Fairytale of New York - 25 Years On

It's as much a part of Christmas as, well, Slade's Merry Xmas Everybody. Yes, The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl's recording of Fairytale of New York is once again released just in time for the Festive Season. It was first released in December 1987 and has been popping back into the charts on a regular basis ever since. Now, to celebrate its 25th anniversary, the single has been reissued in digital form on iTunes, as a CD and, for nostalgia freaks, on a good old-fashioned vinyl single. The lovely PR people sent me a copy of the CD and vinyl though, sadly, it has been many years since I had an suitable equipment to play discs of the black plastic variety.

Anyway, just to get you into the Christmas spirit, here's the video...

Adam Ant’s new single and video

'Cool Zombie' is Adam’s first new single in 17 years. It will be released on the 21st January. But here’s an advance look at the video. This apparently shows Adam performing at a post-apocalyptic, end-of-the-world saloon bar (actually Hoxton Hall, East London). The full video will exclusively be premièred on November 30th - when Adam Ant plays the O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire.

Flexipop! on Facebook

Flexipop! the greatest pop magazine of the 1980s, now has its own Facebook page. If you remember the flexi-disks, were a fan of Trunkie The Toilet or generally have fond memories of the magazine that proudly offered "pure pulp for pinheads" and "cheap sleaze for retards", come and join us! http://www.facebook.com/Flexipopmag

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

Spandau Ballet, Clare Grogan and 'True'

Today's Guardian reveals the inside story of the Spandau Ballet hit and Gary Kemp's unrequited love for the Altered Images singer: How we made: Gary Kemp and Steve Norman on True

Neon 80s Review

Always nice to et a good review so suffice to say it's great to see a positive  review of my book of 80s interviews on the Kajagoogoo-themed Kajafax site.

And, speaking of Kajagoogoo, this is a good excuse to play this...

Duran Duran to play Olympics gig

See: BBC News - London 2012: Duran Duran to play Olympics gig

Wonder if they'll play this one?