+ 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.
+ 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…!
+ 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!
+ 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/ .
