Where was I?
Bananarama ...
Nah, just kidding, mostly. I was out of town recently and I figured I'd look for a record shop, and I managed to find a really fun and quirky little shop. They didn't have a lot of discount records, but they had a few boxes and the guy who ran the store was a treat to shoot the shit with. Heck while we were there my buddy Olav figured he'd buy me a record too. So he did. I'll get to that one in time: BB Gabor. You may know him, he did "Nyet Nyet Soviet (Soviet Jewellery)" back in 1980. Don't worry I didn't know him either, but that is a pretty good song.
I'm sure you're wondering when I'll get to the point, and I'll admit I've wandered off a little further than normal.
I found a few treasures and among them was this here Dead or Alive album. I bought it as a lark, but I was secretly hoping it would be a lost treasure. Having recently found that Doctor & the Medics were pretty great, I had my fingers crossed, and hoped lightning would strike twice. I'll admit to secretly liking "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" I mean it was a friggin' earworm. There was something about them though at the time that put them in the same slop bucket I put Culture Club, Wham! and the much maligned Doctor & the Medics. I wasn't looking for weirdly dressed and kitschy pseudo glam acts. I wanted my rock like I drink my scotch ... neat. Although back in '85 I didn't drink scotch. My dad did. I will admit to actually once ordering a Shanty as a bar. Yeah, I know. Sad.
The album opens big with their big hit, and yes at times it still sounds like whoever programmed the drums and percussion pushed all the buttons repeatedly until it looped over with a cacophonous clanging of symbols and toms. Why not, buttons are meant to be pushed.
As this played I was struck by the similarities to a lot of other new wave infused UK acts that were out at the time. I know this may come as sacrilege to some, but I keep hearing elements of New Order. Which to me was unexpected. Then again, I'll also freely admit that I was at best a casual fan of Joy Division, and for New Order, it was "Blue Monday" (the short version) that floated my boat. While I like this stuff, it was never really my main jam. One could also make a case that they were a really happy sounding version of The Sisters of Mercy - although I suspect I'm just pissing people off now - to be fair Wayne Hussey had played guitar in both bands at one point.
Since I'm dropping names I may as well call out the members of the band.
- Pete Burns – lead and backing vocals
- Mike Percy – synthesizers and electric guitar
- Tim Lever – synthesizers, sequencer, sampler, electric guitar and backing vocals
- Steve Coy – drum machines and backing vocals
The core line up would be stable for a number of albums, and while to most people - including myself the band is a one hit wonder but they didn't stop trying. From 1984 through 1986 they dropped an album a year, and then took a year off to drop "greatest hit" record and then closed out the '80s with one more release in 1988. They would release two in the '90s and their last release dropped in 2000. Who knows, there are likely a slew of buried treasures out there waiting to be discovered.
I will give Peter Burns a nod, as he had a great '80s voice. Sadly he would pass away in 2016 at the age of 57. He was working the '80s glam vein, and he wasn't alone although for whatever reason they never caught on in the way Adam Ant and The Culture Club did. Then again, they may have I just wasn't aware of them outside the one song.
The album actually covers most of the mid '80s bases in terms of staying in the pop lane. Some of the songs really work, and then others like "In Too Deep" just feels like an interchangeable pop song that is a generic paint by numbers pastiche of everything that was going on and not the good stuff as far as I was concerned. The first side closes out with another overly button happy programmed beat appropriately titled, "Big Daddy of the Rhythm" that while fun went in one ear and out the other.
Spinning the record over (ha, I kill myself) the second side opens with "Cake and Eat It" which for whatever reason really worked which surprised me as the song was catchy but didn't have a second gear. "Love Come Back to Me" a song that owed a little to Frankie Goes to Hollywood. All those "Hoo-ahs" were as catchy as Michael Jackson's "Hoo hoos" ... that was sarcasm, but it was the '80s I'll give it a pass. Most of the second side was actually pretty catchy, even if the repetitive drum loops wore thin.
Dead or Alive nailed it with the opening number, and frankly for the most part delivered a pretty fair album. There were some glimmers throughout, and as far it goes this was enjoyable. It was pretty equal in terms of nostalgia and fresh ears. I wouldn't go so far as to label it a lost classic, but it's a decent spin if you can get around to it and play the record.
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