True. I’m pretty sure I’ve commented on one or another iteration of the (after)Word to the effect that the biggest stars of the 80s were all mature artists, many of whom had first come to fame in the 60s, and that there appeared to be a definite trend towards the juvenile since then.
Even yer MJs, Princes, George Michaels and Madonnas of this world were seasoned artists by the time of their mega-success.
Funnily enough I cleaned my two 80s Winwood vinlys only yesterday – they’d grown a weird mould – and they sound great now. You can hear that 80s thing that got into everything though. Naff synths and drum machines here and there.
Madonna and George Michael were definitely wet behind the ears when success called.
Madonna had a staggering level of self belief, chutzpah and (for want of a better phrase) sheer balls to get herself the best deals/songs and Michael had the nous of Napier-Bell to steer him through
Steve Winwood’s 1982 album Arc Of A Diver is a great little album, helped greatly by the song While You See A Chance.
Not such a fan of 86s Back In The High Life, but this version of the title track by another fine, fine singer-songwriter is one of the best.
Diver was 1980 but it’s funny, I’d have said it was 70s. It was released on New Year’s Eve so he probably recorded it in 79 and 80 as he played everything himself. Great album.
Interestingly, you’d have thought Macca might have succumbed to 80s production trends – (because he cares deeply about making hit records) but as far as I know he seems to have given the Winwood/Phil Collins parpy horns and espadrilles a swerve.
The closest Macca came was when he got Hugh Padgham to produce Press To Play.
Which is as close to the dictionary definition of a polished turd as you can get.
I had a vague memory of the single but have just seen the full horror of the video. Look! It’s actually Paul McCartney actually travelling on the tube! People won’t believe it! And so on.
McCartney II
Tug of War
Pipes of Peace
Give My Regards to Broad Street (re-recording of Silly Love Songs, anyone?)
Press to Play
Choba B CCCP
Flowers in the Dirt
McCartney II was quirky and interesting, and Flowers in the Dirt coincided with his decision to go on tour again. But there’s little from the 80s that’s essential Macca, is there? No More Lonely Nights from GMRTBS was a great single though.
I think they were better than you think, Tug of War is generally excellent, as is Flowers. You are right about No More Lonely Nights, Pipes of Peace is a dud (but contains 2 top 2 singles), and if course there was also the magnificent Frog Chorus, so he’s at better than 50% I would say.
I had another listen to Tug of War tonight, and it is better than I remember. Somebody Who Cares and Here Today are lovely tunes. I really don’t like the production on the album. Its not an 80s horror show, but there’s too much shiny high hat and Macca’s voice seems strangely remote. I guess this album came in for a lot of scrutiny, being the first after Lennon’s death. You can’t blame him for losing a bit of focus. But there’s a jarring clash of styles here, as there is on many of his 80s albums, and perhaps the first sense of a great artist losing interest in his craft. Nothing in his 80s output had the character and sense of purpose of an album like Ram.
Two little facts I love about Boys of Summer:
Mike Campbell brought it to Tom Petty, who turned it down, but before he did, mentioned that he would move the chorus up from minor to major. Campbell took the results to Henley, who made them both rich.
When they were recording, the producer knew it needed an extra something, so overnight took the song up a key. Don Henley subsequently had to really go for it to hit the high notes, which makes the song.
Imagine Boys of Summer a key lower, all in a minor key. On such decisions hits are made.
I would say the complete opposite, the 80s were a terrible time for 60s survivors in particular. The Stones, Neil Young, Bob Dylan just a few examples of acts who were completely clueless at that time. Of course there are exceptions.
On “Press”….a documentary at the time showed Paul in Abbey Road playing it live and it sounded pretty good. By the time the dire 1980s had taken their considerable toll, it sounded bleedin’ awful. Though, admittedly, not as awful as his rock ‘n’ roll album a year later.
My “Paul” purchase of the summer of 1986 (together with Lewisohn’s “The Beatles Live!”) was the 20th Anniversary of “Paperback Writer”/”Rain” which I’ve still got, still play, and still sounds far more strident and vibrant than “Press.”
Yes but its interesting to see how so many came back with strong, or at least respectable, releases around ’89, 1990. Stones, Dylan, Lou Reed, McCartney, even Tin Machine (well its way better than Never Let Me Down).
I actually thought Macca’s rock album was a marked improvement on the awful “Press To Play”!
I’ll see Show of Hands at Folk by the Oak later today. YouTube shows that at last year’s festival gigs they played a cover of Boys of Dummer. I’m guessing they did this for two reasons: 1) it’s a cracking tune, 2) it allowed them to substitute the lyric ‘I saw a Bellowhead sticker on a Cadillac’, the wags.
(In 2010 it was still a Deadhead sticker. I’ll swear Phil Beer also did it solo with his band, with a Fairport sticker, but it may be my imagination getting the better.)
SoH do good cover.
I was trying to show The Light but all the versions I found had ‘Deadhead’ too. I suppose ‘Bellowhead’ became too good a gag to miss when the band split up. As it turns out they were in terrific form yesterday, but didn’t play BoS.
Did they do “Roots”? I remember when I first heard it being quite shocked at how vehement he is. I posted it at the time and was equally surprised at the “What is this, the NF anthem” etc reaction..
They did. The BNP adopted Roots for a campaign video, without Show of Hands permission of course. The band were understandably appalled and threw their weight behind Folk Against Fascism, allowing Roots to be included on their CD.
I don’t get the appeal. I hate it, in fact. I don’t think I ever heard it, or even of it, at the time of its release (or it certainly made no impression). But when I read, a few years ago, how much it was liked here I sought it out. In fact I downloaded Henley’s Greatest Hits album. Listened once and never bothered again. It sounds so 80’s, so deliberately anthemic and stadium-friendly. Had it been a Springsteen song, he would definitely have put it on the horrible Born In The USA rather than the excellent Nebraska.
Great tune, I think. In my head I’ve got this filed away with Bruce Hornsby and The Range’s ‘That’s Just the Way it Is’ and ‘Don’t Go’ by The Hothouse Flowers, but I think it predated both of those.
The song was played regularly by Pete Lincoln,who is now lead singer in The Sweet and tours to large crowds all over Europe.He has recently recorded original material but also has great collection of classics ,done in an unplugged vein….
love Boys of Summer, the parent album Building the Perfect Beast was one of the first CDs I ever purchased.
Boys gets plenty of plays round mine on Spotify and prompted by this thread I dug out the dusty CD.
bloody hell its dire….
HUGE drums, wonky guitar sound and waaayy to much reverb…….i’d put money on the keyboard player wearing a tight leather jacket……with pulled up sleeves.
It’s fecking great. Don Henley has consistently produced solo albums of 50% way better than his band, 50% way worse. That alone, and his consummate voice, make him a titan in my eyes.
Robert Palmer, as good a vocalist as anyone you could name, was enormously successful in the Eighties after releasing some cracking albums throughout the earlier decade.
Twang says
Winwood did better than Clapton who had a pretty dodgy 80s. Mind you Winwood’s 70s were much better.
DougieJ says
True. I’m pretty sure I’ve commented on one or another iteration of the (after)Word to the effect that the biggest stars of the 80s were all mature artists, many of whom had first come to fame in the 60s, and that there appeared to be a definite trend towards the juvenile since then.
Even yer MJs, Princes, George Michaels and Madonnas of this world were seasoned artists by the time of their mega-success.
Twang says
Funnily enough I cleaned my two 80s Winwood vinlys only yesterday – they’d grown a weird mould – and they sound great now. You can hear that 80s thing that got into everything though. Naff synths and drum machines here and there.
SixDog says
Madonna and George Michael were definitely wet behind the ears when success called.
Madonna had a staggering level of self belief, chutzpah and (for want of a better phrase) sheer balls to get herself the best deals/songs and Michael had the nous of Napier-Bell to steer him through
Uncle Wheaty says
I love Traffic and agree that Clapton’s 80s were a bit dodgy.
Clapton’s best 198os work was playing on Roger Waters Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking and the theme music for The Edge of Darkness.
Rigid Digit says
Steve Winwood’s 1982 album Arc Of A Diver is a great little album, helped greatly by the song While You See A Chance.
Not such a fan of 86s Back In The High Life, but this version of the title track by another fine, fine singer-songwriter is one of the best.
Twang says
Diver was 1980 but it’s funny, I’d have said it was 70s. It was released on New Year’s Eve so he probably recorded it in 79 and 80 as he played everything himself. Great album.
Uncle Wheaty says
Arc of a Diver is a great album and the one that lead me into Traffic…I did look both ways!
Twang says
“Live – On the road” is my favourite – brilliant album. The Swampers’ rhythm section!
fishface says
Tina Turner.
but…..that bloody Proud Mary car advert makes me want to hoof the TV off its stand.
Black Celebration says
Interestingly, you’d have thought Macca might have succumbed to 80s production trends – (because he cares deeply about making hit records) but as far as I know he seems to have given the Winwood/Phil Collins parpy horns and espadrilles a swerve.
ruff-diamond says
The closest Macca came was when he got Hugh Padgham to produce Press To Play.
Which is as close to the dictionary definition of a polished turd as you can get.
dai says
You need to give Press to Play a listen. Or actually don’t give it a listen.
Black Celebration says
OK I take it all back.
I had a vague memory of the single but have just seen the full horror of the video. Look! It’s actually Paul McCartney actually travelling on the tube! People won’t believe it! And so on.
Martin Hairnet says
See also ‘Spies Like Us’.
I think Macca’s 80s were pretty dire:
McCartney II
Tug of War
Pipes of Peace
Give My Regards to Broad Street (re-recording of Silly Love Songs, anyone?)
Press to Play
Choba B CCCP
Flowers in the Dirt
McCartney II was quirky and interesting, and Flowers in the Dirt coincided with his decision to go on tour again. But there’s little from the 80s that’s essential Macca, is there? No More Lonely Nights from GMRTBS was a great single though.
dai says
I think they were better than you think, Tug of War is generally excellent, as is Flowers. You are right about No More Lonely Nights, Pipes of Peace is a dud (but contains 2 top 2 singles), and if course there was also the magnificent Frog Chorus, so he’s at better than 50% I would say.
Martin Hairnet says
I had another listen to Tug of War tonight, and it is better than I remember. Somebody Who Cares and Here Today are lovely tunes. I really don’t like the production on the album. Its not an 80s horror show, but there’s too much shiny high hat and Macca’s voice seems strangely remote. I guess this album came in for a lot of scrutiny, being the first after Lennon’s death. You can’t blame him for losing a bit of focus. But there’s a jarring clash of styles here, as there is on many of his 80s albums, and perhaps the first sense of a great artist losing interest in his craft. Nothing in his 80s output had the character and sense of purpose of an album like Ram.
Neela says
The movie Spies Like Us is silly in an entertaining way though.
– Doctor.
– Doctor.
– Doctor.
– Doctor.
– Doctor.
– Doctor.
– Doctor.
Etc…
Bingo Little says
I absolutely bloody LOVE Boys of Summer. Cracking tune.
bobness says
This. Me too.😀
Chrisf says
And me
Twang says
Count me in. I liked Mark Ellen’s story about meeting Don Henley when it came out.
TrypF says
Two little facts I love about Boys of Summer:
Mike Campbell brought it to Tom Petty, who turned it down, but before he did, mentioned that he would move the chorus up from minor to major. Campbell took the results to Henley, who made them both rich.
When they were recording, the producer knew it needed an extra something, so overnight took the song up a key. Don Henley subsequently had to really go for it to hit the high notes, which makes the song.
Imagine Boys of Summer a key lower, all in a minor key. On such decisions hits are made.
bricameron says
Thanks for the insight, Trypf.
😎
DougieJ says
Didn’t know that, cheers.
Mavis Diles says
Also it’s basically an advert for the Linn Drum machine, invented by Roger Linn, TP’s drum roadie. The handclap sample is actually The Heartbreakers.
Markg says
Markg says
dai says
I would say the complete opposite, the 80s were a terrible time for 60s survivors in particular. The Stones, Neil Young, Bob Dylan just a few examples of acts who were completely clueless at that time. Of course there are exceptions.
deramdaze says
That’s rather my take on it as well.
On “Press”….a documentary at the time showed Paul in Abbey Road playing it live and it sounded pretty good. By the time the dire 1980s had taken their considerable toll, it sounded bleedin’ awful. Though, admittedly, not as awful as his rock ‘n’ roll album a year later.
My “Paul” purchase of the summer of 1986 (together with Lewisohn’s “The Beatles Live!”) was the 20th Anniversary of “Paperback Writer”/”Rain” which I’ve still got, still play, and still sounds far more strident and vibrant than “Press.”
slotbadger says
Yes but its interesting to see how so many came back with strong, or at least respectable, releases around ’89, 1990. Stones, Dylan, Lou Reed, McCartney, even Tin Machine (well its way better than Never Let Me Down).
I actually thought Macca’s rock album was a marked improvement on the awful “Press To Play”!
bricameron says
Hi Dougiej. Complete agreement on ‘The Boys of Summer’.
😎
Gatz says
I’ll see Show of Hands at Folk by the Oak later today. YouTube shows that at last year’s festival gigs they played a cover of Boys of Dummer. I’m guessing they did this for two reasons: 1) it’s a cracking tune, 2) it allowed them to substitute the lyric ‘I saw a Bellowhead sticker on a Cadillac’, the wags.
retropath2 says
(In 2010 it was still a Deadhead sticker. I’ll swear Phil Beer also did it solo with his band, with a Fairport sticker, but it may be my imagination getting the better.)
SoH do good cover.
Gatz says
I was trying to show The Light but all the versions I found had ‘Deadhead’ too. I suppose ‘Bellowhead’ became too good a gag to miss when the band split up. As it turns out they were in terrific form yesterday, but didn’t play BoS.
Twang says
Did they do “Roots”? I remember when I first heard it being quite shocked at how vehement he is. I posted it at the time and was equally surprised at the “What is this, the NF anthem” etc reaction..
Gatz says
They did. The BNP adopted Roots for a campaign video, without Show of Hands permission of course. The band were understandably appalled and threw their weight behind Folk Against Fascism, allowing Roots to be included on their CD.
Twang says
Blimey I didn’t know that. Awful. Good for them though, making it clear where they stood.
Moose the Mooche says
Boys of Dummer… does that include Dave Kelly?
Very very obscure joke.
retropath2 says
That’s darting a bit off topic, innit?
Moose the Mooche says
Mate, that’s not off-topic – it’s off-hemisphere.
Gary says
I don’t get the appeal. I hate it, in fact. I don’t think I ever heard it, or even of it, at the time of its release (or it certainly made no impression). But when I read, a few years ago, how much it was liked here I sought it out. In fact I downloaded Henley’s Greatest Hits album. Listened once and never bothered again. It sounds so 80’s, so deliberately anthemic and stadium-friendly. Had it been a Springsteen song, he would definitely have put it on the horrible Born In The USA rather than the excellent Nebraska.
Junior Wells says
Reckon the video really sold it.
It was of its time and sure, that time has passed, but it was damn good in its time.
Martin Hairnet says
Great tune, I think. In my head I’ve got this filed away with Bruce Hornsby and The Range’s ‘That’s Just the Way it Is’ and ‘Don’t Go’ by The Hothouse Flowers, but I think it predated both of those.
Markg says
The song was played regularly by Pete Lincoln,who is now lead singer in The Sweet and tours to large crowds all over Europe.He has recently recorded original material but also has great collection of classics ,done in an unplugged vein….
Markg says
fishface says
love Boys of Summer, the parent album Building the Perfect Beast was one of the first CDs I ever purchased.
Boys gets plenty of plays round mine on Spotify and prompted by this thread I dug out the dusty CD.
bloody hell its dire….
HUGE drums, wonky guitar sound and waaayy to much reverb…….i’d put money on the keyboard player wearing a tight leather jacket……with pulled up sleeves.
retropath2 says
It’s fecking great. Don Henley has consistently produced solo albums of 50% way better than his band, 50% way worse. That alone, and his consummate voice, make him a titan in my eyes.
Freddy Steady says
Huh, you say that like its a fashion faux pas.
Wayfarer says
The story of how all that great music came about.
Iggypop1 says
Robert Palmer, as good a vocalist as anyone you could name, was enormously successful in the Eighties after releasing some cracking albums throughout the earlier decade.