Rock Evolution – The History of Rock & Roll - 1984 - (page 198)

Great 78´Rob, take a bow!

Here's a few of my favorites from that year.

Johnny Thunders “You Can’t Put Your Arms Round A Memory”

The Ramones “I Wanna Be Sedated”

Buzzcocks “Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve?).”

David Gilmour "There's No Way Out of Here"

Dr. Feelgood “Milk and Alcohol”
 
Black&White&BlueMoon Town said:
The History of Rock & Roll - 1978

Now, as the years roll on
Each time we hear our favourite song
The memories come along
Older times we're missing
Spending the hours reminiscing

I had every intention of completing this earlier, but my PC had Windows 11 upgrade ideas tonight. Not good timing.

The first group from @RobMCFC had some great enjoyable classics with two great "Night" songs, first from Bruce and then Patti's co-authored song, followed by the Gerry Rafferty classic "Baker Street". The Rush and VH nods were also great familiar tunes, but the song that has stuck with me was the Midnight Oil "Run By Night", which I was previously unfamiliar with in getting into them much later in the 80's. What a great post-punk debut song that I especially enjoyed the fast paced tempo, guitars, and the familiar strong vocals from Peter Garrett that the band was famous for.

The Big Winners
This time I'm going for the trifecta, as all 3 of these songs bring back strong memories of listening to that year. First, I think next to Star Wars, seeing Grease in the movie theatre multiple times was such a big memory and enjoying discussing with middle school friends, all wanting to be in "high school" like the 20-somethings in the movie trying to pass as high school students. ;-) That movie had great vocal performances from Olivia Newton John and John Travolta, but it all started with the Frankie Valli title classic. "Grease" was the word indeed, and that beginning animated section of the movie was so iconic while that song played.
Next, I have to give the nod to Little River Band's "Reminiscing". Just a classic song that is so unique in so many ways. Yes, it's cheesy, but the pre-teen me just enjoyed that smooth sounds from the very underrated LRB that has stood the test of time. When I hear this song even now, it's just one I can't skip and brings back happy memories thinking ahead to the lyrics in the song and what it now means in reality to me, just celebrating 34 years of a lifetime plan this month.
The last one I find hard to explain, but the vocals from the soothing and sappy "Fool (If You Think It's Over)" from Chris Rea is just a classic tune from that year with that smooth sax made it all the way to #1 on the US easy listening charts.

When I think back to the songs I was listening to that year, those 3 stand out.

Top New Songs
  1. "Shot By Both Sides" - Magazine, well delivered post-punk rock song from its time
  2. "Airport" - The Motors, the band is back again this year with another catchy synth led song
  3. "Winds of March" - Journey, wasn't in to them back then, but great vocals and Neil Schon guitars prominently heard here
  4. "Burning Rope" - Genesis, while knowing "Follow You, Follow Me" from FM radio, this song not as much but very well done by the 3 left
  5. "Gator Country" - Molly Hatchet, a very good guitar led southern rock song
  6. "Rasputin" - Boney M., I probably heard this at some point, but I don't really remember it, and had to mention this somewhere
Top Songs I knew quite well
  1. "La Villa Strangiato" - Rush, probably one of their best classics musically. How this was put together and recorded is such a great story
  2. "Every Kinda People" - Robert Palmer, very nice bassline that drives Palmer's vocals along with the keys in this classic
  3. "I Need A Lover" - John "Cougar" (now) Mellencamp, the entering teenage anthem of the time, loved those initial piano keys that came in on this otherwise guitar led song. The guy could rock it in the '70s!
  4. "Life's Been Good" - Joe Walsh, the lyrics alone made this a classic of the times, the music and guitar playing here just took this to the next level
  5. "Roll With The Changes" - REO Speedwagon, probably the band of my adolescence, it all started with this song here. As soon as you are ready, indeed.
Honourable mention to the well known Heart, Boston, Foreigner, Petty, Stones, Who, Talking Heads, Steely Dan, and Squeeze classics
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I didn’t think about it back in the day but that Motors song does remind me now of ELO. I did just remember that I bought “Dancing the Night Away” as a 12 inch single, which I do still have.
 
For some reason this felt a lot more 'commercial' than some of the other recent playlists. Some enjoyable guilty pleasures in there, though it's perked up by some new wave/post punk classics too and I was happy to be reminded about The Only Ones.

Strangely though I'm really not a fan of AOR ,the various tracks selected for this playlist were more palatable than I might normally found music in this space.

My favourites were things I was familiar with but in terms of stuff I was either less or not familiar with.
  • I liked the early Midnight Oil track
  • On paper I should really dislike Eddie Money but that's not the case in reality
  • I don't mind a bit of Rush in (quite) small doses so these were enjoyable.
  • Though I obviously know who they are, I really am not familiar with The Cars who for no obvious reason have been in my blind spot all these years, so I enjoyed their back to back outings.
  • The Tom Petty song that finished the list reminded me that I should really make more effort to listen to him.
Btw - I forgot to say what a great and evocative initial write up by - I was already invested in the Dutch football team from the 74 world cup so was once again gutted when Argentina also did a number on them in '78. I think I've previously recounted the tale of getting properly bollocked for 'decorating' the house with Dutch football scenes but using airfix paints that were impossible to get off.
 
threespires said:
  • The Tom Petty song that finished the list reminded me that I should really make more effort to listen to him.
Click to expand...
Although I had a few Petty albums, I’d always considered him to be a lesser Springsteen or Mellencamp, albeit with a knack for writing a few catchy pop songs.

Then in 2010, the BBC screened the four-hour Peter Bogdanovic documentary, Running Down a Dream. Watching this - my favourite rockumentary of all time - showed me what I’d been missing. His catalogue stands up to pretty much anybody in rock music; great choruses, timeless bridges and middle-8s all backed by a band of incredible musicians - especially Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench.
 
I’ve been a Petty fan since the off but it was a bit of a slow burn at first; as much as anything because I tended to buy albums in a more limited set of rock sub-genres, partly, because I had less funds to go round so was more focused in my buying. Also, Tom did not visit very often due to his fear of flying, I think. I went 15 years from first seeing him until the second time. Eventually saw him live 5 times, including his last European show. Every one of those gigs was top notch. The Heartbreakers are one of the great live rock n roll bands.
 
1979

1979 was a pivotal year in my music history. Up until this point my music had been gathered from four different sources. My Dad's Sunday afternoon listen club, the radio, Top Of The Pops and mates. A very closed circuit, especially as the radio, TOTP and my mates were basically the same thing. But in 1979 this changed as I was allowed to go on my own to concerts. And not just the bands you would see and hear splashed all over the BBC but ones in London clubs, with a stage, a bar (I was slightly too young for this to mean anything but I remember the thrill of an underage Mild to this day) and bands that you had never heard of. Of course this was all allowed if I had a responsible adult, or so my dad thought, with me i.e my older cousin. He lived in that there London, smoked, dressed weirdly and loved music. I was allowed to train it up if he met me at Victoria Station with strict instructions to deposit me back at said station for the return journey. Our club of choice was called The Nashville Rooms. I think it was open in the mid 70's and closed in 1980.

It was here, in the January of 79, that I saw my first proper band in a dingy club. Madness. It was a Sunday night...and it was mental. This was before the release of their first single, Prince Buster, and I'd never heard of them. Obviously, trying to be all cool and sophisticated, my Cousin said he had. What followed was an hour of sweaty fighting with the big kids. Or it seemed that way as when I got up for school the next day I ached all over.

Madness - One Step Beyond

A month later I was back up to the Nashville to be chaperoned, to drink half a mild and to watch The Human League. Being Boiled had already come out the year before, not that I had heard it, probably because it didn't chart until a few years later, but my Cousin was sure that we would have a good time. This was pre Human League girls, Martyn Ware was in the band, later of Heaven 17, and Phil Oakey already had his haircut. They were very, very different from Madness, something my body thanked me for the next day at school. I interviewed Mr Ware a few years ago, an absolute gentleman. He said that Oakey wasn't the first choice warbler but they had to go with him as Glenn Gregory, who would later be the Heaven 17 singer, had moved to London with a new job.

The Human League - Empire State Human

We now move away from the Nashville Rooms as although I saw probably another 5 or 6 concerts in 1979 I also went to quite a few in bigger arenas. The next band I saw was The Cure at Bournemouth Town Hall. A much bigger venue that I was used to and as such less sweaty. It was probably in March but definitely a Saturday night. My Cousin, plus family, had come down to stay and he had got tickets. I was a little underwhelmed by them if I'm honest. Very hard to Pigeon hole. Lots of swaying. Robert Smith had normal hair. I, of course had never heard of them before, and I can't tell you if they played this next song, but it's 1979, and it's now a firm favourite.

The Cure - Boys Don't Cry

The next concert was a month or so later at the Brighton Centre. The band I'd heard of as they were famous. They had been on the radio and everything. Squeeze were touring their new album, Cool For Cats, and the next song is from the album. Probably my favourite of theirs.

Squeeze - Up The Junction

We now hit two singles that left a profound mark on my music taste that endures to this day. I saw one band supporting the other in October at the Southampton Gaumont but seeing as both of these songs came out in May it seems right to mention them now. Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, or OMD, still tour now. Catch them if you can because they are fantastic. In 1979 they were just a support band, but they played this song and it captivated me. Simple, but with a mad man leaping about playing bass whilst what looked like my music teacher played simple yet effective keyboards. Oh the layers. The synth. I was hooked.

OMD - Electricity

Which leads me neatly onto the band that OMD were supporting at the Gaumont. Famously the album they meant to record was going to be in the punk style until the lead singer noticed a minimoog in the studio. After messing around with it and his guitar he was astonished by what he heard. Weirdly he has now gone back to a more guitar driven sound. When I first heard this next offering I was blown away. It was astonishing and still sounds beautiful and haunting today. The rock version he plays live these days is a decent headbanger as well.

Tubeway Army - Are Friends Electric

We now move onto June and away from the live stuff. This next song was played in one of my Dad's Sunday record sessions. Although we both weren't too keen on the album it came from, this song stood out. Mainly because it was completely at odds with the rest of the album. Discovery, released in June, was ELO's first number One album, following on from the success of the monster that was Out Of The Blue. The keyboard player, Richard Tandy, called it...Disco...very. A bit harsh.

ELO - Don't Bring Me Down

Another of my Dad's favourites comes next. A song I still love today. A song that is played and sung beautifully with a bit of soul added in. It's just very smooth. I've banged on about this artist frequently over the years. And yes it has a sax in it. Just not that one. Released in July.

Gerry Rafferty - Get It Right Next Time

Next up is a band that I wasn't really into in 1979 and still am a bit on the fence with . A band that straddled many genres, had quite a few big hits but none topped this song to my ears. Although the album this came from was released in September 1979 this song didn't come out until 1980 as a single. I just love the driving drums. And obviously the keyboards!

Blondie - Atomic

And to complete my year in music I've hit December. This is another band I've seen live but not until 1981 with Blancmange supporting them. Once again it's very synth. I also think the lead singer has a very listenable voice. A very different sound to what was usually on the radio.

Japan - Quiet Life









Now if someone could do the honours with Spotify I'd be eternally grateful. Back to my holiday I go...
 
Last edited:
BimboBob said:
1979

1979 was a pivotal year in my music history. Up until this point my music had been gathered from four different sources. My Dad's Sunday afternoon listen club, the radio, Top Of The Pops and mates. A very closed circuit, especially as the radio, TOTP and my mates were basically the same thing. But in 1979 this changed as I was allowed to go on my own to concerts. And not just the bands you would see and hear splashed all over the BBC but ones in London clubs, with a stage, a bar (I was slightly too young for this to mean anything but I remember the thrill of an underage Mild to this day) and bands that you had never heard of. Of course this was all allowed if I had a responsible adult, or so my dad thought, with me i.e my older cousin. He lived in that there London, smoked, dressed weirdly and loved music. I was allowed to train it up if he met me at Victoria Station with strict instructions to deposit me back at said station for the return journey. Our club of choice was called The Nashville Rooms. I think it was open in the mid 70's and closed in 1980.

It was here, in the January of 79, that I saw my first proper band in a dingy club. Madness. It was a Sunday night...and it was mental. This was before the release of their first single, Prince Buster, and I'd never heard of them. Obviously, trying to be all cool and sophisticated, my Cousin said he had. What followed was an hour of sweaty fighting with the big kids. Or it seemed that way as when I got up for school the next day I ached all over.

Madness - One Step Beyond

A month later I was back up to the Nashville to be chaperoned, to drink half a mild and to watch The Human League. Being Boiled had already come out the year before, not that I had heard it, probably because it didn't chart until a few years later, but my Cousin was sure that we would have a good time. This was pre Human League girls, Martyn Ware was in the band, later of Heaven 17, and Phil Oakey already had his haircut. They were very, very different from Madness, something my body thanked me for the next day at school. I interviewed Mr Ware a few years ago, an absolute gentleman. He said that Oakey wasn't the first choice warbler but they had to go with him as Glenn Gregory, who would later be the Heaven 17 singer, had moved to London with a new job.

The Human League - Empire State Human

We now move away from the Nashville Rooms as although I saw probably another 5 or 6 concerts in 1979 I also went to quite a few in bigger arenas. The next band I saw was The Cure at Bournemouth Town Hall. A much bigger venue that I was used to and as such less sweaty. It was probably in March but definitely a Saturday night. My Cousin, plus family, had come down to stay and he had got tickets. I was a little underwhelmed by them if I'm honest. Very hard to Pidgeon hole. Lots of swaying. Robert Smith had normal hair. I, of course had never heard of them before, and I can't tell you if they played this next song, but it's 1979, and it's now a firm favourite.

The Cure - Boys Don't Cry

The next concert was a month or so later at the Brighton Centre. The band I'd heard of as they were famous. They had been on the radio and everything. Squeeze were touring their new album, Cool For Cats, and the next song is from the album. Probably my favourite of theirs.

Squeeze - Up The Junction

We now hit two singles that left a profound mark on my music taste that endures to this day. I saw one band supporting the other in October at the Southampton Gaumont but seeing as both of these songs came out in May it seems right to mention them now. Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, or OMD, still tour now. Catch them if you can because they are fantastic. In 1979 they were just a support band, but they played this song and it captivated me. Simple, but with a mad man leaping about playing bass whilst what looked like my music teacher played simple yet effective keyboards. Oh the layers. The synth. I was hooked.

OMD - Electricity

Which leads me neatly onto the band that OMD were supporting at the Gaumont. Famously the album they meant to record was going to be in the punk style until the lead singer noticed a minimoog in the studio. After messing around with it and his guitar he was astonished by what he heard. Weirdly he has now gone back to a more guitar driven sound. When I first heard this next offering I was blown away. It was astonishing and still sounds beautiful and haunting today. The rock version he plays live these days is a decent headbanger as well.

Tubeway Army - Are Friends Electric

We now move onto June and away from the live stuff. This next song was played in one of my Dad's Sunday record sessions. Although we both weren't too keen on the album it came from, this song stood out. Mainly because it was completely at odds with the rest of the album. Discovery, released in June, was ELO's first number One album, following on from the success of the monster that was Out Of The Blue. The keyboard player, Richard Tandy, called it...Disco...very. A bit harsh.

ELO - Don't Bring Me Down

Another of my Dad's favourites comes next. A song I still love today. A song that is played and sung beautifully with a bit of soul added in. It's just very smooth. I've banged on about this artist frequently over the years. And yes it has a sax in it. Just not that one. Released in July.

Gerry Rafferty - Get It Right Next Time

Next up is a band that I wasn't really into in 1979 and still am a bit on the fence with . A band that straddled many genres, had quite a few big hits but none topped this song to my ears. Although the album this came from was released in September 1979 this song didn't come out until 1980 as a single. I just love the driving drums. And obviously the keyboards!

Blondie - Atomic

And to complete my year in music I've hit December. This is another band I've seen live but not until 1981 with Blancmange supporting them. Once again it's very synth. I also think the lead singer has a very listenable voice. A very different sound to what was usually on the radio.

Japan - Quiet Life









Now if someone could do the honours with Spotify I'd be eternally grateful. Back to my holiday I go...
Click to expand...
For me personally the best selection of initial songs so far.
 
1979 was the year that cemented my love of rock music, despite the NME trying to tell me that new wave had taken over from punk. I was more of a Sounds reader and remember an article from Geoff Barton about the new wave of metal bands, coining the acronym NWOBHM.

Bands like Iron Maiden, Def Leppard and Saxon all released their first records in 1979, but it was an already established band from Australia that really got my attention, with a brilliant album produced by "Mutt" Lange. The title track is my first selection:

Highway to Hell - AC/DC
 
homerdog said:
1979 was the year that cemented my love of rock music, despite the NME trying to tell me that new wave had taken over from punk. I was more of a Sounds reader and remember an article from Geoff Barton about the new wave of metal bands, coining the acronym NWOBHM.

Bands like Iron Maiden, Def Leppard and Saxon all released their first records in 1979, but it was an already established band from Australia that really got my attention, with a brilliant album produced by "Mutt" Lange. The title track is my first selection:

Highway to Hell - AC/DC
Click to expand...

I love that album. I bought it upon release and played it a whole lot, it was one of the soundtracks of my summer. A very strange summer indeed. In some ways it was great but it also featured the worst day or 24 hours of my life because my father died very suddenly of a heart attack and was buried the next day. He was a good man so I am sure he did not go to hell but there’s a road in the wilds of North Wales, where I was trying to get home from having been told about my father, where the big end went on my Mini, stranding me. Highway to Hell would have been an apt title that day.
 
Has anyone setup the playlist?

I am happy to do so but Bimbo might not be happy for me to.

My first nomination is “In The Evening” by Led Zeppelin.

My third favourite Zep track.

1979 was the only time I saw Zep in concert, at one of their famous Knebworth gigs. A memorable event in many ways and the only time I have ever tried to sleep in a tent.
 
OB1 said:
Has anyone setup the playlist?

I am happy to do so but Bimbo might not be happy for me to.

My first nomination is “In The Evening” by Led Zeppelin.

My third favourite Zep track.

1979 was the only time I saw Zep in concert, at one of their famous Knebworth gigs. A memorable event in many ways and the only time I have ever tried to sleep in a tent.
Click to expand...
Please do mate.
 
Out on blue 6 said:
For me personally the best selection of initial songs so far.
Click to expand...

Very much a sea change from previous initial lists and probably indicative of the changes that were going in terms of shifts in preeminence

Out on blue 6 said:
Will get in early with the first album to be released on Factory Records and remained one of the best.
Think I wanted to put one of the lesser known ones on
FAC 10 Unknown Pleasures
Joy Division - Wilderness
Click to expand...

Beat me to the punch, though I was probably going to be Captain Obvious and go with She's Lost Control.

We haven't really talked about record labels that much over the course of the thread but Factory deserve to be spoken of in the same way as other legendary labels such as Stax, despite or perhaps because of its chaotic nature. The constituent parts don't sound that great on paper but they somehow managed to create great art. Shame none of them could use a f***king calculator but you can't have everything.

Time plays tricks on us but I'm pretty sure that this was the first ever album that stopped me in my tracks the first time I heard it.
 
threespires said:
Very much a sea change from previous initial lists and probably indicative of the changes that were going in terms of shifts in preeminence



Beat me to the punch, though I was probably going to be Captain Obvious and go with She's Lost Control.

We haven't really talked about record labels that much over the course of the thread but Factory deserve to be spoken of in the same way as other legendary labels such as Stax, despite or perhaps because of its chaotic nature. The constituent parts don't sound that great on paper but they somehow managed to create great art. Shame none of them could use a f***king calculator but you can't have everything.

Time plays tricks on us but I'm pretty sure that this was the first ever album that stopped me in my tracks the first time I heard it.
Click to expand...
Just reading Paul Morley's book on Anthony H.
Just getting to the record labels formation etc.
Interestingly Electricity by OMD was one of the first singles released on Factory pre dating Unknown Pleasures
 
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