How To Be a 1980s Pop Music Journalist

Ah, the glamour! The celebrities! The music! The nightclubs!

So what was it really like to be a pop music journalist in the days of the New Romantics? I've just started a new YouTube channel that will explain everything. If you've read any of my '80s Murder Mysteries' novels, these videos will explain some of the real-life background. Be sure to subscribe so that you will receive notification whenever I post some new videos. Here are the first three...

Sigue Sigue Sputnik

An alternative recording of "Success". Just something to keep your feet tapping!

https://soundcloud.com/manekdeboto/sigue-sigue-sputnik

Duran, Yazoo and Hazell - new collections

CD collections of 80s music seem to be released almost daily these days. So I wasn't overly excityed when I heard about a batcch of double-CD colections of Yazoo, Hazell Deane and Duran Duran. In fact, having now received some review copies, I have to say that these are definitely better than most.

All the major hits are there. The Hazell Dean set has Whatever I Do, Searchin' (I Gotta Find A Man) and Who's Leaving Who? - and the 2nd disk in the setn has various mega-mixes and extended versions. The Yazoo set has Only You, Situation, Don't Go and Nobody's Diary plus a batch of less known songs and some extended mixes. But, in my opinion, the best of the bunch is the Duran Duran set. There are just so many top songs here - Planet Earth, Girls On Film, My Own Way, Hungry Like The Wolf, Careless Memories,Wild Boys, Save A Prayer... they just keep on coming.

Anyway, a nice batch of records for 80s fans. And cheap at about £5 per two-disk set. If you need to replace those scratched old albums, these could be the answer....

Full track listings can be found here...

Duran Duran: The Biggest and the Best http://www.demonmusicgroup.co.uk/Product.aspx?ProductID=6161

Yazoo: The Collection http://www.demonmusicgroup.co.uk/Product.aspx?ProductID=6182

Evergreen: The Very Best Of Hazell Dean http://www.demonmusicgroup.co.uk/Product.aspx?ProductID=6179

Sigue Sigue Spotify

Spotify has just launched a new 'Play' button which lets you embed music into a blog. Well, here's a good track to try it out with. Enjoy!
 

Heaven 17 - 30th Anniversary Tour

Just got this press release...

Following the success of Heaven 17’s ‘Penthouse and Pavement 30th Anniversary Tour’ in 2010, Martyn Ware’s production project, ‘British Electric Foundation’ (B.E.F.) is proud to present ‘Music of Quality and Distinction Live’, a 2-day festival at London’s prestigious Roundhouse from October 14-15th, celebrating 30 years of seminal electronic music and unique collaborations.

Heaven 17 will perform the world premiere of their 1983 album ‘The Luxury Gap’ on Friday October 14th, followed by B.E.F.’s first ever live performance featuring tracks from the albums ‘Music of Quality & Distinction Vol. 1 & 2’ on Saturday October 15th.

Tickets go on sale Thursday April 12th at 10am. Ticket hotline: 0844 844 0444. Book online: www.ticketmaster.co.uk. Day tickets: £23.50. Weekend tickets: £42.50.

And here's a nice video to go with it....

Adam Ant to headline Guilfest stage - Telegraph

Eighties star Adam Ant will continue to resurrect his career after 15 years in the wilderness by performing at this year's Guilfest.

The previously swashbuckling 'Prince Charming' will be expected to 'Stand and Deliver' as he headlines the Good Time Guide Stage on Friday 15th July, with new back-up band The Good The Mad and The Lovely Posse.

More in Daily Telegraph

Blancmange: Blanc Burn new album

Blancmange are back with their first album since (gulp!) 1985. I always rather liked Blancmange so I'll bee keen to hear their new stuff. the album is called Blanc Burn and there's a teensy reviewette in The Guardian.

Spandau Ballet - To Cut A Long Story Short, 30 years this month

30 years ago (can it really be so?) this was Spandau's first hit. Number 5 in the charts and still sounds (and looks) great!

Jackie: The Party Album

The Jackie brand is still amazingly potent long after the girls’ magazine to which it referred ceased publication. As I’ve said before, I was a regular writer for Jackie back in the ‘80s and so I guess I may feel some kind of personal connection with the various Jackie-branded books and CDs that are still being launched in the 2000s...

The latest, released today, is a three CD collection called Jackie The Party Album. This contains a wide-ranging selection of hits, mainly from the ‘70s and ‘80s with occasional forays into the ‘60s, encompassing everything from ABBA to Black Sabbath. I’m not entirely sure I’ve ever been to a party where both those particular artists have been played and nor, to be entirely honest, am I entire sure that Black Sabbath’s Paranoid is the obvious choice of music to pack the party dance-floor. Anyhow, that gives you some idea of the scope of this collection.

The sheer diversity of the songs is both the strength and the weakness of this set of CDs. As you listen through them there will be some tracks that will surely make you think, with plesaure, “Wow! I haven’t heard that one for a long time!” and others that will make you think, “Eeek! I was hoping I’d never hear that one again.” Personally, I have to admit that I’ve made frequent use of the Next Track button to skip over some teeth-gritting songs (I really could have done without David Bowie’s Laughing Gnome).

There are some definite party classics here: Norman Greenbaum’s Spirit In The Sky, Jeff Beck’s Hi Ho Silver Lining, Little Eva’s Locomotion; plus some Glam Greats: T. Rex’s Children Of The Revolution, Wizzard’s See My Baby Jive, Sweet’s Blockbuster; and some nice tacky pop classics such as Middle Of the Road’s Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum and Baccara’s immortal Yes Sir, I Can Boogie.

There is, in short, something for everyone; though bear in mind that there is also pretty sure to be something that just about everyone really doesn’t want to hear too!