The Music Of The 80s - Favorites, Classics And Rarities

[hitman531ph]

ABC

 

With the release of "Look of Love; The very best of ABC" the group celebrate their return to the recording studio and to high-publicity performance, galvanised by some gorgeous new songs and a series of stadium dates with Robbie Williams.

 

 

What will Robbie Williams make of Martin? His sly northern wit and subversive intelligence, pop flamboyance and rock swagger, gold lame and lyrics that deal with treachery and regret. Robbie's no fool. He recognises the perfect mixture of ecstasy and sorrow,club usability and pop accessibility, when it falls in his lap.

 

 

 

 

ABC are one of those groups who come along once a decade to effect a paradigm shift in the way music is heard and made, one of those groups who move the music forward, alert us to the possibilities of strange combinations, employ radical ideas yet never confuse arrogance with ambition.

 

 

If tomorrow a bunch of white northern students decided to form a band inspired not by the integrated-to-the-point-of-invisibility Beatles-Kinks-Stones but instead by the collective irrationality and transcendent imaginations of Aphex Twin, N*E*R*D and The Beta Band, you'd still only be halfway towards understanding just how fundamental a break with tradition ABC effected in that period between punk and Madchester/grunge. Imagine a band from the alternative/indie sector whose idea of a dream version of pop music includes the metallic foreboding of Iggy Pop circa 'The Idiot' and the symphonic magnificence of Earth Wind & Fire circa 'I Am'; imagine the savagery of The Sex Pistols barely concealed beneath the surface of a Chic sophistication. ABC were (are) that band. They took that idea and they made it happen. Across the hit parades of several continents

 

 

This is why ABC were praised to the skies in the eighties and it is why they are still loved tovthis day. It is not a question of nostalgia, it is a matter of contemporary urgency. ABC are no museum piece; they are an object lesson in how to avoid the obvious. They should be on the curriculum.

 

 

Meanwhile, their recordings are national treasures. First, now and forever, was 'The Lexicon Of Love' (1982), not just a sensational debut but one of the greatest albums ever made, with its brass constructions and guitar ravishments, Anne Dudley's shivers of strings and Trevor Horn's epic bombast transforming the drum beats into epochal bomb blasts. The self-immolating exercise in hard rock style/ anti-style that was 'Beauty Stab' (1983) came next, and to suggest that it caused less delight than dismay on its release would be the understatement of the century.

 

 

Third LP 'How To Be A Zillionaire' (1985) surfed the wave of innovation in the area of electronic rhythms and came in cartoon colours. The shiny neo-soul of 'Alphabet City' (1987) positioned ABC, musically and ideologically if not alphabetically, somewhere between Motown and ZTT, Philly and Ze. Phase V of ABC gave us 'Up' (1989) and 'Abracadabra' (1991), energised by the then-vibrant house scene, stealing moves from Chicago just as those dudes stole from ABC and their electro-funk peers. 'Skyscraping' (1997) might have provided a fine coda to the ABC story if only Martin Fry didn't have behind that famous blonde fringe of his a brainload of new songs and new ideas.

 

 

"We toured with Culture Club and The Human League," says Fry, recalling ABC's recent arena dates with those other masters of synthetic-romantic dance, explaining just where the hell he's been of late. "I was onstage at Wembley Arena, standing next to Phil Oakey and Boy George, people with a past. For years, I was terrified of the past, but seeing the audience . . . I realised the importance of a lot of those ABC songs." For a few seconds, he felt "surprised at how many people turned up." Then, a satori, a moment of enlightenment. He knew what he had to do.

 

 

So he made a programme, "From Punk To Live Aid", for Radio 2 in which he paid his respects to Depeche Mode and Soft Cell and played Japan's "Ghosts" and Talk Talk's "Life's What You Make It", if only to demonstrate the period's essential shift in attitude and prove "it wasn't all about Kajagoogoo and funny haircuts". And he answered a call from Robbie Williams, the biggest pop star in Britain, inviting ABC to support him on tour. "I looked in the diary and said I was free," he says. Joking apart, Fry admits: "It's a real accolade, an honour to perform in front of hundreds of thousands of people in some of the biggest stadiums in the country."

 

 

On a roll, he wrote two new songs: "Peace And Tranquility" (formerly "Pocket Divinity") and "Blame", his finest compositions since the glory days. He oversaw this ABC retrospective ('The Look Of Love: The Very Best Of ABC'). Finally, he got a new suit from William Hunt of Savile Row - not gold lame; platinum

 

 

Now Martin Fry's time has come - again. "People are yearning for flamboyance," he considers. "If they want that, they call me. That's what I do. I've got to walk it like I talk it. I'm confident about what ABC achieved, that I defined something. That's why I want to keep making records. That and the fact that I haven't yet written my 'Endless Sea' or 'My Way'. "The key," says Martin Fry, "is to keep developing. I'm not glued to the past. I'm looking forward. And I'm really looking forward to all this. It's going to be a gas."

[hitman531ph]

AZTEC CAMERA

 

For most intents and purposes, Aztec Camera is Roddy Frame, a Scottish guitarist/vocalist/songwriter. Several other musicians have passed through the band over the years -- including founding members Campbell Owens (bass) and Dave Mulholland (drums) -- but the one constant has been Frame. Throughout his career, he has created a sophisticated, lush, and nearly jazzy acoustic-oriented guitar pop, relying on gentle melodies and clever wordplay inspired by Elvis Costello.

 

Aztec Camera released their debut album, High Land, Hard Rain, in 1983. Before its release, Owens and Mulholland had left the group, leaving Frame to assemble the record himself. Upon its release, the album won significant amounts of critical praise for its well-crafted, multi-layered pop. After releasing a stop-gap EP, Oblivious, the group's second full-length record, Knife, appeared in 1984. Produced by Mark Knopfler, the album was more polished and immediate than the debut, featuring horn arrangements and a slight R&B influence. Three years later, Roddy Frame returned with Love, which featured musical support from several studio musicians. Love was a synthesized stab at pop-R&B, resulting in his greatest commercial success -- the album launched four hit singles, including the Top Ten "Somewhere in My Heart."

 

Two years later, Aztec Camera returned to a more guitar-oriented sound with Stray. It wasn't as commercially successful as Love, yet it was a hit with fans who missed the chiming hooks of Frame's early work. Dreamland, released in 1993, followed the same pattern as Stray and achieved about the same amount of commercial and critical success

[hitman531ph]

THE FIXX

 

The Fixx, originally based in London, were first introduced to a mass audience in 1982,

with their debut album, Shuttered Room. A collection of their best work to that point, it stood in

contrast to most of the other New Wave albums of the time, with its tight musicianship and

apolitical overtones. Though the band held to some tenets of the New Wave, such as short songs

devoid of solos and no fear of synthesizers and cavernous soundscapes, their cohesiveness as a rock

band was made credible by their live performances. Despite the album not receiving a full marketing

push in the U.S., the videos for "Stand or Fall" and "Red Skies" were played heavily by MTV (then in

its infancy) and became anthems for yet another generation fed up with the Cold War. Later in the

year The Fixx performed on Long Island for the King Biscuit Flower Hour. The concert, currently

available on CD, served as a showcase for their special brand of dynamic minimalism. Not long

after, in 1983, Reach the Beach was released and immediately took off in the U.S., led by its single

“Saved by Zero,” and later by the catchy "One Thing Leads to Another." No sophomore slump, the

album was a logical growth from their first effort, showcasing singer Cy Curnin's unorthodox vocals

and Jamie West-Oram's rhythm-driven guitar against the tight rhythm section of Adam Woods

(drums) and Alfie Agius (bass; would later be replaced by Dan K. Brown,) all complemented

by the synthesizer stylings of Rupert Greenall. The album cemented their style, taking the tired

art-rock credo of dark theatrical soundscapes and filtering it through their own unique sensibilities.

Generous airplay and a full U.S. tour garnered the band a large following.

 

Phantoms released in 1984, and still seems to be a favorite of the band and many of its

fans. Packed with twelve songs from sessions that also spawned several fan favorite out-takes and

the single "Deeper and Deeper" from the Streets of Fire soundtrack, this album found the band in

an especially productive mode, carrying them across a wider range than on their previous albums.

Still undeniably Fixx, the songs on this album seem a little less angry, more tempered with maturity

and diverse in its style. Melody takes more prominence on this record, and several songs, particularly

"I Will" and "Wish," are downright soulful. "Are We Ourselves" and "Sunshine in the Shade" were

released as singles, and while the album's sales were by all means respectable, the band's label,

MCA, had unrealistic expectations for sales after the phenomenal success of their previous effort.

Thus began troubles with record labels.

 

The band's next album, Walkabout, arrived in 1986. Perhaps the most spiritual of Fixx

albums, this work saw more of Curnin's soulful melody, and West-Oram's guitar took on a less

frentic and more droning, hypnotic quality, shared by Greenall's relaxed keyboards. The downshift

in tempo led to a more introspective, contemplative mode of listening, particularly for "Treasure It,"

and "Camphor." "Secret Separation," unique in that the lyrics were not written by Curnin but by

Jeannette Obstoj, a friend of the band, is an unabashed love song, unusual for the band, but its poetic

lyrics keep it from degenerating into the trite kind of love song the band has steadfastly avoided.

Throughout the album, the band's usual stark warnings were unusually well balanced with a new

optimism, a sense of hope. This was most evident to the lucky listeners who happened to buy one

of the compact disc versions with a hidden track at the end, the heartfelt plea "Do What You Can."

While "Secret Separation" received a good deal of airplay and the album sold well, as with Phantoms,

MCA seemed unimpressed with its modest sales.

 

React, released in 1987, was the band's last effort for MCA. Consisting of three new

songs--each a solid effort--and a collection of live versions of their best-known singles, this album

came off as a last-ditch effort to settle contractual obligations before moving on to a new label.

 

RCA signed The Fixx in short order, and the result was Calm Animals in 1988. This album

found the band picking up the tempo again, with West-Oram's guitar more prominent in the mix and

Woods and Brown taking a more aggressive, driving, and perhaps dance-influenced approach overall.

"Driven Out" received a good deal of airplay, and "Precious Stone" (with lyrics by Woods, a.k.a.

Madman) was also released. The band's songwriting and arrangements were as accomplished as

ever, but in retrospect the album seems a little strained, as though some of its songs were force-

fitted into a rough, loud style not quite suited to them. Apparently, RCA also refused to take a long-

term approach to marketing the band, as this was The Fixx's only effort for the label.

[hitman531ph]

Admit it or not, Michael Jackson dominated the charts in the 80s. This thread can not be complete without him

 

Michael Jackson was unquestionably the biggest pop star of the '80s, and certainly one of the most popular recording artists of all time. In his prime, Jackson was an unstoppable juggernaut, possessed of all the tools to dominate the charts seemingly at will: an instantly identifiable voice, eye-popping dance moves, stunning musical versatility, and loads of sheer star power. His 1982 blockbuster Thriller became the biggest-selling album of all time (probably his best-known accomplishment), and he was the first black artist to find stardom on MTV, breaking down innumerable boundaries both for his race and for music video as an art form. Yet as Jackson's career began, very gradually, to descend from the dizzying heights of his peak years, most of the media's attention focused on his increasingly bizarre eccentricities; he was often depicted as an arrested man-child, completely sheltered from adult reality by a life spent in show business. The snickering turned to scandal in 1993, when Jackson was accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy; although he categorically denied the charges, his out-of-court settlement failed to restore his tarnished image. He never quite escaped the stigma of those allegations, and while he continued to sell records at superstar-like levels, he didn't release them with enough frequency (or, many critics thought, inspiration) to once again become better known for his music than his private life. Whether as a pop icon or a tabloid caricature, Jackson always remained bigger than life.

Michael Joseph Jackson was born August 29, 1958, in Gary, IN. The fifth son of steelworker Joe Jackson, Michael displayed a talent for music and dance from an extremely young age. His childhood was strictly regimented; from the start, he was to an extent sheltered from the outside world by his mother's Jehovah's Witness faith, and his father was by all accounts an often ill-tempered disciplinarian. Joe began to organize a family musical group around his three eldest sons in 1962, and Michael joined them the following year, quickly establishing himself as a dynamic stage performer. His dead-on mastery of James Brown's dance moves and soulful, mature-beyond-his-years vocals made him a natural focal point, especially given his incredibly young age. Dubbed the Jackson 5, the group signed to Motown in 1968 and issued their debut single in October 1969, when Michael was just 11 years old. "I Want You Back," "ABC," "The Love You Save," and "I'll Be There" all hit number one in 1970, making the Jackson 5 the first group in pop history to have their first four singles top the charts. Motown began priming Michael for a solo career in 1971, and his first single, "Got to Be There," was issued toward the end of the year; it hit the Top Five, as did the follow-up, a cover of Bobby Day's "Rockin' Robin." Later in 1972, Jackson had his first number one solo single, "Ben," the title song from a children's thriller about a young boy who befriends Ben, the highly intelligent leader of a gang of homicidal rats. Given the subject matter, the song was surprisingly sincere and sentimental, and even earned an Oscar nomination. However, the momentum of Jackson's solo career (much like that of the Jackson 5) soon stalled. He released his fourth and final album on Motown in 1975, and the following year, he and his brothers (save Jermaine) signed to Epic and became the Jacksons.

 

In 1977, Jackson landed a starring role alongside Diana Ross in the all-black film musical The Wiz, a retelling of The Wizard of Oz; here he met producer/composer Quincy Jones for the first time. Encouraged by the success of the Jacksons' self-produced, mostly self-written 1978 album Destiny, Jackson elected to resume his solo career when his management contract with his father expired shortly thereafter. With Jones producing, Jackson recorded his first solo album as an adult, Off the Wall. An immaculately crafted set of funky disco-pop, smooth soul, and lush, sentimental pop ballads, Off the Wall made Jackson a star all over again. It produced four Top Ten singles, including the number one hits "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" and "Rock With You," and went platinum (it went on to sell over seven million copies); even so, Jackson remained loyal to his brothers and stayed with the group.

 

No group could have contained Jackson's rapidly rising star for long; however, there was still no sign (if there ever could be) that his next album would become the biggest in history. Released in 1982, the Quincy Jones-produced Thriller refined the strengths of Off the Wall; the dance and rock tracks were more driving, the pop tunes and ballads softer and more soulful, and all of it was recognizably Michael. Jackson brought in Paul McCartney for a duet, guitarist Eddie Van Halen for a jaw-dropping solo, and Vincent Price for a creepy recitation. It was no surprise that Thriller was a hit; what was a surprise was its staying power. Jackson's duet with McCartney, "The Girl Is Mine," was a natural single choice, and it peaked at number two; then "Billie Jean" and the Van Halen track "Beat It" both hit number one, for seven and three weeks respectively. Those latter two songs, as well as the future Top Five title track, had one important feature in common: Jackson supported them with elaborately conceived video clips that revolutionized the way music videos were made. Jackson treated them as song-length movies with structured narratives: "Billie Jean" set the song's tale of a paternity suit in a nightmarish dream world where Jackson was a solitary, sometimes invisible presence; the anti-gang-violence "Beat It" became an homage to West Side Story; and the ten-minute-plus clip for "Thriller" (routinely selected as the best video of all time) featured Jackson leading a dance troupe of rotting zombies, with loads of horror-film makeup and effects. Having never really accepted black artists in the past, MTV played the clips to death, garnering massive publicity for Jackson and droves of viewers for the fledgling cable network. Jackson sealed his own phenomenon by debuting his signature "moonwalk" dance step on May 16, 1983, on Motown's televised 25th anniversary special; though he didn't invent the moonwalk (as he himself was quick to point out), it became as much of a Jackson signature as his vocal hiccups or single white-sequined glove.

 

Showing no signs of slowing down, Thriller just kept spinning off singles, including "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'," the airy ballad "Human Nature," and "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)"; in all, seven of its nine tracks wound up in the Top Ten, obliterating conventional ideas of how many singles could be released from an album before it ran its course. Thriller stayed on the charts for over two years, spent 37 nonconsecutive weeks at number one, and became the best-selling album of all time; it went on to sell 25 million copies in the U.S. alone, and around another 20 million overseas. Naturally, Jackson won a slew of awards, including a record eight Grammys in one night, and snagged the largest endorsement deal ever when he became a spokesman for Pepsi (he would later be burned in an accident while filming a commercial). At the end of 1983, Jackson was again on top of the singles charts, this time as part of a second duet with McCartney, "Say Say Say." In 1984, Jackson rejoined his brothers one last time for the album Victory, whose supporting tour was one of the biggest (and priciest) of the year. The following year, he and Lionel Richie co-wrote the anthemic "We Are the World" for the all-star famine-relief effort USA for Africa; it became one of the fastest-selling singles ever.

 

Even at this early stage, wild rumors about Jackson's private life were swirling. His shyness and reluctance to grant interviews (ironically, due in part to his concerns about being misrepresented) only encouraged more speculation. Some pointed to his soft-spoken, still girlish voice as evidence that he'd undergone hormone treatments to preserve the high, flexible range of his youth; stories were told about Jackson sleeping in a hyperbaric chamber to slow the aging process, and purchasing the skeleton of John Merrick, the Elephant Man (Jackson did view the bones in the London Hospital, but did not buy them). Jackson bought a large ranch in California which he dubbed Neverland, and filled it with amusement park rides and animals (including the notorious pet chimpanzee Bubbles), which only fueled the public's perception of him as a somewhat bizarre eccentric obsessed with recapturing his childhood. He also underwent cosmetic surgery several times, which led to accusations from the black community that his gradually lightening skin tone was the result of an intentional effort to become whiter; a few years later, Jackson revealed that he had a disorder called vitiligo, in which pigment disappears from the skin, leaving large white blotches and making direct sunlight dangerous. One of the rumors that was definitely true was that Jackson owned the rights to the Beatles' catalog; in 1985, he acquired ATV Publishing, the firm that controlled all the Lennon-McCartney copyrights (among others), which wound up costing him his friendship with McCartney.

 

During his long layoff between records, Jackson indulged his interest in film and video by working with George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola on the 3-D short film Captain Eo. The special-effects extravaganza was shown at the enormous widescreen IMAX theaters in Disney's amusement parks for 12 years, beginning in 1986. Finally, Jackson re-entered the studio with Quincy Jones to begin the near-impossible task of crafting a follow-up to Thriller. Bad was released to enormous public anticipation in 1987, and was accompanied by equally enormous publicity. It debuted at number one, and the first single, "I Just Can't Stop Loving You," with vocal accompaniment by Siedah Garrett, also shot up the charts to number one. Like Thriller, Bad continued to spin off singles for well over a year after its release, and became the first album ever to produce five number one hits; the others were "Bad," "The Way You Make Me Feel," "Man in the Mirror," and "Dirty Diana." Jackson supported the album with a lengthy world tour that featured a typically spectacular, elaborate stage show; it became the highest-grossing tour of all time. Although Jackson's success was still staggering, there were faint undercurrents of disappointment, partly because of the unparalleled phenomenon of Thriller (Bad "only" sold eight million copies), and partly because the album itself didn't seem quite as exuberant or uniformly consistent when compared to its predecessors.

 

Jackson took another long hiatus between albums, giving the media little to focus on besides his numerous eccentricities; by this time, the British tabloids delighted in calling him "Wacko Jacko," a name he detested. When Jackson returned in with a new album in late 1991, he'd come up with a different moniker: "the King of Pop." Dangerous found Jackson ending his collaboration with Quincy Jones in an effort to update his sound; accordingly, many of the tracks were helmed by the groundbreaking new jack swing producer Teddy Riley. As expected, the album debuted at number one, and its lead single, "Black or White," shot to the top as well. Jackson courted controversy with the song's video, however; after the song itself ended, there was a long dance sequence in which Jackson shouted, grabbed his crotch, and smashed car windows in a bizarre display that seemed at odds with the song's harmonious message. With the video given a high-profile, prime-time network premiere, Jackson was criticized for the inappropriate violence and the message it might send to his younger fans. However, Jackson would not be the biggest story in popular music for long. In early 1992, Nirvana's Nevermind symbolically knocked Dangerous out of the number one spot; after the alternative rock revolution, the pop charts would never be quite the same. Jackson scored several more hits off the album, including the Top Tens "Remember the Time" and "In the Closet," but the aggressive "Jam" and the saccharine "Heal the World" both performed disappointingly.

 

Jackson had long preferred the company of children over other adults, and befriended quite a few, inviting them to stay at his Neverland Ranch and enjoy the massive playground he'd assembled over the years. In 1993, Jackson was accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy who'd become a frequent guest at Neverland. Predictably, there was a tabloid feeding frenzy, and a mainstream media circus as well. In the court of public opinion, the charges seemed all too plausible: Jackson was near-universally perceived as a weirdo, and here was a handy explanation for his heretofore asexual persona and distaste for adult companions. Additionally, Jackson entered rehab for a short time, seeking treatment for an addiction to pain killers. Investigations were unsuccessful in turning up any other boys who echoed the allegations, and Jackson countersued his accusers for attempting extortion; however, in spite of the fact that no criminal charges were ever filed against Jackson, he settled the boy's family's suit out of court in early 1995, paying an estimated 18 to 20 million dollars. Many felt the settlement was tantamount to an admission of guilt, and when Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley in 1994, the move was perceived as a desperate ploy to rehabilitate his image; the marriage broke up just 19 months later, seemingly lending credence to the charge.

 

In 1995, Jackson attempted to put the focus back on his music by preparing HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book 1, a two-CD set featuring one disc of new material and one of his greatest hits. The album debuted at number one, but the format backfired on Jackson: his fans already owned the hits, and the new album simply wasn't strong enough to offset the added cost of the extra disc for many more casual listeners. There were some encouraging signs -- the lead single "Scream," a duet with sister Janet, debuted at number five, setting a new American chart record that was broken when the follow-up, "You Are Not Alone," became the first single ever to enter the Billboard Hot 100 at number one. But on the whole, HIStory was something of a disappointment. Additionally, Jackson collapsed during rehearsals for an awards show later that year, and had to be rushed to the hospital; what was more, the Eagles' Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) was threatening to catch Thriller's American sales record (it eventually did, and the two continued to run neck and neck). There were signs that Jackson was grasping at his self-proclaimed King of Pop status; the cover of HIStory depicted an enormous statue of Jackson, and he performed at the 1996 BRIT Awards dressed as a Messiah, with children and a rabbi surrounding him worshipfully (Pulp lead singer Jarvis Cocker stormed the stage to protest Jackson's hubris during the middle of the song). The 1997 remix album Blood on the Dance Floor failed to even go platinum, although remix albums historically don't perform nearly as well as new material.

 

In late 1996, Jackson remarried, to nurse Debbie Rowe; over the next two years, the couple had two children, son Prince Michael Jackson Jr. and daughter Paris Michael Katherine Jackson. However, Jackson and Rowe divorced in late 1999. In 2001, Jackson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and later held a massive concert at Madison Square Garden celebrating the 30th anniversary of his first solo record. Among many other celebrity guests, the show featured the first on-stage reunion of the Jacksons since the Victory tour. In the wake of September 11, Jackson put together an all-star charity benefit single, "What More Can I Give." His new album, Invincible, was released late in the year, marking the first time he'd issued a collection of entirely new material since Dangerous; it found him working heavily with urban soul production wizard Rodney Jerkins. Invincible debuted at number one and quickly went double platinum; however, its initial singles, "You Rock My World" and "Butterflies," had rather disappointing showings on the charts, with the latter not even reaching the Top Ten. To compound matters, the expensive "What More Can I Give" single and video were canceled by Sony when executive producer Marc Schaffel was revealed to work in pornography. Jackson's camp tried to distance the singer from Schaffel, and the various corporations that were attached to it (McDonalds, Sony) claimed they had minimal involvement if any with the song. Sony and Jackson began a press war in the summer of 2002, starting with Jackson's claims that the label asked for 200 million dollars to pay them back for marketing costs. Although they had spent 55 million on his disappointing comeback, Sony released a statement saying that no such request had ever been made. Jackson stewed for a few weeks before launching a press attack on Sony Music chairman Tommy Mottola, calling him "devilish" and making claims that he used racist language and held down black artists. Many Sony artists, including Mariah Carey and Ricky Martin, defended Mottola, but Jackson and his family maintained that racism ended their professional relationship.

 

From that point, Jackson's career took an extreme turn toward the bizarre, starting with MTV's annual Video Awards. When Britney Spears presented him with a birthday cake, an offhand remark about being the artist of the millennium inspired a rambling Jackson to accept a meaningless trophy (which everyone presenting on-stage received) as an actual Artist of the Millennium award. Next came accusations from a promotional company over his promises of a tour and several appearances that he then canceled. Jackson arrived in court late, gave a drowsy testimony, and inspired gasps when he removed a surgical mask to reveal his nose had caved in from a botched cosmetic surgery. Only days later, German fans were horrified when Jackson came to the balcony of his hotel suite and briefly dangled his 11-month old baby Prince Michael II (nicknamed "Blanket" by Jackson) over the edge with one arm. Although he apologized the next day, claiming he had gotten caught up in the moment, this only did more to cement the King of Pop's public image as an out-of-control millionaire. 2003 turned out to not be Jackson's year as in November his Neverland Ranch was extensively searched by police, whereby he was subsequently arrested on charges of child molestation.

[hitman531ph]

Now, let's get to his sister, Janet...

 

Few celebrity siblings can emerge from the shadows of their already famous relations to become superstars in their own right and with their own distinct personalities. That's exactly what Janet Jackson did in becoming one of the biggest female pop and R&B stars of the '80s and '90s. Her 1st and 2nd albums were not picked up by the public and bombed. But ever since her breakthrough in 1986 with the album Control, Jackson's career as a hitmaker has been a model of consistency, rivaling Madonna and Whitney Houston in terms of pop-chart success over the long haul. A big part of the reason was that Jackson kept her level of quality control very high; her singles were always expertly crafted, with indelible pop hooks and state-of-the-art production that kept up with contemporary trends in urban R&B. Once established, her broad-based appeal never really dipped all that much; she was able to avoid significant career missteps, musical and otherwise, and successfully shifted her image from a strong, independent young woman to a sexy, mature adult. With a string of multi-platinum albums under her belt, she showed no signs of slowing down in the new millennium.

 

Janet Damita Jo Jackson was born May 16, 1966, in Gary, IN. She was the youngest of nine children in the Jackson family, and her older brothers had already begun performing together as the Jackson 5 by the time she was born. Bitten by the performing bug at a young age, she first appeared on-stage with the Jackson 5 at age seven, and began a sitcom acting career at the age of ten in 1977, when producer Norman Lear selected her to join the cast of Good Times. She remained there until 1979, and subsequently appeared on Diff'rent Strokes (1981-1982) and A New Kind of Family. In 1982, pushed by her father into trying a singing career, Jackson released her self-titled first album on A&M; a couple of singles scraped the lower reaches of the charts, but on the whole, it made very little noise. She was cast in the musical series Fame in 1983; the following year, she issued her second album, Dream Street, which sold even more poorly than its predecessor. Upon turning 18, Jackson rebelled against her parents' close supervision, eloping with a member of another musical family, singer James DeBarge. However, the relationship quickly hit the rocks and Jackson wound up moving back into her parents' home and having the marriage annulled.

 

Jackson took some time to rethink her musical career and her father hired her a new manager, John McClain, who isolated his young charge to train her as a dancer (and make her lose weight). McClain hooked Jackson up with producers/writers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, whom she'd seen perform as members of the Minneapolis funk outfit the Time. Jackson collaborated with Jam and Lewis on most of the tracks for her next album, Control, which presented her as a confident, tough-minded young woman (with a soft side and a sense of humor) taking charge of her life for the first time. In support of Jackson's new persona, Jam and Lewis crafted a set of polished, computerized backing tracks with slamming beats that owed more to hard, hip-hop-tinged funk and urban R&B than Janet's older brother Michael's music. Control became an out-of-the-box hit, and eventually spun off six singles, the first five of which -- "What Have You Done for Me Lately," the catch phrase-inspiring "Nasty," the number one "When I Think of You," the title track, and the ballad "Let's Wait Awhile" -- hit the Top Five on the pop charts. Jackson was hailed as a role model for young women and Control eventually sold over five million copies, establishing Jackson as not just a star, but her own woman. It also made Jam and Lewis a monstrously in-demand production team.

 

For the hotly anticipated follow-up, John McClain wanted to push Jackson toward more overtly sexual territory, to which she objected strenuously. Instead, she began collaborating with Jam and Lewis on more socially conscious material, which formed the backbone of 1989's Rhythm Nation 1814 (the "1814" purportedly stood for either the letters "R" and "N" or the year "The Star-Spangled Banner" was written). Actually, save for the title track, most of the record's singles were bright and romantically themed; four of them -- "Miss You Much," "Escapade," "Black Cat," and "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" -- hit number one, and three more -- "Rhythm Nation," "Alright," and "Come Back to Me" -- reached the Top Five, making Jackson the first artist ever to produce seven Top Five hits off of one album (something not even her brother Michael had accomplished). Aside from a greater use of outside samples, Rhythm Nation's sound largely resembled that of Control, but was just as well-crafted, and listeners embraced it enthusiastically, buying over six million copies. Jackson undertook her first real tour (she'd appeared at high schools around the country in 1982) in support of the album and it was predictably a smashing success. In 1991, Jackson capitalized on her success by jumping from A&M to Virgin for a reported $32 million, and also secretly married choreographer and longtime boyfriend René Elizondo.

 

Once on Virgin, Jackson set about revamping her sound and image. Her 1992 duet with Luther Vandross from the Mo' Money soundtrack, "The Best Things in Life Are Free," was a major R&B hit, also reaching the pop Top Ten. The following year, she also resumed her acting career, co-starring in acclaimed director (and former junior high classmate) John Singleton's Poetic Justice, along with rapper Tupac Shakur. But neither really hinted at the sexy, seductive, fully adult persona she unveiled with 1993's janet., her Virgin debut. Jackson trumpeted her new image with a notorious Rolling Stone cover photo, in which her topless form was covered by a pair of hands belonging to an unseen "friend." Musically, Jam and Lewis set aside the synthesized funk of their first two albums with Jackson in favor of warm, inviting, gently undulating grooves. The album's lead single, the slinky "That's the Way Love Goes," became Jackson's biggest hit ever, spending eight weeks at number one. It was followed by a predictably long parade of Top Ten hits -- "If," the number one ballad "Again," "Because of You," "Any Time, Any Place," "You Want This." janet.'s debut showing at number one made it her third straight chart-topping album, and it went on to sell nearly seven million copies.

 

In 1995, Janet and Michael teamed up for the single "Scream," which was supported by an elaborate, award-winning, space-age video that, upon completion, ranked as the most expensive music video ever made. The single debuted at number five on the pop charts, but gradually slid down from there. In 1996, A&M issued a retrospective of her years at the label, Design of a Decade 1986-1996; it featured the Virgin hit "That's the Way Love Goes" and a few new tracks, one of which, "Runaway," became a Top Five hit. Jackson also signed a new contract with Virgin for a reported $80 million. Yet while working on her next album, Jackson reportedly suffered an emotional breakdown, or at least a severe bout with depression; she later raised eyebrows when she talked in several interviews about the cleansing value of coffee enemas as part of her treatment. Her next album, The Velvet Rope, appeared in 1997, and was touted as her most personal and intimate work to date. The Velvet Rope sought to combine the sensuality of janet. with the more socially conscious parts of Rhythm Nation, mixing songs about issues like domestic abuse, AIDS, and homophobia with her most sexually explicit songs ever. Critical opinion on the album was divided; some applauded her ambition, while others found the record too bloated. The lead American single "Together Again," an elegy for AIDS victims, was a number one hit; also popular on the radio was "Got 'Til It's Gone," which featured rapper Q-Tip and a sample of Joni Mitchell over a reggae beat. "I Get Lonely," featuring Blackstreet, was another big hit; but on the whole, The Velvet Rope didn't prove to be the blockbuster singles bonanza that its predecessors were, which was probably why its sales stalled at around three million copies.

 

Jackson toured the world again, and stayed on the charts in 1999 with the Top Five Busta Rhymes duet "What's It Gonna Be?!"; her appearance in the video remade her as a glitzy, artificially costumed, single-name diva. In 2000, she appeared in the Eddie Murphy comedy Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, and her soundtrack contribution, "Doesn't Really Matter," became a number one single. Unfortunately, Jackson's marriage to Elizondo had become strained and the couple divorced in 2000, sparking a court battle over her musical income. Jackson returned with a new album, All for You, in 2001, which largely continued the sensual tone of janet. and The Velvet Rope; it debuted at number one, selling over 600,000 copies in its first week alone. The title track was issued as the album's first single and quickly topped the charts, followed by another sizable hit in "Someone to Call My Lover."

 

While Jackson spent much of 2001 and 02 on the road supporting All For You, she also found time for some guest appearances, most notably with Beenie Man on his Tropical Storm LP and Justin Timberlake on Justified, his solo debut. By 2003 she was back in the studio, working once again with Jam and Lewis on tracks for a new album; additional producers included Dallas Austin and Kayne West. Later that year, it was revealed Jackson would take part in an MTV-produced extravaganza during halftime at the Super Bowl. 2004 began with an Internet leak of the upbeat Austin production "Just a Little While". The singer's camp rolled with the punches, offering the track to radio as an authorized digital download, but the buzz this business caused was minuscule in comparison to the nightmare union of free exposure and bad publicity that Jackson's next adventure caused. Appearing at halftime of Super Bowl XXXVIII as scheduled, Jackson performed "All For You" and "Rhythm Nation" before bringing out surprise guest Timberlake for a duet on his hit "Rock Your Body". But the real surprise came at song's end, when a gesture from Timberlake caused Jackson's costume to tear, exposing her right, pierced breast on live television to hundreds of millions of viewers. The incident caused furious backpedaling and apologizing from Timberlake, Jackson, the NFL, CBS, and MTV, which swore no previous knowledge of the so-called "wardrobe malfunction", and led to speculation over how Damita Jo - Jackson's upcoming album and her first in three years - would be received. But while the controversy gave Jackson both grief and a bit of free advertising, it was also the impetus for a national debate on public indecency. A federal commission was set up to investigate prurience, the FCC enacted tougher crackdowns on TV and radio programs broadcasting questionable content, and suddenly everyone from pundits to politicians to the man in the street had an opinion on Janet Jackson's chest. Later that March, the singer quietly started making the talk show rounds. She was still apologizing for the incident, but she was also promoting Damita Jo, which Virgin issued at the end of the month.

[hitman531ph]

Michael and Janet's brother, Jermaine had some hits too, but is much lesser successful.

 

 

 

The lone Jackson family member to stay with Motown while the other brothers split for CBS/Epic (he was then married to Berry Gordy's daughter Hazel), Jermaine enjoyed a artistically diffident career during the '70s at Motown, surfacing with an occasional hit like a remake of "Daddy's Home" (1972) and "Let's Be Young Tonight" (1975). Jermaine got a badly needed shot in the arm from Stevie Wonder, who wrote and produced "Let's Get Serious," a Top Ten pop and soul dance hit that came around the time of brother Michael's pop ascendancy. After scoring a Top 20 pop hit in 1982 with the infectious "Let Me Tickle Your Fancy," Jermaine left Motown in 1983 for Arista Records, where he scored a pair of hits in 1984 with "Do What You Do" and the scintillating dance number "Dynamite." Subsequently, he re-joined the Jacksons in time for their ill-fated Victory tour in 1984. Jackson has recorded sporadically since, though he generated controversy in 1991 when "Word to the Badd," a thinly veiled attack on his brother Michael, was leaked out to urban music stations.

[hitman531ph]

Another sister of Michael and Janet had her own 15 minutes of fame. Rebbie Jackson.

 

Singer Rebbie Jackson was awarded a gold single her first time out with "Centipede," a song written and produced by her brother, Michael Jackson. She can also be heard on "Forever Young" from Free Willy 2: Adventure Home, a 1995 Sony Music movie soundtrack. Rebbie Jackson, like her siblings Janet, LaToya, and Randy, was out of the public eye when her brothers stormed the music world as the Jackson 5. Born Maureen Jackson in Gary, Indiana in 1950, Rebbie was taught clarinet and piano by her mother. It wasn't until 1976, after the Jackson 5 had left Motown and signed with CBS, that Rebbie began a professional singing career, becoming a cabaret singer and background vocalist. She was credited on LPs by the Emotions, Betty Wright, and others during the '70s and '80s, and on Brand Nubian's 1998 CD Foundation. She also appeared on the Jacksons' short-lived 1976 variety show.

After her brother Michael's success with the mega-selling Thriller, he was given the chance to write and produce. His first project was Rebbie's first single "Centipede," which hit number four R&B in fall 1984. The Centipede LP, released in October 1984, featured tracks produced by former Crusaders member Wayne Henderson. Her next album Reaction was issued October 1986 and included tracks produced by David "Pic" Conley and David Townsend of the group Surface, plus Rebbie's brother Tito Jackson. The title track single hit number 16 on the R&B charts in summer 1986. The follow-up was "You Send the Rain Away," a duet ballad with Cheap Trick lead singer Robin Zander that made it to number 50 R&B in late 1986. Another fine duet ballad, "Tonight I'm Yours" with Isaac Hayes, received substantial airplay as an album track but curiously was never released as a single.

 

R U Tuff Enuff was the title of her third Columbia album, issued in February 1988, featuring one single ("Plaything") that reached the R&B Top Ten. Her popularity with devotees of Britain's rare groove scene prompted the release of The Rebbie Jackson Collection by Expansion in 1996. After a hiatus from show business in which she moved to Virginia, Rebbie signed with Michael Jackson's MJJ label in the late '90s. Her label debut Yours Faithfully was released in March 1998.

Edited July 31, 2005 by hitman531ph

[Immortal666]

I'd be lying if I said I was never into glam/hair metal bands. It's a natural progression if you're a kid who started listening to hard rock/heavy metal in the late '80s/early '90s to start with the 'lighter' stuff like glam/hair/pop metal. High School din ako nung sumikat to. Among my favorite albums were:

 

Dagdag pa ako ng ibang banda from this genre:

 

Kiss (the fathers of cock rock!)

Faster Pussycat

Warrant

Ratt

Mr. Big

Trixter

 

Magagaling gumawa ng power ballads ang mga hair metal bands. Anyone have an mp3 of Little Caesar's "In Your Arms"? Please pm me if you do. Matagal ko nang hinahanap ang song na 'to.

[irishgirl]

housemartins cool too!!! i think one is still in the music industry... i think its fatboy slim... and camouflage, theyre into techno now, are they really? bjork... love her then love her now.. bahaus and napalm death... old school goth love them then still love them now!!

[irishgirl]

saw this one on the net....

 

it a long lost great song

 

The Wallflowers

Blushing Girl, Nervous Smile

(Mantre)

Peter Brickley should have been. He had supported the Smiths with a previous band and impressed enough that Johnny Marr offered to produce the Wallflowers' first album; Andy Partridge produced their terrific third (and final) single, "83.7 Degrees"; Janice Long championed thenm. But it never happened, despite the support. The Smiths split just as Marr was due to produce the Wallflowers, their label folded and another pop dream collapsed. But this first single, from 1986, holds all the promise that was never fulfilled: a chiming, soaring guitar line, to suit a song about the joys and fears of The First Time ("Take off your halo for a while, my angel / Lay down beside me in the dark on the recreation ground"), which never descends into either salciousness or coyness. This was the kind of 60s-inflected pop that some of the C86-ers were striving for but had not yet seen quite enough of life to manage. Marvellous. And nothing to do with Jakob Dylan.

Michael Hann

 

this is the song!!!!!!!!!

[hitman531ph]

I gotta admit that the song you're looking for probably never became a CD and would be a very hard song to find

[hitman531ph]

THE HOUSEMARTINS

 

The year is 1985, the place the beautiful north of England and more specifically Kingston Upon Hull. The already year-long miners' strike rumbles on in a country increasing polarised by Mrs Thatcher and her uncompromising take on democratic dictatorship. Jennifer Rush sits on top of the UK chart with 'Power Of Love', her paean to, erm, the power of love… Four plucky lads from East Yorkshire release their debut single 'Flag Day' and the establishment is rocked to its very foundations. Well maybe not (it made a staggering no. 124 in the pop charts), but it was a cracking record…

 

Our story really begins not in Hull as most would assume, but on the Wirral, Merseyside May 9th 1962, the day that Paul Heaton the future singer and leader of first the Housemartins and later the Beautiful South was born. He was a Scouser for only 4 years as the family moved first to Sheffield (where they stayed for 10 years) and then to Chipstead, Surrey when his father promotion required a move South. An early interest in Punk led to Paul forming his first band, Tools Down, in '77 inspired by the Sex Pistols, the Jam and above all, the political stance of the Clash. Whilst at nearby Redhill technical college he met a future 'Martin in one Quentin (soon to become Norman) Cook. Impressed with his blonde quiff and attitude, Paul roped him and two other school friends into what became his second band, the Stomping Pond Frogs, following the demise of Tools Down. They earned a name for themselves after several lively busking sessions which Norman described in a recent interview as 'Dexy's Meets the Monkees'. They were soon getting local gig bookings and press attention, mixing socially aware lyrics with an ear for pop melody. As the various members dispersed at the end of their studies (Norman accepted a place at Brighton Poly to study Politics and English) however, the band folded, leaving Paul at somewhat of a loose end, having chosen not to continue his education.

 

In 1983, after several years of uninspiring post-college jobs, Paul decided to pursue his musical ambitions full-time. Being a true Northerner at heart, his disenchantment with Surrey and the South convinced him to returns to his roots. Instead of returning to Sheffield, fate had a different location in mind for Heato. Driving back from a holiday in Scotland via the East Coast they stopped off in Hull and despite the depressed air hanging over the city in the early 80's, Paul, his then girlfriend and two other friends from Redhill, set up shop in sunny Humberside

[irishgirl]

I gotta admit that the song you're looking for probably never became a CD and would be a very hard song to find

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

i think it did but its just for this song a single was made and super hard to find lolz... ive heard this one a long time ago lolz...

[hitman531ph]

Martin Fry of ABC and Tony Hadley of Spandau Ballet are touring together and doing their 80s songs. The tour is called Martin Fry vs. Tony Hadley. Tony Hadley still retains his neat looks despite showing a little age. But Martin Fry looks old like a Rolling Stones member.

 

They have upcoming concerts on the US East Coast this August

[cruesome]

Someone Like You - Bang Tango

 

 

one song i missed on the radio, although i can play it on my pc, iba din ang dating pag sa FM