633 Hello De La Soul - Me Myself And I

Chart  entered : 8  April  1989

Chart  peak : 22

Number  of  hits : 15

Hip  hop's  most  idiosyncratic  group  now  make  their  entrance.

The  trio  who  make  up  De  La  Soul  all  hail  from  New  York. Kelvin "Posdnuos" Mercer  ( born  1969 ) and  David  "Trugoy  the  Dove " Jollicoeur   ( born  1968 )  were  childhood  friends. At  Amityville  High  School,  they  met  up  with  Vincent  "Pacemaster  Mase "  Mason  ( born  1970 ) and  formed  De  La  Soul  in  1987  to  bring  a  sense  of  fun   and  creativity  into  the  world  of  rap. They  sent  a  demo  to  a  member  of  th  rap  collective  Stetsasonic, Prince  Paul  , who  was  breaking  out  as  a  producer. He  got  them  a  deal  with  the  Tommy  Boy  label  and  produced  all  their  early  material.

"Plug  Tunin"  was  their  first  single  release  in  the  US, and  is  an  advertisement  for  their  eccentric  live  show  with  references  to  their  flower  girls  China  and  Jet  who  held  up  cue  cards  to  the  audience  in  the  style  of  Dylan  on  the  Subterranean  Homesick  Blues  promo  film. It's  a  laid  back  shuffling  groove  and  a  long  way  from  the  sonic  terrorism  of  Public  Enemy  although  Chuck  D  gets  a  friendly  name  check  in  the  lyric. It  is  pretty  boring  though.

The  next  single  was a  double  A-side  of  "Jenifa  ( Taught  Me )"  and  "Potholes  in  My  Lawn " . perhaps  it  needed  to  be  given  that  "Jenifa"  is  a  tale  of  teenage  sexual  encounters  with  a  girl  who , if  the  lyric's  to  be  believed, screwed  at  least  two  of  the  group.   Samples  used  came  from   Liberace, Isley  Brothers  and  Steve  Miller   Band. "Potholes  in  My  Lawn"   seems  to  be  a  complaint  about  plaigiarism,  illustrated  with  uncleared  samples  from  Eric  Burdon  and  War   and   Parliament. All  these  tracks  featured  in  remixed form  on  their  debut  album  " 3  Feet  High  And  Rising".

"Me  Myself  And  I"  was  the  next  single , a  defence  of  their  singular  style  including  a  specific  denial  of  being  hippies.  It  was  their  first  7  inch  release  in  the  UK.  The  music  was  supplied  by  a  sampled  groove  from  Funkadelic's  Knee  Deep, hence  the  credits  to  George  Clinton  and  Philippe  Wynne  as  writers.  I  get  where  they  were  coming  from  and  they  seem  like  nice  guys  but  not  for  me  I'm  afraid.

632 Hello Lisa Stansfield* - People Hold On

( * Coldcut  featuring ... )

Chart  entered : 25  March  1989

Chart  peak : 11

Number  of  hits :18

Rochdale's  finest  finally  made  the  chart  in  1989  but  it  took  her  nearly  a  full  decade.

Lisa  was  born  in  Rochdale  in  1966  and  was  weaned  on  her  mother's  soul  collection. She  started  singing  in  local  nightclubs  in  her  early  teens. In  1980  she  won  a  national  talent  contest  Search  For  A  Star   and  her  long  ascent  to  fame  began.  Her  career  was  followed  diligently  by  the  Rochdale  Observer  ; those  of  us  who  lived  in  the  area  were  saying  "give  it  up  love"  long  before  this  broke  through.

In  1981  she  recorded  her  first , locally-recorded  single  "Your  Alibis"  locally  with  her  first  collaborators  Dave  Pickerill  and  Paul O' Donoghue  , a  curiously  old-fashioned  folk  rock   song  harking  back  to  Mary  Hopkin. Lisa's  voice  is  attractively  untrained  and  squeaky  but  there's  definitely  something  there. The  single  made  no impression  on  the  chart.

The  following  year  she  appeared on  a  TV  variety  show  Bring  Me  The  Head  of  Light  Entertainment   and  a  contract  with   Polydor  soon  ensued. Her  first  single  for  them "The  Only  Way"  was  released   in  November  1982  and  got  Single  of  the  Fortnight  from  David  Hepworth  in   Smash  Hits .  I  think  that  was  over-generous   for  a  very  dated  synth-pop  ditty   with  the  cheesy  synth  lines  far  too  high  in  the  mix  and  Lisa  sounding  like  a  chipmunk.
The  following  March  she  released  the  much  better  "Listen  To  Your  Heart"  which  has  a  nice  New  Wave guitar  line  and  a  vastly-improved  vocal  although  it's  still  a  little  over-produced. Great  legs  on  the  sleeve  too.

Her  fourth  and  last  single  for  Polydor  was  a cover  of  The  Four  Tops   "I  Got  A  Feeling", released  in  October  1983   to  coincide  with  her  short-lived  stint  as  a  presenter  on  kids' pop  show  Razzmatazz. Lisa  didn't  enjoy  the  experience  and  lasted  only  one  season  after  kicking  one  of  the  children. Polydor  gave  up  on  her.  When  she  became  successful  Lisa  went  to  court  to  try  and  stop  them  re-releasing  the  material  she  recorded  for  them  saying  it  was  unrepresentative.

In  hindsight , the  break  with  Polydor  and  Pickerill/ O'Donoghue  was  the  best  thing  that  ever  happened  to  her. In  1984  she  got  together  with  former  schoolfriends  Ian  Deveney*  and  Andy  Morris  to  form  the  trio   Blue  Zone  and  started  to  write  her  own  material  with  them. They  eventually  got  a  deal  with  Arista  offshoot  Rockin  Horse  and  released  their  first  single ,"Love  Will  Wait"  in  March 1986. It's a  heavy  piece  of  electro-disco  with  sweeping  strings, dramatic  backing  vocals  and  an  engagingly  throaty  vocal  from  Lisa. I  think  there's  a  decent  song  in  there  but  it's  too  overwrought  and  cluttered  to  work  as  a  single. It's  certainly  more  interesting  than  the  follow-up "Finest Thing" which  sounds like  an  SOS Band  B-side  though  I  suspect  they'd  have  taken  that  as  a  compliment  at  the  time.

The  band then  went  on  a  hiatus  as  \Lisa  got  married  to  Italian  designer  Augusto  Grassi  after a  holiday  romance  in  Tunisia  and  went  to  live  in Italy. The  marriage  was  over  in  a  matter  of  months  and  Lisa  returned  to  Rochdale. A new  Blue  Zone  single  "On  Fire" was  released  in  October  1987. A  blistering  funk pop  number  about  sex  which  amply  demonstrates  Lisa's  vocal  range, it  looked  to  set  to  do  well  and  a  video was  filmed  in  which  Lisa  took  a  leaf  out  of  Mel  Appleby's  book  and  danced  around  without  wearing  a  bra. Unfortunately  the  King's  Cross  fire  disaster  then  occurred  and  Arista  felt  obliged  to  withdraw  the  single. It  was  a  minor  hit  in  the  Netherlands.

At  the  start  of  1988   they  released  their   fourth  single  "Thinking  About  His  Baby"  a  Motown  pastiche   which  Lisa  sings  in  too  high  a  key  for  comfort  . It  narrowly  failed  to  chart   despite  the  B-side  "Big  Thing"  attracting  some  club  attention .The  band  then  became  involved  in  a  protracted  struggle  with  Arista  over  the  release  of  their  album  "Big  Thing",  the  record  company  wanting  to  wait  until  they'd  had  a  bona  fide  hit  single. In  July  1988 they  recorded  a  song  written  by  the  proven  US  songwriting  team  of  Steinberg  and  Kelly  that  had  previously  been  recorded  for  Elisa  Fiorillo  for  the  Summer  School  soundtrack  . "Jackie"  is  a  belting  Europop  number  and  seemingly  a  sure  fire  hit. It  was  in  the  US,  reaching  number  54  and  it  also  reached  the  Swedish  Top  20  but  still  couldn't  break  the  UK  duck. The  album  was  released  everywhere  but  Britain  in  November  1988.

However  Blue  Zone  had  attracted  the  attention  of  their  peers  and  they  were  invited  by  the  guys  in  Coldcut  to  collaborate  on  their  debut  album  "What's  That  Noise ?"   They  contributed  in  the  writing  and  performing  of  two  tracks "People  Hold  On " and  "My  Telephone"*  The  former  was  chosen  as  their  next  single.

Like Promised  Land  , "People  Hold  On"  taps  into  house  music's  utopian  bent. Lisa  provided  the  vague  and  woolly  lyrics  but  she  sings  them  with  conviction. Coldcut  provide  the  ubiquitous   electronic   house  rhythms  that  had  already  served  them  well  with  Yazz  with  some  sweeping  string  samples  and   synth  squelches  to  keep  things  interesting. And  so  Lisa  finally  had  a  sizeable  hit. She  may  have  been  regarded  as  a  bit  of  a  joke  in  Rochdale  by  this  point  but  elsewhere  she  was  hailed  as  an  exciting  new  talent.

* My  mum  told  me  that  Deveney  was  at  her  pre-school  playgroup  at  the  same  time  as  me  but  I've  no  personal  memory  of  him.

** Strangely,  they  neglected  to  give  Lisa  a  credit  on  this  one  when  it  was  subsequently  released  as  a  single.

631 Hello Little Angels - Big Bad EP

Chart  entered :  4  March  1989

Chart  peak  : 74

Number  of  hits : 12

I  wasn't  expecting  this  lot  to  put  down  a  marker  so  early.  

Little  Angels  are  the  most  successful  act  to  hail  from  Scarborough. They  formed  in  May  1984  as  Zeus  consisting  of  Toby  Jepson  (vocals ), Mark  Plunkett  ( bass ), Bruce  Dickinson  ( guitar ), brother  John  Dickinson  ( keyboards )  and  a  drummer  Dave  Hopper . They  became  a  popular  live  draw  in  their  area   after  changing  their  name  to  Mr  Thrud . In  1987  they  changed  their  name  to  Little  Angels  before  releasing  a  privately pressed  12  inch   EP, imaginatively  titled  "87".

The  five  lads  were  young  and  presentable  and  "87"  is  a  credible  bid  for  hair  metal  glory . I've  heard  three  of  the  four  tracks  - "You're  Burning  Me", "Reach  For  Me"  and  "Bad  Or  Just  No  Good" - and  they're  all  unoriginal  but  accessible  hard  rock  tracks  with  John's  keyboards  giving  them  a  contemporary  polish. It  got  them  the  attention  of  Powerstation  Records   boss  Kevin  Nixon  who  funded  their  debut  LP "Too  Posh  To  Mosh"  and  became  their  manager.  The  mini-LP  is  really  the  EP  augmented  with  three  more  tracks  in  the  same  vein.

Nixon  knew  his  operation  couldn't  handle  what  he  wanted  for  the  band  so  he  went  looking  for  a  major  label  deal. He  also  oversaw  the  replacement  of  Hopper  with  Michael  Lee  from  Darlington  and  arranged  some  dates  in  the U.S.. In  May  1988  the  band  signed  a  deal  with  Polydor.

Their  first  single  for  Polydor  was  "Ninety  In  The  Shade" ( you  suspect  they  were  not  singing  about  their  home  town )  in  September  1988 , a  much  more  metal  offering  with  an  Iron  Maiden  galloping  bass. You  can't  hear  John  until  the  middle  eight. Toby  proves  himself  a  capable  metal  vocalist  but  there's  no  real  hook  and  it  didn't  chart.

The  next  release  was  this  one. I've  only  heard  the  lead  track  "She's  A  Little  Angel" and  in  fact  the  full  EP  was  only  available  on  12  inch  as  a  promotional  ploy. The  song   is  a sexist  but   sleek  and  effective  piece  of  Def  Leppard  pop  metal  with  a  bludgeoning  hook. It  wasn't   going  to  set  the  world  alight  but  got  them  a  foothold  on  the  chart. It  became  their  first  Top  30  hit  when  reissued  in  1990.    

630 Hello Paula Abdul - Straight Up

Chart  entered : 4  March  1989

Chart  peak : 3

Number  of  hits : 11

By  1989  British  groups  had  lost  the  competitive  advantage  gained  through  MTV  in  the  U.S. and  the  Americans  were  able  to  produce  their  own video  stars. Paula  Abdul  is  perhaps  the best  example  of  an  artist  who  owed  their  success  to  use  of  the  medium.

Paula  was  born  in  California  in  1962  to  Jewish  parents. She  took  dancing  lessons  from  an  early  age  and  won  a  scholarship  to  a  dance  camp. She  appeared  in  one  or  two  minor  films. While  studying  broadcasting  at  California  University  she  was  selected  as  a  cheerleader  for  the  Los  Angeles  Lakers  cheerleading  team  and  soon  became  their  choreographer. She  was  spotted  by  The  Jacksons  at  a  game  and  invited  to  choreograph  their  1984  single  Torture. Impressed  by  her  work  she  then  choreographed  their  Victory  tour. When  the brothers  dispersed  again  she  was  taken  on  by  sister  Janet  and  was  a  key  factor in  her  rise  to  major  stardom.

Perhaps  influenced  by  the  fact  that  Jackson  had  succeeded  despite   not  being  a  particularly  strong  singer, Paula  decided  to  enter  the  performing  business  herself  using the contacts  made  through  her  top  client. Babyface,  LA  Reid  and  Daryl  Simmons  wrote  her  first  single  "Knocked  Out"  which  was  released  by  Virgin America  in  May  1988.  A  slightly softer  take  on  Jackson's  spiky  R  & B  sound, the track  has  a  decent  hook  and  doesn't  make  too  many  demands  on  Paula's  limited  voice. It  reached  a  respectable  41  in  the  US  paving  the  way  for  the  release  of  her  debut  album  "Forever  Your  Girl"  a  month  later. It  missed  the  chart  in  the  UK  the  first  time  round  but  later  became  her  third  hit  reaching  number  45  in  1989  and  then  21  with  a  Shep  Pettibone  remix  a  year  later.

Paula  then  released  the  rather  weak "The  Way  That  You  Love  Me"  which  made  number  88  in  the US . Her  UK  label, Siren, decided  not  to  follow  suit though  it  was  later  a  very  minor  ( number  74 )  hit  here.

The  next  single  released  in  the  US  was  "Straight  Up" . It  was  written  by  Elliott  Wolff  who'd  worked  with  Chaka  Khan  and  Peaches  &  Herb. The  song  is  a  demand  for  commitment  from  a  fickle  lover . Musically  it's  very  much  in  the  Janet  Jackson  mould  with  a  little  more  rock  guitar  than  Jackson  was  wont  to  use  at  this  point  and  a  naff  but  insistent  keyboard  hook. The  track  has  a  jerky  staccato  feel , perhaps  to  suit  a  singer  with  little  breath  control,  and  it's  Paula's  squeaky  robot  vocals  that  undo  it  for  me. Still,  it  went  all  the  way  to  the  top  in  the  US  , the  first  of  her   quartet  of  number  ones  from  the  album  and  the  UK  fell  into  line.

629 Hello Jesus Jones - Info Feako

Chart  entered : 25  February  1989

Chart  peak : 42

Number  of  hits : 12

My  mate  Sean  had  a  particular  animus  against  this  lot , based,  I  think  on  the  gap  between  their  mouthy  frontman's  grandiose  claims  and  the  quality  of  the  music  produced  ( see  also  Boomtown  Rats, Sleeper ),  and  I  can't  say  they  did  much  for  me  either. I  recall   citing  these  on  Popular  as  one  of  the  prime  exponents  of  "Crap  Pop"  in  this  era  and  a  number  of  commenters  coming  to  the  defence  of  this  debut  single. I  missed  it  at  the  time  so  there's  some  curiosity  involved  in  hearing  it  now.

Jesus  Jones  started  with  school  friends , Mike  Edwards  ( guitar / vocals ) and  Simon  "Gem"  Matthews  ( drums ) playing  in  bands  together  in  their  home  ton  of  Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire. In  1986  they  picked  up  bassist  Al  Doughty  and  moved  to  London  as  a  band  called  Camouflage . They  attracted  some  attention  from  labels  but  no  deal  was  forthcoming. A  change  of  name  to  Big  Colour  changed  nothing. They  decided  on  their  second  re-brand while  on  holiday  in  Spain  in  1988 . They  quickly  picked  up   Iain  Baker  ( keyboards )  and Jerry  De  Borg  ( guitar ) .  They  had  a  similar  vision  to  the  likes  of  Big  Audio  Dynamite  and  Pop  Will  Eat  Itself  in  trying  to  create  a  hybrid  of  alternative  rock  and  modern  dance.  Simon  knew  the  people  at   Food, the  EMI- sponsored  label  set  up  by  former  Teardrop  Explodes  man  David  Balfe  and  they  were  signed  up  before  they'd  even  played  a  live  gig.

  EMI  were  persuaded  to  give  "Info  Freako"  heavy  promotion  and  it  got  on  the  Radio  One  playlist. Starting  with  a  barrage  of  radio  babble  similar  to  Landscape's  Einstein  A  Go Go, the  music  is  a  mix  of  thrashed  guitars , Art  of  Noise-style  keyboard  samples, funky  drums, white  noise  and  Mike's  electronically distorted vocal  snarl. It  got  rave  reviews  and  while  it  doesn't  sound  so  remarkable  now,  I  can  see  why  people  found  it  thrilling  when  the  charts  were  choked  up  with  Stock,  Aitken  and  Waterman.

The  lyric  deserves  further  consideration. Mike  hymns  the  virtues  of  autodidacticism  and  makes  the  fatal  declaration  " it  means  I'll  always  have  the  edge  over  you ". It's  hilariously  ironic that  a  band  so  concerned  with  producing  music  for  the  future  could  call  it  so  wrong. Technological  development  in  the  forthcoming  decade  was  to eviscerate  the  value  of  knowledge  and  research  and  make  it  practically  worthless  outside  the  well-fortified  walls  of  academic  publication. Yous  truly  has  long  since  accepted  that  these  blogs  have  no  commercial  potential. Even  that  last  redoubt  of  the  autodidact, the  pub  quiz, has  been  stormed  by  people  looking  at  their  mobiles  under  the  table   ( as  well  as  the  ever-dwindling  number  of  venues  in  which  to  operate ). Mike's  Info  Freako  didn't  have  "the  edge" ; he  was  teetering  on  it.

  

628 Goodbye The Gap Band - I'm Gonna Git Ya Sucka

Chart  entered : 18  February  1989

Chart  peak : 63

The   fraternal  funk  band from  the  US  bowed  out  after  a  decade  of  hits. None  of  the  subsequent  hits  had  the  same  impact  as  "Oops  Outside  Your  Head "   although  1986's  "Big  Fun "   actually  surpassed  it by  reaching  number  4 . The  last  couple  of  years  had  been  much  leaner  and  they  had  recently  been  dropped  by  their  label  Total  Experience. Their  difficulties  were  were  exacerbated  by   a  long-running  dispute  with  their  former  manager.

"I'm  Gonna  Git  Ya  Sucka "  was  a  one-off   single  for  Arista, a  song  partly  written  by  Norman  Whitfield  for  the  blaxploitation  spoof  film  of  the  same  name. It  sounds  like  a  vengeful  address  to  a  drug  pusher  although  in  the  film  the  villain  played  by  John  Vernon  is  actually  supplying  gold  chains. It  employs  the   minimalist  R  &  B  sound  of  Cameo  and  the  like  although  Robert  Wilson  gets  to  play  a  scorching  guitar  solo..It's  not  really  my  thing  but  it's  well  executed.

The  band  then  signed  to  Capitol  and  brought  out  their  twelfth  LP  "Round  Trip"  later  in  the  year. It's  a  solid  R &  B  set   ranging  from  the  brassy  electro-funk  of  "All  Of  My  Love"  to  the   Vandross-like  mellow  soul  of  "We  Can   Make  It  Alright". Both  of  those  tracks  were  failed  singles  apart  from  the  US  R &  B  charts  , emphasising  their  commercial  decline.

The  group  were  then  put on  hold  as  Charlie  Wilson  started  work  on  his first  solo  album. "You  Turn  My  Life  Around"  came  out  in  1992  on  MCA . It  was  trailed  by  the  single  "Sprung  On  Me"  which  co-opts  the  New  Jack  Swing  sound  to  the  extent  that  you  can  sing  Bobby  Brown's  My  Prerogative  over  the  top  of  it. The  mellower  title  track  was  also  released  as  a  single. It  got  a  lukewarm  reception  and  Charlie  retreated  back  to  the  group. By  this  time  he  was  in  the  grip  of  a  cocaine  addiction  and lost  his  home, living  rough  on  the  streets  of  Los  Angeles  for  a  couple  of  years

A  couple  of  the  tracks  from  the  solo  album  re-appeared  on  the  next  group  album  "Testimony"  in  1994  on  Latique  Records. It  was  released  under  the  name  "The  Gap  Band  featuring  Charlie  Wilson". It's  a  terribly  lacklustre  set  which  didn't  even  register  in  the  R &  B  charts . No  singles  were  released. 1995's  "Ain't  Nothin  But  A  Party"  fared  no  better.

However  ,Charlie's  fortunes  began  to  change ;  when  he  was  persuaded  to  enter  a  drug  rehabilitation  centre. He  met  his  future  wife  Mahin  who  was  a  social  worker  there  and  helped  him  get  clean. Shortly  afterwards , he  began  a  long  term  collaboration  with  Snoop  Dogg  which  became  his  musical  salvation. He  contributed  to  several  of  the  tracks  on  the  rapper's  1996   album  Tha  Doggfather   and   was  credited  on  the  single  "Snoop's  Upside  Ya  Head"  which  became  Dogg's  biggest  UK  hit  to  date  reaching  number  12.

Charlie  acquired  a  new  manager  Michael  Paran  in  1997  but  still  wanted  to  work  with  his  brothers. They  released  their  last  studio  album  in  1999  entitled  "Y2K  Funkin Till 2000  Comz". Snoop  guested  on  the  title  track  and  there  are  hip  hop  influences  elsewhere  but  it  didn't  revive  the  group's  fortunes.

Paran  persuaded  Charlie  that  his  next  move  should  be  a  solo  album , largely  written  by  R &  B  songwriting  team  Cal  Stewart  and  Traci  Hale. "Bridging  The  Gap"  came  out  in  2000  and  made  152  on  the  Billboard  chart  which  wasn't  fantastic  but  better  than  the  last  three  Gap  Band  albums  had  managed. The Gap  Band  continued  to  exist  as  a  live  act   ( and  had  a  last  UK  chart  entry  in  2004  when  DJ  Casper  reworked  "Oops  Upside  Your  Head " ) but  Charlie  was  on  to  something  better  as  a  solo  artist. In  2004 Patan  negotiated  a  multi-album  deal  with  Jive  and  was  almost  immediately  vindicated  when  the  2005  album  "Charlie, Last  Name  Wilson"  featuring  contributions  from  R  Kelly, will.i.am  and  Justin  Timberlake  made  number  10  in  the  US.  The  title  track  written  by  Kelly  returned  him  to  the  US  singles  charts  reaching  number  67. In  2008  he  had  a  bout  with  prostate  cancer  and  has  worked  with  a  related  charity  ever  since.  The  next  album  "Uncle  Charlie"  in  2009  did  even  better  reaching  number  2.

The  following  year  Robert  died  of  a  heart  attack  and  The  Gap Band  was  formally  put  to  bed. One  suspects  that  third  brother  Ronnie  Wilson  wasn't  entirely  happy  with  the  decision  and  in  2015  he  attempted  to  re-launch  a  new  line  up  with  a  couple  of  gigs  but  both  were  pulled. Ronnie  alleges  that  Charlie  was  responsible  and  filed  a  lawsuit. As  far  as  I'm  aware  the  dispute  is  ongoing.

Why  Charlie  should  care  when  his  latest  album  "In  It  To  Win  It", released  a  few  weeks  ago   became  his  sixth  in  a  row  to  go  Top  20  in  the  US, is  something  of  a  mystery. Also  mysterious  is  the  complete  failure  of  any  of  his  solo  material  to  register  over  here. The  credit  on  Snoop's  version  of  "Oops.. ."  remains  his  only  chart  entry  in  either the  singles  or  album  chart. Perhaps  that  song  is  all  we're  ever  going  to  want  from  him.

627 Goodbye The Style Council - Promised Land

Chart  entered :  18  February  1989

Chart  peak : 27

Though  abrupt  and  unexpected  at  the  time,  the  demise  of  The  Style  Council  proved  to  be  symptomatic  of  the  changing  economics  of  the  record  industry. Regular  chart  placings  in  the  UK  were  no  longer  enough  to  keep  a  major  label  happy.

In  1983  Paul  Weller  seemed  to  be  everywhere, his  every  move  intensely  scrutinised  in  the  wake  of  The  Jam   split  and  The  Style  Council  scored  their  biggest  hit  with  "Long  Hot  Summer". The  following  year,  they  scored the  US  hit  that  had  always  eluded  The  Jam  when  "My  Ever  Changing  Moods"  reached   number  29. Its  parent  album  "Cafe  Bleu"  reached  number  56  there. The  line  up  expanded; joining  Paul  and  keyboard  player  Mick  Talbot   were   drummer  Steve  White  and   vocalist  Dee  C  Lee  poached  from  Wham !  who  became  Mrs Weller  in  1987 . In  1985  their  second  album  "Our  Favourite  Shop"  reached  number  1  in  the  UK.

For  all  that, I'm  not  sure  the  group  made  any  significant  number  of  new  converts  ( outside  the  US ); their  success  seemed  to  be  based  on  holding  a  gradually  dwindling  proportion  of  the  Jam  audience. and  their  singles  fell  into  the  same  pattern  of  charting  high  ( though  not  as  high  as  The Jam )  and  then  falling  away  quickly. 1985's  "Come  To  Milton  Keynes"  was  the  first  Top  40  hit  I  missed  since  The  Dead  Kennedys's  Too  Drunk  To  Fuck  in  1981. In  the  latter  part  of  the  eighties  Paul  was  a  prime  mover  in  the  Red  Wedge  movement  to  try  and  turn  young  voters  on  to  the  Labour  Party. Paul  has  since  conceded  that  this began  to  have  a  detrimental  effect  on  his  music. Steve  quit  the  band  halfway  through  the  sessions  for  1988's  "Confessions  of  A  Pop  Group"  which  sold  poorly  compared  to  its  predecessors.

By  that  time  Paul  was  listening  to  deep  house  music  and  decided  to  go  in  that  direction."Promised  Land"  was  recorded  during  the  sessions  for  their  fifth  album. It's  a  cover  of  a  track  by  Chicago  DJ  Joe  Smooth  released  eighteen  months  earlier, an  MLK-evoking  plea  for  universal  brotherhood. The original's  backing  track  owed  a  lot  to  UK  synth-pop,  in  particular  Bronski  Beat's  Smalltown  Boy.  This  version  strips  out  most  of  the  synths  in  favour  of  Paul's  rudimentary  piano  and  an  organic  bass  line  supplied  by  long-time  collaborator  Camelle  Hinds  from  Brit-funkers  Central  Line. Dee  is  helped  out  by  a  couple  of  other  singers  to  provide  the  gospelly  backing  vocals  behind  Paul's  loose  lead . It's  not  a  great  record  but  at  least  it  sounds  like  they're  having  fun  compared  to  the  joyless , flatfooted  attempts  at  soul  that  preceded  it.

Polydor  then  stepped  in  and  insisted  on  the  release  of   a  compilation  The  Singular  Adventures  of  The  Style  Council  before  the  next  album. A  rather  perfunctory  re-mix  of  "Long  Hot  Summer "  was  released  as  a  single  and was  their  last  singles  chart  entry  and  reached  number  48. The  album  reached  a  healthy  number  3.

The  band  then  prepared  to  release  a  new  single  "Sure  Is  Sure"  a  rambling,  directionless  jam  co-written  with  Hinds. They  played  a  gig  at  the  Royal  Albert  Hall  billed  as  The  Style  Council  Revue  in  July  1989 . Coming  just  a  month  after  the  compilation, the  audience  were  expecting   a  greatest  hits  set; instead  they  got  a house  set  and  weren't  shy  of  showing  their  displeasure. That  seems  to  have  been  the  cue  for  Polydor  to  pull  the  single  and  announce  that  they  weren't  going  to  release  the  album  "Modernism : A  New  Decade"  as  it  didn't  have  enough  commercial  potential. It  eventually  came  out  as  part  of  a  box  set  in  1998.

It's  hard  to  believe  that  the  album  wouldn't  have  at  least  recovered  its  costs  given  the  Weller  fanbase. You  suspect  Polydor  just  wanted  to  clear  the  decks  of  an  awkward  artist  who  wasn't  bringing  home  the  bacon  any  more. The  band  obligingly  broke  up  and  Paul's  twelve  year  association  with  the  label  which  had  produced  four  number  one  singles  and  two  chart-topping  albums   came  to  an  end.

The  third  coming  of  Mr  Weller  will  be  covered  in  the  near  future.

Steve  and  Mick  popped  up  again  the  following  year with  Steve  producing  a  compilation  LP  "A  Certain  Kind  of  Freedom"  featuring  various  artists. Mick  contributed  a  typically  jazzy  organ  instrumental entitled  "That  Guy  Called  Pumpkin" while  Steve  drummed  on  a  couple  of  tracks  by  saxophonist  Scott  Garland  and  former  Communards  singer  Sarah  Jane  Morris. Mick  then  became  a  busy  session  player  with  Young  Disciples, Carleen  Anderson, Sounds  of  Blackness  and  Graham  Parker  among  his  clients. Steve  meanwhile  patched  up  his  differences  with  Paul  and  became  his  regular  drummer.

Nevertheless  the  two  combined  in  1993  to  re-launch  themselves  as  a  recording  duo  imaginatively  named  Talbot  White. They  released  an  LP  "United  States  of  Mind" in  1993  with  the  help  of  guest  vocalists  like  Linda  Muriel  on  the  vocal  tracks  and  former  Level  42  drummer  Phil  Gould  helping  out  with  some  of  the  lyrics. The  music's  feet  are  firmly  in  the  early  seventies  but  as  an  exercise  in  retro-soul  it  isn't  that  bad, Alas  the  album  got  little  attention ; it   passed  me  by  completely. Three  years  later  they  released  "Off  The  Beaten  Track"  an  album  of  acid  jazz  instrumentals  ( though  it  sounds  pretty  close  to  prog  rock  in  places )  that  makes  for  reasonable  background  music. They  probably  weren't  expecting  it  to  sell  millions.

Both  went  back  to  session  work  for  a  few  years, Steve  mainly  with  Paul  but  in  2003  they  came  together  again  in  the  group  Players  also  featuring  Damon  Minchella  of  Ocean  Colour  Scene  ( with  whom  Mick  had  been  working  extensively  since  the  turn  of  the  millennium ).  Their  2003  album  "Clear  The  Decks"  carried  on  where  their  earlier  collaboration  left  off  with  another  eleven  jazz  rock  instrumentals  perhaps  given  extra  urgency  by  Minchella's  bass  playing.  In  2005  they  released  another  LP  "From  the Six  Corners"  which  was  comprised   of mainly  vocal  tracks  in  a  jazz-funk   vein,  some  of  them  featuring  guest  vocalist  Kelly  Dickson . "What's  Your  Problem ? "  was  released  as  a  single  and  is  a  Stevie Wonder-ish  ( (though  female- sung ) burbling  urban  funk  number  with  no  hooks. I've  heard  live  versions  of  about  half  the  tracks  and  again  it's  OK.

By  this  time  Mick  was  also  involved  in  the  re-launch  of  Dexy's  Midnight  Runners  which  we  covered  earlier. That  took  up  most  of  his  time  - though  he  also  toured  with  Candi  Staton  in  2009 - until  the  end  of  their  tour  in  2013. He  was  not  involved  in  their  most  recent  album. His  most  recent  work  has  been  with  Wilko  Johnson  and  The  Who.

When  Mick  went  off  to  Dexy's  Steve  continued  working  with  Minchella  as  Trio  Valore  with  new  keyboard  player  Seamus  Beaghen. They  ploughed  a  similar  musical  furrow  and  released  one  album  "Return  of  the  Iron  Monkey  "  in  2008. It  included  an  instrumental  version  of  Amy  Winehouse's  "Rehab"  which  was  released  as  a  single. It's  lively  enough  but  can't  escape  sounding  a  bit  muzak-y.  Seven  years  later  he  and  Minchella  got  together  again  with  Weller-wannabe  Matt  Deighton  and  produced  a  Weller-esque  album  as  The  Family  Silver , "Electric  Blend ". Steve  continues  to  work  with  the  man  himself.

 Blow  Monkeys  frontman  Dr  Robert  had  joined  The  Style  Council  for  their  fateful  gig  at  the  Royal  Albert  Hall  and  he  and  Paul  had  started  dabbling  in  the  studio  before  the  Council  shut  up  shop. The  results  were  released  under  the  name  Slam  Slam  on  MCA  with  Dee  as  frontperson. The  first  single  "Move ( Dance  All  Night )" , written  by  Dee  and  Robert, came  out  in  the  summer  of  1989  and  is  as  generic  a  club  track  as  you  could  hear  anywhere. The  second  "Something  Ain't  Right"  was  written  by  Paul  and  came  out  over  a  year  later. It  proves  that  Paul  could  write  an  authentic-sounding   house  track  but  the  problem  was  the  charts  were  full  of  similar  sounding  records  and  with  Dee's  unremarkable  voice  to  the  fore  it  didn't  cut  through  the  pack. In  March  1991  they  re-mixed  "Move"  and  put  it  out  to  no  more  effect. The  next  single  "Free  Your  Feelings"   was  co-produced  by  The  Young  Disciples  and  has  a  mellow  funk  groove  ( incorporating  a  rap  from  one  of  The  She-Rockers )  but  there's  no  song. It  was  the  title  track  of  the  album  finally  released  in  May  1991. I  think  "What  Dreams  Are  Made  Of " and " You'll  Find  Love"  with  their  higher   melodic  content  might  have  stood  a  better  chance  of  becoming  hits  but  it  wasn't  to  be.

After  that  Dee's  recording  ventures  became  more  sporadic  as  she  and  Paul  had  two  kids  to  bring  up.  In  1993  she  appeared  on  a  solo  single  by  Gang  Starr  rapper  Guru  "No  Time  To  Play"  singing  the  repetitive  refrain. It  reached  number  25 making  it  her  last  hit  to  date.  In  1994  she  released  her  second  solo  album  "Things  Will  Be  Sweeter "  a  set  of  songs  which  owed  much  to  the  shuffling  soul  sound  of  Soul II Soul.  The  title  track  was  released  as  a  single. It's  not  unpleasant  but  again  she  just  doesn't  have  the  voice  to  compete  in  that  market. The  same  year  she  released  a  one-off  single  for  Mo'Wax  "New  Reality  Vibe"  which  is  in  much  the  same  vein.

Dee's  relationship  with  Paul  deteriorated  and  they  were  finally  divorced  in  1998. That  year  she  released  her  last  solo  album  to  date  "Smiles"  but  only  in  Japan. I've  heard  a  couple  of  tracks. "I  Will    Wait" is  the  sort  of  mellow, noodly  jazz  funk  that  they  obviously  still  enjoy  over  there  while  "When  You  Were  Mine"  is  a  generic  club  track.

After  that.  Dee  disappeared  into  family  life  for  a  number  of  years. In  the  late  noughties , she dabbled  in  acting  in  a  couple  of  independent  films  and  has  made  the  odd  live  appearance. She's  also  contributed  to  documentaries  about  her  ex. In  2013  she  released the  compilation  LP  "Shrine". She  has  talked  about putting  out  a  new  album  recently.

626 Goodbye Matt Bianco - Nervous / Wap Bam Boogie

Chart  entered :  4  February  1989

Chart  peak  : 59

Some  of  the  eighties'  lesser  lights  dropped  out  before  the  end  of  the  decade.

Although  it  only  reached  35  in  the  charts, Matt  Bianco  squeezed  four  hits  from  their  debut  album. Not  everyone  was  a  fan  though and  they  were  called  "a  bunch  of  wankers"  by  a  caller  on  Saturday  Superstore.  Shortly  after  that ,  keyboard  player  Danny  White  and   his  girlfriend, singer  Basia  Trzetrzelewska   left   to  launch  the  latter's  solo  career. Lone  survivor  Mark  Reilly  recruited  multi-instrumentalist  Mark  Fisher  who'd  previously  played  keyboards  for  Wham !  as  Danny's  replacement. Basia  was  replaced  on  the  next  album  by  Jenni  Evans  but  she  was  never classed  as  an  official  member.  The  hits  continued  although as  Mark  F's  influence  increased  the  jazz  influence  became  less  obvious  in  their  music. They  scored  their  biggest  hit  in  1988  when  the  double  A-side  "Don't  Blame  It  On  That  Girl / Wap  Bam  Boogie"  reached  number  11.

This  was  the  third  single  from  the same  album  "Indigo ". "Nervous  "  is  a  solid  contemporary  R &  B- flavoured  pop  tune  in  the  style  of  Living  In   A  Box   or   late  eighties  Duran  Duran with  some  decent  funky  guitar  and  sax  work . For  someone  who  detested  their  earlier  hits  it's  a  pleasant  surprise  even  if  it  doesn't  set  the  world  alight.. As  mentioned  above  "Wap  Bam  Boogie "  , a    competent  house  tune,  had  already  been  a  hit  two  singles  previously  but  they  put  it  out  again  in  the  form  of  a  Latin  remix  with  added  congas  and  tinkly  piano . Neither  version  does  a  great  deal  for  me.

They  squeezed  one  more  single  from  the  album  , "Say  It's  Not  Too  Late"   which  is  a  mellow  , more  Latin-flavoured  tune  which  sounds  a  bit  like   Miami  Sound  Machine. Emilio  Estefan  worked  on  some  of  the  tracks  on  the  album  though  he's  not  credited  as  producing  that  one. I'm  surprised  it  didn't  make  a  minor  showing.

In  1990  their  back  catalogue  was  bought  out  by  EastWest  who  put  out  a  compilation  album  but  it  only  reached  number  49, their  last  mark  on  the  UK  charts.  The  new  song "Fire  In  The  Blood"  was  put  out  as  a  single  It's  a  reasonable  example  of  Latin-tinged  dance  pop  but  it  was  ignored  as  was  a  re-release  of  "Wap  Bam  Boogie"  a  couple  of  months  later.

They  released  a  new  album  "Samba  In  Your  Casa"  in  1991  which  saw  them  move  off  in  a  Latin  direction. For  some  reason  they  chose  to  lead  off  with  the very  worst  track  as  a  single . "Macumba "  rests  on  a  very  pedestrian  samba  rhythm   and  is  largely  a  rap  by  some  guy  called  Chulito  ,The  King  of  Latin  Rap  with  the  duo  joining  in  with  a  tuneless  chant  for  the  chorus. There  was  a  fourth    outing  for  "Wap  Bam  Boogie"  on  the  flip. There  were  some  tasty  dancers  in  the  video  but  that  wasn't  enough  to  save  it. The  follow-up  single  was  a  cover  of  The  Doobie  Brothers' "What  A  Fool  Believes", a  good  song  which  they  don't  completely  ruin  but  it's  over-produced  with  the  horns  too  loud  and  overblown. The  album  didn't  chart  here  but  sold  well  in  Germany  and  Japan.

The  group  decided  to  concentrate  on  those  markets  and  released  their  music  on  a  variety  of  labels. I'm  not  sure  which  of  their  records  were  even  released  in  the  UK    though  they  didn't  usually  bother  releasing  singles  here.  1994's  "Another  Time  Another  Place"  was  a  solid  jazz funk  set  but  only  made  an  impact  in  Japan. The  following  year  they  tested  the  UK  market  with  the  Latin  house  tune  "Lost  In  You"  featuring  Kym  Mazelle  on  backing  vocals  but  it  didn't  take  flight  and  the  parent  LP  "Gran  Via"  wasn't  released  here. The  duo  continued  in  this  vein  for  three  more  albums, "World  Go  Round", "Rico"  and  "Echoes"  before  amicably  calling  it  a  day  in  2002.

The  following  year  Mark  R  reunited  with  Danny  and  Basia  to  relaunch  the  group  as  it  was  on  their  first  hits.  Basia  had  been  coaxed  out  of  five  years  of  seclusion  following  the  death  of  her  mother . A  new  album  "Matt's  Mood"  came  out  in  2004.  Besides  reuniting  the  trio  it  featured  some  unused  work  by  deceased  saxophonist  Ronnie  Ross, a  long  time  collaborator  with  the  band . It's  fair  to  say  this  wasn't  one  of  the  more  celebrated  noughties  reunions   and  it's  generally  a  low-key  affair  , rather  soporific  in  places  but  it  does  have  its  moments; the  bittersweet  "I  Never  Meant  To"  is  a  pop  gem  and  certainly  the  best  thing  either  incarnation  of  the  group  has  recorded.  The  album  didn't  chart  in  the  UK  and  after  finishing  a  tour  to  promote  it  Danny  and  a  revitalised  Basia  left  again  to  resume  the  latter's  solo  career.

The  two  Marks  reunited  and  produced  two  more  LPs  "Hi-Fi  Bossanova"  ( 2009  ) and  Hideaway" (2012 )  before  splitting  again. Mark  R  revisited  some  old  MB  tracks  on  an  EP  "The  Things  You  Love" under  the  name  New  Cool  Collective  last  year. In  December  Mark  F  passed  away  and  it  seems  likely  that  their  won't  be  any  more  new  MB  material.

Basia's  career  ( despite  the  name  they  were  effectively  a  duo ) defied  expectations. Matt  Bianco  had  made  zero  impression  on  America  but  Basia  did  well  over  there  and  barely  figured  in  the  UK. They  released  their  first  album  "Time  and  Tide"  in  1987 , an  over-produced  and  sterile  collection  of  jazz-tinged  adult  pop  that  showcases  a  versatile  voice  but  little  evidence  of  ability  to  write  a  memorable  tune . What  the  Americans  saw  in  the  murderously  dull  title  track  to  make  it  a  Top  30  hit  as  a  single  is  anyone's  guess. It stalled  at  number  61   here. "Promises"   was  the  biggest UK  hit  reaching  number  48  but  it's  no  better.  A  third  single  "New  Day  For You"  made  number  53  in  the US. While  the  album  peaked  at  numbe  61  here  it  reached  number  36  in  the  US. It  was  also  a  big  hit  in  France.
Their  second  album  "London, Warsaw, New  York " came  out  in  the  autumn  of  1989  and  was  slightly  more  interesting  although  the  smooth  pop  tune   "Cruising  For  Bruising"  ( her  last  US  hit  reaching  29 )  is  the  only  track  you  really  want  to  hear  again. It  was  their  most  successful  album  reaching  number  20  in  the  US  ( 68  here ).

There  wasn't  another  album  for  six  years  as  the  personal  turmoil  alluded  to  in  the  lyrics  of  "Cruising  For  Bruising"  overwhelmed  Danny  and  Basia's  personal  relationship  and  it  was  some  time  before  they  felt  able  to  work  together  again.  1994's  "The  Sweetest  Illusion"  was  in  the  same  jazz-tinged  pop  vein  but  with  an  emphasis  on  slower  tempos. "Drunk  On  Love" , one  of  the  livelier  tracks  became  their  biggest  UK  hit  at  number  41  but  the  brooding  "Perfect  Mother"  is  the  best  track  by  far. Though  not  yielding  any US  hits,  the  album  made  number  27  there  and  failed  to  chart  here. Basia had  also  become  very  popular  in  Japan  where  the  album  reached  number  6.

In  1995,  they  put  out  a  live  album  "Basia  on  Broadway"  but  it  only  charted  in  Japan. the  following  year  Basia  sang  on  a  single  by  Peter  Case  and  released  a  slushy  Christmas  single  "Angels  Blush" . It  featured  on  "Clear  Horizon"  a  compilation  with  a  couple  of  new  tracks  released  in  1997. The  title  track  uses  gospel  influences  to  build  up  to  an  anthemic  chorus  and  is  listenable  enough  and  "Go  For  You"  has  an  inventive  harmonic  arrangement. None  of  these  singles  charted  anywhere  and  the  album  only  charted  in  Japan. Basia's  audience  had  evaporated  and  as  noted  above  the  singe  withdrew  from  the  public  eye  until  Matt  Bianco  were  resurrected.

Now  operating  from  the  singer's  native  Poland, Basia  didn't  put  a  new  album  out  until  2009, "It's  That  Girl;  Again"  has  a  stripped-down  production  and  is  all  the  better  for  it. Both  singles  "A  Gift"  and  "Blame  It  On  The  Summer"  are  good  songs. The  album  reached  number  4  in  Poland  but  there  wasn't  much  interest  anywhere  else  despite  a  world  tour. Basia  have  put  out  a  live  album  and  a  compilation  since  then  but  there' s  no  sign  of  another  studio  album.

625 Hello Texas - I Don't Want A Lover

Chart  entered : 4  February  1989

Chart  peak : 8 ( 16  in  a  remixed  version  in  2001 )

Number  of  hits :  27

Well  here  we  touch  on  one  of  pop's  greatest  persistence  stories, a  guy  who  took  nearly  two  decades  to  achieve  lasting  success.

 John  McElhone  was  born  in  Glasgow  in  1963, a  few  years  before  his  father  Frank  became  one  of  the  city's  MPs. Fired  up  by  punk,  he  formed  the  band  Altered  Images  with  school  mates  in  1979.  He  played  bass  in  the  line  up . Their  demo  tape  attracted  the  attention  of  Siouxsie  and  the  Banshees  who  invited  them  to  be  their  support  on  the  Kaleidoscope  tour  in  1980  and  in  turn  John  Peel  who  quickly  had  them  in  for  sessions. 

By  the  start  of  1981  they  had  a  contract  with  Epic  and  put  out  their  first  single  "Dead  Pop  Stars "  in  March  produced  by  Banshee  Steve  Severin. It  was  a  bad  move  all  round. Firstly  , their  similarity  to  the  Banshees  was  accentuated  with  only  the  fact  that   Clare  Grogan's  delivery  owed  more  to  Toyah  than  Siouxsie  Sioux, suggesting it  was  a  different  band. Secondly,  it  was  tuneless. Most  significant  of  all,  the  timing  was  horrendous. Although  the  song  was  an  ironic - and  prescient - rumination  on  the  fickle  nature  of  pop  fame  and  had  been  in  their  set  for  months, the  death  of  John  Lennon  meant  most  DJs  wouldn't  touch  it  and  in  the  circumstances Epic  did  well  to  get  it  to  number  67  in  the  chart.

The  follow  up  "A  Day's  Wait"  was  less  controversial  and  a  bit  more  melodic  but  it's  inexpertly  recorded  and  sounds  out  of  time.  It  didn't  chart  at  all. Most  of  their  debut  album  had   already   been  recorded  with  the  clumsy  hands  of  Severin  at  the  controls  but  Epic  insisted  they  work  with  a  real  producer  for  the  next  single  and  brought  in  Martin  Rushent. With  his  hand  on  the  tiller, "Happy  Birthday"  soared  to  number  2    although  it  left  me  completely  cold. I  didn't  fancy  Grogan  and  thought  the  song  was  tinny, irritating  drivel, its  success  incomprehensible. I  preferred  the  follow-up  "I  Could  Be  Happy"   which  had  some  good  guitar  work  and  reached  number  7  in  the  Christmas  chart.

They  retained  Rushent's  services  for  the  next  album  "Pinky  Blue"  but  it  wasn't  well  received  with  even  some  of  the  band's  earlier  champions  suggesting  they'd  taken  Grogan's  childish  cutie  shtick  a  little  too  far. The  title  track  was  released  as  a  single  not  long  after  Not  The  Nine  O  Clock  News  had  skewered  them  with  a  song  called  "Happy, Crappy  Nappy "  and  there  was  little  to  tell  them  apart. The  single  stalled  at  35  and  the  band  broke  under  the  strain. John  remained  in  the   new  line-up  which  included  multi-instrumentalist  Steve  Lironi. He  brought  added  musicality  and  the  band  pursued  a  more  soulful  and  sophisticated  sound. Their  "comeback  "  single  "Don't  Talk  To  Me  About  Love"  restored  them  to  the  Top  10 at  the  beginning  of  1983  but  each  single  after  that  did  less  well  than  the  one  before  and  the  band  broke  up  for  good  at  the  end  of  the  year.  It  had  been  a  textbook  case  of  too  much  too  soon.

John  resurfaced  the  following  year  in  an  all-male  four  piece  band  Hipsway.  They  quickly  got  a  deal  with  Mercury  and  their  first  single  came  out  in  the  summer  of  1985. They  played  a  blend  of  rock  and  white  funk  which  sounded  like  Matt  Johnson  fronting  Inxs  and  scored  a  handful  of  hits, the  biggest  being  "The  Honeythief"  in  1986, a  Top  20  hit  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic. There  was  an  air  of  style  over  substance about  them  and  their  eponymous  debut  album  sold  poorly .

With  Hipsway  short  of  ideas  for  a  follow-up, John  quit  to  form  his  own  band  in  1986. His  first  recruit  was  hairdressing  friend  Sharleen  Spiteri   to  be  the  vocalist. She  was  born  in  Scotland  in  1967  of  mixed  European  nationality, They  gradually  added  others  to  the  line  up   including  guitarist  Ally  McErlaine   ( born  1968 )  and  drummer  Stuart  Kerr  ( born  1963 ). They  called  themselves  Texas   in  homage  to  the  film  Paris, Texas  an  existential  road  movie  with  a  soundtrack  from  Southern  blues  guitarist  Ry  Cooder.

They  started  playing  live  in  1988  and  had  a  deal  with  Mercury  by  the  end  of  the  year.  "I  Don't  Want  A  Lover"  was  their  debut  single. It  was  written  by  John  and  Sharleen. The  song  has  an  arresting  intro  with  a  Cooder  -ish  blues  slide  guitar  lick   before  a  throbbing  rhythm  track  that  sounds  like  a  synth  kicks  in. Sharleen  then  gives  a  slow  rendition  of  the  chorus  in  her  rich  bluesy  voice  before  the  drums  make  their  entrance. The  song  has  a  once  bitten  twice  shy  message  belying  Sharleen's  youth. It's  well  constructed  with  harmonica  flourishes  and  a  piano  break   and  it's  certainly  distinctive   but  I  remain  fairly  indifferent  to  it, probably  because  they're  paying  homage  to  a  genre  that's  never  interested  me. It  reached  number  77  in  the  US. It  would  be  some  time  before  they  reached  the  Top  10  again.