Trunkie The Toilet Lives!

I just discovered that there is a Trunkie The Toilet web site! Hurrah! For the uninitiated, I should explain that Trunkie was a cartoon toilet whose adventures graced the cult '80s mag Flexipop! (for which yours truly was a boy reporter) back in the early '80s. My Trunkie The Toilet keyring is, to this day, one of my proudest possessions.

Relive those golden days on http://www.trunkiethetoilet.co.uk/

Welcome to the House of Fun

Number One this week in 1982. Great stuff! :-)

Duran Duran TV Special

BBC2 (UK) tonight (28th May) at 10 o'clock 'Top Of The Pops 2 has a Duran Duran special. If you can't see it, well, here's a video to help over come your disappointment... ;-)

Heaven 17 Radio Show!

Heaven 17 will host the Absolute 80s Happy Hour radio show between 12:00 – 13:00 from Monday May 31st to Friday June 4th. More details here - http://absolute80s.com/.

Martyn Ware and Glenn Gregory will select some of there favorite 80s songs by other artists of that era. A few Heaven 17 hits will also be thrown in for good measure including Penthouse And Pavement, Temptation and more. Tune in from at 12:00 GMT from Monday May 31st to listen to the Happy Hour show with Heaven 17.

Listen out for an exclusive radio session with Heaven 17 on the sister radio station Absolute Radio when the band perform three songs on the Geoff Lloyd Show on Thursday June 10th between 7-8pm. The band will perform Let’s All Make A Bomb, Temptation, and an acoustic version of Geisha Boys and Temple Girls.

It’s Boy George (or is it...?)

If you live in the UK, you may want to tune into BBC 2 TV this Sunday at 9:00 in the evening for what promises to be rather an interesting dramatisation of the youthful days of one George O’Dowd.

“Worried About The Boy” features actors playing Boy George, Marilyn, Steve Strange, Jon Moss and a host of other stars from the early ‘80s Blitz scene. George is played by 17 year-old Douglas Booth. According to Booth: "No-one has said that I don't look like Boy George. We had the original clothes and make-up artists, and had his friends around us, so I think we've got it right,.”

What do you think? This is Booth in the role...

The BBC web site has more here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8677997.stm

and here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/tv/2010/05/boy-george-what-i-thought-of-w.shtml

John Foxx Back to the Future

Interesting article about John Foxx on the BBC web site today. Foxx first came to musical prominence in the '70s with his band, Ultravox, before going solo and releasing some very innovative albums such as Metamatic and The Garden in the '80s.

Now he's bringing back that '80s analogue synth sound to a new audience.

Foxx is curating the Short Circuit festival of electronica at London's Roundhouse in June. The all-day event culminates with Foxx playing the original Moogs, ARPs and drum machines that he used on his 1980 album.

"There's a great surge of interest in electronic music. I don't know why that's happened, but it's fortunate for me because I did it a long time ago," he says.

Read the article here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8659215.stm

Meanwhile, to get you in the mood, here's a track from Metamatic (the 2010 edit)...

Heaven 17 Tour

Heaven 17 has announced the 30th Anniversary November UK Tour of their 1981 concept album Penthouse And Pavement which they will perform in its entirety. Tickets go on sale Wednesday May 12th at 9am. Ticket Hotline: 08700 603 777. Book Online: www.seetickets.com.

Featuring original members Glenn Gregory (lead vocals) and Martyn Ware (synthesizers, vocals) and a full six-piece band, Heaven 17 starts their UK tour at the Edinburgh HMV Picture House on November 22nd. The tour follows the ultimate super-luxury edition of Penthouse And Pavement, released by EMI in the autumn. The show will include an LED wall featuring visuals by famous graphic artists and designers matched up to each track.

Dates include Edinburgh HMV Picture House (Nov 22), Glasgow O2 ABC (Nov 23), Manchester Ritz (Nov 25), Birmingham HMV Institute (Nov 26), London HMV Forum (Nov 28), Oxford O2 Academy (Nov 29), Brighton Corn Exchange (Nov 30) and Bristol O2 Academy (Dec 1). The concert will also include a greatest hits encore, including the band’s massive hit single Temptation.

Stand And Deliver - Number One this week in 1981

What a great song! Adam really was one of the best 80s pop stars. The video is great too but here, for a change, is a live performance...



For more 80s stuff, be sure to join the 80s Empire Facebook Group!

Owen Paul + Ex Simple Minds = Tour

Just heard that Own Paul McGee is teaming up with Derek Forbes and Brian McGee (formerly with Simple Minds and Propaganda) for a UK and European tour this year. Owen Paul is a singer, producer and co-writer of the 1986 hit "My Favourite Waste of Time". For more info go to: http://www.owenpaulmcgee.com and www.exsimpleminds.co.uk.