+ 5 - 6 | § ¶Army of Lovers - Swedish Camp At Its Best!
Why does it seem as if Sweden has the monopoly on camp pop music? I mean, I've previously paid tribute to the very wonderful Gunther and The Sunshine Girls. And I've lavished praise upon the glorious Alcazar. I feel unworthy even to mention the sublime ABBA.
How come the Swedes are so good at camp? Here's a bloke from Army Of Lovers giving of his best....
However, while the first two of those groups may have something of the 'spirit of the '80s' about them, they are, in fact, modern. And ABBA really belongs to the '70s. So where do we look for the epitome of Swedish camp in the '80s...?
What on earth is going on here? Just one bizarre scene from the video for Crucified...
Look no further than Army of Lovers. Two blokes prancing about in makeup and frilly costumes plus one (or sometimes two) girls with big bazoomies - and there you have the wonder of Army of Lovers. They recorded some wonderful songs ('Crucified' is one of my favourites) and made some memorable videos to go with them. Most of them, it is true, were made in the early '90s. But the group did start out in the '80s so I think they deserve to be granted honourable '80s status.
The good news is that all their videos are online on their web site. Get yourself a cup (or bottle) or something suitably refreshing, sit back and prepare to be amazed....
Army of Lovers seen here in a relaxed moment.
+ 8 - 5 | § ¶Saturday Night Partys
This is an Invite to all party animals.
The ALL80sRADIO Party Zone plays all the party hits back to back Saturday nights from 6pm. Starting Sat Nov 5th.
Its HOT.
http://www.all80sradio.com
+ 8 - 4 | § ¶Simple Minds new single
The second single taken from the 'Black & White 050505' album is a new mix of Stranger entitled 'Stranger (London Mix)'. An iTunes 'UK exclusive', the new mix will be available to download from Tuesday November 1, 2005.
+ 7 - 6 | § ¶Embarrassing Pix - Depeche Mode!
Here is an image from that ancient photo session for the scurrilous '80s magazine, Flexipop! - here reprinted in 18 Rated, a scurrilous magazine from the '90s (now what's the connection between those two magazines? Oh yes, I wrote for them 
)
I often wonder if Dave Gahan ever regrets agreeing to get into that coffin! This was back in the early ‘80s - 1981 as far as I can recall. Back in those days Depeche Mode were seen as those ‘chirpy boys from Basildon’. They played bubbly pop songs and kept daily diaries all about bananas (you don’t believe me? see HERE). Little did anyone guess that one day they would go on to become international stadium-filling megastars with a keen interest in some of the darker byways of human experience…
The actual flexidisc that inspired the photos - note the authentic '80s tatty bit of Sellotape...
So when they recorded a song called Sometimes I Wish I Was Dead for a flexidisc on the cover of a somewhat dubious and salacious teenage magazine by the name of Flexipop!, Dave Gahan didn’t so much as blink an eyelid when the editor suggested that he lie down in a coffin clutching a crucifix.
Actually, given the dark overtones of some of their later music, they might even have ended up looking back on that photoshoot with a sense of pride...
...if only Dave hadn’t worn that daft smile on his face…!
+ 7 - 6 | § ¶GO WEST - LONDON SHOW
As they celebrate 20 years in the music business, and following a sell-out nationwide tour earlier this year, GO WEST have announced a one-off special gig in London to mark their Anniversary year.
GO WEST will play the Shepherd's Bush Empire on November 19th 2005, exactly 20 years to the day that they played their very first major gig in the capital.
Earlier this year The Groovecutters're-work of GO WEST's classic 80's anthem 'We Close Our Eyes' scored a hit in the dance and network charts, and GO WEST have themselves been back in the studio, producing the new single 'Let Love Come' out soon.
+ 10 - 5 | § ¶Jennie Belle Star :: exclusive desktop poster
The latest poster in the Dark Neon library is a fab piccy of Jennie McKaown of The Belle Stars, sitting in a wheelbarrow in London's Covent Garden. This picture (which is not available anywhere else) is just right to use as a desktop picture for your PC. Download it and enjoy...
+ 7 - 7 | § ¶Leee John :: Exclusive Interview
Sex, drugs and rock'n'roll.... The 80s Empire talks to one-time Imagination frontman and born again jazz singer, Leee John - about skimpy outfits, Bonnie Langford and the truth about the cat-fights when being Born Again In The USA.... Read it all on the 80s Empire!
+ 12 - 7 | § ¶Sam Fox, Armpits and Orgies....
Sam Fox - the horizontal position is entirely intentional....
Good to see that Sam Fox is still in good voice and remarkably fine form. It’s amazing the videos (all legal and free to view) that you can find on the Internet if you know where to look. The ever wonderful Günther has put the full video of his duet of Touch Me with Sam Fox on his site. If you haven’t seen it, do so at your earliest convenience. It’s wonderful! You get Sam Fox in pyjamas and negligee crawling about over the floor while Günther spends most of the time in front of a mirror admiring his armpits. Oh, and there also seems to be a Roman Orgy underway in his living room.
Gunther seen here admiring his armpit...
Günther should be more famous. His Ding Doing Song was one of the finest pop anthems of modern times. His Tutti Frutti Summer Love (along with The Sunshine Girls, a trampoline and assorted supermarket fruits) is also a joy to hear - and to watch. All the videos for these songs are on Günther’s site.
Günther and Sam Fox is surely a partnership that was made in musical heaven!
+ 8 - 8 | § ¶Latest on Eurythmics albums and single
Eurythmics brand new single I've Got A Life is released on Monday October 31st, 2005. Recently hailed as Single of the Week on BBC Radio 2, I've Got A Life will be released across two CDs.
CD1 = 1. I've Got A Life. 2. Sweet Dreams [Are made Of This]
Steve Angello Remix.
CD2 = 1. I've Got A Life. 2. I've Got A Life [Sander's Kleinenberg
You're It Mix]. 3. Sweet Dreams [Are made Of This] Remastered.
4. I've Got A Life [video].
I've Got A Life is one of two new songs recorded by Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart earlier this year (the other song is entitled Was It Just Another Love Affair). Both songs will appear on The Ultimate Collection 'best of' album, released in Germany on Friday November 4th, the UK on Monday November 7th, and North America on Tuesday November 8th, 2005.
+ 6 - 9 | § ¶Leee John. Feel My Soul
Leee John of 80s pop soul group Imagination releases a new Jazz album.
(more)+ 5 - 7 | § ¶The Spirit Of The 80s
The 1980s are alive and well and living in Moldova!
…well, not forgetting France. And Sweden.
Alcazar - the 80s up to date...?
With their mix of rhythmic electronica and wistful vocals, the French group AIR seem to be the natural inheritors of ‘80s electro-pop. http://www.intairnet.org/ On the other hand, if you want a blast of up-tempo 80s-style electro dance music, the Swedish group, Alcazar is hard to beat. Their online Media Room has a great selection of their videos online plus a library of free downloadable MP3 remixes of their hits including some fine versions of The Human League’s Don’t You Want Me.
Numa Numa - such stuff as cults are made of...
But my personal vote for The Spirit Of The 80s goes to the Moldovan ‘boy band’, O-Zone. You may be familiar with the Internet cult song known as the Numa Numa Dance, in which the American teenager, Gary Brolsma, mimes Romanian lyrics into his webcam http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/numa.php. Entertaining as this video may be, the original video by the group themselves is better. According to an O-Zone fan site http://fan.edgeofnight.net/ddt/ the ‘theme ‘ of this video is the 1980s. If you watch it you may spot a few ‘guest appearances; from ‘80s icons such as Freddy Krueger.
The genuine article - Moldovan boy-band, O-Zone
The song itself is very much in the ‘80s spirit of, say, Duran Duran or Bros. But it definitely isn’t just a rip-off of other bands. O-Zone are real originals and, of all contemporary groups, they are one of my personal favourites - even if I have no idea what the lyrics mean! Watch their video on Yahoo http://search.uk.music.yahoo.com/search/?m=all&p=o-zone or download it from the video director’s site (this may be a slow download) at: http://www.moldovanin.com/ .
+ 8 - 5 | § ¶Howard Jones - New release
Howard Jones releases a brand new studio album in the UK on October 10th 2005 titled 'Revolution of The Heart'. This is his first new studio album since the highly acclaimed 'People' album released in 1998.
Regarded by many as one of the most influential of the artists that emerged from the UK in the eighties, Jones has particular credibility in the world of dance music where he is regarded as a synthesiser and programming pioneer.
'Revolution of The Heart' is co-produced and co-written by Jones and Robbie Bronnimann. Bronnimann is well known in the dance field for his work with projects such as Hydro, dba and tektonik^.
+ 8 - 5 | § ¶Leee John goes Jazz
The internationally-renowned and ageless front man from the 80s pop/soul team IMAGINATION, singer/songwriter Leee John steps into the jazz realm as he releases his tour de force CD 'Feel My Soul'
Leee is most proud of his much-anticipated solo debut, “Feel My Soul”. “A whole new world is opening up for me in doing this album and I've already started doing shows with this music. In some ways, I feel like I'm 'walking the plank' because I don't know how people will respond and I know some might say that if I've spent my career in pop music, I don't have the right to be doing jazz. But I've paid my dues musically. I'm walking through a new door and I'm singing with more confidence than ever.” Bold, creative and a musically satisfying experience, “Feel My Soul” is just the start of a new and exciting chapter for Leee John, ever a pioneer, as he steps out with a compelling album that is intimate and truly made with heart - and much soul.
+ 5 - 9 | § ¶How did I get into radio?
With a great deal of single minded bull headed determination. In my day (a long time ago) you were either IN radio or OUT of radio.
These days there are more areas to 'practice' in. Hospital radio, helping out free on local radio or starting your own internet radio.
I was very lucky indeed to get onto my local radio station Radio Trent in 1975. After this big break, I found it much easier to swap stations and let radio take me around the globe a bit. Israel/Italy/Malta to name a few.
Tips for folks wanting to get on today? simply --- dont give up - send tapes - send tapes and send more tapes. Then when you get a refusal or more likely - dont get a reply at all, send another tape.
I have never been a big fan of British radio, the best sounds always seem to come from a distance - either by listening to a tape someone recorded whilst on holiday or by picking up a fading signal on your radio. These days there are thousands of audio discoveries on the internet from both local stations on AM or FM in remote areas or internet only stations playing specialist mixes. Stuff you would never get from your local or national British radio station. Where will people get thier radio in the years to come? FM, AM, or the diverse world of internet radio?
This brings me nicely to our 80s radio suggestion, part of the new 80s Empire we do recommend all80sradio, it may jog your memoury of the songs you heard in the decade and maybe the stations you heard them on.
Without doubt the most exciting station I had the honour of working/living on in the 80s was Radio Caroline 1883/84. A new Caroline is available today on the internet.
We welcome your comments and views on everything 80s especially memouries of 80s radio, where and when your heard it.
Make a note of the 80s Empire, you will need to come back.
