517 Hello Bangles - Manic Monday

Chart  entered : 15  February  1986

Chart  peak : 2

Number  of  hits : 12

These  lot  are  the  first  all-girl  band  who  played  their  own  instruments  to  qualify.

 Bangles  were  initially  The  Bangs. Lead  guitarist  Vicki  Peterson  and  her  younger  sister  Debbie  who  played  drums  had  been  playing  in  their  parents'  garage  since  the  mid-70s   and  in  December  1980  put  an  ad  for  a  female  guitarist  in  a  local  paper. It  was  answered  by  21  year  old  Susanna  Hoffs , daughter  of  Tamar  Hoffs  a  minor  Hollywood  player. A  rabid  Beatles  fan,  Susanna  was  spurred  to  respond  to  the  ad  by  Lennon's  murder. After  a  jamming  session  at  her  house  went  well,  The  Bangs  were  born.

By  the  end  of  the  year  they  had  scraped  enough  money  to  put  out  a  first  single  "Getting  Out  of  Hand" on  a  local  label  . Written  by  Vicki  , it's  a  warning  to  a  two-timing  boyfriend   set  to  what  sounds  very  like  Ticket  To  Ride   although  the  guitar  break  owes  more  to  The  Byrds.  Their  sixties  influences  were  thus  very  clear  right  from  the  start  but  so  were  the  group's  trademark  harmonies. With  the  single  getting  support  from  a  local  radio  station  their  gigs  became  better  attended  and  they  acquired  both  a  bass  player  in  Annette  Zilinskas  and  a  manager  Miles  Copeland .  He   persuaded  them  to  sign  to  his  Faulty  Products  label, an  off  shoot  of  IRS  which  the  girls  had  some  reservations  about  as  that  was  The  Go-Gos'  label.

Just  as  they  were  about  to  release  an  EP  they  received  a  threatening  letter  from  a  New  Jersey  band  called  The  Bangs  and  had  to  change  their  name  to  Bangles. The  five  song  EP  came  out  under  that  name  in  June  1982  with  the  lead  track  "The  Real  World " also  issued  as  a  single. It's  another  Beatles-influenced  jangly  pop  number  although  not  as  easily  pinned  to  one  song. Copeland  was  not  blind  to  their  obvious  visual  appeal  and  made sure  they  did  a  video  with  a  short-haired  Susanna  in  a  monochrome  dress, doing  the  McCartney  head  wobble  and   looking  every  inch  the  mod  chick. Although  she's  got  the  best  legs , it's  notable  that  the  camera  rarely  strays  over  to  Zilinskas. She  wasn't  contributing  anything  to  the  songwriting  or  doing  much  singing  and  shortly  afterwards  left  to  join her  boyfriend's  band.

The  group  turned  to  the  slightly  older  Michael  Steele  to  fill  the  vacancy. Michael  or  Miki  had  been  part  of  the  original  line  up  of  The  Runaways  but  left  after  an  argument  with   manager / Svengali  Kim  Fowley  before  they'd  recorded  anything. A  set  of  demos  they  recorded  while  she  was  still  in  the  band  was  released  in  1993  as  "Born  To  Be  Bad". Michael  co-wrote  the  title  track  which  was  polished  up  and  re-recorded  as  a  glam  metal  anthem  on  their  second  album  "Queens  of  Noise"  in  1976. After  leaving  The  Runaways  she  joined  the  powerpop  band  Elton  Duck  who  were  signed  to  Arista  in  1980   but  their  debut  album  was  shelved  apparently  due  to  recent  commercial  failures  by  similar  bands.  After  that  Michael  had  short  stays  in  a  number  of  L A  bands  before  answering  Bangles'  call.

The  band  now  signed  to  Columbia  who  released  their  debut  album  "All  Over  The  Place"  in   May  1984. Still  finding  her  feet, Michael  only  played  bass on  the  album  without  doing  any  vocals. Apart  from  two  covers  the  album  was  mainly  written  by  Vicki  with  help  from  Susanna  on  four  songs  including  the  lead  single  "Hero  Takes  A  Fall", a  charming  power  pop  tune  about  relishing  a  devious  boyfriend's  come-uppance. The  second  single  "Going  Down  To  Liverpool"  a   cover  of  a  tune  by   Katrina  and  the  Waves  sung  rather  blankly  by  Debbie, is  a  real  oddity, a   jolly  guitar  jangle   about  living  on  the  dole  in  Liverpool  with  sunny  Californian  harmonies.  It  seemed   even  more  incongruous  in  the  video  which  featured  a  bemused  Leonard  Nimoy  ( a  friend  of  Tamar  Hoffs ).  The  song  got  them  some  press  attention  in  the  UK  but  didn't  make  the  Top  75  until  its   re-release  in  1986  when  it  reached  number  56 .  The  album  is  a  gem, a  set  of  melodic , breezy  guitar  pop  tunes  most  of  which  clock  in  at  under  three  minutes  with  wonderful harmonies  and  wry  lyrics  , usually  about  boyfriend  troubles. There's  nothing  startlingly  original  but  it's  certainly  worth  a  listen. What  also  strikes  you  is  that  Vicki  is  a  strong  singer  in  her  own  right  if  less  distinctive  than  Susanna. The  album  reached  number  80  in  the  Billboard  charts  even  though  neither  single  charted.  

"Manic  Monday"  was  their  breakthrough  hit, reaching  number 2  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic . The  band , Susanna  in  particular,  had  attracted  the  attention  of  Prince, always  on  the  lookout for  a  pretty  girl  who  wouldn't  tower  over  him. He  offered  them  the  song  which  had   originally  been  written  for  his  prodigies  Apollonia  6.  Susanna  didn't  welcome  his  attentions   but  the  band  did  accept  the  song.

You  wouldn't  think  that   Prince  ( nor  the  members  of  Bangles  for  that  matter  )  would  have much  insight  into  the  frustrations  of  the  working  woman  but  the  song  struck  a  chord . There's a  definite  melodic  similarity  to  1999  in  the  verses  but  the  chorus  seems  to  be  deliberately evoking  The  Mamas  and  Papas'  Monday  Monday  or  maybe  it's  just  the  quality of  the harmonies  that's  making  the  association.  

Although  it  lifted  the  band  to  worldwide  success  "Manic  Monday"  was  something  of  a  poisoned  chalice. For  one  thing  it  began  the  sequence  of  their  covers  being  far  more  successful  than  their  own  songs , unwelcome  to  a  band  where  every  member  contributed  to  the  songwriting. For  another  , although  it  had  the  same  producer  , David  Kahme  as  their  debut  album , the  sound  was  very  different  with  lots  of  synths  ( the  coda  sounds  like  the  intro to  The  Who's  Love  Reign  O'er  Me )   and  a  dainty   piano  filigree  running  through  the  verses. Although  Debbie's  drumming  and  Vicki's  growling  power  chords  actually  power  the  song , they're  quite  low  in  the  mix  which  didn't  please  the  rocking  sisters. This  frustration  that  the  records  weren't  reflecting  their  "real"  sound  would  be  a  persistent  source of  tension  between  band  and  record  company.  
 

516 Goodbye Leo Sayer - Unchained Melody

Chart  entered :  8  February  1986

Chart  peak  : 54

Thankfully  our  ten  hits  rule  means  that  this  is  our  only  encounter  with  pop's  most  boring, over-rated  song.

After  his  breakthrough  in  1973,  Leo's  stock  rose  for  the  next  four  years  until  1977  when  " When  I  Need  You"   made  number  one  after  several  near  misses. In  the  US  the  news  was even  better  as  "You  Make  Me  Feel  Like  Dancing"  got  to  the  top  as  well. Then  that  autumn "Thunder  In  My  Heart "  ( one  of  his  better  singles, I  thought )  the  lead  single  for  an  album of  the  same  name  failed  to  make  the  Top  20  and  suddenly  he  was  struggling to  get  heard  in the  din  of  punk .  1979's  "Here"  contained  no  hits  at  all  and  though  he  had  a  number  2  hit with  a  retread  of  Bobby  Vee's  "More  Than  I  Can  Say"  in  1980  it  only  compounded  the impression  that  he  had  become  a  middle  of  the  road  balladeer , largely  reliant  on  other people's  songs . He  had  intermittent  success  for  the  next  few  years , 1983's  "Orchard  Road" being  his  last  Top  40  hit.

"Unchained  Melody "  saw  Leo  back  with  Alan  Tarney  after  his  previous  single  with  Dollar  producer  Christopher  Neil  flopped. With  Tarney's  generic  synth  textures  backing  him  up, Leo  takes  the  meta  implications  of  the  song's  title  to  heart  and  sets  the  tune  free  altogether  replacing  it  with  a  new  one  of  his  own. You  don't  know  from  one  line  to  the  next  where  he's  going  to  go. It's  not  good  , in  fact  it's  bloody  awful, but  compared  to  the  robotic  horrors  to  come  Leo  at  least  stamps  some  personality on  the  song. With  no  new  album  on  the  horizon  this  was  recorded  for  the  movie   Car  Trouble  , itself  an  atrocity  which  killed  the  film  career  of  Ian  Charleson.

His  next  single  "Real  Life"   written  by  Terry  Britten  and  Sue  Shifrin  was  intended  to  be  the  title  track  for  a  new  album  that  never  materialised. Leo's  in  good  voice  but  the  song  sounds  like  Cliff's  Dreaming   slowed  down  a  bit  and  very  dated  for  1986 . Chrysalis  gave  him  a  last  shot  later  that  year  with  "Solo "  a  song  written  by   Camel's  Pete  Bardens  which  had  flopped  for  a  group  of  the  same  name  the  previous  year.  Bardens  produced  both  versions. It's  not  a  bad  example  of  contemporary  AOR  in  a  Mike  and  The  Mechanics  vein  with  a  nice  synth  solo  in  the  middle  eight  but  it  got  no  airplay  and  disappeared.

By  this  time  Leo's  personal  life  had  unravelled  and  the  divorce  proceedings  from  his  first  wife  Janice  had  revealed  that  he  had  money  problems  too  thanks   to  the  financial  genius  of  his  manager  Adam  Faith. Leo  now  commenced  what  turned  out  to  be  lengthy  litigation  proceedings  against  him.

He  re-surfaced  briefly   in  1989  to  sing  "Love  Hurts "  ( another  little-covered  song  of  course )  as  the  theme  for  the  rather  better  Wilt.  He  performed  his  low-key  version , produced   and  arranged  by  Anne  Dudley  on  The  Les  Dawson  Show  but  it  wasn't  enough  to  resuscitate  him.

The  following  year  Leo  and  Tarney  decided  to  reinvent  themselves  as  The  Pet  Shop  Boys  with  the  album  "Cool  Touch"  recorded  by  just  the  two  of  them  though  it  came  out  under  Leo's  name. I've  only  heard  one  track  from  it  which  was  OK, the  blander  side  of  Erasure  if  you  will,  but  the  album  sank  without  trace  and  it  would  be  15  years  before  he  recorded  anything  new.        

In  1992  he  settled  out  of  court  with  Faith,  reportedly  for  £650,000. In  1993  a  compilation   LP  "All  The  Best "  made  number  26  and  a  reissue  of  "When  I  Need  You "  was  a  minor  hit. Leo  was  soon  back  in  court  trying  to  regain  the  rights  to  his  songs  from  Chrysalis   then again  to  sue  his  management  over  a  mishandled  pension  fund,  a  suit  he  had  to  abandon for want  of  funds. In  1998  he   was  credited  on  a  single  by  production  outfit  Groove  Generation who  re-tooled  "You Make  Me  Feel  Like  Dancing "  and  reached  number  32.  The  decade closed with  Leo  out  on  the  road  playing  his  hits. He  was  helped  by  a  concerted  campaign  by  The Sun  to  re-launch  his  career  which  got  him  TV  appearances  and  more  gigs  on  the  university circuit  but  tellingly  not  a  new  recording  contract.

In  2002  he  agreed  to  participate  in  Louis  Theroux's  The  Entertainers  and  didn't  come  across too  well  but  why  anyone  ever  agrees  to  get  stitched  up  by  Theroux  is  beyond  me. That series  saw  him  recording  a  new  album  in  Los  Angeles  and  it  eventually  saw  the  light  of day  in  2005  as  "Voice  In  My  Head ". The  first  of  any  of  his  albums  to  be  completely  self-written,  it's  not  too  bad. It's  over-long  and  some  of  the  songs  are  a  bit  too  bland  but  it  has  an  old-fashioned  charm , Leo's  voice  is  fully  intact   and  there's  the  odd  gem  like  the  rock  and  roll  survivor's  tale  "We  Got  Away  With  It" , the  bleak  "Candygram " with  its  sad  jazz  trumpet  and  the  gorgeous  strings  on  the  closer  "Maybe".

It  was  pretty  much  ignored  and  that   seemed  to  make  up  Leo's  mind  to  re-locate  to  Australia with  long-term  partner  Donatella   although  it  hadn't  charted  there  either.  As  they  were   packing  up  Leo  took  a  call  from  an  LA-based  DJ  called  Meck  asking  for  permission  to  do  a  re-mix  job  on  "Thunder  In  My  Heart ". Leo  gave  his  consent  and  next  thing  he  knew  he  was  back  at  number  one  with  the  song  whose  relative  failure  almost  thirty  years  before   had  started  the  slide  in  his  popularity. Meck  didn't  use  the  whole  song  , repeating  the  first  verse  instead  but  there  was  certainly  a  huge  slice  of  Leo  on  the  record. It  featured  on  a  new  compilation  which  made  number  30  that  year.

Unfortunately  it  went  to  his  head. Appearing  on  Celebrity  Big  Brother  the  following  year   he seemed  to  be  under  the  impression  that  it  had  restored  him  to  the  top  rank  of  entertainers and  he  was  lecturing  the  likes  of  Jo  O' Meara  on  how  to  conduct  themselves  as  celebrities. He  also  proved  a  nightmare  housemate  , Dirk  Benedict  taking  him  to  task  for  constantly interrupting  people. While  swallowing  the  appearance  of  comedy  punk  Donny  Tourette  ( remember  him ? )  who'd  slept  with  Donatella  , Leo  apparently  couldn't  bear  to  be  filmed washing  his  underwear , took  a  frying  pan  to  the  outside  door   and  quit .  It  should  be  noted that  he  was up  for  eviction   and  perhaps  wanted   to   avoid  the  result .  We  then  saw  him grappling  with  security  guards  twice  his  size  while  delivering  an  expletive-filled  rant  at  the producers   during  which  he  said  "I  want  to  go  back  to  Australia. I  want  to  leave  your   fucking  stupid  country ". We  love  you  too  Leo !  He  certainly  owed  Jade  Goody  &  co  a  drink or  two  for  ensuring  this  incident  was  quickly  forgotten.    

Leo  split  with  Donatella  shortly  afterwards  but  became  an  Australian  citizen  in  2009 . In   2008  he  released  "Don't  Wait  Until  Tomorrow"  featuring  re-workings  of  his  old  hits  but  only Down  Under.  In  2013  he  had  a  cancer  scare.  He  also  wrote  a  song  for  the  anti-fracking  campaign  in  Australia. Despite  his  rant  he  still  tours  in  the  UK, most recently  last  year  to  promote  a  new  album "Restless  Years ". It's  entertainingly  schizophrenic  in  places ; how  he  can  segue  from  the  mortally  embarrassing  "Competing  With  A  DJ"  to  the  touchingly self-aware  "How  Did  We  Get  So  Old  ?"  is  anyone's  guess. "One  Green  World "  touches  on  his  new-found  ecological  concerns  but  goes  on  far  too  long. Overall  it's  a  solid  album  and  you  get  the  feeling  that  if  say  Sting  had  recorded  it  it  would  have  got  a  bit  more  attention. As  it  is  it  was  only  a  hit  in  Australia. He's  undoubtedly  a  prat  but  as  an  artist  he  remains  somewhat  underappreciated.

515 Hello Suzanne Vega - Small Blue Thing

Chart  entered : 18  January  1986

Chart  peak : 40

Number  of  hits  : 11

I've  covered  Suzanne's  debut  LP  including  this  single   in  full  on  the  albums  blog  which  you  can  find  here

I  should  just  add  that  this  was  helped  into  the  charts  by  being  accompanied  by  a  free  live  single  containing  versions  of  "Some  Journey"  and  the  otherwise  unavailable  "Black  Widow  Station"  ( a  humdrum  country  blues  number  )  recorded  at  a  gig  at  the  LSE.

514 Hello Alexander O Neal* - Saturday Love

(* Cherrelle  with.... )

Chart  entered : 28  December  1985

Chart  peak  : 6

Number  of  hits  : 20

Alexander  was  born  in  Mississippi  in  1953  but  relocated  to  Minneapolis  when  he  was  20. He sang  with  a  number  of  local  bands  like  Mystic, Wynd  Chymes  and  Enterprise  before  joining Flyte  Time    alongside  future  super-producers  Jam  and  Lewis. In  1981  the  band  were  signed to  Warner  Brothers  in  a  deal  arranged   by  Prince.  Alexander  could  not  agree  payment  terms and  so  was  replaced  by  Morris  Day.

Alexander  went  off  and  formed  his  own  funk  outfit  Alexander  who  put  out  a  couple  of  12 inch  singles  "Do  You  Dare"  and  "Attitude". Both  are  lengthy  George  Clinton-esque  workouts . On  the  former  Alexander  is  clearly  the  lead  vocalist  ; I'm  not  so  sure  it's  him  on  the second.

In  1984  he  was  signed  by  Tabu  Records  as  a  solo  artist  and  started  doing  backing  vocals   for  the  likes  of  The  S.O. S. Band.

His  first  solo  single  "Innocent"  came  out  in  the  US  in  January  1985, a  hard slamming  fairly  tuneless  funk  number  produced  by  Jam  and  Lewis   with  prominent  backing  vocals  from  label  mate  Cherrelle. It  wasn't  released  in  the  UK   and  featured  only  in  a  medley  on  his  eponymous  debut  LP  six  months  later. The  follow-up  single  in  the  US  and  first  in  the  UK was  "If  You  Were  Here  Tonight " written  by  The  Time's  keyboard  player  Monte  Moir.  In  sharp  contrast  to  its  predecessor  it's  a  languid  piece  of  bedroom  soul  with  Alexander's  smooth  controlled  vocal  bemoaning   the  lack  of  a  bed  partner. It's  not  my  cup  of  tea  but  a  well-crafted  example  of  seductive  80s  R  &  B. It  wasn't  a  hit  first  time  round  here  , or  at  all  in  the  US  , but  made  number  13   when  re-released  in  February  1986.

Alexander's  real  breakthrough  came  with  this  one  which  wasn't  on  his  album  but  his  duet partner's.  Cherrelle  had  scored  the  previous  year  with  the  hit  I  Didn't  Mean  To  Turn  You  On  ( later  covered  by  Robert  Palmer  )  so  she  was,  for  the  moment  , higher  in  the  pecking  order  than  Alexander.

"Saturday  Love "  was  another  song  written  by  Jam  and  Lewis  and  features  ruminations  from both  participants  in  an  adulterous  affair  who  get  together  on  a  Saturday. Cherrelle  leads  off   and  performs  the  song's  vital  hook  - the  mantra  "Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday  Saturay  Love" -  a   few  times  before  Alexander  comes  in  for  the  second  verse. She does  most  of  the  song  in  a  breathy  tone  which  makes  it  easier  for  Alexander  to  come  across as  the  stronger  vocalist  though  she  holds  her  own  when  they  sing  together. Again  this  sort  of classy  commercial  soul  doesn't  do  much  for  me  but  I  can  see  why  it  was  successful.

513 Goodbye John Lennon - Jealous Guy

Chart  entered : 30  November  1985

Chart  peak : 65

Well  this  one  won't  take  us  too  long.

There  seems  to  have  been  no  obvious  reason  for  Parlophone  to  put  this  out  as  a  single   other  than  to  mark  the  fifth  anniversary  of  the  former  Beatle's  death. Lennon  was  murdered  by  a  disturbed  young  man  Mark  Chapman  in  December  1980,  news  of  which  was  shouted  upstairs  to  me  by  my  mum  the  following   morning. Chapman  has  changed  his  explanation  a  few  times  over  the  years  but  anger  at  Lennon's  avowal  of  atheism  and  the  apparent  hypocrisy  of  his  material  wealth   appear  to  be  key.

The  intention  seems  to  have  been  formed  before  Lennon's  return  to  the  public  eye  with  the  Double  Fantasy  album  after  a  five  year  retreat  into  private  life  with  wife  Yoko  and  young  son  Sean. The  critical  reception  was  decidedly  lukewarm, particularly  for  its  slushy  sentiments  after  such  virulent  criticism of  McCartney  for  the  same  thing. Of  course  his  murder  made  it  a  big  seller  spawning  two  number  ones  in  " (Just  Like )  Starting  Over "  which  was  dropping  down  the  chart  at  the  time  of  his  death  and  "Woman ".   Lennon  dominated  the  UK charts  in  the  first  two  months  of  1981  and  a  compilation  of  his  solo  work  "The  John  Lennon  Collection "  reached  number  one  at  the  end  of  1982.  At  the  beginning  of  1984  Ono  released  "Milk  and  Honey" as  their  last  album  "together "   although  she  could  only  find  six  unreleased  Lennon  tracks. The  first  single  "Nobody  Told  Me", a  throwaway  song  John  had  intended  to  give  Ringo  for  his  next  album  made  number  6  and  the  album  reached  number  3  but  the  interest  in  such  obviously  substandard  material  quickly  dropped  off  and  the  third  single  "I'm  Stepping  Out "  failed  to  chart.

By  the  time  "Jealous  Guy"   , a  track  from  1971's  Imagine  recorded  with  a  starry  cast  of  musicians  but  not  previously  released  as  a  single, most  people  including  myself  were  more  familiar  with  Roxy  Music's  stately  tribute  version , a  well-deserved  number  one  in  March  1981.  I  prefer  their  take  which  re-located  the  whistled  verse  to  provide  a  memorable  coda  to  the  song  and  contained  stinging  solos  from  Manzanera  and  Mackay  and  glacial  synth   swathes  instead  of  Phil  Spector's  rather  intrusive  strings. It's  not  Lennon's  best  vocal  either  although  you  could  say  sounding  rather  cowed  and  muted  suits  the  penitent  tone  of  the  song.  Whatever,  the  chart  position  suggests  most  people  agreed; either  that  or  they  were  suffering  from  heritage  fatigue.

A  picture  disc  featuring  this , "Imagine"  and  "Happy  Xmas  ( War  Is  Over  )"  made  number  45  in  1988 .  Two  years  later  there  was  an  all-star  tribute  concert  in  Liverpool  to  mark  the  10th  anniversary  of  his  passing  which  was  critically  panned.  The  Beatles  "reformation "  in  1995  will  be  discussed  elsewhere. In  1999  "Imagine  "  was  sent  out to  do  battle  with  Cliff's  Millennium  Prayer "  but  stalled  at  number  3. It's  charted  twice  since , in  2007  and  2012  following  its  use  in  the  Olympic  closing  ceremony. "Happy  Xmas "  has  charted  twice  in  the  noughties  too.  

512 Goodbye Isley Brothers* - Caravan of Love

( *  as  Isley  Jasper  Isley )

Chart  entered : 23  November  1985

Chart peak :  52

Another  long  chart career  as  the  Isleys  bowed  out  of  the  picture. They  had  looked  done  by the  end  of  the  sixties  but made  a  strong  comeback  in  1973  when  the  original  vocal  trio  of   O 'Kelly, Rudolph and  Ronald  Isley  were  joined   by  younger  brothers  Ernie  ( lead  guitar, drums )  Marvin  ( bass )  and  Rudolph's  brother-in-law  Chris  Jasper  ( keyboards ). This  extra musical  muscle  gave  them  a  new  lease  of  life  and  classics  like  "Summer  Breeze"  and "Harvest  for  the  World "  followed. At  the  end  of  the  seventies  they  turned  to  disco. Shortly after  their  minor  hit  "Between  The  Sheets"  in  1983  the  group  fractured. mainly  due  to  a  dispute  over  royalties,  with  the  younger members  forming  the  trio  Isley  Jasper  Isley. They  had  three  flop  singles  in  the  UK  before this  one  made  the  charts.

Chris  was  the  dominant  musical  personality  in  the  group . Although  the  other  two  are   credited  as  writers, it's  his  Christian  vision  that  drives  "Caravan  of  Love ",  he  sings  the  lead   vocal  and  his  synths, sometimes  masquerading  as  sitars, drench  this  old-fashioned  gospel  hymn in  modernity.  Ironically  it's   Marvin  Gaye's  Sexual  Healing  that  provides  the  most  obvious musical  template  for  it . It  was  only  a  modest  hit  for  them,radio  producers  perhaps  backing away  from  the  obvious  religious  overtones, but  of  course  a  number  one for  The  Housemartins in  a  cappella  form   just  a  year  later.

"Caravan  of  Love"  was  the  title  track  from  their  second  album. They  recorded  just  one  more  as  a  trio  , 1987's  "Different  Drummer".  It's  an  accomplished  modern  soul  album  although  most  of  the  tracks  are  a  touch  too  long,  mainly  to  accommodate  Ernie's  wiggly  guitar  solos. The  best  track  is  the  moody  synth-driven  "Eighth  Wonder  of  the  World" which  was  released  as  a  single. It  perhaps  lacked  a  distinctive  enough  chorus  to  break   into  the  main  chart. The  follow-up  "Givin'  You  Back  The  Love "  takes  them  into  bland   Luther  Vandross  territory   and  was  their  final  single.

What's  perhaps  the  most  surprising   thing  about  the  album  is  that  none  of  the  songs  appear   to  reflect   on  the  death  of  O'Kelly  from  a  heart  attack  the  year  before. Despite  suffering  from cancer  he  was  able  to  record  the  "Masterpiece"  album in  1985  whose  release  predates "Caravan  of  Love"   and  which  stands  as  the  last album  the  original  trio  made together.

Rudolph  and  Randolph, in  possession  of  the  "Isley  Brothers"  name , continued  to  record  as  a duo . For  their  next  album  "Smooth  Sailin"  in  1987  they  hooked  up  with  Angela  Wimbush   ( of  Rene  and  Angela  fame ).  She  had  a  hand  in  writing  seven  of  the  eight  tracks, three  of them  alone, and  played  most  of  the  keyboards  on  the  album. It's  a  generic  R  &  B  album with only  the  title  track  standing  out  for  its  very  risque  lyrics. None  of  the  singles  crossed  over from  the  R  &  B  charts.

Isley  Jasper  Isley  came  to  grief  in  1987  when  Ernie  announced  he  was  leaving  the  band without  telling  Chris  first.  Chris  has  said  in  interviews  that  Ron  might  have  tapped  him  and Marvin  up  for  a  return  to  the  main  group  but  they  didn't  start  working  with  Ron  until  four years  after  IJI  broke  up.

Chris  lost  little  time  in  putting  out  a  solo  album  "Superbad "   whose  title  track, a  pro-education  song  owing  a  lot  to  Stevie  Wonder  was  a huge  R & B  hit. Since  then  he's  ploughed his  own  furrow  releasing  a  string  of  contemporary  gospel  albums  on  his  own  Gold  City label and  producing  other  artists  like  Liz  Hogue  and  Chaka  Khan.

In  1989  the  album  "Spend  The  Night "  came  out  under  the  name  "The  Isley  Brothers featuring  Ron  Isley"  with  just  Ron  on  the  cover. Wimbush  was  now  Ron's  girlfriend  and  it's debatable  how  much  Rudolph  contributed  to  the  album. He  announced  his  departure  to become  a  church  minister  shortly  after  its  release. He  made  a  brief  appearance  with  the  other Brothers  in  2004  but  otherwise  hasn't  been  involved  with  their  music. The  album  itself  is  a mellower  version  of  its  predecessor  and  is  for  afficionados  only ; the  casual  listener  is  at serious  risk  of  falling  asleep  while  it's  playing.

There  was  effectively  no  group  in  1990  as  Ron  pondered  going  it  alone  with  appearances  on Wimbush's  album  and  on  Rod  Stewart's  hit  cover  of  "This  Old  Heart  of  Mine ". Ernest  made a  solo  album  "High  Wire" where  he  straddles  the  rock  funk  line  between  Prince  and  Lenny Kravitz  without   coming  up  with  a  memorable  song. It  attracted  minimal  interest.

Ernest  was  therefore  receptive  to  Ron's  call  to  reform  The  Isley  Brothers  and  Marvin followed  suit  although  the  ensuing  album,"Tracks  of  Life "  in  1992   still  put  Ron's  name  out  front.  The  album  kicks  off  with  two  gritty urban  funk  tracks  but  then  sinks  into  the  same  mellow  groove  as  its  predecessor  and  at  nearly  75 minutes  it's  way  too  long. The  album  sold  markedly  less  well  than  their  last  two  and  Warner  Brothers  decided  it  was  time  to  let  them  go. A  "Live "  album  came  out  the  following  year  to  fulfil  their  contract  obligations.

Ron  married  Wimbush  in  1993  and  the  group  went  quiet,  apart  from  the  the  deadly  dull standalone  single  "I'm  So  Proud"  in  1994  which  was  originally  recorded  for  a  Curtis  Mayfield  tribute  album.

The  group  then  got  some  heavyweight  help  in  reviving  their  career. R  Kelly  invited  Ron  and  Ernest  to  sing  and  play  on  his  1996  hit  "Down  Low" . Despite  Ernest's  involvement ,  only  Ron  was  credited  on  the  UK  single  which  reached  number  23  , hence  I'm  not  counting  it  as  a  group  hit. Ron  also  appeared   in  the  soap-styled  video  as  Frank  Biggs , the  kingpin  whose  girl  Kelly  is  shagging  and  while  his  thespian  skills  will  never bother  the  Oscar  committee  it  undoubtedly  brought  the  group  to  the  attention  of  a  new  audience.

Their  1996  album  "Mission  To  Please"  was  part -produced  by  Kelly  and  went  platinum  in  the  States. The  band  now  had  their  own  label  T-Neck  Records  , supported  by  Island. The  final  track  "Slow  Is  The  Way "  says  it  all  ; this  is  slick  urban  soul  directed  squarely  at  the  bedroom. In  the  US  they  started  having  hits  again  with  the  Kelly-penned "Let's  Lay  Together " ( number  93 )  "Floatin  On  Your  Love "  which  gave  Wimbush  a  featuring  credit  ( number  47 )  and  the   Babyface  song  "Tears "  ( number  55  ). All  of  these  were  supported  by  videos  featuring  Ron  in  character  as  Mr  Biggs. It  still  seems  a  strange  way  to  make  a  comeback  but  I  guess  that  was  the  nineties  for  you.

It  was  all  a  bit  too  late  for  poor  Marvin . Diabetes  forced  him  out  of  the  band  in  1997  and  he  had  both  legs  amputated  shortly  afterwards. Ron  and  Ernie  didn't  reconvene  until  2001  with  the  single  "Contagious " , a  sequel  to  "Down  Low "  in  which  Kelly  was  a  featured  guest  on  their  single  even  though  he  wrote  and  produced  it. It  got  to  number  19  in  the  US   , their  biggest   hit  since  "Fight  The  Power  "  in  1975 and  made  them  the  first  group  to  have  a  hit  single  in  5  different  decades. The  song's  the  usual  slinky  fare  but  you  do  get  the  impression  it  was  written  to  go  with  the  video  rather  than  the  other  way  round. With  Ron  nearly  60  , Mr  Biggs  was  starting  to  look  like  the  black   Benny  Hill  and  it's  a  credit  to  the  UK  that  we  didn't  buy  into  it. In  the  US  though  the  star-studded  parent  LP  "Eternal"  went  double  platinum  though  they  didn't  have  another  hit  from  it.

In  2002  Ron  and  Angela  divorced  so  she  didn't  contribute  to  the  2003  album  "Body  Kiss"  which  is  credited  to  "The  Isley  Brothers  featuring  Ronald  Isley  aka  Mr  Biggs . It  is  in  fact  an  R  Kelly  album  with   a guest  vocalist . Neither  brother  has  a  writing  credit  on  it. "What  Would  You  Do"  made  the   US  Top  50  with  another  grotesque  video  making  you  wonder  if  the  baying  chicks  realised  his  gold-topped  cane  wasn't  actually  a  fashion  accessory.  The  album  became  their  second  U.S.  number  one  although  it  didn't  sell  as  well  as  its  two  predecessors.

In  2003  Ron  tasted  solo  success  with  "Here  I  Am"  an  album  of  Burt  Bacharach  covers  assisted  by  the  man  himself.

In  2004  Ron  had  a  mild  stroke  which  halted  their  UK  tour. The  following  year  he  married backing  singer  Kandy  Johnson, an eye-popping  35  years  his  junior  and  he  dedicated  the  next LP  "Baby  Makin  Music  " (  oh  please )  to  her. This  time  round  Kelly  was  only  involved  on one  track   and  the  album  peaked  at  number  5.

In  2007  he  lived  up  to  the  album's  title  when  Kandy  gave  birth  to  his  son  Ron   Jr.  By  that time  however  he  was  living  the  Al  Capone  life style  for  real  in  the  sense  that  he  was banged up  in  jail  for  tax  evasion. He  was  released  in  April  2010  two  months  before  Marvin  died from  diabetes  complications.

Ron  and  Ernest  haven't  recorded  together  since  the  former's   release. Ron  had  a  solo  album  "Mr  I "  out  within  months  of  his  release  which  carries  on  as  if  he's  never  been  away  with  the  help  of  famous  friends  like  Arethra  Franklin  and  reached  number  50  in  the  chart. His  last  one  "This  Song  Is  For  You"  in  2013   continued  his  upward  curve  by  reaching  number  27. It  sounds  dull  as  ditchwater  to  me   but  his  72  year  old  croon  is  still  in  good  nick  so  I  guess  he'll  carry  on  for  as  long  as  that's  still  the  case.

He  and  Ernie  continue  to  tour  as  The  Isley  Brothers.

511 Hello Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls

Chart  entered : 23  November  1985

Chart  peak : 1

Number  of  hits : 47

Another  act  to  make  it  to  the  summit  with  their  first  chart  entry  were  just  behind  Whitney   though  their  stints  at  number  one  were  separated  by  Shaky's  appalling   Merry  Christmas Everyone .

Neil  Tennant  was  hardly  a  boy  at  all, being  31  at  the time  of  their  chart  breakthrough. He was  a  middle  class  Catholic  lad  from  Newcastle  who  started  out  in  a  folk  act  called  Dust and  was  very  much  influenced  by  the  Incredible  String  Band. As  a  homosexual  Bowie  fan,  it was  inevitable  that  he  would  leave  for  London  in  1972  where  he  studied  history  at  North London  Polytechnic. After  graduating   he  worked  for  Marvel  Comics  for  a  couple  of  years where  he  anglicised  the  dialogue  and  did  the  occasional  pop  interview. He  moved  on  to  an educational  publishing  firm  and  then  ITV  books.

In  1981  he  met  Chris  Lowe  in  a  hi-fi  shop   in  Chelsea. Chris  was  five  years  younger  and  hailed  from  Blackpool  where  he  played  in  a  dance  band  on  trombone  and  piano. He  was  on  a  placement  for  his  architectural  course  at  the  University  of  Liverpool  at  the  time. As  both  liked  electronic  dance  music  they  began  working  together.

The  following  year  Neil  secured  a  job  as  news  editor  at  Smash  Hits  which  opened  the  door  to  many  musical  contacts. He  was  also  a  key  player  as  the  magazine  moved  away  from  its  early  years  championing  the  new  wave  to  an  often -bemused  but  basically  non-partisan  and  uncynical   coverage  of  whatever  was  in  the  charts  at  the  time. This  seems  to  have  inoculated  Neil  from  the  opprobrium  which  came  the  way  of  his  journalistic  forebears,  Harley  and  Geldof   and  indeed  many  music  writers  laud  The  Pet  Shop  Boys  as  their  favourite  group.

In  1983  Neil  was  required  to  go  to  New  York  to  interview  The  Police, a  task  for  which  he had  no  enthusiasm  whatsoever. He  decided  he  would  seek  out  Bobby  Orlando, producer  of some  of  his and  Chris's  favourite  Hi-NRG  tracks. The  meeting  went  well  and  Orlando  agreed to  produce  their  early  work.

In  the  spring  of  1984  the  duo  released  the  first  version  of  "West  End  Girls"  with  a  shakier vocal  , undeveloped  third  verse, messy  middle  eight  and  gimmicky  electronic  noises . It  was only released  in  the  UK  as  a  12" import  and  so  was  never  likely  to  be  a  hit. At  the beginning  of  1985  they  were  offered  a  deal  by  Parlophone  and  acquired  a  manager  Tom Watkins. Neil  quit  the  day  job. Now  believing  Orlando  to  be  inessential  to  their  success   they bought  him  out  of  their  arrangement  with  a  promise of  future  royalties.

Their  next  single  in  July  1985  was  a  version  of  "Opportunities  ( Let's  Make Lots of  Money )" recorded  with  Art  of  Noise's  J J  Jeczalik. It  isn't  as  different  from  the  eventual  hit  version  as  "West  End  Girls " ,  a  bit  brasher  and  harbouring  a  pretentious  spoken  outro,  It  didn't  make  the  charts  here  but  was  a  minor  hit  in  Australia.

Stephen  Hague  was  then  brought  in  to  re-mix  "West  End  Girls"  for  the  next  single. My thoughts  from  the  albums  blog  were  these :

 Then  it's  their  big  breakthrough  single  ( at  the  second, remixed,  attempt ),  "West  End  Girls"  which  became  the  post-Christmas  number  one  in  1986  after  steadily  climbing  the  charts. ( When  it was  succeeded  by  A-ha's  The  Sun  Always  Shines  On  TV  I  thought  1986  was  going  to  be  a  golden  year  but  in  fact  it  presaged  my  final  disconnection  from  the  zeitgeist and  I  don't  think  I've  liked  two  consecutive  number  ones  since ).  Tennant  has  always  said  it  was  inspired  by  The  Wasteland's use  of  different  narrative  voices  - the  man  losing  it  in  a  restaurant, the  craver  for  drugs  or  sex  or  both  and  the  purchaser  of  casual  sex - and  it  remains  pop's  greatest  evocation  of  urban  ennui, perhaps  all  culture's  until  Naked came  along  eight  years  later.  All  the  ingredients , Tennant's  deadpan  rap  and  seedy  lyrics ( plus  the  mystifying  reference  to  mass  murderer  Lenin's  historic  journey )  Lowe's  simple  sad  keyboard  motif  and  Fairlight  trumpet  solo  and  ex- Dylan  backing  singer  ( and  muse  during  his  Christian  phase )   Helena  Springs's   gospel  interjections  add  up  to  a  perfect  package  whose  appeal  remains  undimmed  through  the  years. Is  it  their  greatest  record  ? - you  bet !


And  there's  a  few  more  on  Popular  here.