clarke, who had left the band to form Yazoo with singer Alison Moyet. Alan Wilder was part of a second tour in the United Kingdom occurring prior to the release of this album, but he had not officially joined the band, and thus, does not appear on the album.
In the documentary that appears on the DVD that came with the 2006 reissue, Gore describes the record as "our worst album". None of the singles had long-term success compared to most of Depeche Mode's other albums' singles. 'A Broken Frame' was the only album not represented on 101 and Remixes 81 - 04. Prior to 2006, the last song from the album to be performed live was 'Leave In Silence' in 1986. 'Leave in Silence' finally made its return (as an acoustic rendition) in a 2006 concert in Paris.
The song 'Monument' was covered by GusGus for the Depeche Mode tribute album For the Masses.
A special limited edition live album based on 'A Broken Frame' recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon on the 25th October 1982 was also released early in 1983 which also included a special 12" version of 'Get The Balance Right' on the B-Side.
Traclisting: 01 - Leave in Silence 02 - My Secret Garden 03 - Monument 04 - Nothing to Fear 05 - See You 06 - Satellite 07 - The Meaning of Love 08 - A Photograph of You 09 - Shouldn't Have Done That 10 - The Sun and the Rainfall
'Xanadu' is the title song from the album Xanadu, the soundtrack to the 1980 film of the same name.
The song is performed by the Electric Light Orchestra and Olivia Newton-John. Newton-John sings the primary vocals, with ELO adding "parenthetic" vocals in the style of their other songs on the 'Xanadu' soundtrack, along with providing the instrumentation.
A rare collaboration for ELO, the single reached number 1 in several countries and was the band's only UK number 1 single when it peaked there for two weeks in July 1980. The song peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US.
Click the link below to download the following: Video Single Version Fool Cuntry - B-Side
Melancholic and introspective, 'Ashes to Ashes' released in 1980, featured Bowie's reinterpretation of "a guy that's been in such an early song", namely Major Tom from his first hit in 1969, 'Space Oddity'. Described as "containing more messages per second" than any single released in 1980, the song also included plaintive reflections on the singer's moral and artistic journey:
Instead of a hippie astronaut who casually slips the bonds of a crass and material world to journey beyond the stars, the song describes Major Tom as a "junkie, strung out in heaven's high, hitting an all-time low". This lyric was interpreted as a play on the title of Bowie's 1977 album Low, which charted his withdrawal inwards following his drug excesses in America a short time before, another reversal of Major Tom's original withdrawal 'outwards' or towards space.
The final lines, "My mother said, to get things done, you better not mess with Major Tom", have been compared to the verse from a nursery rhyme.
Bowie himself said in an interview with NME shortly after the single's release, "It really is an ode to childhood, if you like, a popular nursery rhyme. It's about space men becoming junkies (laughs)."
Musically 'Ashes to Ashes' was notable for its delicate synthetic string sound, counterpointed by hard-edged funk bass, and its complex vocal layering. Perhaps Bowie's most sophisticated sonic work to date, its choir-like textures were created by Chuck Hammer with four multi-tracked guitar synthesizers, each playing opposing chord inversions; this was underpinned by Bowie's dead-pan, chanted background voices.
The video clip for 'Ashes to Ashes' was one of the most iconic of the 1980s. Costing £250,000, it was at the time the most expensive music video ever made. It incorporated scenes both in solarised colour (helped by an innovative Quantel Paintbox technique) and in stark black-and-white, featuring Bowie in the gaudy Pierrot costume that became the dominant visual representation of his Scary Monsters phase. Also appearing were Steve Strange and other members of the London Blitz scene, including Judith Franklin and Darla Jane Gilroy, forerunners of (later participants in) the New Romantic movement that was heavily influenced by Bowie's music and image.
Bowie described the shot of himself and the Blitz Kids marching towards the camera in front of a bulldozer as symbolising "oncoming violence". Although it appears that two of the Blitz Kids bow at intervals, they were actually trying to pull their gowns away from the bulldozer in an effort to avoid them getting caught. Scenes of the singer in a space suit - that suggested a hospital life-support system - and others showing him locked in what appeared to be a padded room, made reference to both Major Tom and to Bowie's new, rueful interpretation of him. Contrary to received opinion, the elderly woman lecturing Bowie at the end of the clip was not his real mother, but Wyn Mac, the wife of comedian Jimmy Mac.
Record Mirror readers voted 'Ashes to Ashes' and Bowie's next single, 'Fashion', the best music videos of 1980.
'Ashes to Ashes' hit number 4 in the UK Singles Chart in its first week of release, rising to number 1 a week later, making it Bowie's fastest-selling single to that point in time. It was issued in three different sleeves, the first 100,000 copies including one of four sets of stamps, all featuring Bowie in the Pierrot outfit he wore in the video. The B-side, 'Move On', was a track lifted from his previous album, Lodger (1979). The US release had 'It's No Game (No. 1)' as the B-side, while the flip side of the German release was 'Alabama Song'. The single bubbled under at number 101 in America.
Click the link below to download the following: Video Single Version Move On - B-Side
'See Yo'" is the fourth UK single by Depeche Mode and the first written by Martin Gore. The single was released on 29 January 1982 and was later included on the band's second album 'A Broken Frame'. The single launched a small world tour, with extra band member Alan Wilder, although he did not contribute to the song or to the album. There are two versions of 'See You', the single version, and an extended version with a longer intro. This became the album version.
The B-side to 'See You' is 'Now, This Is Fun'. The extended version has a bigger bridge in the middle and a longer ending, with David Gahan sometimes shouting "This is funny!" instead of "This is real fun!".
The video for 'See You' is directed by Julien Temple. It is also the first video with Alan Wilder. He can briefly be seen playing the musical keyboard and he also appears in several photo booth strips. At the beginning of the video there is a speakerphone much like the one on the cover of Music for the Masses, but it is just a coincidence (Music for the Masses didn't even come out till five years later). The video was not liked by the band, and did not show up on the 1985 video compilation Some Great Videos which included all of the band's videos up to 1985 except the A Broken Frame singles and "Get the Balance Right".
Click the link below to download the following: Video The Tube Performance Single Version Razormaid Remix Now This Is Fun - B-Side
I Love the '80s was a BBC Television programme. It was broadcast following the success of I Love the 70s. It featured British celebrities such as Peter Kay, Clare Grogan, Dee Hepburn and Kate Thornton. The series was broadcast in ten episodes, one dedicated to each year.
I Love 1980 was Presented by Larry Hagman. The episode featured Pac-Man, Different Strokes, Roald Dahls Tales of the Unexpected and the movie Fame. One of the biggest stories of the year was the shooting of John Lennon by Mark Chapman in New York. But who shot JR? in Dallas turned Britain into a nation of soap addicts.
News items of the year included Unemployment reaching 2 million, British Leyland launched the Mini Metro. Philips released the Compact Disc player and an ice hockey player developed Roller Blades. Sixpence pieces ceased to be legal tender after 30th June and three greats of the screen, Peter Sellers, Alfred Hitchcock and Steve McQueen died.
While 1980 had number one hits from the likes of Kelly Marie to Blonda and ABBA.
Click the link below to download the 9 parts of the episode:
'Just Can't Get Enough' is the third UK single by Depeche Mode. It was originally released in the UK in September 1981, and was also the band's first single to be released in the United States, on February 18, 1982.
The song, a riff-driven Synthpop piece, was the final single to be written by founder member Vince Clarke, who would leave the band in December 1981. The song was included on the band's first album, Speak and Spell, which was released a month after the single.
The single version of 'Just Can't Get Enough' is the same version that appears on the UK version of Speak and Spell. The 12" single featured a 'Schizo Mix', which is an extended version with a different intro and an ambient tune popping up after the choruses. This version appears on the US version of Speak and Spell, the UK rerelease of Speak and Spell, the rerelease of The Singles (81-85) and Remixes 81 - 04.
In addition, the single's B-side 'Any Second Now' was the first commercially available Depeche Mode instrumental. It shows up on the UK rerelease of Speak and Spell. A version including vocals (the first Depeche Mode vocals to be handled by Martin Gore) would appear on the album as 'Any Second Now (Voices)'. There is also an extended version, the 'Altered" Mix'. In the United States, the B-side is 'Tora! Tora! Tora!'. On the album, the song is crossfaded with the previous track, 'Photographic', but on the single, the introduction is clean.
The single reached number 8 on the UK Singles Chart and number 26 on the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, making it their highest-charting single at the time on both counts. It also became the band's first (and biggest) hit in Australia, reaching number 4.
'Just Can't Get Enough' was the first Depeche Mode song to get a music video. It is the only Depeche Mode video with Vince Clarke. The director was Clive Richardson.
Click the link below to download the following: Video Single Version Schizo Mix Mastermix Alexampler Xtended Version Electro Mix Electro REmix 2007 Any Second Now - B-Side Any Second Now - Voices
'Together We Are Beautiful' was a popular single by Fern Kinney.
Written by Ken Leray and produced by Caron Whitsett, Wolf Stephenson and Tommy Couch 'Together We Are Beautiful' was the first and only number 1 single in the UK for Fern Kinney.
Originally a b-side to 'Baby, Let Me Kiss You' the song was flipped after DJs picked up on it. The song reached number 1 on the UK singles chart for a single week in March 1980.
Click the link below to download the following: TOTP Performance Single Version Baby, Let Me Kiss You - B-Side
'Brass in Pocket' (also known as 'Brass in Pocket (I'm Special)') is a single by The Pretenders. It was written by Chrissie Hynde and James Honeyman-Scott, and produced by Chris Thomas.
The band's third single, it was their first success, scoring number one on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks in January 1980 (making it the first proper number-one single of the 1980s after Another Brick In The Wall by Pink Floyd), number two in Australia during May 1980, and number fourteen on the Popular Singles chart in the United States. The song takes its title from an expression Hynde heard from a member of a Yorkshire-based support band who was looking for his money.
During an interview with The Observer in 2004, Hynde revealed that she was initially reluctant to have the song released: "When we recorded the song I wasn't very happy with it and told my producer that he could release it over my dead body, but they eventually persuaded me. So I remember feeling a bit sheepish when it went to number one."
In the accompanying music video for the single, Hynde portrays a waitress working in a greasy spoon who encounters a sleepy customer. She suddenly sees three men (her band members) approaching in a car outside. Hynde attempts to look elegant on their entrance and is clearly seen flirting with one of the men (Pete Farndon) after they've been seated. Pete doesn't respond to her overtures. Just then, three seductively dressed women (the men's girlfriends) enter the greasy spoon, sit at the men's table and begin to kiss their partners. Farndon's girlfriend isn't impressed when he appears to respond to Chrissie's flirting. Suddenly, the couples decide to leave the cafe without eating. Hynde is saddened and watches them outside leaving in their car, not feeling remotely "special".
It was the seventh video played during MTV's launch on August 1, 1981.
Click the link below to download the following: Video Single Version Swinging London - B-Side Nervous But Shy - B-Side
Theodore DeReese "Teddy" Pendergrass was an American R&B/soul singer and songwriter. Pendergrass first rose to fame as lead singer of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes in the 1970s before a successful solo career at the end of the decade.
In 1982, he was severely injured in an auto accident in Philadelphia, resulting in his being paralyzed from the waist down. After his injury, the affable entertainer founded the Teddy Pendergrass Alliance, a foundation that helps those with spinal cord injuries.
In 1985 Teddy sang the song for the closing edits of the movie D.A.R.Y.L. The film was about a boy who was a Cyborg and did not know it. The movie had a remake under the title A.I some years later.
The closing edits song was called 'Somewhere I Belong' which was written by Marvin Hamlicsh and released on both 7 inch and 12 inch singles on Electra / Asylum Records. The song made it to number 76 on the US R&B Chart but did not chart anywhere else.
As far as I know, there has never been a soundtrack album released of the movie. If anyone does have one and is willing to share then please let me know.
In 2009, Pendergrass underwent surgery for colon cancer and had difficulty recovering from that disease from which he eventually died on January 13, 2010, at age 59. Have to say thank you to Dominick for the B-Side.
Click the link below to download the following: Single Version. Never Felt Like Dancin' - B-Side
Released in 1989 Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation single encouraged the World to come together through music, dance and peace. For me Janet was continuing the messages of Fame.
The single made it to number 23 in the UK Singles Chart.
Click the link to download the following:
Rhythm Nation - CHR Remix Rhythm Nation - House Nation edit Rhythm Nation - House Nation Groove mix Rhythm Nation - House Nation Mix Rhythm Nation - Instrumental Rhythm Nation - Rhythm Mix Rhythm Nation - United Dub Rhythm Nation - United edit Rhythm Nation - United Mix Rhythm Nation - Tribal House Mix Rhythm Nation - Accoustic Mix
I have been watching the TV Comedy Drama Glee and loving every minute of it. In the first episode they sing their version of a song I had to admit I had forgotten so went and revisited it. This made me decide to put it here with the Glee version as it is still a great song. So here is.....
'Don't Stop Believin' is a popular song by the American rock band Journey, originally released as a single from their 1981 album Escape. Often considered the band's signature song, the power ballad became a top ten hit on the US Billboard Hot 100, the UK Singles Chart and the Australian Singles Chart. As digital downloads became prominent in the late 2000s it enjoyed a resurgence in popularity, partly due to being featured on several television shows. Allmusic has described the song as "an anthem for the young who wanted to feel free and unrestricted", featuring "one of the best opening keyboard riffs in rock
The song reached number 8 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart, and number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The song was originally released in the United Kingdom in February 1982 and managed to peak only at number 62. However, the song retained a cult following and re-entered the UK Singles Chart in February 2009 at number 94, due to digital downloads. On December 22, 2009, it reached number 9 in the Christmas chart, and peaked at number 6 two weeks later upon the release of the Glee version, more than 27 years after its initial release.
It topped downloads in the iTunes Music Store amongst songs not released in the 21st century, and was also the 72nd most downloaded song of 2008, and 84th most downloaded song of 2009 in the store, over 27 years after its release.
The song is one of the most popular rock tracks in Ireland and continues to remain in the top ten most downloaded songs. On August 31, 2009 the song had topped the 3 million mark in paid downloads.
A cover of the song was made for the Fox musical-comedy, Glee, which debuted at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It sold 177,000 downloads in its first week and charted higher than Journey's version, which peaked at number nine. Meanwhile on the ARIA Charts it has reached number 5. The single was performed on the Pilot episode of the series.
Released as a digital download on 2nd June 2009, the song managed to perform well in Australia and the United States where it charted within the top five on both of their national charts. The cast performance of 'Don't Stop Believin' was certified gold in November 2009, achieving over 500,000 digital sales.
The song also featured in the Britain's X-Factor competition and was sung by the winner Joe McElderry in the show's 4th live round and in the finale, spurring its re-entry to the UK Top 40 charts in November and December 2009, and contributing to his winning of the competition.
Click the link below to download the following: Journey - Single Version Journey - Natural Thing - B-Side Cast of Glee - Single Version Cast of Glee - Video from the Pilot Episode
'Everything I Own" is a popular song written by David Gates. Originally recorded by Gates's band Bread for their 1972 album Baby, I'm a Want You the song quickly became a popular standard recorded by (among others) The Connells, Jack Jones, Ken Boothe, Olivia Newton-John, Georgie Fame, Boy George, *NSYNC, Jude, Rod Stewart, Nicole Scherzinger, Chrissie Hynde, Greg London, and Hernaldo Zuniga. Although the song is frequently interpreted as a romantic love song, Gates actually wrote the song as a tribute to his late father.
The original hit number five on the American Billboard Hot 100. The version by Ken Boothe reached number one on the UK singles chart for three weeks in October 1974.
The version by Boy George reached number one on the UK singles chart for two weeks in March 1987 becoming his first hit as a solo artist. It was also his first solo single after a departure from his band, Culture Club. Owing more to the Ken Boothe version, the sweet reggae style was reminiscent of his earlier debut hit with Culture Club, "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?". Coming at the time of his arrest for possession of heroin it provided a major boost to his career. It was a number one in many countries (including UK, Canada, Italy, Norway and South Africa) and top 10 in many markets too.
Boy George played this song many times in his live shows. He did re-record the track in an acoustic style (named the Hippy Trippy Mix) and it was released on the American cd single of Everything I Own, a re-release from 1993. It was also remixed in a dub version for the Culture Club 2002 box set.
Click the link below to download the following: Video Alternate Video Extended P.W. Botha Mix Pop Walk Mix Dub Version Album Version Sugar Cane Mix Hippy Trippy MixDrumhead Mix 12 inch Go Go Mix Use Me - B-Side
'I Got You' is a 1980 song by New Zealand rock group Split Enz from their studio album True Colours. Split Enz's most successful single, 'I Got You' was written by Neil Finn and released in January 1980.
It topped the charts in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada and reached number 12 in the United Kingdom, and number 53in the United States
The video clip features Neil Finn standing in a room with the other band members performing in a framed picture on the wall behind him.
Click the link below to downloaad the following: Video Single Version
'Do You Really Want to Hurt Me' is a song recorded by Culture Club and was released as a single from the album 'Kissing to Be Clever'. Throughout the years, the song has been covered by many artists.
The third single from the band, the sweet Lovers' Rock style proved their commercial breakthrough. Initially picked up by BBC Radio 2 the song became a major hit after their memorable debut performance on Top of the Pops, which they got thanks to Shakin' Stevens being ill and not able to appear, leading the song to become a UK number 1 single for three weeks in October 1982. The song was their breakthrough in America, too, and it reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in March 1983. It was also number 1 in Australia and more than twenty countries worldwide.
Originally, its B-side in many countries was a dub version of the song. In USA, it was the song 'You Know I'm Not Crazy'. On the 12 inch, an additional b-side was the track 'Love Is Cold (You Were Never No Good)'.
It was the song that put the name Culture Club on the worldwide map. It was also their first single in United States and Canada.
In the video for this song, lead singer Boy George wears a shirt bearing approximately the Hebrew words for "Culture Club" (the shirt actual meaning is "תרבות אגדה" Hebrew for "culture legend"). Mikey Craig was not in the video, he was replaced by his brother Greg.
The song was remixed a couple of times. It was remixed by different DJ, like Quivver and Kinky Roland, around 1998, to promote a Culture Club compilation called "Greatest Moments" and the single 'I Just Wanna Be Loved'. It was also remixed and presented in different remixes on Culture Club's 2002 Box Set. The original demo version, without the bridge, was also included on this boxset.
Re-released in a reggaeton remix in France, it was again a top 20 hit in the summer of 2005.
Click the link below to download the following: Video TOTP Performance Single Version Drumheads Twisted Nerve Mix TMS-PMS Mix Deep Dish Quivvers Mix Kinky Disco Mix DJ Lbr's Ragga Mix Dub Version Full-Length EMI Demo
'Don't Stop the Music' is a song by Yarbrough and Peoples, from their 1980 debut album, The Two of Us. The song was a hit single reaching number 7 in the UK Singles Chart in 1981.
In the United States, the song reached number nineteen on the Billboard Hot 100 and fared even better on the R&B chart, where it hit number one, helping to earn a gold record for the duo. In 1997, the song was sampled by P. Diddy (then known as Puff Daddy) in the song 'Don't Stop What You're Doin', from the album No Way Out. In 2002, the song's chorus was used on the top 5 single Gangsta Lovin' by Eve and Alicia Keyes, and then by Keyshia Cole for the song 'Let It Go' from her album Just Like You, released in 2007.
Click the link below to download the following: Video Single Version 12 inch Version
'Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)' was a song by British pop duo Wham!, released in 1983 on Innervision Records. It was written by George Michael, one half of the duo.
The song, which had been tentatively released in 1982 when Wham! were unknowns and failed to make any impact, was re-issued in January 1983 after the duo had achieved their breakthrough with 'Young Guns (Go For It!)'.
Although rap was still an underground and almost exclusively American phenomenon in the early 1980s, the title of the song didn't lie - George rapped a number of verses about the joys of living every day to the fullest, which meant that being gainfully employed was not an option, and 'having fun with the boys down the (welfare) line'. The chorus asked the question "Do you enjoy what you do?", which brought about the bracketed section of the title. The video depicted George and Andrew Ridgeley in their leather jackets, combining their moody image with a bright, effervescent choreography.
'Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)' - the full version of which was almost seven minutes long - reached number 8 in the UK singles chart, the second of four hits from Wham!'s debut album Fantastic. The duo would go on to enjoy four UK number 1 hits before splitting at their height in 1986. On the flip side of their farewell single The Edge of Heaven was an updated version of the song, entitled Wham! Rap '86.
The song was explicitly political and indeed revolutionary. It flew in the face of the conventional British Left-wing who were talking about the 'Right to work' at the time.
Click the link below to download the following: Video Single Version Social Mix Album Version '86 Mix Club Mix - B-Side
'Young Guns (Go for It)' (sometimes written with an exclamation mark as Young Guns (Go for It!)) was a song by British pop duo Wham! which was released in 1982 on Innervision Records. It was written by George Michael, one half of the duo.
The song was Wham!'s first hit, although it came with some help from the BBC music programme Top Of The Pops, which invited Wham! on to the show as a last-minute replacement for another act which had pulled out. Wham! were just outside the Top 40 threshold of the UK singles chart at the time, which meant they had not climbed high enough in normal circumstances to get on the show, but they were recruited nonetheless as the highest-placed artists still climbing the charts from outside the 40.
Wham!, who opened the show, were complete unknowns when they were introduced, and became a national phenomenon immediately after, as much for George's appearance and the choreography as for the song itself. 'Young Guns (Go for It)' entered the chart at number 24 the following week, and eventually peaked at number 3 in November 1982.
George wrote the song about a teenage lad's worry that his best friend was getting too committed to a girl when he should have been enjoying his youth and the single life. It featured a middle eight aside in which the girl conversely tried to get her boyfriend to ditch the best friend, prompting a vocal battle, akin to a tug of war, between the girlfriend and the best friend which prompted the "go for it!" aspect of the song, as featured in the title.
On Top Of The Pops, Wham!'s highly-choreographed and energetic performance - made possible because artists mimed to their recordings - became one of the most memorable in the show's long history. George mimed the vocals to his Wham! partner Andrew Ridgely, who "acted" the part of the teenage bridegroom-in-waiting. They were flanked by backing singers Dee C. Lee and Shirlie Holliman.
The song was the first of four socially and politically motivated hits from Wham!'s debut album Fantastic!. They went on to dominate the UK charts and have four number 1 hits, before splitting at their height in 1986.
One of the most talked about lines in the song is the spoken line "Caution pays". Since the line is played at a lower speed than originally recorded, it has been mistakenly thought that the line is "Abortion pays".
Click the link below to download the following: Video 1st TOTP Performance Single Version 12 inch UK Version 12 inch Mix Album Version Lionel Vinyl's Fake Sucker Mix Going For It - B-Side Instrumental Version
'Could it be I'm falling in love' was originally recorded in 1972 by the American R&B vocal group The Spinners (known as 'Detroit Spinners' in the UK).
David Grant & Jaki Graham recorded the song in 1985 and reached number 5 on the UK singles chart.
This was such a big success for the two, that they decided to record another duet later that year, entitled 'Mated'.
Click the link below to download the following: Video Single Version Turn Around - B-Side
In 1981, Boy George occasionally sang with the group Bow Wow Wow under the stage name "Lieutenant Lush". However, his popularity in this role caused friction with the group's actual lead singer, Annabella Lwin.
After his tenure with the group, George decided to start his own band and enlisted Mikey Craig. Next came Jon Moss, and finally Roy Hay. The group recorded demos, which were paid for by EMI Records, but the label was unimpressed and decided not to sign the group. Virgin Records heard the demos and signed the group in the UK, and Epic Records released their albums in the US as Virgin did not have a U.S. presence at the time.
1982 saw the band release of their first single 'White Boy'. Although the song failed to reach the US or UK Top 100, George was still happy because "5000 people bought my song and didn't even know me".
Click the link below to download the following: Single Verson Demo Version 7 inch Mix Extended Dance Mix Love Twist - B-Side
The Special AKA Live! was a live EP by The Specials, released in 1980.
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